January 2024

Safety
STAY SAFE AT WORK THIS WINTER
If you’re working in bad weather, it’s imperative to ensure that the safety of yourself and
others is prioritised. With winter well underway, IronmongeryDirect provides some expert
tips to help you stay safe when working in difficult conditions...
1Monitor the weather
You should ensure that you’re constantly
keeping an eye on the weather to determine
what kind of work you can do safely.
For example, if there’s a thunderstorm you should
prioritise jobs that can be done indoors to avoid
getting caught in the rain. Similarly, in heavy
rain it is important to avoid work where slippery
surfaces can pose a health risk.
Working in an exposed position without any kind of
protection or shelter can be a serious hazard, so
it’s important to ensure that you’re monitoring the
conditions and adjusting your work accordingly.
2Avoid working at height
Most types of bad weather can make
working at height particularly dangerous, so
it’s important that you avoid these types of jobs
in bad conditions.
Whether it’s high wind making it more unstable
to work on exposed positions at height, or heavy
rain creating slippery surfaces that are more
dangerous to stand or walk on, jobs lower to the
ground are safer during bad weather.
3Be aware of your surroundings
Building sites are hazardous at the best of
times, and potential risks increase in the
bad weather. When you’re working and exposed
to the elements, ensure that you’re aware of
potential hazards that could be around you.
Check to see if scaffolding or equipment is secure
and not posing a danger to you or anyone else,
keep an eye out to see if any tools or materials
could pose a tripping hazard and remove them
if so. You should also try to be aware of other
people or activities going on around you so you
can safely avoid them.
4Secure loose materials and equipment
In high winds and heavy rain, loose
materials and equipment can pose a
serious risk if they aren’t properly secured.
In bad weather, unsecured items can move
around and potentially cause disruption to a work
site, which could result in either additional time
spent clearing up and replacing the materials, or
in the worst case, they could pose a danger to
yourself or others on site.
5Don’t hesitate to stop
Weather can progressively get worse as the
day goes on, and what may have started out
as workable conditions may deteriorate to a point
where it is no longer safe to continue working.
If this happens, then it’s important to call a halt
to working outdoors until the weather improves.
Whilst a delay to work is never desirable,
it’s always better than having to deal with a
disastrous situation that occurs from choosing to
continue working in bad weather.
For further information visit:
www.ironmongerydirect.co.uk/blog/
62 T I JANUARY 2024
PRACTICAL CONTENT FOR THE GLAZING INSTALLER & HOME IMPROVEMENT SPECIALIST