Today’s American construction industry is a big one, and it represents over one trillion dollars in market value today. Modern construction crews are hard at work building office towers, homes, schools, banks, and more, and even a modest project will involve several contractor crews pooling their labor, materials, and tools to finish the project. With all of these workers coming together for a project, the correct precautions should also be taken for both human life and the integrity of the construction project itself. Lawyers who specialize in construction law will be present to look over contracts and represent workers in case of injury, and safety and fire codes and regulations should be followed to keep everyone safe. The protective measures used for construction range from carpet protection film to a dust carrier system like floor protection boards and floor protection paper. Door frame protectors may be used as well, and for the workers, respirators, goggles, and even full-body suits may be needed. And for convenience and the protection of wooden flooring, furniture sliders for hardwood floors may be used to move heavy items such as couches and armoires. These furniture sliders for hardwood floors may be used not only in construction, but retailers that sell such furniture or use large display furniture. When is it time for furniture sliders for hardwood floors or a dust barrier?

Workplace Hazards

A lot of work is being done at a construction site, and sometimes, workers face real hazards on the project site. Blunt trauma is an unfortunate possibility, and workers may get their arms or legs trapped in machines or crushed under heavy items. Slings on cranes may snap, and heavy loads might fall onto a worker. Or, in other cases, even a mundane slip and fall incident may cause injury or even prove fatal in some cases. A building under construction may have a lot of gaps in it, and the floors may have slippery liquids spilled on them or low-traction papers that can cause a worker to lose their footing. Should this happen, a worker might fall multiple stories and land on a hard surface such as concrete or a pile of bricks.

Airborne hazards must also be accounted for, and these hazards may affect surfaces such as tiles or carpets or glass as well. Airborne silicates are common to work sites, and they are harmful if inhaled. These particle are much smaller than sand grains, and they are created when stone, bricks, or concrete is sawed, drilled, or crushed during work. In other cases, a worker might accidentally inhale harmful fumes from a motor or from paint thinner or primer. All of this means that occupational lung diseases rank first among all occupation-associated illnesses in the United States. This is factoring in the frequency, severity, and preventability of occupational illnesses.

As mentioned earlier, surfaces may also suffer, since dust particles, plaster dust, or paint or paint primer may spill onto tiles, glass, wood, or carpet and ruin those materials. At the very least, cleanup will be required, and some finished surfaces may need to be replaced entirely.

Protection For Construction

During construction, workers are encouraged to use safety goggles and respirators so that airborne particles and fumes cannot irritate the eyes and lungs. This may be done while sawing bricks or working with spray foam chemicals, for example, especially indoors where the fumes will be more concentrated. Even a full body suit may be used in some spray foam jobs, to keep chemicals from touching bare skin. Mask respirators may be fitted over the nose and mouth, and goggles may or may not be needed for some work.

Carpets and and wood and tile floors can be protected too, since dust and particles easily soak into carpet. A carpet may soak a lot of material and emit harmful VOCs later on, a lung hazard for anyone. Meanwhile, wooden floors can be protected from spills or dust with floor protector mats or sheets. After construction is done, furniture sliders for hardwood floors may be used when workers are moving heavy furniture across floors in the finished building. Such sliders are plastic tablets with foam pads, sitting under the furniture piece’s feet. This makes movement easier and prevents floor scuffing as well.