How to run an effective construction site

As a new year gets underway, the time is ripe to make some plans for how you might improve things over last year. Whether these are personal goals, professional ambitions or a combination of both, locking down what you would like to achieve early is a terrific strategy.

One such area where improvement is always a good thing is in the running of a work site. The construction industry has seen strong growth over the past three years, with the Housing Industry Association noting that commencements have increased across Australia for a third consecutive year - only the fifth time in 60 years that such sustained improvement has happened. 

Whether you're a contractor responsible for a team of people on a major building project, or simply an at-home hobbyist plotting out some home or garden DIY for the new year, there's never a bad time to make your operations run more smoothly.

At Kennards Hire, we have more than just the equipment you need for your next project, we also have the knowledge and experience to see you through to completion. Let's take a look at some methods for running an effective construction site.

Manage the performance of your team

Since it's the beginning of the year, it's a good time to talk to your workers about what they might like to achieve for themselves over the coming months. The construction industry is one populated with a high number of somewhat transient workers, people who bounce from project to project with little consistency.

With that in mind, should you want to hold onto good people when you find them, why not consider giving them some type of incentive to stick with you? Research into human resources from Deloitte in 2015 showed that 75 per cent of respondents believed performance management was a high priority. 

By offering your workers achievable goals and opportunities to advance their knowledge and place in the business, you can expect to get better performance out of them over a longer period of time.

Implement a workplace wellness program

Improving wellness may seem like new age nonsense to people who fit the traditional, inaccurate stereotype of a construction worker, but now that we're well into the 21st century, it is increasingly becoming an area of focus for successful organisations. So shake off that self-consciousness, and look for ways to improve worker productivity and safety through wellness. 

Once you've managed to get your team on board, research indicates that your workplace should start to see benefits before too long. A 2015 study by the Colorado School of Public Health found that, of 260 companies who opted to introduce wellness initiatives into their working day, 71 per cent continued past the first year, and a whopping 97 per cent reported that the programs improved worker safety.

In an industry where occupational health and safety is so important, any opportunities to ensure a safe workplace should be considered. Why not think about bringing a wellness program to your next construction site?

Protect your workers from preventable injury

Obviously, when you're working on a building site with a lot of potentially hazardous equipment, minor accidents will happen from time to time. There's not much you can do to prevent occasional cuts and scrapes, but as long as you have first aid kits on site, it's unlikely you'll have too much drama.

When it comes to larger health risks, you might find yourself responsible for the physical well-being of multiple people. The ability to calculate risks to your workers comes with experience, and an understanding of the climate which we work in across Australia. Let's examine two of the biggest threats to Australian construction workers.

• Asbestos exposure. One of the greatest dangers in Australian homes built before 1990, asbestos is a real concern. If you find yourself working in a home which contains asbestos, whether your own home or on a job, you must be well prepared to handle the material correctly. The Department of Health recommends respirators and disposable clothing, and non-powered hand tools to minimise dust and waste chips.
• Heat and sun exposure. Spend any amount of time in Australia, and you'll quickly learn one thing - it's hot. To shield yourself and your workers from the sun's harmful rays, make sure you have appropriate shade cover by stringing up a few tarpaulins. For longer jobs, or in particularly warm climates, consider some temporary air conditioner installation to cool everyone down.

Whatever the size of your next construction project, be it an entire house or just a little bathroom DIY, making sure your workplace runs smoothly can make a huge difference. Once you're confident in the safety of yourself and your workers, and are offering everyone a rewarding place to be, come in and speak to Kennards Hire about the equipment you need.