SAFETY FIRST

I have attended countless safety conferences through the years.  One that remains in my memory took place near the beach at the Florida/Alabama line.  This was one of those three day events that was intended to be a little perk as well as a fact finding mission.  The meetings were in one of those high rise buildings, and the clientele was primarily business types, not the construction guys with pickup trucks.

The lectures were good.  The displays were great.  It was a well thought out and put together series of meetings.  After several warm up speakers, we were introduced to the featured speaker.  His credentials were impeccable.  He worked as safety administrator for a large Alabama construction company.  He had many stories of horror about the carelessness of workers in the industry.  Stories of maim and death.  All of this made me realize that I had personally taken risks with my own well being over the years.  It made me want to go back to my company and fire personnel up to be more careful, not only for themselves, but for the ones who subcontracted or worked under them.

It was either day two or three, and I was driving to the meeting place in the morning.  As I cruised along I kept watch on the parking lot across from the building where the conference was being held for a parking space.  At that time an individual decided it was important to cross the street against the light in front of me.  Being as careful as I was, I quickly slowed to prevent an accident.  I thought of the things we had been learning and how that probably caused me to be more wary of the situation.  Then I looked to get a better view of the jaywalker.  And, yes, it was the featured speaker!

No matter how often we hear stories or are instructed in the procedures of safety, we can never be too careful.  You can do a thing right for one hundred times and then the time that you don’t can be your demise.  When starting in carpentry, I noticed people in the trade who were missing digits on their hands.  It made an impression to always be mindful of what power equipment can do.  Fortunately, in all my years in construction, I have never been in a situation where anyone was seriously injured.  But, one wrong move and that can change.

Here are my top safety tips for you;

1.         Take care of your equipment.  Frayed electrical lines, dull saw blades, worn ladders, etc. are generally the things that will get you hurt.  Every construction worker should realize that a part of every work day has to be devoted to making sure all tools and equipment are in good shape.

2.         Work in a clean environment.  You may not sweep the floors every day, but you can make sure that any materials to be reused are put in a designated place.  Boards with nails protruding are one of the largest causes of injuries for carpenters.  Every trade that works on your job should clean up HIS mess on a daily basis.  It is one of the hardest lessons to teach, as I have seen on large projects and small.

3.         If you are digging, be sure to have all buried utilities located first.  It is a free service in our area, but you have to give them 72 hours after your call.  This delay is probably the best one you’ll ever have in construction.

4.         When working up high, take proper measures not to fall.  Why do you think roofers pay such high insurance rates?   If you are working on a roof, tie yourself off or pay the dough for a lanyard and line.  A fall from twenty feet or so can be deadly.  With scaffolds, most do it yourselfers are going to use wooden boards to walk on.  Be sure that those boards don’t have large knots in them.  Use handrails for those dangerous heights.

5.         If you don’t know how to do it, learn about it before trying.  I’ve never felt you could read a book a suddenly know all the answers to doing anything.  You may not even know what problems you can have until you are involved in the task.  You should be able to determine what the primary safety issues are before starting.  If it is dangerous and you don’t think you can do it, don’t.

These are, by no means, the only safety concerns you should have.  Most of safety is common sense.  Think about safety every day you work in construction, just as you should each time you drive a car.  We all make mistakes.  The fewer you make in construction, the better.