A good healthcare plan further cements a good employer-employee relationship – and you got that covered with direct primary care!

Direct primary care is a revolutionary way to keep your engineers and architects happy and healthy, with benefits that potentially extend to their families. The construction industry has a broad scope, ranging from those working on construction sites to those working inside administrative offices. 

To keep the balance and productivity among teams at their most optimal level, everyone needs to be as healthy as they can be.

The risks and hazards inside construction sites can be as real and as unpredictable as it gets. No wonder companies are obliged to provide their employees with protective gear and protective equipment all the time.

Direct primary care is your convenient and easy go-to clinic and healthcare plan for almost everything. It can be where you can easily get a prescription for a headache or an annual executive workup. But yes, it can also cater to minor procedures that require professional care such as suturing small cuts, and the like.

To add to that, direct primary care covers consultations and telemedicine at a fraction of the cost. This makes DPC a security blanket for employees in potentially hazardous environments. If the typical protective gear protects a person from physical hazards, then DPC covers for the potential unseen effects of these hazards on the body.

What safety hazards exist inside construction sites, and what can we do about them?

While the answers may be too many to mention, let’s narrow them down to a few chunks of information for us to process:

Machinery and vehicle risks can cause major and minor injuries.

With multiple machines running 24/7 on construction sites, it is no wonder that both minor and major injuries as well as cases of ill health involving machinery are reported per year in thousands. 

An innovative way to keep machinery and vehicles in excellent condition would involve scheduling software. Safety mechanisms inside machinery should always be included in demonstrations and lectures to help employees in case something happens and should be made sure that these mechanisms are working properly as well. 

There is a huge range of working vehicles on construction sites. Proper training on the use of these vehicles, especially forklifts and other heavy equipment, is vital to ensuring safety untrained and unauthorized drivers will cause the most accidents.

Site planning is an essential part of mitigating risks and hazards on any construction site. Clear markings for pedestrian lanes are essential for safety, and pathways should be well-lit and should be assigned signposts that are readable and easily seen. 

With faulty machinery and vehicles, employees can suffer superficial or deep wounds, or may even suffer disability with the loss of limb function. It can even cause seemingly unnoticed disabilities such as hearing and vision problems. 

Slips, trips, and falls can cause fractures and cuts.

With oil, dust, and other waste coming from machinery and vehicles, a far greater risk is possible when employees fall toward machinery and other sharp edges. It is always necessary to survey the environment and ensure all machines are in good working order.

If not dealt with properly, these slips and falls can cause fractures that can further result in long-term disabilities.

Electricity and switchgear should be in top shape, or it can lead to incapacity or fatality.

While electricity and switchgear are considered generally safe when used properly and maintained regularly, the consequences are catastrophic if things go wrong.

This is why it's necessary to upgrade old equipment, and this equipment should fall within regulatory requirements. Training should be done to educate employees on proper handling and safety, and this should include what to do in case a potential risk occurs.

Overstressed equipment is a safety hazard. It should be made sure that the equipment used can perform present-day and current loads. Regular testing of equipment can help check how it is coping with the actual loads and prevent the occurrence of serious incidents.

What happens when electrocution occurs? Effects can range from minor burns or can be more serious presenting irregular heart rhythms and internal bleeding.

Aside from visible physical injuries, what are the common health and safety risks among engineers and architects? 

The scope of engineering and architecture is broad and actual activities at the site can range from sedentary to active. With them trying their best to make safe places for their clients, how much attention do these engineering and architecture professionals give to their health and overall well-being?

Here are some of the specific health risks they face:

Longer working hours and deadlines

With deadlines to beat, it is no wonder employees at engineering and architectural firms are working longer and lacking sleep. 

A collective study in 2019 regarding longer working hours correlates it to cardiovascular disease, chronic fatigue, stress, alcohol use, and smoking. Moreover, longer working hours can cause depression, high blood pressure, and even heart attacks.

Diabetes mellitus is one specific disease linked to longer working hours. It was suggested that the long working hours cause workers to alter their eating habits, thus acquiring diabetes.

Exposure to inhaled infectious agents and allergens

Regular exposure to construction dust is notorious for causing chronic obstructive lung disease, lung cancer, and asthma. 

Construction workers have the highest risk of developing these pulmonary diseases, with over 500 workers dying from exposure to silica dust every year. Silicosis predisposes construction employees to breathing problems, increased risk of lung infections, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). 

Do you know that approximately 4000 deaths estimated annually are secondary to COPD exposure in the previous workplace? Survivors with COPD struggle with severe disability and frequent bouts of breathlessness.

Exposure to silica dust is also linked with an increased risk of pulmonary tuberculosis. Silicosis results in a three-fold increased risk of developing PTB. A study in 2018 emphasized the need to aggressively implement measures to lessen silica dust exposure because of this readily identifiable relationship. 
Inhalation of asbestos is also one major risk factor associated with construction sites. Exposure to asbestos results in fluid build-up in the lungs, or even lung cancer.

Occupational stress

Believe it or not, both construction professionals and construction workers are exposed to an enormous amount of stress. And stress is unbelievably one of the critical causes of these workers’ unsafe behaviors.

The male-dominated work in construction has made it less friendly for mental health discussions, so the most stressed employees suffer in silence. This further makes them more vulnerable to burnout.

Poor diet and poor hydration.

Because of the need to focus on the job that has to be done, poor diet is no longer new on construction sites. These unhealthy eating habits predispose construction workers and construction professionals to chronic illnesses according to a study conducted in 2017.

Poor eating habits deliberately lead to a variety of conditions: obesity (which can affect the suitability of provided protective gear), mental sluggishness, and infections. 

Moreover, occupational heat strain in humid and sun-exposed construction sites can lead to dehydration, which can further lead to possible kidney injury. 

Why do engineers and architects need direct primary care coverage?

The answer is simple: to make sure that every employee is taken care of, regularly and holistically! 

The ultimate goal is to gain – and keep – engineering and architecture talent by giving them access to the ultimate healthcare advantage. 

Direct primary care gives a bigger benefit in comparison to what health insurance cannot: it helps employees gain a better quality of life through prevention and early intervention. While insurance companies are used to addressing the costs that come with major injuries, direct primary care helps prevent the occurrence of chronic diseases. Furthermore, direct primary care offers a readily accessible consultation hotline just in case symptoms of these diseases arise. 

While engineers and architects are preoccupied with producing safe and livable places for others, it is the responsibility of their supervisors to make sure these workers are secured. 

Regular and unrushed clinic visits are one of the highlights of direct primary care. It helps address not just the daily symptoms that might be indicative of chronic diseases but also helps employees voice out concerns that might affect their mental health. 

Every DPC enrollment comes with a lab workup. A regular lab work-up is necessary for the early identification of diseases that might become unavoidable in the workplace despite protective gear. If pre-existing diseases are readily identified, DPC helps curb complications secondary to these preexisting diseases through regular consults and labs. 

Health education is a vital part of disease prevention. DPC offers this along with unrushed clinic visits. Through these visits, health education is tailored to the specific needs of employees especially those in engineering and healthcare. 

Remember, not everyone gets exposure to silica and asbestos, but engineers and architects get a daily dose of that. Thus, getting to know more about workplace health risks and the importance of using protective gear will help all construction employees gain a proactive perspective toward their health, safety, and wellness.

Direct primary care gives the benefit of a healthcare advantage curated to suit individual needs. It helps employees feel taken care of and supported. To know more about DPC enrollment, drop us a call today and we will gladly help you!