Safety Rules and Regulations for Building Demolition Jobs
February 14, 2018Safety guidelines are strictly enforced during the entirety of a construction project. Renovation work or minor repairs, the contractor sticks resolutely to a governing set of health and safety regulations. Taking that on board, shouldn’t a building demolition job require the same level of due diligence? Absolutely right, the same kind of cautionary measures must be in place. After all, there’s a very real element of unpredictability in play here.
Dealing with the Uncertainty Principle
Systematic construction methods govern building techniques. There’s no electrical power, few walls to worry about, and the structure is rising under the control of many expert workers. Every stage of the work is controlled by safety rules and regulations, just as they should be during this risky process. Demolition work is more volatile. The work is harder to predict, which is why the service in question requires experience and a job-pertinent set of work credentials. Is the electricity supply turned off? Are the walls and floors crumbling? The entire building could be unsafe, so the demolition foreman needs to account for these potentially dangerous conditions.
Demolition Work: Pertinent Safety Rules and Regulations
Before any other action is taken, what’s the status of the site? Are the gas lines and electrical circuits dead? A situational report is in order, one that ensures a power and gas safe zone. If the power and fuel lines are properly isolated, the health and safety regulations urge the team onward. Hard hats and safety boots are the norms now, with the seasoned officer checking the walls and floors so that they can be marked structurally secure. Protruding rebar, a potential impalement hazard, is removed. Is there asbestos or some other toxic substance within the structure? The initial response alters dramatically when the site is classed as toxic. Special response teams clear the hazardous materials, so face masks and protective clothing enter the equation before a single crumbling brick can be knocked loose.
When demolition services enter a new site, entire chapters of the health and safety act are brought into play. All of that trash and toxic material represents a fire risk. The broken down building has to be cleared. Then, and this is still before the demolition team moves in, the building must be made safe, at least temporarily. Now, dressed in hard hats and protective clothing, the demolition team moves into place. Their first duty is to clear junk, especially the rusty, sharp chunks of rebar-laden concrete and other impalement risk factors. Cleared properly, the real demolition work commences.
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