Running a worksite is considerably different than working in a traditional, enclosed area. These worksites are usually used to refer to places like construction sites, industrial areas, electrical work, carpentry, or labor in general. Worksite management is a unique task because there are always things on the move, ebbing and flowing, which require consideration for the project at hand and the care of employees and public safety.
Worksite management is also about being able to adapt to any kind of challenge that arises. Being flexible in handling these issues is a skill that’s difficult to learn and even harder to master, but important for success nonetheless.
When it comes to industrial sites, the need for effective management, as mentioned, is at an utmost premium. Many of the prevalent issues in the diverse worksites listed are transferable, which makes it good to learn the basics that apply to all areas.
Improving the effectiveness of workers at the worksite is all in the hopes that you can increase productivity, which is also an end goal to worksite management. Finding ways to accomplish this is much easier with the right resources, and these tips will reveal how the right oversight can lead to improvements on the job site.
Safety Training and Regulations
As with any worksite or job space, there are regulations that need to be adhered to – strictly. While many people might believe that they are immune to accidents or are doing their best to limit potential dangers on the job, there’s always the statistical probability that it can happen.
Accidents don’t discriminate, and this means having a good set of regulations in place, usually determined by things like unions, local worker codes, and regulatory bodies. Much of these regulations are set in place for you already, so you don’t need to worry about creating them, just enforcing them. Likewise, you need a solid safety training program to teach workers.
Most safety training programs are mandatory and, again, enforced by groups like the ones listed, but it’s also good to make sure that it’s constantly updated, and you can count on your workers to be responsible. The importance of safety training on industrial sites is even more important due to the nature of the work, environment, and accident potential. Keeping everyone on the same page safety-wise just makes the entirety of a job or project much better and limits the potential for injury. Effective worksite management definitely means being able to keep the area safe and controlled as much as possible.
Dedicated Worksite Spaces
While most worksites have some level of storage and dedicated space, there’s always the possibility that you can improve upon this area. Increasing the productivity of any worksite, especially industrial, means having access to a dedicated space for storage or work. The use of a mobile command center for an industrial site is incredibly useful and offers flexibility in managing projects.
These units allow a dedicated space that can be multipurpose, depending on what job you’re working. Maintaining productivity means having everything in close proximity for easy access to improve the time between shift changes, or even just shave off a little back and forth here and there.
As the name suggested, a mobile command area is a catch-all kind of term for trailers and other storage-like trailers. They can be used on nearly every industrial worksite, making them incredibly versatile, which is a premium. Being able to keep documents, plans, blueprints, and worker information within the arm’s reach of the job is majorly valuable. Managing everything going on at a worksite is difficult when you feel disjointed from all of your necessities, which is what the use of these dedicated workspaces within a worksite is so handy for.
Digital Record-Keeping
Adding on to the previous point is the implementation of digital record/bookkeeping. Being able to accurately store and record data and information is necessary for any workplace, industrial or not, but could mean more for the industrial sector due to some practical purposes.
The use of digital record-keeping is also an attempt to keep the worksite updated to meet the evolving world, thanks to technology. Just because industrial worksites are blue-collar jobs doesn’t mean that they should lag behind the advancements of other fields when it comes to the administrative side of things.
Using digital record-keeping is going to help clear up physical space. Even with the use of trailers and other workspaces on the job site, there’s still a lot of clutter that can accumulate, which is why you should strive to keep everything tidy.
Having a laptop around to do any kind of invoicing, emailing, and documentation is paramount for digital record-keeping. Although you’re clearing up space and potentially going green, you should be aware of some of the cons of digital records, one being privacy concerns. However, the benefits mostly outweigh the drawbacks, so there’s no reason why your company and worksite can’t take advantage of these advancements in business technology.
Communications
Utilizing communications on the job site is also of utmost importance and ensures that the work being done is able to be relayed back and forth quicker and safer. The need for quick communication is ever so important on a job site because running back and forth to relay messages is time-consuming and increases the potential for injury.
Having to abandon your responsibilities or a worker doing the same to express a question, concern, or information is counterintuitive to streamlining all of the work that needs to be done. These communication techniques or devices can come in various forms to help make the whole process easier.
Phones are usually not advised on a worksite, at least not cell phones, but even they can offer quicker communication purposes than going to and from each place on the worksite. The efficient way to keep productivity high without sacrificing on not being able to communicate is using walkie-talkie radios for the worksite, which is one of the most popular options – no text, Internet, or any other distractions, just old-fashioned talk capabilities.
The point is that you need to effectively talk with your team and keep it very concise. Likewise, the use of a laptop on the worksite is important for the digital record-keeping, and for emailing and any other communication with off-site people.
Leadership Qualities
In a very simple sense, one of the most valuable lessons to learn for effective and productive worksite management is the ability to exhibit leadership qualities. This means being able to be a leader and not just a boss. Being a leader is important at any work because of the need to show your workers that you’re there to help them, not bark orders. Job sites can get very stressful because of all the manual labor and back-breaking work that can take place, so it’s good to exhibit strong leadership qualities like calmness in high-pressure situations.
Productivity is going to be an important goal in ensuring that projects and work is going well. Leadership looks like positivity as well. The happiness of workers means they can feel like they belong at work and are happy doing what they do. Promoting this kind of workplace is leadership in action, and shows that you also care about the entirety of the worksite.
Providing the Right Tools
Last but not least is providing the correct tools. Most workers on industrial sites have their own tools as is the norm, but helping out workers with what they need is still advised. Not everyone can afford the latest in equipment, so it goes a long way to help out when you can. When everyone has the right tools, the worksite becomes a much better place as everyone can get work done in a safer and easier manner.
The initial cost to benefit ratio is incredible when you consider how cheap it is to invest in the proper tools and let everyone do their thing. Managing a worksite means managing the right equipment, and in turn, means everyone can be a productive unit working in tandem.
It’s hard to imagine how to effectively manage a worksite because of the size and scope some of these industrial jobs take place in. With so much going on, it’s hard to keep track of it all, which means management is just as important as the project at hand. Whether it’s construction, carpentry, electrical, or a steel fabrication job, everything needs to be in order and maintained.
You need to ensure that there’s a good balance of professionalism when it comes to managing a team, organization for record-keeping and storage, as well as providing tools and equipment. With everything that goes into managing a worksite, it can seem overwhelming, but it’s paramount that these needs are met. Safe and happy are two words that should be prioritized, but management and effectiveness are of an equal priority for a good worksite.