Construction is a job that can get carried out during the day or at night. The reason why the workers get asked to complete the work at night is that companies often rush to complete the assignment within a specific time.
Trying to meet the requirement is what urges employers to push personnel to way past their usual working hours. We are going to share with you the best techniques that you can use to stay alert and use as construction night work safety rules. You can make your employees follow the safety tips.
When is it Determined as Night Work?
Night work is seven hours that covers midnight and extends past 5 am. Working from 11 pm till 6 am is usually termed as the night shift. If you work these hours, then you are a night worker. Someone whose working hours include three hours of this period will also get considered as a night worker.
Now we must state that a worker who is working the night shift cannot work past an eight-hour mark. Working past this time limit puts them in the kind of danger that will be harmful to them.
What Goes Wrong?
You may not know but working odd hours will slowly corrode your physical and mental health. Yes, your mind also suffers the consequence. You must know about the circadian rhythm. It helps to maintain the temperature, pressure, metabolism, controls adrenaline, digestion, and sleep routine and waking up. Think of it as a guide or a clock that will help you to do certain things at a certain time.
It pumps up energy during the day time and reduces energy at night so that you can relax and fall into slumber. Disrupting its cycle will make you feel tired and strained, and it will not allow you to concentrate on anything.
It is common for workers who work at night do not get the rest their body needs to recover. The rest that they have during their non-working hours is insufficient, and they suffer from a sleeping disorder.
Problems of Sleeping Disorder-
Several problems occur when you do not have sufficient sleep. You may think that you will power through but your body will resist you. The main problems of insufficient sleep are-
- You will feel tired at all times.
- It will make you run into more accidents.
- You will feel headaches all the time.
- It will decrease your level of performance.
- You will feel strained.
- You will not feel motivated about your work.
How to Counter These Effects?
You cannot continue doing your work when you want nothing more than getting back to your bed and sleep. But we may have some solutions that will help you to get the necessary rest so that you can keep a clear head when you need to work at night.
Now, we are not giving you solutions that will solve the problems you may suffer from the messed up sleep cycle, we are simply saying how you can stay focused when working a night shift becomes unavoidable.
Follow these schedules for sleep and working methods, which you will have to maintain regularly till your night shift requirements are over.
a) Sleeping Requirements- Sleep for at least four hours before the start of your shift.
b) Meal Time- After waking up, have your meal as it will not make you hungry during your shift.
c) Proper Food- Select food that is less fatty and more balanced so that you do not feel any discomfort while working.
d) Breaks In-Between- Avoid working constantly for too long; introduce break in-between. These breaks will help you to feel more refreshed and concentrate better when you continue with your work once again.
e) Gears- Make sure that you have your protective gear, like hard hats, eye-protective glasses, etc.., when you are working at night.
The necessity for Proper Boots
Boots are another protective gear that will help you during your construction work. Apart from protecting your feet, it also gives your feet the support that you need to complete the work.
Protecting your feet becomes more necessary at night than during the day. During the day, you have natural light that helps you to see things more clearly. But at night, the chances of you having an accident increase ten-fold.
1.) Avoid Accidents
Specially created construction boots will help you to avoid accidents. If you do not have to look for objects that might hurt your feet, you will be more focused on your work. Nothing can pierce the boots as its material is quite thick.
2.) Protection
Construction work consists of major or minor accident stories. You might get hurt from bumping your feet into an object, or if something falls on your feet. At night, the chances of getting hurt amplify. You and your colleagues are all in a sleepless state; anybody can lose their grip and drop something heavy, which might hurt your feet.
With construction work boots, you do not need to worry about anything as their strong build will keep your feet safe from anything.
3.) Resists Slipping
You do not have to worry about slipping and falling as the boots provide a great grip. It also keeps your feet firmly placed inside the boots and this helps you to walk properly on rough surfaces.
4.) Comfortable Wear
The cushioned interiors of the boots will provide you the comfort that no other footwear will be able to give. The security and comfort of the boots will help you to feel less fatigue after work. No, you will still feel tired and long for sleep, but you will notice that your feet and legs are not aching as much as it might have after your grueling work.
The boots are not only helpful for feet protection but also make sure that your legs and back get less strained when you are working. Having to worry less about work-related accidents will help you to counter some of your mental weariness as well. So add boots to our list of protective gear when you set out for a night shift at construction.
Is night shift more difficult for Employers?
Yes, and if you are an employer, you have your work cut out. The first step that you need to do is access the risk factor that your employees have to go through when you ask them to work on the night shift.
You will also have to take note of the condition in which your workers will be working and find out whether they will be able to continue their work in those conditions.
1.) What you have to do
You need to create a plan that allows your workers to stay safe and work without getting harmed. In addition to that, you need to do a host of other things to make sure that the work itself does not get stopped.
2.) Awareness of Roles
Engineers, Safety Officers, Project Manager, Designer, Site Managers, and the workers all need to perform their specific duty to maintain safety and make sure that there is no health problem at the site.
Discussing their particular role in the construction work at night time should be at the top of your agenda list during planning the work safety meeting.
3.) Understand Risk
You will have to make your employees undergo a test, which will prove that they can access risk and stay away from it. The test will prove that your employees can identify, analyze, allocate, plan, and control the circumstances that can prove to be risky.
You will have to show them the process of risk management, and testing them on what they have learned has to be the final stage of the process.
4.) Safety Equipment
Barriers, lighting equipment, and reflective tapes and signage are all examples of safety equipment that you will need when you are undertaking night time construction work.
You need to make sure that your workers have an abundance of these pieces of equipment and that those are easily available to them.
5.) Proper Visibility
Since your workers will not have natural lighting, you will need to make sure that they have enough artificial light that will allow them to continue with their work. But be careful that the properties around the site do not get bathed by the artificial lights.
6.) Noise Control
The pieces of equipment used for construction are a bit noisy. You may be working, but other people will be resting at night. So ensure that the equipment which vibrates or makes noise gets used minimally.
7.) Proper Rest
You need to make sure that your staff is well-rested before they set to work. Make sure that they eat all right and sleep well before they start their grueling shift.
8.) Right Gear
Your staff needs to wear the proper gear that is necessary for construction work. And since they will be working at night, they need it more than anything. The safety of the people is more important, so make sure that your workers are safe.
Night work safety checklist:
Safety is very important while working at night time and be sure to follow the following checklist:
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- It is very important to supervise the night shifts to ensure workers’ safety and wellness
- Evaluate the workplace for dimly lit environments, poor air circulation and high temperatures
- Allow the workers to take shift while working at nights
- Train the workers to take shifts and utilize the time in sleeping or napping. This will maintain the health of the workers
- Allow the workers to take break when they feel tired or sleepy even if it during their duty hours
- Make plans and standardized program for shift changes because most accidents happen in between the shift changes
- Make sure that the workers stay healthy by exercising and eating healthy
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Night work hazards in construction:
The workers working at night in the construction sites might end up facing the following hazards:
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- Working during the night causes sleep deprivation which pause great danger while working with heavy equipments or during paving roads at night. They might mishandle the heavy equipments due to lack of sleep or might be unaware of the approaching vehicles.
- They might even get hit by truck because drivers often drive harshly at the night hours.
- They might as well harm themselves while constructing roads in a state of sleep while handling molten concrete which can cause burns and injuries.
- It might also happen that a worker might get hit by a car while crossing roads at the offsite areas.
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Night shift safety tips:
It is very important for your workers to follow the following safety tips while working at night shifts:
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- Do not swap shifts too often.
- Make sure to get adequate sleep before going for your night shift.
- Do not rush for the night shift immediately after taking a heavy meal. This will make you sleepier.
- Make sure that the work environment at night is brightly lit.
- Avoid working between 4am to 6 am.
- Listen to music while at work or keep talking to the co-workers.
- Make sure to follow the same schedule even at your day offs.
- Do not watch TV or look into your phones while sleeping. Give your body and mind adequate rest.
- Do not keep on changing the timings of shifts of each worker. Allow their body to adjust to the same timings of sleep.
- Limit consecutive night shifts.
- Allow frequent breaks so that the workers can have tea breaks or snacks in between or take a nap.
- Check the health of the workers for sleep disorders once every week.
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Final Note
Ensure to chalk out the transportation plan with your employees as they will need help with the journey. After completing a night shift, they will be physically unstable, so make sure you work with them to sort out a suitable transportation method.
Our message to the employees is that you follow all the instructions that your employers hand out for your safety.
