A simple commercial painting project may not be as easy and problem-free as it initially appears. Depending on the environment, the size of the task and the type of business you run, a painting project can present you with many potential hazards. This is why it is so important to work with a commercial painting contractor from Hughes Painting in Virginia Beach VA. Our years of experience and our extensive training in OSHA standards can keep you, your employees and your customers safe. Plus, our company is insured to give you further peace of mind.

While working with a professional painting contractor certainly helps to make your upcoming painting project safer than it would otherwise be, you will still have a major role to play in mitigating risks on the worksite. Of course, our crew from Hughes Painting will help you create a safe work environment to decrease the chance of any accidents. We take every effort to work around your schedule.

As you partner with our commercial painting contractor for your next professional painting project, here are just a few ways that you can help everyone on the job stay safe.

1. Improve the Health and Wellness of Everyone in the Vicinity

A major painting project is inherently risky with slip-and-fall accidents and air ventilation concerns making it to the top of the list. Although professional painters take plenty of precautions to stay safe on the job, your employees and customers may not have this benefit. However, you can take steps before the project begins to decrease possible risks.

With new equipment brought into the space, wet paint all around and new areas for foot traffic, the risk for slip-and-fall accidents can skyrocket. There will be new equipment on the floors and drop cloths in painted areas. The best solution is to have employees and customers avoid these painted areas at all costs. If foot traffic absolutely must pass through these zones, ensure that individuals have several feet of clearance on either side.

Even with today’s safer paints, poor ventilation can create real problems. Fumes from wet paint can cause headaches, create eye and nose irritation and even lead to problems with breathing. Paint fumes are not just a minor inconvenience but a real health problem if the space is not properly ventilated. Even touching wet paint can lead to skin irritation. These risks will remain until all of the paint is completely dry and air exchange is complete.

2. Keep Reportable Safety Incidents off Your Business’s Record

If you have ever experienced an accident at your workplace, you know just how much trouble it can be to clear up. There will be issues with OSHA, concerns with your business’s insurance and workers’ compensation claims to pay. The accident may cause not only immediate problems but also long-lasting issues for your business’s reputation and finances that can take a year or longer to dissipate.

Although the professional painting company will deal with any accidents that happen to their own painters, your company will have to deal with the fallout from an injured employee or customer. By taking the proper precautions now to create a safe work environment and to keep employees away from work zones as much as possible, you can reduce your liability and keep safety incidents off your business’s record. Plus, you can avoid plenty of unnecessary paperwork.

3. Improve Your Business’s Reputation and Employee Morale

While an unsafe worksite can lead to negative feedback from employees and customers alike as well as negative news throughout your community, a safe worksite can improve your business’s reputation. Consider posting what you are doing to keep everyone safe on social media. This can create plenty of positive conversations around town.

In addition, a safe worksite will help your employees feel confident in coming to work despite the changes you are making to the business. If they feel that the workspace is unsafe or non-conducive to work, they may find reasons to stay away. Sick days and absenteeism could rise if you do not take proper precautions. It is far better to let your employees know what you will be doing to keep them safe before the project starts than to react to things that have gone wrong.

4. Keep Your Business Running Smoothly

One of the best ways to keep everyone at your business safe is to schedule a commercial painting project when the majority of workers will not be present. For example, a small project could be completed after normal work hours, such as over the weekend or in the evenings.

However, a commercial painting company may not be able to provide this type of service for a large project. If this is the case, you will need to create a workable solution to allow your employees to work with a minimum of disruptions. Consider whether you can move offices to other areas or reroute foot traffic so that individuals do not have to travel through work zones. In addition, you will want to move as much business equipment out of the way as possible to avoid costly accidents.

Plan to take a week prior to the start of the painting project to make these necessary changes in your business. This will give your employees a chance to become acclimated to new work environments and will give you time to make any minor adjustments before the work begins. Of course, your contractor from Hughes Painting will be able to give you pointers for preparing your business for the upcoming project.

We encourage you to contact Hughes in Virginia Beach today to learn more about the many professional painting services we offer. Not only can we complete the largest and most challenging projects, but also we can help with preparatory work, such as choosing colors and creating ideal painting schedules. With over 10 years of experience, our family-owned business will give you the expertise and the friendly customer service that you deserve.