What Is A Laydown Area?

A laydown area is an area on a construction site that has been cleared where tools, materials, equipment, and vehicles are stored temporarily when they are not in use. They are typically outside the construction area so they are not in the way. Laydown areas are not just used in construction you may have heard the term used in manufacturing or oil field operations.

They are usually covered with rock and or gravel to ensure accessibility and safe transport and unloading of vehicles. If you are not familiar with where the laydown area on your job site you are working is located ask a supervisor or a coworker and they can show you.

The construction of a laydown yard is similar to building a drive or road where a good foundation is important. Turnkey construction services such as land clearing, site grading, soil stabilization, geotextile fabric installation and drainage are provided by professional services.

Whether a single acre or a multi-acre lot, your finished laydown yard will be ready for your stockpile of bulky materials, pipes, storage containers, construction equipment… whatever you need to securely store and manage.

LAYDOWN YARDS-COMMON HAZARDS

There can be a long list of hazards present in a laydown yard depending on what is stored there and the operations that take place in and around them. Common hazards to consider:

Slip, trip, and fall hazards- One of the most common hazards present in laydown yards with poor organization are slip, trip, and fall hazards. When the items stored in the laydown yard are poorly organized or just thrown everywhere, workers who have to navigate the area are more likely to experience a slip, trip, or fall.

Struck-by hazards- Laydown yards often have equipment moving in and out of them throughout the day. Moving equipment presents a struck-by hazard for any workers in the area.

Biological hazards- Insects and animals are not often considered when discussing the hazards of a laydown yard. Critters such as snakes, ticks, spiders, bees, wasps, raccoons, etc. love the shelter of equipment and materials stored in these areas.

Property damage- Since many of the tools, equipment, and materials are stored in this one central location at a worksite, property damage can easily occur. Moving vehicles or heavy equipment can strike or run over these items if they are not properly organized or if the operators are not careful navigating through a laydown yard.

LAYDOWN YARD HAZARD ELIMINATION

For the hazards mentioned, the single best practice to eliminate them is to have good organization and housekeeping in any laydown yard at a worksite. Proper organization will eliminate many slip, trip, and fall hazards. A laydown yard that is well-organized will also help to eliminate struck-by hazards for workers in the area as well as the items stored in the area. 

LAY DOWN YARD ORGANIZATION BEST PRACTICES

The available space for a laydown yard, any operations occurring within the laydown yard, the items being stored there, and the frequency of the items being moved in and out of the yard will dictate the best way to set it up. Some general effective best practices for laydown yard setup:

• Have plenty of space in between heavy equipment or materials that need moved frequently.
• Place items that are not needed soon or frequently out of the way of items that need accessed more often.
• Leave walking paths for workers to access items.
• Place caution tape or other barriers to keep people out of hazardous areas or where heavy equipment travels.
• Discard or scrap any items that are deemed as unrepairable or trash to avoid unnecessary clutter.
• Periodically inspect and re-evaluate laydown yards to improve on their setup.

THEFT ISSUES

To prevent theft there are a number of measures that can be taken. The most obvious measure is to have a secure fence around the laydown yard. Depending on what is stored in the laydown yard, barbed wire and a fence cover may need to be used as well. Any item stored in a laydown yard should never be placed right against the fence. Always lock up laydown yards at the end of the shift. Another best practice is to never discuss the items that are stored at a worksite with individuals who do not work there. The knowledge that certain items are at a worksite can entice someone to break in.

LAYDOWN YARD MANAGEMENT

Construction companies utilize local storage yards to store large, high-value assets for construction projects. Storage yards, often referred to as “Laydown yards” may extend for hundreds of acres in which materials are stored in close proximity to a job site. Large construction projects typically require handling thousands of different assets as they are continuously being checked in and out of the yards. Unfortunately, many laydown yards are also riddled with inefficiencies due to lack of organization and control. Loss, theft, misplacement, and misidentification of material and equipment are common issues that affect many construction projects. Given these challenges, real-time asset visibility and inventory accuracy becomes the ultimate goal of an effective yard management solution.

Locating assets can be time consuming, especially if assets are hidden in vegetation or covered by snow. Excessive time spent searching for assets have a measurably negative impact on construction productivity.

FINAL WORD

Laydown yards often get neglected due to everyone’s attention being put towards the actual work being completed. Because of this neglect, these areas can be full of unnecessary hazards that result in injuries to the workers who have to enter them. Costly property damage and theft can also occur if the proper steps are not taken to protect the items stored in these areas.