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Safety Programs Essential for Home Builders

June is National Safety Month, and NAHB is advising its members to develop a written safety program that makes safety a priority for all company workers, subs, vendors, customers and invited guests.

“Having a written safety and health program is the first step to defining how you expect your employees and the subs to behave on the job,” students who participate in a six-hour training seminar developed by NAHB and the NAHB Research Center in conjunction with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration are told.

By preventing unnecessary accidents, injuries and deaths, having a safety management system in place can save time and money; keep construction projects on schedule; avoid higher workers’ compensation costs; improve worker productivity; reduce damage to materials and equipment; and address legal liability issues, NAHB says.

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Following are 10 steps companies should take to establish an effective safety and health program:

1. Develop policies, procedures and goals for your safety and health program.
2. Create and maintain a budget to implement the program.
3. Identify a Safety Coordinator and support his or her safety efforts at all levels of management.
4. Develop and implement safe work practices (SWPs) for all hazards on the job.
5. Develop and maintain a subcontractor safety compliance policy.
6. Develop and implement an employee discipline program.
7. Develop and deliver a safety training and education program.
8. Investigate all accidents and near accidents to determine the factors that caused them.
9. Conduct regular and frequent program compliance inspections on the job site.
10. Audit the program for effectiveness annually.

NAHB's “Construction Safety Program Manual: A Guide for Home Builders and Contractors” is a practical guide for developing a comprehensive safety program for your building company. Available from BuilderBooks.com, the publication includes a model safety program on disk that can be easily customized and adapted to meet the safety needs of your business.

For more information, e-mail Robert Matuga at NAHB or call him at 800-368-5242 x8507.

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NAHB and the NAHB Research Center, Inc. have developed a six-hour safety training seminar entitled, 'Recognizing the 'Big-Four' Safety Hazards for the Home Building Industry.'  For information about when and where this course is being offered, click here.
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