Building Refurbishment is definitely the best substitute for new construction as it provides an eco friendly, healthy and fresh environment to the residents. However, there are few construction and demolition measures which might be required to be carried out in the process. Further, it is a risky job and there are many hurdles and safety hazards that create situations of life risk, damage to property and other legal issues which can stall the work. It is therefore necessary to have all the safety provisions in place before the work begins.
The possible precautions to avoid safety hazards
The inherent dangers of building refurbishment lie with wrong preservation of combustible items, working on height without protective measures and also lack of organised planning and management of work. The complexities of building refurbishment are more in old and dilapidated building structures. Hence, proper planning is needed outright. This includes setting up of separate storage areas for the combustible items necessary for refurbishment. Having access and escape routes can help protect the pedestrian from getting injured by the falling debris from the building. The workers also need to be equipped with the knowledge relating to all the safety rules and be equipped with all the protective equipments like gloves, masks, ear plugs, jackets, hats to remain protected from the hazardous chemicals, dust, asbestos and lead as also smoke and fire when conducting a number of activities like glazing, cutting and drilling and also when working on heights.
Open areas near heights needs to be blocked properly to prevent falling accidents which can lead to major injuries and even death. All arrangements like lighting, proper platforms must be in place so that work can be carried out nonstop even during the night. Also, the gas, electricity and water arrangements should be looked into to prevent the possibilities of shocks and blasts. All harmful waste must be dumped in a systematic manner taking proper precautions as this can result in health dangers among the waste managers. Proper site training is the crux for all the workers involved in the refurbishment especially those involved with glass work which can cause injuries like a cut or eye damage if it is broken during work.
The sequence of work to be carried out must be predefined to maintain order and discipline at work. Maintaining cleanliness at work is also a mandate as heaps of garbage in the work area can be unhygienic and lead to diseases. Also, the waste disposal must be done after proper segregation of waste into toxic and non toxic waste. Checking the construction equipments is necessary to prevent accidents due to detachment of any of its parts.
The hazards in partially preoccupied building refurbishing
The work carried out in partially preoccupied building can call for even higher risk. The people inside the building can be impacted due to any glitches on the part of the site workers hence there is a demand for tightening the security measures. The people in the building must be made aware of the upcoming developments. The people must be given proper access and escape areas for emergency, also protective equipments and measures must be in place for prevention of dust and hazardous chemicals to enter into their homes and also affect their health. As also, noise pollution must also be minimised as much as possible.
