Safety Tips Every Demolition Site Should Follow

Safety has always been and will remain the top priority at the construction, renovations, and demolition site. These sites are the biggest contributors to worksite injuries, fatalities and a little ignorance can cost a life. According to the international labor organization, more than sixty thousand accidents are reported on the construction site every year, with an approximate thousand on-site fatalities.

Nothing is more important than an individual’s life. Safety at the workplace is not an incentive or extra benefit. Rather, it is everyone’s right. Hence, the importance of safety on construction and demolition sites cannot be emphasized enough. Providing safety is not difficult when you follow correct procedures, adhere to safety codes, and use optimized equipment. The simplest adherence to rules and regulations can save a lot of lives by avoiding workplace accidents.

However, most of the contractors tend to turn a blind eye to the safety needs of their working sites. This ignorance impacts not only the workers but also the public using the same premises.

Demolition sites are even more prone to accidents due to the destructive nature of the work. The most common type of accidents at demolition sites include;

• Falls

• Hits by falling materials

• Slips

• Struck by a flying hard debris

• Tripping incidents

• Accident with wrong equipment usage

Construction and demolition contractors can save many precious lives, injuries and ultimately avoid several insurance claims by paying attention to necessary worksite safety measures. The following article explains critical safety measures that every demolition site must adhere to.

Proper Planning

The best way to ensure a safe demolition is by planning ahead. Complete assessment of the present condition of the building, pay close attention to the surrounding of the site and locate any possible hazards. Additionally, study and inspect any surrounding water or other underground utilities and cut them before demolition if possible. Otherwise, plan demolition to avoid them as much as possible.

Workers Training

After planning that can significantly impact the safety of the project is the level of expertise and training you workers have. Untrained workers are more suspected of accidents and worksite injuries as compared to trained, experienced, and educated ones.

Therefore, every demolition contractor should train and educate their workers about the following:

• Correct use of equipment

• Necessary precautions to take before, between, and after the demolition process.

• Correct PPE usage

• Steps to take in case of emergencies.

• Necessary first aid techniques

Shut Down All Utility Connections

Gas leakages and other utility line problems have significant contributions to the demolition site injuries, accidents, and fatalities. Thus, it is important to cut or cap every water, electricity, or other utility connection around the demolition site before initiating the demolition.

Brace And Illuminate The Area

Loose and unstable structures and walls can fall without any warning. No doubt, multiple incidents of injuries due to falling structures are reported every day. To avoid these, contractors should make sure to brace or shore the walls or floors that show damage signs.

Additionally, illuminate the site properly at night time so that no passerby gets hit by the remains of building materials and debris. All this will save your employees and the passing general public from many accidents and injuries.

Place Proper Warning Signs

Demolition sites are destructive sites and thus are dangerous. Pointed stones, pieces of broken glass, nails, steel rods, and other construction materials are scattered. These materials are sharp and can cause severe cuts and other injuries. Therefore, to comply with the standard demolition codes, it is important to place warning signs around the worksite. These signs made the passer-bys cautious of potential falling and scattered injurious objects.

Restrict The Unauthorized Individuals

If the walls and other structures are not braced properly, make sure to make it a no-go area. Restrict the area for the workers to enter and possibly guard the area to control the entry of rebels in the area too.

Damaged walls and structures can fall anytime; therefore, it is important to have stringent entry controls in the area. Otherwise, you or the demolition company have to face legal issues and increased worker or civil insurance claims.

Never Remove The Pillars First

A professional demolition contractor knows the safe demolition practices and leaves no stone unturned to use them. The method of removing structures plays an important role in determining the safety level of a demolition project.

The worst mistake a demolition team can make is directly removing the load-bearing structures of the building. This will make the building fall uncontrollably, and materials will fall irregularly and haphazardly, causing several injuries due to flying debris, sharp building components, and dust.

Tampering the supporting pillars at the lower portion of the building before completely removing the upper structure can be detrimental. Hence, you should never remove the pillars or other load-bearing structures before completely removing the structures above them.

This article discusses ocean freight rates and how it can affect your freight.