Construction sites can be dangerous and volatile environments for workers. How can Health & Safety Monitoring help maintain a safe and productive work environment on your jobsite?
The importance of health and safety monitoring in construction.
Construction sites are essential to building for our future, as construction companies continue to build a variety of new structures across the country which serve the betterment of our communities. With this betterment comes great risk, as construction sites are also dangerous and volatile properties, with a host of potential hazards that can cause injury. All workers have a right to a safe workplace and to return home safely at the end of the day, and ensuring the health and safety of workers on the job is of paramount importance. Health and safety monitoring is a key way for construction builders to help ensure health and safety protocols are met by all workers on-site to avoid potential injury – and to comply with the strict but essential protocols set out by the Government of Ontario and other provincial jurisdictions across Canada.
In Ontario, the Occupational Health and Safety Act is the letter of the law for protecting workers. The main purpose of the OHSA is to provide a legal framework to protect workers from hazards on the job. This framework includes deciding the various duties performed by all parties in the workplace, establishing measures and procedures to be followed, and providing the necessary enforcement in the event that compliance is not achieved (1) . If there is an unfortunate instance of infraction or injury, construction companies can face steep fines and penalties. The fines for workplace accidents for corporations in Ontario increased in 2023 from an already steep $1.5 million to $2 million – the highest maximum fines in the country. (2)
All workers in Canada are required by their employers to complete health and safety training prior to working, but even with that training, infractions and injuries can still occur. Injuries on construction sites can vary – including falls from heights, being struck by equipment or objects, exposure to harmful materials, and more. National statistics from 2022 show that there were 183 fatalities on construction sites, far more than any other industry sector in the country. In Canada and the US, the leading cause of death on construction sites are falls, a very alarming statistic.
With an influx of building projects sprouting up across Canada, there may be pressure to build quickly which can impact safety standards and enforcement on-site. As a result of these mounting pressures, a health and safety monitoring solution may be required to maintain a safe working environment on construction sites. (3)
Workers are still at serious risk of workplace injury on construction sites.
Despite government protocols and worker health and safety training, incidents of injury and death on construction sites are still a continuing and concerning issue.
In May 2024, a construction worker in Ottawa, ON was injured when a wall partly collapsed on top of him. The worker was hand digging out a shore wall made of wood when the collapse occurred. The construction pit was 12-15 meters below ground, and required firefighters to walk down a steep incline to reach the worker so they could render aid. Ontario’s Ministry of Labour was assigned to investigate the incident. (4)
In July 2024, a construction company in Saskatchewan was fined $25,000 after one of their workers fell on the jobsite. The worker was seriously injured after they fell to the ground after removing slings from a set of trusses. The employer pleaded guilty in court for failing to ensure the workers used a fall protection system. (5)
These incidents are alarming, and they further underscore the call for robust health and safety protocols in the workplace – a call that can be answered by properly monitoring health and safety on construction sites via our powerful camera and reporting technology.
How can we help to monitor health and safety on construction sites?
We leverage the same revolutionary camera and network technology we use for security to also monitor health and safety in the workplace. To start the process, our Logistics team will assess your site and find optimal locations for camera placement – using your existing cameras or installing our powerful Video Security Units.
Two stationary cameras provide a fixed view of the jobsite, while a PTZ (Pan-Tilt-Zoom) camera allows our Monitoring team to zoom in on important details in high-resolution. All units leverage the power of our proprietary cellular LTE+ platform – free of wired solutions and fully modular to adapt to the needs of your construction site. This wireless solution also keeps your construction free from any messy cables running throughout, helping to contribute to a safe environment on-site. The live camera feeds captured by our Video Security Units can be monitored by your in-house health and safety team, or by our Live Remote Video Monitoring team.
Our Monitoring team are trained in how to monitor health and safety in the workplace – identifying important health and safety protocols that need to be followed such as PPE protocols, and working from heights. When our operators observe an infraction, they will respond according to pre-determined response procedures established during consultation with your business. This can include informing management of the infraction, or communicating directly through our voice command speaker to the workers on-site.
Our proprietary reporting platform, syncroReports, is your portal to stay up to date with your site’s health and safety adherence, and provide a framework to maintain a safe and productive work environment.
All workers have a right to return home safely at the end of their day. Our robust camera technology and supporting Health & Safety Monitoring can help to maintain a safe and productive working environment for all workers on construction sites.
Resources:
- “Occupational Health and Safety Act”, Government of Ontario
- “Provincial workplace safety fines have increased”, Katie Nicholls, Northern Ontario Business, November 13, 2023
- “Canada lagging in death stats and why construction workers die”, Jean Sorensen, Daily Commercial News by ConstructConnect, January 29, 2024
- “Worker injured when wall collapses at construction site”, CBC News, May 13, 2024
- “Saskatchewan construction company fined for workplace injury”, Jim Wilson, Canadian Occupational Safety, July 10, 2024