Building sites are intrinsically dangerous places. Piles of materials, equipment, machinery, cables, trenches… just about every hazard imaginable.
So it’s crucial that the construction site is kept clean and neat, here’s why.
Culture change
Most construction workers these days are well-trained and equipped. Health and Safety awareness has developed rapidly and it’s fair to say that there’s been a real culture change, especially on major construction sites. There’s more than one good reason for that; injury causes great distress, delays and economic damage. In 2018 alone, despite all the good work in H&S awareness, well over half a million construction workers suffered injuries that were serious enough to be reportable. Tragically, 144 workers lost their lives.
The full human and financial cost of injury and illness in the workplace is immeasurable, but with almost 500 cases ending in court in 2018 resulting in fines of over £70 million, there’s no question that main contractors must and do take Health and Safety very seriously.
Post-build, pre-clean
When a major building project is nearing completion, the site enters a new phase that is potentially dangerous in different ways. All the major subcontractors have gone, not all of them leaving a clean site behind. Debris and rubbish pile up with leftover building materials, broken tools, all manner of stuff waiting to snag an unwary leg.
Every site goes through this phase – the building work is 90% done, but the place is far from ready to receive visits from inspectors and potential buyers. As a Health and Safety risk, it’s still very much a live case – and the main contractor is still very much liable for any injuries.
After build clean up
A professional after build clean up by ACC isn’t just about sprucing the site up to boost selling – although we do a pretty good job on that front, too. ACC teams are fully trained in H&S awareness and we’ll look at the whole site with safety fully in focus. We know the regulations and we also know common sense. Together, those could end up saving someone a twisted ankle, a sprained back, or even, in the worst-case scenario, a fortune.