posted
With spring just around the corner,I was thinking of starting a thread about saftey tips for all the sign folks that have been cooped up all winter.Well here goes,...
Step one!,... on all stuctures or electrically lit signs,....find the power & turn it off.
Step two!,... survey the area if you are using lifts,cranes, or ladders, and locate,then stay away from all power lines.
any of you old pros got any subsequent steps to add?
-------------------- fly low...timi/NC is, Tim Barrow Barrow Art Signs Winston-Salem,NC Posts: 2224 | From: Winston-Salem,NC,USA | Registered: Nov 1998
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Don't forget to call Ungerground Utilities before you dig in the ground. It's the law here...
Have a great one!
-------------------- Bruce Bowers
DrCAS Custom Lettering and Design Saint Cloud, Minnesota
"Things work out best for the people who make the best of the way things work out." - Art Linkletter Posts: 6469 | From: Saint Cloud, Minnesota | Registered: Jun 1999
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posted
NEVER whittle/carve towards yourself and NEVER pee into the wind!
-------------------- Dave Grundy retired in Chelem,Yucatan,Mexico/Hensall,Ontario,Canada 1-519-262-3651 Canada 011-52-1-999-102-2923 Mexico cell 1-226-785-8957 Canada/Mexico home
posted
Looking at my post I guess I was a little vague,... I was hoping to keep this post a little more serious and professional,...as some if not alot of us actually make our living out there on location, be it ground level or several stories up.Hopefully someone here can learn from others & not from experience. Experience can be a rude teacher as it gives the test before the lesson. If just one accident this season can be averted from a trivial reminder then this post will have served it's purpose.Don't misunderstand me I enjoy humor as much as the next person but there is a place for it,...hopefully not in the wild joking story of how so and so barely survived that stupid stunt on location way back when. I know alot of folks here try to avoid any situations with labor intensive installs or dangerous service work but in the meanwhile I have a sneaking suspicion there are alot of people here who do so on a regular basis.What I was looking for is some simple saftey tips from those who work with installs on a daily basis that can be used by the small shops out there doing the first time service work on an electric sign or rigging for scalfold work that might benifit the "new kids" on the block so to speak along with the folks who have been at it for years, but do not do it on a daily basis.
posted
Gotcha Timi. How about everyone being on the alert for the pesky stinging insects that are out in full force in the Spring. Be sure to carry wasp killer if you live in the south. If stung, remember that you CAN develop allergies at any age. More people are killed by bee stings than by snake bites because they do not take the injury seriously. Keep your eyes open and tune your ears to the "buzz."
-------------------- Kathy Joiner River Road Graphics 41628 River Road Ponchatoula, La.70454
Old enough to know better...Too young to resist. Posts: 1891 | From: Ponchatoula, LA | Registered: Nov 2000
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posted
NO kidding Kathy! I was lettering a large sign on a building one year and there was a wasp nest behind it. Another tip of course is to always discard your used razor blades properly. Put them in a special canister!
Posts: 3729 | From: Seattle | Registered: Sep 1999
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posted
If you're setting up scaffolding, and the frost is not yet out of the ground, lay down planks first, to give a solid base. When frost comes out of the ground, what first appeared to be a solid footing can quickly become unstable and quite dangerous should any of the supporting feet sink. Your scaffolding can then tilt, and even fall over, endangering yourself, and other property around the structure.
-------------------- Ken Henry Henry & Henry Signs London, Ontario Canada (519) 439-1881 e-mail: kjmlhenry@rogers.com
Why do I get all those on-line offers to sell me Viagara, when the only thing hardening is my arteries ? Posts: 2691 | From: London,Ontario, Canada | Registered: Feb 1999
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Purchase and use that orange $3 dollar "arm extender" that allows you to carry a 4x8 sheet like a suitcase.
Cover your mouth, and breath easy with a dust mask when you disappear in the concrete cloud you make when pouring the mixture in the post hole. No More Cement Booggers!
-------------------- Mike Duncan Lettercraft Signs Posts: 1328 | From: Centreville, VA | Registered: Oct 2000
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posted
always use a safety line when working up high. never hold your finger or hand behind something you are drilling a hole in.
-------------------- Jimmy Chatham Chatham Signs 468 stark st Commerce, Ga 30529 Posts: 1766 | From: Commerce, GA, USA | Registered: Nov 1998
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When manuvering a LOADED vehicle on the installation site. take in consideration permanent objects on the ground. ala manhole covers, cut off STUMPS...etc...just REMOVED the Spare Tire and Holder from my Pickup..normally it would have cleared.......with a Heavy Load ... IT DID NOT CLEAR..... As Timi says take time to Survey the Situation..It will save you a lot of Grief and sometimes even your LIFE......... Shep'
-------------------- Arvil Shep' Shepherd Art by Shep' -------- " Those who dance are thought to be mad by those who cannot hear the music " Posts: 1281 | From: Mt Airy NC | Registered: Mar 2001
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posted
Perform inspection and do maintenance on the equipment not used regularly throughout the winter. Movable parts on the ladders need oiling. Scaffolding planks that have been stored outside can get real slippery, and sometimes the wooden skins need replacing. Test the lines on your falls at the shop before going out on a job depending on them.Loose the extra winter pounds so you can fit into that safety harness. Hire youthful folks to do what you did when you were young.
-------------------- The SignShop Mendocino, California
Making the simple complicated is commonplace; making the complicated simple, awesomely simple, that's creativity. — Charles Mingus Posts: 6878 | From: Mendocino, CA. USA | Registered: Nov 1998
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posted
Good ideas everyone! Thanks Timi for starting this thread. Here are a few that come to mind for me. Guys and gals with long hair, beware when working around ANY power tools but especially table saws, band saws and cnc routers. Also watch your loose clothing such as shirt sleeves and tails. It is real easy to get hair and clothing caught in power tools and get sucked into the running equipment.
Wear Safety Glasses!! Yesterday I was doing a job on the router. I had just installed a rebuilt motor and 1/2 through the job I noticed what seemed like unusal vibration. I bent in close to see and the 1/4 bit exploded. Good thing for safety glasses. Turns out they never tightened the chuck on the shaft when they replaced the bearings and I never felt it till it was too late.
I always wear disposible gloves when using one shots or block out. Lots of lead. Dust mask when sanding these finishes.
When I sandblast I make my helper wear a respirator and safety glasses and hearing protection. Many times I'll go back into the shop afterwards only to find them without their respirator and glasses, peeling off the mask and blowing off the piece with shop air. Silica dust is silica dust, in the booth out of the booth whatever. Wear protection till you are totally finish cleaning and preping the piece.
When in doubt take the time to think and spend the extra little $ on making yourself and others safe. Have a safe and healthy spring everyone!
posted
Don't forget your hearing protection when using power tools. I see a lot of folks that are careful with their eyes but overlook hearing protection.
-------------------- Dave Johnson Saltsburg, PA
724-459-7240 Posts: 228 | From: Saltsburg, PA | Registered: Dec 2001
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