On Sunday, October 25, the clocks in the UK will go back an hour, meaning mornings will be lighter and evenings darker for longer. VPS Site Security, a UK provider of security and safety CCTV to the construction sector, has issued a safety and security alert to constructors to help reduce the risks on building sites.
Phil Bunting, Head of Integrated Solutions and EU Support at VPS Site Security says: “Research shows that accidents occur more frequently in dark evenings, and that slips and trips increase by over 10pc when the clocks go back. The resulting cost to the construction industry is estimated to be over £500 million a year. You also have to add to that the additional burden of theft, most of which takes place under the cover of dusk and darkness, and you are probably looking at overall costs closer to £1 billion.”
VPS Site Security has issued a fiv-point guide for construction sites:
1)Issue a Safety Alert
This week is the right time to warn workers of the dangers of the clocks going back – to increase their awareness of the problems of dusk coming an hour earlier, and to take extra care, particularly in the first week after the change.
2)Check and review lighting on the site
Check to see if there is sufficient lighting on site to ensure the light is clear enough for people to work safely. Bring in extra lighting if necessary, or even introduce extra floodlights anyway as part of the Safety Alert, as a way to draw attention to the added risks of daylight saving.
If you are using timers for the lighting, or arranging them to be turned on manually, ensure the timers are brought in line with daylight saving. Turning them on before dusk again raises the alert and awareness.
3)Safety and Security
If you haven’t already, look into the installation of CCTV Towers, like the JCB Smart Tower, which can protect a site from intruders and unauthorised trespassers, and provide a safety audit for the site, enabling evidence of safety provisions put in place.
4)Security
check your perimeter fencing and access points with a thorough walk-through, and check them regularly. Rectify any detected weaknesses or tampered areas immediately.
5)Book in an independent assessment
Sometimes you are too close to your own site to see the wood for the trees. An independent assessor can review your security.
VPS Site Security have developed a fully integrated protection and monitoring solution using a combination of its mobile CCTV product, the JCB Smart Tower, with human guarding services if the site warrants the extra measures.
