Businesses often need to do some office remodeling or property upgrades. While you could ideally relocate your employees during construction, it isn’t always a practical or cost effective solution. How can you keep your employees safe and productive?
Covered Entry
In order to grow your business, sometimes you need to demolish it first. Construction often requires that things will be demolished will have to be removed from the building. Limit the route by which construction debris is removed. Do not allow contractors to use employee elevators or egress stairs. A better option might be to use an enclosed chute from a window to empty debris into a contained dumpster. While this is in practice, provide a covered walkway for your employees to safely move in and out of the building without worrying about falling debris.
Designated Traffic Lanes
Trucks and dumpsters will place stress on your pavement. A good practice is to designate one lane for heavy vehicles and one for employees and visitors only. The same goes for parking areas. Be cognizant of the fact that you will have to periodically patch the pavement and might have to hire a paving company like Lakeridge Paving Company to resurface your drives and parking areas after the project is completed.
Barricades and Caution Tape
While this topic may seem obvious, it is imperative that the general contractor place traffic cones or chain link fences around outdoor areas that employees cannot cross over into, including dumpster areas. Yellow caution tape should be put up everywhere on the interior where there is finish work in progress, such as wet paint, millwork, tile installation, etc.
Temporary Partitions & HVAC Dampers
Make sure your general contractor puts up temporary partitions to prevent dust and debris from entering into an active workspace. This goes for HVAC equipment as well. Close dampers inside ductwork to prevent dust from moving from the construction zone into the workspace. Your GC can provide temporary portable fans and heaters for his workers.
Noise Control
Noise is tricky to control during construction operations. The best solution for this is to limit the type of work that can be performed during business hours. You might ask that all cutting, chipping, and jackhammer work be performed from 6:00 AM to 9:00 AM, as an example.
Fire Safety
Construction dust is notorious for clogging smoke, heat, and CO detectors. Cover detectors with NFPA approved dust covers. Check the system every day to make sure it is working properly. Fire safety is extremely important. Also make sure to have to proper property insurance (including fire coverage) to minimize an enormous potential liability.
Before construction operations begin, have a meeting with your operations manager and your construction manager, or general contractor, to clearly lay out all of the project safety requirements. Write up a set of rules for your employees to follow as well. OSHA has safety guidelines that should be followed.
I hope you enjoyed this article about some safety and productivity tips for businesses undergoing construction.
Interested in more articles about employee safety?
Read My Posts:
- An Overview Of Worker's Compensation
- 5 Tips To Protect Employee Data Security
Published by Michael J Schiemer
Owner of Bootstrap Business
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