What Are Safe Working Practices?

Safe working practices are a set of procedures, rules, and processes designed to ensure the health and safety of people in the workplace. In construction, they play a vital role in protecting employees, contractors and the public from injuries, illnesses, and accidents in the workplace. But how exactly do they work? 

Safe working practices are critical to operating any business — regardless of the industry. They’re also a legal requirement. For instance, the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 outline health and safety requirements such as:

• Proper cleaning and maintenance of workplace premises, facilities and equipment 
• Proper indoor ventilation
• Maintaining a reasonable temperature in indoor spaces
• Providing adequate lighting and emergency lighting
• Safe handling and disposal of waste 
• Providing adequately-sized workspaces
• Providing suitable seating and workstations
• Maintaining floors and paths
• Providing sufficient sanitary facilities for workers and visitors.

Related Reading: What Are The Occupational Health Regulations In The UK?

Safe working practices exist to protect employees from harm while carrying out their duties. In construction, where workers are often exposed to high-risk conditions, ranging from the use of heavy equipment to manual handling practices, it is especially important for businesses to implement safe working practices. 

We explore the world of safe working practices and provide tips on how businesses, particularly in construction, can support them.

Safe Working Practices Explained

Safe working practices refer to guidelines and procedures implemented by a business (or any organisation with employees) to ensure people are safe while working. These practices include rules and regulations that employees must follow to reduce the risk of accidents and injuries. 

For example, the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) — such as hard hats, safety glasses, and earplugs — is a common safe working practice and a legal obligation for all employers in Great Britain under the Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations (PPER) 1992.

Related Reading: What Health And Safety Legislation Should All Employers Know About?

Why Safe Working Practices Are Critical In Construction

It’s no secret that construction is a high-risk industry due to the nature of the work involved. Construction work typically involves a wide range of potentially hazardous activities such as working at height, manual handling of heavy objects, using heavy machinery, handling hazardous substances, working in confined spaces, and exposure to noise, dust, and vibration. So, it’s no surprise that construction saw the highest number (45) of fatal injuries in 2022/2023.

Source: HSE

For this reason, safe working practices are also at the heart of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 (CDM Regulations 2015) — a set of health and safety regulations covering the management of health, safety and welfare in all construction projects across Great Britain. 

Related Reading: A Complete Guide To CDM Regulations 2015

3 Types Of Safe Working Practices

We can break down safe working practices into three primary categories: physical, environmental, and administrative practices. 

1. Physical Safe Working Practices

Physical safe working practices involve the proper use and maintenance of tools, machinery and other equipment. Under the CDM Regulations 2015, construction clients, designers and contractors alike are responsible for ensuring workers have the correct tools for their respective jobs and that those tools are in good working condition. Additionally, workers should receive proper training and instruction on the correct use of any tools to avoid accidents or injuries. 

2. Environmental Safe Working Practices

Environmental safe working practices involve the control of environmental factors that could pose a risk to workers. In workplaces in the construction industry, these practices range from ensuring work areas have sufficient lighting, work stations are free from debris and other hazards, and all indoor spaces are properly ventilated. 

Companies must also monitor weather conditions to ensure workers aren’t exposed to extreme outdoor conditions during inclement weather.

3. Administrative Safe Working Practices

Administrative safe working practices include policies and processes designed to protect the health and safety of employees. These include the provision of health and safety training to all employees, the implementation and improvement of safety guidelines and health and safety assessments for compliance. 

How To Support Safe Working Practices In Construction

Because of the high-risk nature of construction work, companies must take concrete steps to ensure the health, safety and welfare of both workers and the general public. Below are some tips for doing just that.

1. Conduct Regular Safety Training

Regular and consistent safety training is one of the most important ways to support safe working practices in the construction industry. Training programmes should, at the very least, cover the following:

• Proper use of equipment and tools
• Manual handling 
• Working at height
• Identification and monitoring of hazards
• Use of PPE. 

Regular safety training can also help ensure workers stay up-to-date with the latest safety practices and that they can recognise and respond to potential hazards.

Related Reading: Guide To Workplace Health And Safety Training In Construction

2. Provide Adequate PPE

Personal protective equipment (PPE) is crucial to safe working practices in the construction industry. Apart from ensuring all workers have access to the right PPE at all times, employers must also ensure they are properly trained on how to use and maintain PPE.

More recently, the use of proper PPE was also expanded to other types of workers. 

Under the updated PPER 2022, employers are required to provide workers who carry out casual work (known as limb workers) the same level of protection as regular employees.

Related Reading: Updated PPE Regulations: What You Need To Know

3. Implement A Health And Safety Protocol

Businesses should enact a safety protocol that outlines the steps workers should take in the event of an emergency or accident. This protocol should also be disseminated to all employees (and possibly even visitors) and regularly reviewed and updated when necessary. 

A safety protocol can help workers respond quickly and effectively to any health and safety incident, reducing the risk of accidents and injuries.

4. Conduct Regular Safety Inspections

Regular safety inspections are an important way to identify potential hazards in the workplace. Businesses should conduct regular inspections of the work area to identify any hazards and take steps to address them. This includes ensuring the work area is well-lit, free from debris, and properly ventilated. Regular safety inspections can help to prevent accidents and injuries before they occur.

Note: The information and insights in this article are provided as general information and should not be taken as legal advice. 

Check CHAS Insights to discover more guides and tips on health and safety in the UK construction industry. If you are interested in demonstrating your compliance with the evolving landscape of health and safety, complete our award-winning health and safety assessments through CHAS Standard. Speak to a CHAS advisor to get started.