Keep Your Crew Safe While Painting

When it comes to painting safety, there are a few main concerns – the greatest of which is a person falling, or things falling onto people.

Since 2011, 36 deaths and 57 injuries have occurred to workers across the country as a result of falling from ladders or scaffolding – or even down elevator shafts – or being crushed in some form or another, according to the United States Department of Labor.

Falls can be prevented with the use of harnesses (available through our Non-Stock Department) that are clipped properly to structures to ensure safety. Using the proper ladder in the correct manner is also important. A Kimball Midwest sales rep can provide more information on ladder usage and safety, as well as where they can be purchased through our Non-Stock Department, which has access to more than 500,000 products.

The second most common cause of death involving painting jobs was respiratory failure or exposure to fumes and carbon monoxide. In those cases, 10 workers died, while seven more were injured.

You can keep your crew safe by making sure if they cannot work in a properly ventilated area, they are at least using respirators. Kimball Midwest stocks respirators and filters that can keep your crew safe and breathing well while on the job.

Explosions or fires were the second leading cause of injury, with 16, while it accounted for three deaths.

Injuries can and will happen, but with proper precautions, many can be mitigated.

We also offer FM-approved flammable safety cabinets, which can keep your entire crew safe by making sure chemicals – including paint – are kept away from fire ignition sources when not in use.

But the most important part of safety is knowledge.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has released a color-coded chart to make the safety precautions workers need to take clearly marked.

You can use our marking paints to help you keep your shop safe.

If you want to make sure your crew stays safe while painting, we offer a Chemicals Safety Seminar, and you can click right here to !