If you work as a contractor, building properties and doing renovations, safety should be important to you. As well as your own safety, you should also ensure that you always keep in mind the safety of your employees. As well as the safety of the owners of the property that you are working on.
Each year there are many injuries and illnesses that are caused by building projects. Some are caused by falls and accidents with machinery while others are down to dangerous materials. As a professional tradesman, it’s your job to assess the risks that come with each job. So that you can prevent any issues from occurring.
To help you ensure that you make your work as safe as possible for yourself and the people around you, here are three safety tips to follow:
Hazardous material must be disposed of safely
Often, when working on older properties, you come across dangerous substances. For instance, asbestos is a material that was used a lot in building older properties, but can lead to lung cancer. Asbestos is now a banned material, but that doesn’t mean that you won’t come across it. As it was used in many older buildings, from time to time, you will come across it when doing renovations.
What’s important is that if you do come across it, that you ensure that everyone in the building is wearing dust masks. So that none of the spores are breathed in, and it can be safely disposed of. It’s crucial that you know how to dispose of it properly – you can find out more about this if you click here. If not got rid of properly, asbestos fibres can break off into the air, which can be dangerous when breathed in.
Hard hats should always be worn
Whenever you are working on a structure that is unstable, it’s crucial that you and your team wear hard hats. The most common injuries sustained in the building trade are head injuries caused by falling debris.
Unless you want to have to cart one of your employees off to the hospital, it’s vital that hard hats are always worn. Head injuries can be fatal, which is why it’s crucial that this rule is always enforced.
Health and safety training is vital
If you want to ensure that you and your employees are kept safe while at work, undergoing health and safety training is a must. It might sound a little dull, but if you want to stay safe, training is necessary.
As well as talking about the general dos and don’ts to staying safe at work, health and safety training will teach you how to do tasks safely. For instance, you will learn how to get on and off of machinery without injuring yourself. As well as how to lift properly without hurting your back. It might sound boring, but if you want to keep yourself and your employees safe, health and safety training is a must.
Follow these tips and you can make it much less likely that you or your team will be injured while at work.