Hey Lead Guys and Gals — don’t you look smart now!!
Buckle up folks, you won’t recognize your job sites when you return. UNLESS of course you are a lead paint (RRP/LSR) worker! Ninety percent of the practices that are taught in your lead paint class are the very same conditions you will now face. You folks who work with lead, you will see a few minor additional items but honestly not many. A respected associate of ours, Shawn McCadden, wrote a similar article on this — Qualified Remodeler Article.
Commercial site workers, assuming your site followed existing OSHA Subpart C & D standards (stop laughing!), then you too will see a few additional items, but again not many. Sanitation, housekeeping, PPE etc. are all part of these every day regulations.
Most of the sites I see during my travels are not following either of the above. YOU will have the hardest time converting your workers to the “new way to work”. This is not going to be a month or two – face it these steps are going to be here for quite some time. I predict many of you will retire before these practices cease. Recently, I was interviewed by APC (American Painting Contractor) regarding the steps we need to re-think before charging back to work. Here is the link to the article: Peter with APC
Our sister company, Parker Safety Group, has been actively following and researching the CDC guidelines, OSHA updates and various state DPH like BOSTON to understand what steps our industry must take to SAFELY return our crews to work. PSG has created a 20 page Safety and Health Plan for construction job sites that incorporate these agencies. Many towns are beginning to require a Covid S&H plan at time of permit application. What does your Covid-19 plan look like? Be prepared – don’t wait to be told you must produce one. It’s good business and shows your employees and your customers that you are thinking of their safety and not just money. Click here to learn more.
Don’t assume all workers feel the same on this topic. It is true that many “tough” guys are scared about the unknown. Many are going home to spouses that don’t want them in the house – scared for the kids health and what you could bring home. As many workers that are on your team, you will have that many varied emotional responses. Be smart, think of what you can put in place to increase their chance to go home today the way they came into work this morning. Develop a plan, TRAIN them on the steps they must comply with or stay home. Knowledge is power. Arm them with power to stay safe.