Increase Construction Jobsite Safety With These Apps For Your Smartphone or Tablet

Construction equipment is now able to work “smarter” and safer than ever, thanks to new technologies. You can, too. New mobile apps designed specifically for workers in the field enable you to increase construction jobsite safety in many ways. Safety managers are using these new tools to augment the traditional elements of their safety program such as morning toolbox talks and formal training sessions.

These apps aren’t just helpful, they’re handy. Because they are readily available for smartphones and tablets, your people have the information at their fingertips when and where they need it most. Promoting the use of these apps shows your commitment to the health and safety of crew members.

If you aren’t already using these three apps, it’s time to get them in hand. All of these apps are free, and each of them is available for either iPhones or Android devices:

1. NIOSH Ladder Safety App

Falls are the most common construction injury, and they can be deadly. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health has created this excellent app specifically targeted at preventing falls from ladders. The app helps workers:

  • Set an extension ladder at the correct 75.5o angle, with an angle-of-inclination indicator that uses visual, sound and vibration signals.
  • Mechanically inspect a ladder, using an interactive checklist.
  • Review ladder safety, using the proper usage tool.

You can download this app in either Spanish or English.

2. Red Cross First Aid App

While your goal is to increase construction jobsite safety, sometimes accidents happen no matter how careful you are. It is essential for everyone to know first aid. This tool both teaches and serves as a real-time jobsite resource. It includes:

  • Step-by-step first aid instruction.
  • Videos and interactive quizzes.
  • Severe weather tips that allow workers to prepare for harsh winter conditions, hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes and other tricks of Mother Nature.

Content is pre-loaded into the app, so it is always accessible on the jobsite, even if there is no internet connection or cell service. The app is also integrated with 911, which means you can call to get help in the event of an emergency.

3. OSHA Heat Safety Tool

You may not need this app right now, but you will definitely want it in your safety toolkit by the time next summer rolls around. Warm temperatures are more than welcome after a frigid winter, but when temperatures get too hot – and humidity soars, too – jobsite working conditions become outright dangerous. It’s all too easy for your crew to forget that heat can kill.

This app was created to support the Campaign to Prevent Heat Illness in Outdoor Workers, an ongoing project of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Jobsite supervisors and individual crew members can use this tool to:

  • Calculate the heat index for your specific jobsite, to assess current risk level.
  • Set reminder alerts for progressive protection measures, based on the risk level. Reminders include scheduling rest breaks, drinking fluids and other activities that help keep workers cooler.
  • Learn the steps necessary to gradually acclimate new workers to hot outdoor conditions.
  • Identify signs and symptoms of heat-related illness.

In order to increase construction jobsite safety, you need the right tools. These three apps are easy to acquire and use, and each of them could save someone’s life.