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Success
Elevator installation projects require many materials - and materials lifting equipment - before you can even start your project. Some of these components, which can range from guide rails to safety systems, may be light enough for workers to carry and assemble inside the shaft. However, workers may need to hoist heavier or bulkier components into the elevator as a single unit. Regardless of method, these tasks only become more complicated and potentially hazardous when in a confined elevator shaft space. That's why every installation project should include a detailed plan for handling materials. To help your efforts, we have collected our list of best practices that you can use to promote safety, comply with regulations, and complete a successful elevator install.
Start With Thorough Planning and Preparation
Materials lifting equipment helps get assemblies, equipment, and people in place for elevator installation projects. But you can't just show up on Day One and be ready for productive operations. Instead, you need to plan out your supplies, equipment, timelines, and required safety processes. To get started, incorporate these steps into your plans to ensure they comply with OSHA elevator shaft protection and other guidelines.
1. Determine Your Equipment Needs
Take the time to consider what equipment your team will need to complete the elevator installation. This includes everything from functional tools—welding machines, power tools, and so on—to safety equipment. Safety equipment includes industrial safety harnesses for complete fall protection, restraints, eyewear, and false cars for safe riding. Over time, your team will understand what equipment is needed for what type of job, and you'll be able to develop a collection of it over time.
2. Have Equipment On-Site When You Need It
Start your project on the right foot by making sure your supplies will be available on time. This might involve having everything available before you begin, especially for projects that will last longer than small jobs, or it might involve multi-phase delivery cycles. Decide what you need to always have on-site, such as safety gear and lifting equipment, and time its delivery property. Also, consider the direct installations, additional materials, and excess or backup supplies.
3. Give Yourself Sufficient Time and Manpower
As you're developing your plan, consider the timeline and the number of work hours each phase of the installation will demand. There are two ways to complete a requisite number of work hours, and each one has its own unique considerations:
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More time: Many work hours with a small team or a pair of technicians will need more workdays to do the work. This can be problematic if you have strict scheduling requirements.
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More people: A larger team can do more work faster, especially when you consider tasks that simply work better with more hands. However, more people in the shaft means you need more industrial safety harnesses, bigger materials lifting equipment, and additional per-person resources.
4. Review OSHA Guidelines and Local Regulations
As you're developing your plan, now is a good time to make sure your future actions will comply with CCOHS or OSHA elevator shaft protection guidelines, as well as local requirements. Some of these provisions may change year over year or have effective dates that went into effect between now and your last project. Review relevant changes, see where they should impact your plans, and develop a communications strategy to make sure everyone is aware of policy changes.
Safe Material Handling Best Practices
Once you've developed your plan, it's time to execute. Use these best practices to safely and successfully complete your install project.
1. Use Lifting Equipment
The first is the simplest, but it can be insidiously tempting to avoid. Provide your teams with high-quality, safe materials lifting equipment, such as pneumatic or electric hoists. Train them on how to use it, and make sure your daily work practices centralize the use of high-capacity hoists.
2. Minimize Manual Lifting and Carrying
You should also minimize the extent to which your team manually picks up and carries equipment or supplies. Any elevator installation job contains heavy, fragile, and sharp loads. All present real hazards to your team, so evaluate your current processes to identify moments of unnecessary handling, then invest in solutions to eliminate them.
3. Wear Fall Restraints and Safety Harnesses
Every worker on site should have the industrial safety harnesses they need to be comfortable and safe. This includes replacing old, worn harnesses with equipment that has padding, comfortable belts, tool belts, and proper sizing. Provide thorough training on how and when workers should use harnesses and make technicians and supervising managers responsible for ensuring they’re worn as required.
4. Wear PPE for Carrying Heavy or Sharp Loads
Along with fall restraints and safety harnesses, provide protective equipment for other prospective hazards. This includes back support belts, gloves, masks, and eyewear. Check with OSHA guidelines and local regulations to make sure all facets of safety are adequately covered.
Turn Plans into Actions with Tractel
Elevator installation projects involve a lot of potential hazards, but good planning can drastically reduce the risk of injuries and complications from the start. At Tractel, we provide high-quality hoists, sheaves, material lifting equipment, and industrial safety harnesses so your team has everything they need to complete projects in environments that comply with OSHA elevator shaft protection guidelines. Reach out today to learn more about our workplace safety tools and strategies or shop our available selection of safety equipment to see what you need to implement your safety and installation plans.