The Design Builder's Blog

Commercial and Industrial Painter Safety Practices Everyone Should Keep In Mind

Painting is a great way to enhance the beauty of a home or office but it can also be a job that can result in some serious chemical contamination if you aren’t careful. Do yourself a favor and act to protect yourself while painting on a professional basis. As an industrial or commercial painter, you’ll want to follow the following steps to limit your exposure to unhealthy substances while doing your job.

Protect Your Skin

It’s bad for you to get paints, solvents and sanded materials on your hands when working as a painter, but you’ll be handling the substances daily. That’s why it’s important to get some long-sleeve shirts, some pants, closed sneakers and strong nitrile gloves (can be found online at websites like BulkNitrileGloves.com) to protect yourself while working. Ensure that waterproof protective equipment is worn and that you are fully protected against all the risks that you’ll face while painting.

Keep Particles out of Your Lungs

Use a high-quality dust mask when you’re sanding or painting with strong substances. The mask will keep particles out of your lungs and help you stay in good health over time. It’s important to realize that even the best masks will miss some of the smallest particles, so keep the area ventilated as well when doing something like sanding down walls and other surfaces before painting the area.  Rather than a dust mask, a respirator may be required depending on the materials you are disturbing. 

Ensure Excellent Ventilation

When working with solvents and most paints, be careful to work in well-ventilated environments. This will reduce the risk of working with these materials and the health hazards that they cause. Open windows and doors and rely on fans or other devices to keep fresh air flowing through the space. This helps remove any harmful odors and chemicals in the air, keeping the space nice and clean.

Protect Your Eyes

While painting there is always a risk of hurting your eyes, especially when painting up above the head. That’s why it is so important to invest in safety goggles to protect your eyes. Get a good pair of goggles or glasses to cover your eyes, or rely on a face mask to keep particles out. This will keep your eyes in good shape and you’ll thank the protective gear the first time that paint splatters or drips over top of your eyes.

Safety Doesn't Happen By Accident:

Follow the above steps and you shouldn’t have too many problems with your health while working as a painter. Always follow OSHA requirements should they apply to the work being done.  Just be careful that you don’t skip any of the safety precautions, or you’ll risk letting paint, solvents and other substances through all your protective measures.

Other related articles you might find helpful:

OSHA Compliance Checklist: Will You Be Ready If OSHA Visits You?

RRP Conundrum: To Test or Not to Test for Lead Paint.

Guest Blogger:  Tom Masters has been working in the construction industry since he was a child. Lately he prefers the business end and writing about the trade. He is currently working with Contractors Today

3 Tips for Prepping Your Vehicle for the Job Site

As someone who works in construction, you already know about the importance of having the right equipment to stay safe on the job. From installing scaffolding to access certain work areas to making sure everyone is properly trained on using heavy equipment, you pride yourself on having safe work sites.

If you use your own car or truck as a work vehicle — and routinely drive it to construction sites — it's important to treat it like any other piece of work-related equipment. That's why many contractors as well as their employees make sure their vehicles are properly maintained and prepared to be on any job site.

With this in mind, check out the following tips that will help keep your car in good shape on any and all job sites:

Maintain Your Tires

Construction sites can be muddy and filled with sharp objects that can puncture tires. With this in mind, regularly checking your tires is a must; after all, you'll want rugged tires that can handle slick and rocky conditions — and you'll need to catch and fix any damage before any tires go flat.

Before heading to work each day, check the treads and condition of your car or truck’s tires to make sure they're safe to drive on, and then conduct the same practice before heading home at the end of the day. When it's time to replace the tires on your truck or SUV, consider an all-terrain variety like the Nitto Ridge Grappler from an online retailer like TireBuyer.com.

TireBuyer.com stocks a wide variety of sizes of the Grappler tire, which can easily handle driving over uneven and muddy construction sites. The Grappler features shoulder grooves, which will clear mud from the tread, along with stone ejectors that can help keep your treads clear and damage-free.

Stick to a Maintenance Schedule

To ensure your vehicle is in proper working order at all times, adhere to the manufacturer’s recommended maintenance schedule. Driving through construction areas can wreak havoc on air filters and other parts of the car that collect dust and dirt, so making sure your car goes in for regular tuneups is essential to control repair costs as well as fuel costs.

If you have to tow or haul a lot of heavy equipment, or if you drive long distances every day traveling from site to site, you may want to bring in your vehicle more often for maintenance. To help stay on top of your car’s maintenance needs, consider downloading the free AUTOsist app, which let's you keep detailed records of all of your oil changes, brake jobs and tire rotations. You can even set reminders within the AUTOsist app to bring in your car for a tuneup based on mileage or date.

Always Keep Safety Equipment in Your Car

In addition to maintaining the outside of your vehicle, what you keep inside it should also prepare you for safely spending time at a job site. Keep your personal safety equipment in your vehicle at all times and double check you have everything before leaving home in the morning.

ISHN.com suggests keeping safety glasses and/or a face shield and eye protectors on hand, along with a hard hat, heavy gloves and an extra pair of steel-toe work boots. Experts also suggest keeping a checklist of all of your safety equipment and storing everything in a bin that fits into the trunk.

Finally, check your hardhat and other gear regularly for cracks or other damage; if you notice anything amiss, replace it immediately.

Guest Blogger: Alison Stanton has been a freelance writer for the past 18 years. Based in Phoenix, Arizona, Alison thoroughly enjoys writing about a wide variety of people and topics. When she is not writing, Alison can be found hanging out with her family—which includes three wonderful rescue dogs—and sipping a caffeinated beverage from Starbucks.

Extra-Rugged Accessories Contractors Need for the Construction Site

If you're a contractor who spends any time at all on construction sites, you need extra-sturdy accessories. In some cases, these products are a safety issue — such as a hard hat — and in others they are merely the tools you need to stand up to the tough conditions found on active work sites. With this in mind, check out these suggestions for durable accessories that can stand up to harsh conditions — or at least come with a great insurance policy.

Unbreakable Sunglasses

In addition to your usual protective eyewear, you may also like to wear sunglasses while meeting with clients or checking out potential jobs or building sites. Instead of replacing your sunglasses every time they break while on the job, invest in an “unbreakable” pair. Amazon sells Polarized TRPL27 sunglasses with a flex frame that are ultra light and ultra tough. The lenses are polarized to eliminate glare, and the sunglasses come with a lifetime breakage warranty on both the frame and the lens.

Smartphone With a Protection Plan

If you’ve ever dropped a smartphone, you know what a pain it is to deal with a cracked screen and the expense of buying a new one. While rugged smartphones are not easy to find, you can get a high-tech smartphone that comes with a protection plan. For example, the HTC One M9 from T-Mobile comes with the appropriately named UH OH Protection Plan that replaces the phone at no charge if it’s cracked or dropped in water.

Tough and Comfortable Gloves

Depending on the time of year you are visiting work sites and how close you get to the actual construction, you should have a comfortable and durable set of protective gloves. The ideal pair of gloves should be thick enough to protect your hands against punctures and cuts, but still be easy to grip objects and move your fingers. Construction Concepts International sells a variety of gloves that are perfect for contractors. The Strong Suit “Second Skin” Work Gloves feature palms made of polyurethane for proper protection and form-fitted fingers for great “gripability.” These gloves are sturdy enough to last through several jobs, so you won’t have to replace them very often.

Sturdy Boots

While on the job, work boots are a must for comfort and safety. If you notice that you have to replace your work boots every few months, you might want to spend a bit more for something that will last. Sure, you can get work boots for $50, but if they wear out fast, they are not really a good deal. Invest in a pair of Moc Toe Work Boots from Duluth Trading; they run close to $200, but they are made from the highest grade of leather. Featuring Vibram wedge soles, the Moc Toe boots are sturdy and durable. As a bonus, you can replace parts of the boots that wear out, such as the soles and gel inserts.

Guest Blogger: Alison Stanton has been a freelance writer for the past 15 years. She enjoys writing about a wide variety of topics, and always looks for opportunities to learn about new subjects.

Construction Equipment: Should You Buy or Rent?

The decision to rent or buy equipment for construction work depends on different factors for each business, according to Peter Gregory, Wells Fargo Construction Group Equipment Finance VP. He says that while renting is often a more attractive option in a tough economy when construction activity has slowed down, companies that need and use construction equipment regularly must decide how buying affects their bottom line.

Advantages of Buying

The advantages of buying the equipment your company needs to perform revenue-generating work include:

• immediate ownership
• deductions for depreciation
• interest to save on taxes
• onsite availability of equipment when work needs to be done

Note that deductions for depreciation are just one tax aspect of buying equipment, and any businesses subject to the Alternative Minimum Tax experience depreciation as a penalty, not a credit.

Thomas Westerkamp of Facilities.net says it makes sense to buy equipment that is just as expensive to rent as to buy, as well as equipment needed immediately in emergency situations to prevent loss or damage, or danger to health and safety, such as emergency generators and portable coolers.

Advantages of Renting

Equipment such as a scissor lift that might be used on a rare occasion would be wise to rent, allowing you to reallocate money towards buying equipment used more often on job sites. This way, the cost of maintenance is eliminated while the use of the equipment is still available. Renting is also advised when trying out new equipment and deciding if it's versatile, useful, and efficient for owning in the future.

How to Decide

One alternative to consider is to purchase quality used equipment which can bring the purchase price down from a new unit, while still providing the same capabilities and convenience of owning. But in this case, buyers beware! Check all safety equipment with the purchase, inspect it closely, and check all manuals and accessories to ensure it's in good condition for your purpose.

Other considerations when deciding to rent or buy include:

• Was the unit previously used as a rental?
• What are all the costs, initial and ongoing, of the rental or purchase?
• What agreements or contracts are part of the deal (purchase or rental) and what is included in them as far as dealer references, equipment demonstration, operator training, and terms of use and return?
• If you buy, will it eventually pay for itself when you consider the time saved and renting fees?
• Does the machine show signs of having been repaired? If so, what is the quality of the repair?

The decision about buying or renting really depends on unique business factors at individual companies. Mid Country Machinery owner Lucas Peed advises that the decision to buy or rent has a lot to do with the type of contractor business. He says local contractors are more likely to buy equipment to get the tax breaks and equity, while general contractors who travel a lot are more likely to rent equipment rather than haul it out of state for jobs, which adds to the cost of operation and ownership. Discuss your potential investment with your accountant and be thoughtful of the longevity of your potential purchase. If it will be an asset to your business for years to come, continue to bring new business, and improve the efficiency of your work, it is a wise investment.

Guest Blogger: Heidi Cardenas is a freelance writer with a background in human resources, business administration, technical writing and corporate communications. She specializes in human resources, business and personal finance, small-business advice and home improvement. She enjoys creating informational content for clients including blog posts, articles, white papers, case studies, and talking points, as well as business documents such as sales letters, business plans and strategic plans.