OSHA increased its penalty amounts in 2016 for the first time in 25 years. Previous penalty limits on serious construction safety violations may increase from $7,000 per violation to $12,600. Willful and repeat violations may also grow from the $70,000 limit to $126,000. OSHA’s 2014 fiscal year penalties totaled at $143.6 million, which if the amount and nature of violations stayed the same in 2016, the projected penalties total would escalate to as much as $258.5 million!
Construction safety starts with project management
Maintaining a proactive safety culture on your construction site starts with being informed. An experienced and trusted foreman can help you stay up to speed with potential safety risks and incidents. You need project managers with a proven track record of preventing both job site accidents and safety violations. It’s better to take more time finding the right hire than wishing you’d made the right hire in the first place.
Experienced construction workers are less accident-prone
Inexperienced construction workers are more likely to be involved in a job site accident. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 60 percent of construction site injuries happen within a new construction worker’s first year of experience. While labor shortage continues affecting construction contractors across the U.S., the value of hiring and keeping experienced laborers to train and supervise more inexperienced hires is worth the extra cost of payroll.
Construction camera systems provide real-time monitoring access
A high-quality construction camera system can give you instant access to any part of your job site. Pan-Tilt Zoom (PTZ) robotic movement cameras and fixed-position cameras can give you an aggregated perspective for job site monitoring. Our TrueLook fixed-position cameras include a 5-megapixel motion-detected HD security video recording to secure data from any time of day or night. The ability to record and share video from any perspective on your job site can be invaluable when investigating the cause and nature of a potential violation or unsafe operating incidents.
The right construction camera system should operate on a TCP/IP secure and encrypted connection. User accounts can be created to limit access to only approved viewers as well as select levels of viewer access. OSHA will not be able to access your system without your knowledge.
Being safe and informed with your construction operations means less money dedicated to OSHA and more importantly, a safer, happier workforce to keep your project on time. Click here to learn more about TrueLook or you can contact our TrueLook team to start a conversation today.
