The Ultimate Guide to Construction Safety

Our OSHA compliant safety training courses

Construction and extraction injuries killed 976 civilian employees in 2020, according to the U.S. census. That number was second only to the 1,128 fatalities in the “transportation and material moving” category. Non-fatal construction injuries and illnesses numbered around 165,300—nearly 500 cases per day. And that’s a lot of missed work hours and insurance claims. It benefits everyone to promote employee safety, especially on construction sites.

The more information employees have, the more efficiently and safely they work. Studies show that OSHA training decreases days away from work incidents. By reducing that time away from work, employees complete more tasks. Similarly, our Hard Hat Training series teaches employees to protect themselves and others, with OSHA standards at the foundation of each course. At Safety Provisions, Inc., we don’t cut corners to shorten our programs, but instead carefully curate our courses so that each trainee receives all the information necessary to operate safely in their workplace.

Our OSHA Aligned courses have reached far beyond the U.S., as well. International companies take advantage of our online training classes and customizable training kits to make sure that their employees are ready to be safe. Because our courses are offered primarily online, employees and employers can access them from nearly anywhere.

OSHA Compliance: Construction Online

Who Is OSHA Anyway?

Administratively, the head of the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) is called the “Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health.” They answer directly to the Secretary of Labor, a member of the United States presidential cabinet. Congress created the Occupational Safety and Health Administration through the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970. Its purpose was ensuring healthful working conditions. The main tools it uses to do this include:

• Enforcing standards
• Training
• Outreach
• Education
• Assistance

OSHA enforces standards that aim to bring workplace injury and fatality numbers down as much as possible. Failing to follow OSHA standards brings hefty fines.

Although we have no legal affiliation with OSHA (we draw on the standards from many different regulatory organizations), a significant focus of our training will always be compliance with safety regulations. We, like OSHA, are primarily concerned with mitigating hazards in the workplace.

What is OSHA 510 Certification?

OSHA offers courses in many occupational and health standards. #510 is a general course for the construction industry. It’s a 26 hour course. #510 covers topics like industry terms, identifying hazards, and determining OSHA standards to supplement ongoing safety and health programs. This course is comprehensively broad, but detailed. A course description is available on OSHA’s website.</p><p>

OSHA 510 won’t necessarily meet the requirements for training on more specific workplace skills, though, and it may be too long to qualify as a refresher training course. OSHA 510 courses leave a need for shorter, more efficient trainings. </p><p>Hard Hat Training courses reflect OSHA’s standards, and our education programs are designed to fill the gap that the OSHA trainings leave. They contain all the necessary information, but in a more convenient package.

Why Online?

Why learn processes online that are ultimately needed in the non-digital world? Digital construction courses might not seem practical enough to give employees all the information they need. While there is a lot that employees can learn as they work, they’ll need to know what hazards to watch out for and how to deal with emergencies, even before they set foot on the work site. OSHA requires all construction employees to receive training in any of the following topics that may be relevant to their work site:

• General safety and health, including emergency action plans
• Occupational health and environmental controls
• Personal protective and life saving equipment
• Fire protection and prevention
• Signs, signals, and barricades
• Hand and power tools
• Welding and cutting
• Electrical equipment
• Scaffolds
• Fall protection
• Motor vehicles, mechanized equipment, and marine operations
• Steel erection
• Underground construction, cassons, cofferdams, and compressed air
• Blasting and the use of explosives
• Power transmission and distribution
• Stairways and ladders
• Diving
• Toxic and hazardous substances
• Confined spaces in construction
• Cranes and derricks in construction

Notice that some training requirements are modified specifically for construction. Construction workers aren’t necessarily required to know everything about every topic (confined spaces, cranes and derricks, etc.), but they may need some information that employees in other industries may not. Airplane manufacturing employees, for instance, need a unique kind of training for working in confined spaces. To meet the legal standards, then, an employee needs training tailored to their job site and the work they’re doing on it.

OSHA Standards

OSHA’s standard for construction employees and sites (1926 in the code) is clear, comprehensive, and constantly changing. Construction standards start with the law that all construction worksites must let safety inspectors onto the property. Furthermore, the general standards establish right away that the employer has a responsibility to comply with the standards and train their employees to do the same. We hope all employers take this legal responsibility seriously.</p><p>

The listed standards span many pages, all the way to an appendix containing a list of required information for crane operator certification written exams. For the sake of brevity, we won’t summarize all of the standards here, but we can give a quick overview of what those standards might cover.

General sections of the 1926 code require that all employers control or eliminate hazards, and instruct each employee in avoiding unsafe conditions by teaching them: 

• Regulations applicable to the work environment
• How to avoid exposure to illness and injury
• Personal hygiene skills (specifically hand washing)
• Protective measures

Employers of employees required to handle or use poison, caustics, and other harmful substances must specifically teach them: 

• Safe handling procedures 
• Potential hazards
• Personal hygiene
• Personal protective measures

Employers of employees who work near harmful plants or animals must teach those employees:

• About the hazard
• How to avoid injury
• First aid procedures in case of injury

These same requirements (some more specific) also apply to employers of employees required to handle flammable liquids, gasses, or toxic materials.

OSHA standards may seem complicated, or in some cases too simple, but Hard Hat Training makes the information memorable and easy to understand so all employees can follow them in a way that raises efficiency, and lowers accident rates.

Real Safety

Genuine safety requires more than meeting the minimum effort OSHA standards. Some work sites can be especially prone to dangerous and even deadly hazards, but a vigilant employee can anticipate them and respond to them in ways that saves lives. Real safety, especially on construction sites around heavy machinery and materials, means training employees to practice situational awareness and act responsibly in every situation they encounter. 

Safety Courses

Real safety at a construction site requires making sure that employees have all the information necessary to correctly operate machines and complete other occupational procedures. All of our courses include a heavy emphasis on safety, but Safety Provisions, Inc. provides some courses specifically to address safety issues. These courses are listed under “Community Awareness” or “Other Safety Training” and include such topics as:

• Active Shooter
• Defensive Driving
• Drugs & Alcohol
• Emergency Response
• Mental Health
• Opioid Awareness
• Sexual Harassment
• Workplace Civility
• Workplace Stress
• Workplace Violence
• Job Hazard Analysis
• Stormwater Pollution Prevention

RIDDOR?

In the U.S., reporting occupational injuries, illnesses, hazards, and fatalities is mandatory and enforced by OSHA. The process for doing so is included in the OSHA training. In Canada, reporting requirements vary by jurisdiction, but you can find them all listed on the CCOHS website. The United Kingdom has similar standards. In 2013, Parliament passed the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR) to meet the same requirements. </p><p>

While Safety Provisions, Inc. primarily focuses on training for the U.S. and Canada, many of our courses are internationally applicable. We also offer customizable training options our customers can use to help meet international standards.

Construction Online Training

The Hard Hat Training series prepares employees to enter the workplace safely and reminds seasoned workers things they may have forgotten. With just a smartphone, each team member can be confident that they have the skills necessary to prevent damage and injuries at work. </p><p>

Employees and individuals can purchase individual Hard Hat Training courses online. Alternatively, if an employer wants to administer the training themselves, we also offer training kits and “Train the Trainer” packets for many of our courses. New kits and courses are constantly in development.

Training Programs Include

Typically, our online training courses include:

• Detailed information about OSHA standards 
• Procedures for using equipment 
• Safety measures
• Best practices
• True stories of related accidents and injuries
• Quizzes
• A written exam
• Certifications

Kits and “Train the Trainer” courses also include:

• Instructor notes
• Student Manual
• Written test materials
• Printable safety posters
• OSHA standards
• Record Keeping
• Classroom preparation
• Instructions for using and customize training materials

And there’s even more, depending on the course. You’ll find this and many more educational tools in the kits and trainer courses.

Course List

Current Safety Provisions, Inc. construction courses cover the following broad training categories:

• Aerial Lift/Heights Training
• Community Awareness (including Defensive Driving)
• Competent Person
• Crane/Rigger Training
• Earthmover Training
• Electrical Training
• Environmental Training
• Fire Training
• Forklift/PIT Training
• Health Training
• HR Training
• Industrial Hygiene Training
• Landscaping Training
• Other Mobile Equipment Training
• Road Work Training
• Small Equipment Training
• Other Safety Training

Within these categories, we offer a variety of detailed trainings on specific safety topics. Customers are welcome to suggest courses not currently in our online offerings, and also request specially customized courses based on their needs. 

Not only do we offer a robust training system for employees, employers, and trainers, but we are also happy to adapt our expertise to the needs of any company interested in using our courses. Our training courses really are the ultimate guides to construction safety, because the safety of construction employees is our ultimate concern. We hope you’ll use us as a resource to keep your worksite OSHA compliant, and to keep the people around you informed and safe.