Hazards of Construction Work at Night

• Reflective vests are even more important at night. construction worker, image by Greg Pickens from Fotolia.com

  The logistics of construction jobs go well beyond just building the structure. Teams of construction workers must bring in materials and machines into busy areas and allow normal life to go on around them as much as possible. For that reason, a great deal of construction work happens at night, especially on roads where a daytime obstruction would cause massive traffic problems. Doing this sort of work at night, unfortunately, has several serious hazards.

Insufficient Lighting

• Although lights should be set up on poles around the construction site, they may not cover every point evenly, especially when workers are using light tools that move around easily. Working with bladed tools like saws is much more dangerous if the worker can't see the saw blade exactly.

Excavation Work

• Workers operating in pits or holes may not be visible at night if the holes are deep enough to block light. This could be dangerous if the holes are to be filled in. These holes may themselves not be visible, presenting a fall danger to workers on site.

Bad Planning

• One of the most important elements of safe nighttime construction is a clear work plan. This will let employees know where vehicles will be traveling, where equipment will be operating, and give them a way to assess whether the plan is being followed. Without a plan, these workers may blunder into danger spots.

Traffic

• Since many night construction crews are working on the roads, this is perhaps the biggest concern. If the job site is not marked off clearly enough, drivers may accidentally drive into it. Drivers at night may also be asleep at the wheel or have been drinking, which both increase the risk for workers on the ground.

Alertness

• Working at night is seen by many workers as two jobs: the actual construction project, and the fight to stay alert and aware of what is around them. Since many contractors insist that all their workers do some night shifts, these workers may be sleepy as they adjust to their new schedules. This is very dangerous for workers operating equipment, who often protect themselves by using a buddy system at night.

Drugs and Alcohol

• Some workers may be using stimulants to keep awake overnight. Others may take advantage of the darkness to drink. In either case, field supervisors must watch closely to ensure that no employee is endangering others through this sort of behavior.