Contractor Safety Share

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Patching Falls from Ceiling

Cubicles on the 3rd floor of an office building are being repositioned.  New core holes between the 2nd and 3rd floor were required to run MC cable and data lines to the cubicles in their new location.  On the weekend, the GC closed up 11 previously existing cores between the two floors. The old holes were covered at the bottom with a galvanized sheeting and filled with concrete from the top side.  Fire proofing was installed over the galvanized plate for aesthetic purposes.  On Monday, an area occupant reported a piece of fire proofing on the floor near his/her work station.  Initial determination is that the fire proofing did not bond properly to galvanized sheeting.  There were no reported injuries and it’s believed that no one was in the area when it fell.

Factors to consider at your site or on your project include, but are not limited to, the following:

  1. Ensure that building aesthetics are being discuss during the pre-planning meetings.  Contractors and Coordinators should review building architectural guidelines as part of the pre-planning.
  2. Ensure craftsmen review mixing ratios instructions of the product before using.
  3. Barricade off any overhead patching jobs with red tape for 48 hours.  After 48 hours conduit an adhesive test of the patches.  If patch adhesive fails, remove material and try other adhesive means.

Consider this example as you complete today’s work activities. 

Think about the hazards associated with your particular work, and the steps that can be taken to increase safety on your job.

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