There’s no denying that demolition is a dangerous job. It’s important to take the necessary precautions to keep your employees safe when they’re working at a demolition site. Without the right precautions, things can go awry in the blink of an eye. There’s nothing worse than witnessing an accident that you know could have been prevented. Here are some important workplace safety precautions during demolition so you can ensure that the demolition site is as safe as possible for everyone involved.
The Right Equipment
There’s no bigger contributor to workplace accidents that shoddy, poorly maintained equipment—or worse, the completely wrong kind of equipment for the job. Your workers should be equipped with a hard hat, mask, gloves, work boots, and other necessary safety equipment. If you’re going to be using explosives during demolition, this equipment needs to be certified as explosion-proof or intrinsically safe. You should also ensure your workers have been trained on how to properly use non-wearable pieces of equipment, such as excavators, and that these pieces of equipment are in acceptable condition.
Train Your Employees
It’s important to train your employees on how to properly handle equipment, especially dangerous and explosive materials such as dynamite. You should also train them on proper procedures in the event of an accident. Training is the simplest and most effective way to make a demolition site safer because it gives employees the knowledge necessary to prevent accidents in the first place.
Perform a Final Sweep
The final sweep is another essential workplace safety precaution during demolition. The final sweep involves going through every room of the building prior to demolition and confirming that it’s been cleared of objects that could potentially interfere with the demolition process and, more importantly, people.
You need to make sure that all your employees are outside and are standing at a safe distance away from the building before the demolition can progress. You should also assign someone to inspect the perimeter of the demolition site and redirect any passerby that are wandering too close to the demolition site. This ensures that nobody will be injured during the most dangerous part of the job.