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Construction Medicals

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Reasons why Construction Workers Need Medicals


Do you run a construction site? If so; your workers should be regularly undergoing construction medicals. Some sites will not allow your employees to enter without a valid medical fitness certificate. Construction medicals are not a nice to have. In most cases, it will be a minimum requirement. On this page I want to take a little peek at the reasons as to why.

 

Firstly; in many cases it is actual a legal requirement to have construction workers undergo regular construction medicals. This means that if you do not carry them out then you could be looking forward to some rather substantial fines. It is up to you to determine as to whether construction medicals are a legal requirement in your area or not. As mentioned, some sites will not allow your staff on the site without medical examinations. It’s not only there to protect the employee, but also the employers.

 

Don’t wait until there is an injury before you decide to take action.
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Secondly, and perhaps one of the most important reasons for you, is the fact that construction medicals ensure that your worksite is as safe as possible. The purpose of medicals is to ensure that your construction workers are in the best possible health. This means that they are able to perform their job to the highest possible standard at all times. The last thing you want to do is have them ‘collapse’ on the job or discover that they do not quite have the strength to lift a heavy piece of machinery or something similar. You also do not want to find that they injure themselves due to a medical condition that they currently have. In short; you want to ensure that your construction workers are healthy. If they do cause an accident then it is likely that you will need to pay out a rather significant amount of compensation. The level of compensation will of course vary from case to case. Think along the lines of paying out for property damage and personal injuries. Hopefully your insurance covers it or you will be looking at taking a rather substantial amount of cash from your profits.

What is the Purpose of a Construction Medical?

You might wonder what the purpose of a construction medical is, or the reason you might need it. In 2014, there was an update of the Construction Regulations in the Occupational Health and Safety Act to explain this better. It sets out the exact requirements for construction medicals for your team.

  1. Get recommendations on how to improve or maintain employee health.
  2. An employer must determine if the employee is fit to work on the site.
  3. A construction medical can identify medical conditions that might prevent an employee from performing a specific duty.
  4. Determine if a specific employee can impose a risk to themselves or others based on their health condition.
  5. Make sure the right employee is in the right position. For example, a person who has a fear of heights can’t work on scaffolds.
What is an Annexure 3 Form?

Basically, an Annexure 3 Form is a document similar to a fitness certificate.

 

All construction workers should have a completed Annexure 3 form. The employer must complete this form for every jib. It is used to point out risks, exposures and all PPE required. Remember, this form is job specific and must be completed before you start working. An Annexure 3 form template can be downloaded here.

 

As you may know, there are 3 categories your workers can fall in and all of these categories require both construction medicals & completed Annexure 3 forms. This is not a nice to have, it’s a legal requirement.

 

The 3 categories of workers are:


  • General workers. These are workers with limited risk of exposure to dust, noise, or hazardous chemicals.
  • Working on heights. This is for all staff working on moveable scaffolding or suspended platforms 1.5m or higher.
  • Operators & Drivers. This includes all drivers of tower cranes and/or mobile plant and construction vehicles.
The Process of Construction Medicals Explained.

When you employ a new person or start a new job/project, you have to start with a baseline medical to determine the current condition of the employee’s health. This should be done for every job. If the project lasts longer than a year, you have to do a routine medical to make sure that the employee’s health does not deteriorate over time.

 

Once the job is completed, you have to do an exit medical to make sure the employee leaves as healthy as when they started. It’s also important to do an exit medical if the employee leaves the company or gets dismissed. This can potentially prevent any future claims against the company.

On-Site Medicals for Construction Workers

On-Site Medicals for Construction Workers

 

We understand that it can be difficult to transport your staff to a physical location. This is why we can come to you. We have a mobile clinic fully geared to assist you with your construction medicals on site. We can line up your workers and make sure you comply with all the relevant regulations.

 

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Construction Sites Can be Dangerous


In addition to this; there are a number of insurance companies out there who will actually offer discounts if your construction workers regularly undergo medicals. As you may know; becoming insured as a construction company is already difficult enough. The construction site is already a rather dangerous place and thus accidents are likely to happen. If your construction workers undergo medicals however then there is a chance that the risk will be reduced rather substantially. The lower the risk of an accident happen, the less likely to insurance company is going to have to pay out, and the less likely they are to pay out, the less money you are going to have to pay for your construction insurance. In short; medicals will save you money in the long run.

 

Finally; your employees will absolutely love undergoing a regular health check like that. Employees want to know that you have an eye out for their health at all times and it will give them some sort of motivation to work for you (you will retain the best employees this way). They will also like the fact that you will be able to pick up on any health concerns early and thus they can get the treatment that they need sooner as opposed to later.

Conclusion


Construction medicals will help you as an employer be responsible. Keeping your employees happy and healthy is the right thing to do. We do on-site construction medicals. You don’t have to lose production to get it done. We are trained to get it done as quickly and effectively as possible. We will always do our best to beat any quote you currently have. We are flexible. For a free quote, simply complete our basic contact form.

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