Watch Your Step! 4 Fall Protection Tips for Rubber Surface Installers in Training

Falls and injuries are common at a construction training site. In fact, falls account for 33.5 percent of construction fatalities. Also, the construction industry sees non-fatal injury rates that are 71 percent higher than any other industry.

Most accidents occur due to carelessness, distractions, or mere negligence. But a small mistake can turn a routine task into a serious injury. Hence, safety should be the topmost priority for all construction professionals, including those training to install rubber surfacing in homes and commercial spaces. By its very nature, a rubber surfacing project site exposes installers to wet floors, polyurethane or chemical spills, and clutter. This can lead to slips, trips, falls, and other possible injuries.

Hence when learning the tricks of the trade, it’s critical to understand and practice special precautions that can protect you and your team from the hazards encountered during routine jobs.

Whether you are in training or aspire to master the art of installing rubber surfaces, we have a few practical fall protection tips for you. The information shared below will help you and your crew stay safe as you focus on delivering quality surfacing projects for your clients.

1. Choose Your Trainer Wisely

First things first – remember to choose your rubber training academy with a lot of deliberation. Several brands claim to offer in-depth training and technical know-how of rubber surface installations; however, not all of them emphasize performing a safe operation or offer accident prevention techniques.

An ideal rubber surfacing installer should not only deliver a quality project but also ensure the safety of the installation crew. Therefore, it’s wise to choose an inclusive rubber training course that covers every aspect of rubber surfacing, from application assessment to jobsite workflow and cleanliness.

Rubcorp Academy is one such cutting-edge training program that helps you understand the importance of safety at the worksite. Check out our rubber training module. It covers all the aspects of rubber surface installation, from the science that innovated the components to the troweling training and more.

Being conscious of workplace safety procedures is the first step towards ensuring your safety and reducing the risk of serious falls on the job site. Therefore, it’s important to get trained by rubber training experts who have made safe practices a habit.

2. Pre-Empt the Fall Risks and Plan Accordingly

Installing rubber surfacing can be a dangerous undertaking if proper fall prevention precautions aren’t taken. Some proactive planning can go a long way in reducing the risk of slips and falls and upholding safety in a work area. Before commencing a rubber surfacing project, identify the fall hazards and your fall protection needs, and list down the measures you will take to prevent these accidents.

For instance, you could assign a team member to watch out for spills and keep the clutter off the work area.

3. Wear Personal Protective Gear

When working with wet pour rubber surfacing, you are required to wear proper personal protective equipment like a construction vest, cut-resistant gloves, slip-resistant work boots, hard hats, and safety goggles. At Rubcorp Academy, we train aspiring rubber surfacing installers to audit whether their team is wearing the required protective gear on the project site.

4. Keep the Work Area Free Clean and Free of Obstructions

A clean training area is not just important for carrying out a safe operation but also contributes to pride in workmanship. Keeping the area free of obstructions can significantly improve the safety of the project site and thetrowel training area, thus reducing the risk of accidents.

Unsafe worksite conditions can result in falls and serious injuries. Use these quick tips to improve the safety of your worksite.

• Remember to secure the site before and when the work is on.
• Pick up or wipe off any spills immediately. If cleaning up is taking time, have one person watch the area or place a wet floor sign board to warn others of the danger.
• When wet processes are on, maintain drainage and offer a safety surfacing, platform, or a dry standing area to reduce the risk of slips.
• Encourage your team to wear waterproof footgear when working in wet areas like pool decks and bathrooms.
• Dispose of the scrap and garbage promptly.
• Keep high-traffic areas clear of portable equipment like the mixers, trowels, grout floats, rollers, buckets, and squeegees.
• Provide floor plugs for equipment to prevent power cords from running across pathways.
• Leave the site clean after the work is complete for the day.

Finally, pay attention to the safety guidelines laid down by OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) for fall prevention. For instance, in a surfacing job, there may be a variety of fall hazards like a wet surface or some material spilled carelessly. Train your team on a proper setup and safe use of equipment, reducing the risk of such accidents on site.

Know What to Do in Case of an Accident

Despite the precautions we take, accidents do happen! Surfacing professionals often get so comfortable with the routine work that it’s easy to forget the risks associated with the job site and miss out on the precautions that need to be taken.

Here are the top three things you should do in case there’s an accident on the project site.

Seek Medical Attention

In an event of a slip or fall on the worksite, the first step is to ensure the injured person’s safety and wellbeing. Check for possible injuries and administer first aid if you are certified to do so.

If the injured person finds it tough to move, do not try to carry or move them. Seek medical advice by calling 911 and wait for paramedics to take appropriate action.

Keep the Documents Handy

The injured person needs to maintain the medical records and a report of the accident or the injury. These documents will be needed for claiming workers’ compensation at a later stage.

Secure and Manage the Jobsite

Whether the cause of the accident was a spill or clutter, make sure you clear the other employees from the area, at least until the space is cleaned. This will greatly reduce the risk of anyone else getting injured.

Summing Up

Surfacing project sites present several hazards to installers and their crew. A momentary lapse of attention, distraction, or mere negligence can end in a serious slip or fall. As a result, rubber surfacing installers should take adequate precautions and train their crew to act responsibly when on the worksite. This can hugely reduce the risk of fall injuries.

Our instructors at Rubcorp Academy take safety and quality seriously. Hence, we train aspiring rubber surfacing installers to deliver first-rate projects while paying attention to worksite safety. The information and tips shared in this post will help you create a safe work environment for you and your team and improve your standing as a dependable rubber surfacing installer.