Concrete step to increasing night working safety

One of the UK's leading ready mix concrete firms has taken an effective step to improving the safety of its staff working on the night shift. Said to be a simple and cheap way to increase safety, the workers will now wear headlights on their hard hats.

Cemex, a global concrete mixing company, has taken the step to improve the number of people tripping over obstructions whilst working on site. Updating its personal protective equipment (PPE) clothing regulations, the firm will hopefully minimise the number of slips and falls its staff experience.

As the nights are longer in the winter months, the risk of falling over an object in the dark becomes one of the most common work-related hazards. By simply lighting the path ahead and making the work area easier to assess in the dark, it is hoped rates of this type of accident will improve significantly.

The idea, now rolled out companywide, first came from a night time employee.

A batcher, working in one of the firm's 200 concrete plants in the country, affixed a torch to his helmet whilst working one evening.

The regulations, covering more than 500 Cemex staff in the firm's Readymix and Mortars business area, have been changed. Effective immediately, the regulations now state that all operational personnel will have to wear the new gadget.

All people in the senior management and commercial and technical teams will be affected by changes.

The regulations will also be enforced across Cemex's partnership network of independent hauliers used to deliver its concrete and cement products.