Owning a business is a difficult yet rewarding endeavor that many entrepreneurs undertake every year. There are trials and wins along the way, with each industry offering its own special kind of pitfalls. Such is the case with owning a construction business. Lets know about the towing practices.
As a construction business owner, your list of priorities must include productivity, as all successful business owners should, but it must also include a high degree of safety as well. And while the traditional hard hats and eyewear go a long way in ensuring your employees’ safety on your sites (and thus, promoting their productivity as well), there are other areas of site safety that require education and knowing proper protocol in order to maintain your construction sites’ safety and productivity. One such area is the way in which equipment, materials, and tools are hauled to and from your site.
As a responsible business owner, it is your job to make sure that your drivers are educated on safe practices and common mistakes made when hauling to your sites. By educating your current drivers and hiring new drivers who are trained, you can ensure that your sites retain a high level of safety and productivity.
Towing and Safety
Safely towing to and from a worksite should be at the top of every construction business owner’s priorities. Towing is necessary to move equipment and materials to and from the area, making it an extremely important part of a construction site. There are a few things that make ensuring safe towing practices a little bit easier for supervisors and employees alike, such as educating your drivers and renting or owning a well-maintained fleet.
Educating your drivers does not always mean making sure that they are licensed, although hiring those with licenses can mean you are employing a driver who is more educated on safe towing than those who are not licensed. While certain vehicles, such as pickup trucks, are commonly used on construction sites, they’re not usually considered commercial vehicles and do not require a certified driver’s license (CDL) to operate. The need for a CDL is determined by weight and not just vehicle type, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA).
By educating your drivers on the different classifications of vehicles, as well as alerting them to the possibility of needing a CDL, you can help them decide whether or not they need to obtain a CDL or if they are good to drive with a regular license and training in safe towing practices.
Another way to ensure that you have safe towing to and from your site, aside from educating your drivers, is to own or rent a well-maintained fleet of trucks, commercial or otherwise. When your drivers are using safe vehicles, you can guarantee a safer construction site for both drivers and workers alike. Truck maintenance can be expensive, so if your company is not ready to buy and maintain its own trucks, renting a fleet from a reliable company can help you have the peace of mind that your drivers are operating safe trucks.
Safety and Productivity
Another priority that is high on your list is how productive your construction workers and sites are. While there are several tips and tricks to improve productivity on your job sites, one key way to ensure a high level of productivity is maintaining safety through education and regular refreshers on policy for your employees.
Ensuring that your drivers are participating in safe towing practices to and from your site also ensures that your sites are creating a productive work environment. When your employees are knowledgeable about how they are meant to conduct themselves at work, they are able to focus on their individual jobs without needing to constantly adjust themselves when they make a mistake. This will lead to fewer mistakes and fewer injuries that can cause hang-ups on your sites.
Conclusion
Although there is a lot more that goes into maintaining a safe and productive construction site, you, as a business owner, should take into consideration just how important safe towing practices are. By maintaining a high degree of safety, your company can avoid legal repercussions that can result from unsafe towing.
Whether it be a faulty vehicle or an unqualified driver, if there is any kind of accident that results from poor hauling practices, your business may wind up dealing with someone’s accident attorney, which can hinder productivity on your site as well as result in a larger financial strain on you. By implementing these safe towing practices, you can ensure that your company and employees are running at their best and full capacity.
