Barry Rice, a Certified Safety Professional, discusses the importance of safety in the high-risk field of restoration. He emphasizes the need to protect employees from injury, deals with EPA and OSHA regulations, and provides tips on hand injury prevention and trends within the industry. Integration of safety into everyday business operations is also highlighted.
The Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) Director in restoration companies plays a crucial role in ensuring compliance with EPA and OSHA regulations, providing training, and offering on-site support for employee health and safety.
Restoration contractors face two primary safety hazards: physical risks from demanding tasks and exposure hazards from substances that could negatively affect workers' health.
Deep dives
The Role of an EHS Director in Restoration Companies
The Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) Director in restoration companies plays a vital role in protecting employees and the company from liability. This involves ensuring compliance with EPA and OSHA regulations, providing training, and offering on-site support. The scope of the EHS director's responsibilities is broad and covers various aspects of environmental health and safety.
Safety Hazards in Restoration Work
Restoration contractors face two primary safety hazards: physical risks and exposure hazards. The nature of the work is physically demanding, requiring employees to handle heavy items, perform mold restoration, and engage in other strenuous activities. Moreover, there are exposure risks from substances that could negatively affect workers' health, such as chemicals that could be inhaled, come into contact with the skin, or get into the eyes.
Building a Solid Safety Program in Restoration Companies
Establishing and maintaining a robust safety program is crucial for restoration companies. The program should serve as a foundation and be continuously developed and implemented. Starting with a well-defined safety program, companies can gradually build and improve upon it, ensuring that safety training is provided to employees step by step. Emphasizing the basics and establishing a culture of safety is key to preventing mishaps and promoting a safe work environment.
Barry Rice, a Certified Safety Professional with over 20 years of experience, is the Environmental, Health and Safety director for Signal Restoration Services’ family of companies that includes Signal, US Roofing and PuroClean. In this episode of Ask the Expert, Rice discusses the importance of safety, as well as best practices for employee health and safety, in this particularly high-risk field of restoration.
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