Newstricky| Renovation of your home is an event that a lot of people both dread and look forward to. On the one hand, it’s an opportunity to increase the value of your property, fix the place so that it becomes cheaper for upkeep, and a way to boost the quality of life on the premises. At the same time, it’s a major expense, as well as a hazard.
People in charge of the renovation might get injured, seeing as how they operate heavy machinery, handle dangerous tools, and some tasks are performed on great heights. With that in mind, let’s read a step-by-step guide on how you can make this project somewhat safer.
Table of Contents
Talk to everyone
Before doing anything, talk to your contractor and ask them about the safety measures that they’re going to employ. This way, you will avoid lots of home renovation mistakes and go through the process with a clearer mind. Sure, you want a certain number of guys on the field at all times but you also want to know that all of these guys have proper protective equipment, that they’re not getting overworked, etc. These are usually the things that lead to injuries.
Now, a contractor might promise you everything you ask of them but it doesn’t hurt to talk to the guys, just in case. This way, you may uncover a thing or two that would otherwise go unnoticed.
Think about the debris
The debris is not just an environmental hazard, it also becomes one more thing you have to avoid, navigate around, and skip. It also becomes one more thing that you can get entangled around, rip your equipment on, or fall onto. Therefore, in order to keep everyone safe, you want it off your property as soon as possible.
For this to work, you need to order some spill kits but you also need a vigilant team on the site to ensure it’s used ethically. You need these items to be deposed in the bin as soon as they come into existence. Never leave the spill kits on the site. Leaving them behind increases the possibility of damage to the workers. Therefore, you need someone responsible enough to clean it up as they leave.
Oversee everything personally
One other point to remember is the importance of overseeing everything yourself. As we’ve mentioned before, even if they promise the contractor may not deliver. Even if the contractor provides their staff members with all the gear and training, they might still choose not to comply with it.
On a hot day, isn’t it simply cooler to not wear a helmet? After all, nothing ever falls on one’s head when renovating a residential home, right? Of course not, and the only way to be sure is to check these things out from time to time.
Set a realistic completion date
Expecting things to be done too soon (sooner than realistic) is the simplest way to get someone hurt. Of course, a non-conscientious employer may agree to all your terms out of fear that you might go someplace else. Is this feasible? Perhaps, but who’s going to take the risk? No one can ever know how long it will take to complete a certain project.
Sure, you can count on workdays but what if an accident occurs and your team becomes indisposed. Also, you know that you’re going to have some rainy days (which will postpone exterior work) but how many rain days are going to delay your project? The biggest injuries happen when people feel behind and, therefore, pressured to complete things ahead of time.
Post warning signs everywhere
The last thing you need to take into consideration is the importance of posting warning signs everywhere. Sure, people know that there’s a slipping risk on the scaffold but it doesn’t hurt to just post a sign to remind them of this fact.
You see, normalization is a simple process and the longer the period between two incidents gets, the more relaxed people will be. It is your job (from both legal and moral perspectives) to remind them that the danger lurks when they least expect it. Overall, these signs are inexpensive and quite effective.
In conclusion
At the end of the day, there’s no such thing as a safety guarantee. The best you can do is lower the chance of an injury by a certain margin. Still, this kind of improvement is far from insignificant and you need to do all in your power in pursuit of this worthy goal.
