Indoor Construction: 3 Things to Consider

One of Modu-Loc’s Core Values is “Safety & Accountability”, which means we understand the importance of taking the initiative to have solutions in place to keep people safe. Indoor construction can pose many public safety challenges. With heavy pedestrian traffic, you’ll need to spend more time planning to mitigate any risk to the public. This blog post will review the different types of risk you encounter with indoor construction, and solutions to prevent accidents from happening.

Trip Hazards

One of the biggest issues with indoor construction is trip hazards. Indoor construction often takes place in areas with heavy foot traffic. Whether it’s a shopping mall, hospital or apartment building, you want to make sure that your work area isn’t creating a major trip hazard to passersby. Walkways should be clear of all equipment, materials and garbage. If your items are in a public place, find an area inside of the site to keep them out of the way. Alternatively, you can use a storage compound, like one made from our pickup panels to store your items. A storage compound will keep the materials safe from theft while keeping the public safe from tripping over them.

If you are planning on having fence panels for your indoor construction, consider installing safety ramps on the bases. This will help you further mitigate trip hazards.Safety ramps are highly recommended in places like hospitals, where wheeled equipment like gurneys and wheelchairs are often used. If you don’t have to worry about too much foot traffic, at least consider installing delineators to make pedestrians aware of the construction site. Like with outdoor construction, make sure you install signage indicating any hazards so passersby proceed with caution. During indoor construction, it is vital to ensure that nothing in or around your site interferes with the public’s ability to safely use the building as normal.

Dust and Debris

Construction sites create a lot of dirt and debris, which is especially problematic when you are working inside a building. It is crucial to make sure you have sufficient ventilation. It can be dangerous for residents and visitors to breathe in all of the dust and fumes from a construction site without proper PPE. Although a building’s existing ventilation system may be sufficient, consider supplementing it with portable ventilation fans that exit through door or window. This will prevent potentially harmful byproducts from spreading around the indoor environment, and overall will keep the space clean from dust and debris.

To go the extra mile, consider enclosing your construction space. Hoarding is a good solution, as well as temporary fence panels installed with debris netting. Physical barriers will stop the dust and debris from flying around and disturbing the people using the building.

Construction Noise

A risk you may not have considered is the noise pollution your construction site creates. If you are doing construction in a location such as an office, hospital or apartment building, plan to have some kind of noise mitigation plan. The noise pollution produced by the constant use of equipment and tools during a construction project can cause long-term health effects. If you want to learn more about construction noise pollution, see this blog post.

Noise pollution can affect anyone subjected to continuous loud noise. It can even cause life-altering damage to a person’s hearing, as well as other health issues. Luckily, this serious risk has a quick and easy solution. Temporary noise mitigation systems such as Echo Barrier will significantly decrease noise pollution produced by your indoor construction site. Echo Barrier are temporary acoustical panels that can be easily hung on temporary fence or other structures. They have been proven to mitigate noise from equipment like high-powered generators, as seen herein a video demonstration.

No matter where you are doing construction, it is important to take every precaution to protect the public’s safety from risk. The hazards can be even greater with indoor construction, where people are living and working in close proximity to the job site. Increased foot traffic requires additional safety measures. Plan to use products and methods to prevent trip hazards, control debris and mitigate construction noise to maintain safety.

Safety is our specialty! Contact us to learn more about mitigating risk to the public on your specific site.