Over the years now, construction has become the leading investment. It has brought in millions of dollars in the economy and boosted it to great heights. There is no doubt that this is not stopping soon. Business men are investing in real estate and skyscrapers used as business premises. Research shows that construction is rapidly increasing by 62%. Building has its own hazards that era not easily identified.
When constructing buildings, materials used should be tested. Many of them should be non-combustible and efficient. Untested materials do not comply with the building requirements. In case, a fire breaks out, and the materials used were flammable, the fire would be elevated and bring more damage.
This clearly shows the importance of using tested building materials to avoid a hazard in the offing. Untested materials are mostly identical to tested materials, so caution should be taken when purchasing building materials so as to avoid problems. Fire tested materials resist against fire and hence reduce the speed of spread. The use of new products is also a cause of hazards in building. There is uncertainty of the performance of such products.
These products lack field testing and sufficient information to support long term performance when it comes to building. This may bring risks not only to the owners, constructors but also to the inhabitants of the buildings. If the new products are substandard, they may cause huge losses and damages. Precautions should be taken when a contractor chooses to use a new product. This can be done by seeking legal advice.
Poor finishing can also be a big problem when constructing a building. This may occur when the roofing is not properly installed. Poor roofing can allow moisture to pass through leading to mould. The roof can collapse and cause injuries to those under it. Poor framing is also part of poor finishing. Framing if nor done to perfection can cause cracks around doors and windows.
These are expensive to fix and use up a lot of time. A proper finishing is important to avoid risks in the future. The finishing should take time. Materials used should be of high quality in order to ensure that no accidents occur. When a construction is underway, the people in charge should be responsible and well trained.
They should have the technical ability to control and manage the proceedings during construction. They should also be able to identify smell errors and mistakes made during this process. This will ensure that grave mistakes that would cause accidents do not occur. These people should have knowledge of the products used in construction.
They should know if the workmen have certificates of qualification to do the job they will be assigned. This will help avoid mistakes. Workers play a very important role when it comes to construction as they do all the work. They put everything in place.
This means that they hold an importan place in the success of the construction. Due to these reasons, they have to be experienced and properly trained. They should be of high standards and follow the instructions given to them to the letter. Any small mistake would lead to magnified side effects, so the workers should be precise and perfect with the work that has been assigned to them.
To do so, they need to be briefed every now and then and to be supervised at all times. This will ensure that risks and hazards shall be evaded. The use of approved drawings and specifications is very important. It is the small details that hold the most important results.
Drawings and specifications used in the building must be viewed and approved. This allows for certainty that the building to be constructed will have no faults. If they have been approved, it is safe and legal to build. Contractors fail to have their drawings approved, and this is risky and illegal as it may cause faults during or after construction.
It is important for contractors to pass through all legal processes. This is to ensure safety of the workers and the inhibitors of the building to be constructed. Buildings, especially green buildings, have been constructed with the aim of saving energy. It has, however, been discovered that they don’t save energy as anticipated.
They are costly and time consuming.After the construction of buildings, they have to be covered under an insurance agency. Some contractors fail to do so and proceed without an insurance cover. When an accident occurs, parties are reluctant to share risks as none of them wants to be held responsible for it. This brings about a hazard as compensations must be made.
The parties hence should agree on sharing risks or having their building covered by an insurance policy before it starts to be constructed. This will ensure that, in case of an accident, people get compensations, and law suit against the parties avoided completely. Poor post construction build-out is also a major problem. The cost of post construction is quite expensive and requires a lot of time and money.
If it fails to be properly implemented it could lead in problems in the future. This would lead to an extra cost and law suits put against the owners or partners. It is necessary to ensure that it is looked into to avoid problems. In order for a building to be constructed successfully, it is important to have good operation standards. The standards help in advising owners, builders, drainers and consultants on how to go about the installation of systems and gadgets. It also shows the processed to be followed during construction.
This means that safe guidelines are issued and should be followed to the letter. Most contractors fail to follow this and do thing their way, which might be hazardous to the people occupying the premises. Problems arise from this, and they bring about various effects such as the use of additional funds to reconstruct. Complying with legal regulations is a necessary thing for anyone looking to construct a building. They have to comply with building regulations. They also have to follow the safety regulations and the occupational regulations.
Every person working in the construction site has to have safety gear. These include a helmet, gloves and a gas mask. These protect them from dangers that may occur from minor or major accidents during construction, or handling equipment that might cause injury if protective gear would not be used. Health measure should also be put to consideration.
A health unit should be put in place in case an accident occurred. It is advisable to have a first aid kit around. Failure to this could lead to death of workers or fatal casualties. Caution should then be taken to avoid this. During construction, many accidents can occur. This can be prevented by taking precautions which many people fail to do.
Such accidents include, falling from roof tops, fires, getting run over by machines in the construction site, damages by falling objects and even getting cut by equipment. This can all be prevented if all the equipment is working efficiently and caution observed. The location where a building is to be constructed is important. It has to be carefully analysed and picked out. The soil has to be sampled so as to know if it will offer a good anchor for the building. It is important to investigate if there is water under that location.
Water can cause the soil to loosen and this makes the foundation weak. A building could easily collapse if the location of the building is not thoroughly scrutinized. When the building is to be put up in a slope, the drawings, and its sustainability should be calculated to avoid its collapse in the future or during construction. A good concrete foundation should be put up to ensure the building is stable. Failure to enforce this, a building could easily collapse and lead to loss of lives and massive financial losses.Use of environment unfriendly equipment such as machines that give out hazardous gases is common in building.
These gases destroy the ozone layer and also cause respiratory diseases. They affect not only the people working in the construction but also the people who live around. Those who are passing buy can also be affected. This effect is long term as the effects last for a long time and cause an imbalance in the weather.
It is hence advisable to take precaution by using environment friendly equipment and machine. Gases should also be treated. People who fail to do this can be sued and heavily fined. It is then easy to take precaution and avoid losses. Building is an investment that is here to stay. It has its pros and disadvantages.
The disadvantages can be quite hazardous if allowed to occur. These can be avoided if all the necessary precautions would be set up and all the legal formalities followed. Evaluation of hazard is not as expensive as facing the results of ignorance and negligence.
