Working as a Civil Engineer at site is a challenging, demanding and exigent task. You might have been worked as a Design Engineer, Planning & Accusation engineer in a suited-booted environment with 9-to-5 working hours; but believe me your nerves and your mental / physical abilities might not be tested.
Condition of Civil Engineers at site is like those of warriors who are fighting on front lines with the forces of nature; from one end you are bound to work under the streaks of heated sun and in other scene you are working within the stream of cold windy rivers with such a thrust that you are always doubted about your helmet to fly off. Imagine you are already standing in a weather temperature of 45 degree centigrade and you are bound to stand on asphalt of above 100 degree centigrade; so you look, life as a civil engineer is never easy at all!!!
Despite of all the difficulties, you are a human being with the right to live a happy professional routine life and that is only possible if you love your job and are always ready to accept challenges and are stand- up-and-be-recognized sort of behavior.
In this post we would be dealing with some common mistakes which must be don’ts and to be avoided while working at site :-
1. Don’t ever use Mobile Phone or a Gadget Unnecessarily
Aww!!! It’s difficult to avoid actually and if you are recently engaged or are in a long distant relationship and casually spend hours of texting and calling than it might be difficult in the start but it’s really dangerous. After all you don’t want your loved one to live with someone else after your death! Sorry for my harsh words really but that is actually what could be the consequences of using a mobile phone at site.
If you have to use your mobile phone in case of an emergency than rush for some shade or safe area; make a phone call, convey your message and then continue your work. It is also not recommended to use handsfree or Bluetooth device, as this will reduce your hearing efficiency which might drag you towards trouble while working in a region having abundant vehicular movement.
2. Don’t Ever Walk on Formwork and Shuttering Boards
You know what, in my first project I was walking without safety shoes, but not barefooted at all haha!, during this awesome beach walk I was injected by a nail of a wooden formwork; reason behind walking on that board was actually there was mud and while saving my brand new shoes from getting dirty I finally get them punctured.
So take some inspiration from me in reverse and never try to save your shoes from mud because if you want to play in mud and don’t want to get your hands dirty then it’s better to leave playing such dirty games !!!.
Use of safety shoes is a must because it has metal base that protects you from projected sharp corners, nails etc and save your feet from getting wet and cold, but keep in mind that top beauty salons recommend to open up your feet to sky after wearing shoes for a long time.
3. Don’t try to be a Tarzan or a King Kong !!!
You are a man not an animal, so if you think your abilities of jumping and hanging on the walls will inspire others than I think you are being adopted by some humans but surely you belong to somewhere else.
If you are going to some spot at site and it does not have proper safe access than don’t indulge in danger although you might love Mr. Micheal Jackson’s Dangerous song but let me tell you this song is not for you.
Never jump over some high elevated places or walking somewhere at some heights as it can disasters.
4. Don’t go to site at night without High Visibility Safety Jacket
If you have to work during night times, as at any site the lighting arrangement is not always up to the mark so if you are crossing some vehicular passage without wearing any reflective safety jacket then you might be dragged into trouble and chances are that you might hit by some vehicle.
5. Don’t Do anything Haphazardly
I have faced this problem, every time you try to start some activity without proper planning or arrangements or in a hurry you will surely meet some unexpected outcome which will waste time, energy and resources. Chances are that you might lose your job or you will face the dirty words of your immediate boss.
So before starting any activity make a proper plan and methodology; for this I have observed one practice that before starting any major activity contractor prepares a method statement / methodology and submit it to the consultant for approval. After proper approval the activity is started as per the submitted document.
Read all the relevant documents / technical specification, drawings both shop and construction drawings. If you are working as a leader of the team than assign each small activities to an individual.
6. Don’t take all decisions on your own
You know what decision means responsibility, if you are taking any decision than you should first properly go through any possible consequences. If you have faced any technical problem at site then before solving any activity you should try to get approval from your construction manager or project manager or even CRE whoever is your immediate boss so as to share the responsibility with them.
We all know that it is different to design / plan something in a serene environment of office than implementing the same at ruthless working site. Therefore you are liable to face problems / difficulties and from time to time your engineered aptitude would be tested.
7. Don’t skip your lunch or Food in the midway of your Working Shift
This is a very common mistake I have witnessed, committed by engineers working at site. Although the reasons are sometimes valid; like not have much time or not that great quality of luxurious food but after all you are expected to reach the fullest of your potential at site and that is only possible if you get proper fuel in terms of food and energy. Be well hydrated take plenty of water as working in hot environment will waste much of your water in the body.
If you think that quality of food available at site is not good then you can take your lunch food in lunch boxes while coming from home. If you live at site then you can take the same amount of food you cooked at night in the morning.
8. Don’t ever go near heavy moving machinery or underneath them
I have witnessed so many disasters due to neglecting the above titled DON’T, going near the radius for movement of heavy excavator, walking underneath the hooks of crane lifting different things; this is always to be avoided.
You can never completely rely on the manmade machines; they can go wrong any time so it is better to avoid indulging in such tricks to inspire others.
9. Don’t ever walk on site without seeing your path
I have witnessed many troubles due to this reason, in one of our project pilling work was underway, auger has bored one pile and was preparing to bore the other one in the meanwhile one of the labor walking by while looking somewhere else fell into the pile and was fortunately rescued after hours of hard work.
So never ever try to be a batman because you can’t see everywhere while having just two eyes.
I Know there are so many other Don’ts your mind might have, so buddy keep sharing them, instantly post them in comments and let us include it here for other enginers to get benefit from.
