KEEP IT SAFE
Rules apply on home projects
Every work site has potential hazards: dangerous materials, chemicals, slips, trips and falls; improper use of forklifts, ladders, tools and other equipment; heat stroke from working in high temperatures or frostbite from working in the cold, just to name a few.
If your home is under renovation or construction, it’s considered a work site. You as a homeowner should make sure your contractor is following proper safety protocols, which don’t just protect crew and tradespeople working on your home; they protect everyone around the site as well, including you, your family, neighbours and pedestrians.
Just recently, I heard about a scaffolding collapse where pedestrians below got hurt.
It might not be your job as a homeowner to be the safety officer, but you should be aware of the basics, because while your home is under renovation, it’s considered a workplace.
That means if an injury occurs on your property due to unsafe practices, it’s possible that you could be charged and fined under the Occupational Health and Safety Act, and your job site (and renovation) shut down.
I’m always telling homeowners to ask the right questions when hiring contractors — not just about the renovation itself, as well as the materials and the products they will be using, but also about their health and safety practices. Your contractor should have a health and safety policy.
All homeowners having some type of work done on their home should know that it’s mandatory that anyone who steps onto the job site — including contractors, tradespeople, even the homeowners themselves — must wear the appropriate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). This includes hard hats and safety boots, eye and ear protection, work gloves, fall arrest gear if they are working at heights (such as on the roof ), dust masks, respirators and possibly more depending on the work being done.
The contractor should also have a properly prepared job box on site at all times. It should include a first aid kit, a fire extinguisher; maps to the nearest hospital, emergency contact information, necessary WHMIS (Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System) information and any other mandated information that is specific to your area.
Once work gets underway, contractors must keep safety in mind.
The job site must be kept clean and free of debris. They should also make sure floor surfaces are always safe and not slippery. Garbage should be kept out of walkways, stairs and traffic paths, as well.
All too often, we hear about the horror stories of workers who don’t make it home at the end of the day. National Day of Mourning, which took place Thursday, should serve as a reminder to all of us that job-site accidents are far too common, and we need to make safety a priority. We must work hard to always keep the work site clean.
Before signing a contract with a contractor, it’s important to ask if their crew has been properly trained to do the work safely, and what steps they take to keep the job site safe.
You should also ask if there will be any inexperienced and/or untrained workers on the job. If so, they must always be working under direct supervision — they should never be working on their own.
Inexperienced workers are more likely to get hurt if they don’t get the right safety training. That’s why it’s always a good idea to check with all the workers on your property that they have received the proper safety training and equipment, and that they wear PPE.
Homeowners can help prevent work-site accidents and injuries by being proactive and asking the right questions.
Any good contractor will appreciate homeowners who care about the safety of their crew. I am constantly striving to ensure safety is always a priority on my work sites.