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To help you with this, we have put together some tips that you can use to get your construction site ready if you haven’t already. Read on to find out some of these tips.

Plan Carefully

The first thing that you should do when you are preparing your construction site for winter is to plan out what you are going to do. Each worksite is different and so you need to look at the area you need to cover and what the risks are.

It might be useful to do a winter weather  risk assessment  before you begin your plan. Then, you can use your risk assessment to determine the right plan of action. Consider key areas such as protecting workers from the elements, training, and clearing roads or walkways.

Protection From the Elements

If a construction worker needs to use equipment in the heavy rain or snow, they might be putting themselves at risk of falling over or dropping the equipment. This can be incredibly dangerous and so they should be sheltered as much as possible when on the construction site. Yes, this can be difficult to achieve but there are options, depending on the task.

For example, you can protect workers from the elements by using  a  work tent, like one from the selection from Pelsue.  Work tents and shelters  can still let the light in and can come with some additional features, depending on the weather conditions you’ll be working in. Make sure to invest in some of these in time for any winter projects.

Clearing Ice

Did you know that slips, trips, and falls are some of the most common accidents in the workplace? The last thing you want is for one of your workers to fall on ice when walking around the construction site as they could injure themselves. Additionally, a fall can lead to a claim if you haven’t put in the proper protections for your team.

For this reason, you should figure out a plan for clearing away any ice or snow from your construction site. Ideally, this would be done before the workers get there in the morning to avoid any issues. You can hire an external company to come along and grit the walkways and roads or have a team to do it yourself. Either way, clearing away ice should be the main priority.

Having a Warm Base

If your construction site is in the middle of nowhere, you might find that you don’t have a central place that the team can come and sit indoors. However, if you are working in the winter, it is even more critical that you have somewhere that they can escape from the cold. If you have any style of portable office, this can turn into a break room that the team can use to get a bit of extra warmth.

You can also use the warm base as a place for your team to get a hot cup of coffee or tea. These small details can help them to work comfortably and reduce the risk of them getting sick outside in the winter weather.

Protective Clothing

Finally, you should prepare your construction site by investing in protective clothing. If your team is going to be working late at night or early in the morning during the winter, it will likely be very dark. For this reason, you need to make sure that they can be seen, especially if there are going to be workers moving around with heavy machinery.

Protective clothing should protect workers from the elements and  be reflective . This will allow them to be seen by those who pose a risk to them and keep them safe. Additionally, they should have helmets and lots of layers to keep them warm in the cold weather.

Use These Tips

If you are hoping to prepare your construction site for the winter, you should make sure to take on board the tips that we have given you in this article. Try to find ways to protect your team from the elements when they are on the construction site and make sure that they are safe at all times. If there are any risks to safety, you must deal with these accordingly. No one wants to have to work in the freezing cold weather but to get the job done, it is often necessary.

Text: Grace Murphy