Lockout/Tagout: Why is it Crucial in a Demolition Project?
Lockout/Tagout, otherwise known as LOTO, is a policy that requires a designated individual, known as the authorised person to turn off and disconnect construction equipment from its energy source before servicing it. This authorized person then discharges or blocks off any stored energy and locks and tags the machine’s energy-isolating devices to prevent the release of hazardous energy. This protocol is highly essential in a demolition project. Below are reasons why LOTO is crucial in a demolition project.
Lockout/Tagout Ensures Safety
LOTO is a key procedure to protect personnel from unexpected start up or energisation of machinery, including the release of hazardous energy during activities such as demolition, installation, or routine maintenance. Hazardous energy includes electrical, chemical, mechanical (gravitational, rotational), pressure, vacuum (pneumatic, hydraulic), thermal, and other energies that could cause harm. These procedures apply to fixed, permanently installed, portable, and temporarily installed equipment.
Lockout/Tagout Prevents Injuries
This critical procedure protects against the serious physical injuries that could occur when a hazardous piece of equipment suddenly starts up. You could avoid instances such as shock and electrocution, burns, cuts and slices, pinching and crushing, and death by adhering to the LOTO protocol.
Lockout/Tagout Safeguards Workers and Properties
Safeguarding workers, utilities, and adjacent properties is one of the reasons why LOTO is a must in any demolition projects. Activities can range from remodelling an area within a building to dismantling an entire structure and this can consist of multiple tasks that are hazardous by nature. One of those crucial tasks is shutting off, capping, or controlling all electricity, gas, steam, water, sewer, and other services, and this must be done with strict accountability from beginning to end. If power, water, or other utilities must remain on during demolition, these lines need to be temporarily relocated and/or protected. The location of any overhead power source must also be considered carefully because they can be particularly dangerous in a demolition.
Employees can be seriously or fatally injured if machinery they service or maintain unexpectedly energizes, starts up, or releases stored energy. Employers must always prevent accidents associated with hazardous energy. This standard addresses practices and procedures necessary to disable machinery and prevent the release of potentially hazardous energy while maintenance or servicing activities are performed.
Lockout/Tagout Isolates Energy Sources
As a key step in preparing a building for demolition, all hazardous energy sources must be isolated to prevent injuries. The sources must be isolated and then locked with a tag on the lock. This tag identifies the worker who placed the lock and tag, and that individual holds the key. When completed properly, this prevents any machinery or equipment left on site from sudden start up during a demolition.
Ensure the proper execution of the Lockout/Tagout regulation by hiring Demolition Company for your projects. We create innovative solutions that safely and professionally enhance the quality of any project.
BE AWARE! 5 COMMON ASBESTOS MYTHS
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How to Estimate the Cost of a Commercial Demolition Project
The average cost to demolish a commercial building in the United States is about $30,500. However, the cost varies and it is good to determine how much your commercial building demolition will cost. Here are factors to consider when determining the cost of demolishing a commercial building:
The Square Footage of the Commercial Building
It’s good to measure the square footage of the commercial building you want to demolish as most of the costs associated with demolition projects are charged by square foot. If the commercial building you want to demolish is rectangle-shaped or square-shaped, measure it using a laser or tape measure.
After measuring the length and the width of the building, multiply them together. The average cost to demolish a commercial building is between $4 and $8 per square foot. Keep in mind that this cost can go up or go down depending on the square footage. The cost of demolishing a commercial building decreases with increased square footage.
Asbestos
It costs more to demolish a building with asbestos. This is because the asbestos has to be removed by professionals before the building is demolished. Look for professionals to inspect your commercial building before demolishing it. Those buildings built in the 1980s or earlier are more likely to have asbestos or other hazardous materials as the construction industry used asbestos in the 1980s and earlier.
Asbestos is mostly found in cement sheet, floor tiles, steam pipes, millboard, insulation around furnaces, boilers and so on. Hire a reputable, professional asbestos inspector to inspect your commercial building before demolishing it. If the inspector finds hazardous materials, it is good to have the materials removed.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has guidelines to ensure the proper and safe removal of asbestos. The cost of removing asbestos ranges between $2 and $3 per square foot. It is a good idea to get a written estimate of the cost of removing and disposing of asbestos from the abatement professional.
Permits, Licenses, and Other Policies
Ensure that you get permits, licenses, and other policies before demolishing your commercial building. Inform utility companies that you are planning to demolish your commercial building. The average cost of demolition permits is $200.
This cost varies depending on where you live and permits in some states cost as much as $10,000. While the permit cost is mostly included in the price of a demolition service, it is important to confirm this when you get your written estimate.
Have a planned demolition project in Tampa or St. Petersburg? Contact Industrial Demolition today!
Readmore Commercial Demolition Tips
Commercial Demolition Tips
Demolishing a building requires thorough research and careful orchestration. It is essential for demolition contractors to always consider the environmental safety and employee safety, or run the risk of losing their business licenses. Demolition experts, like general contractors, are required o follow the employee safety standards set by OSHA. Demolition companies must also adhere to EPA standards by using environmentally safe deconstruction methods. Asbestos and other hazardous construction materials, need to be removed safely before demolishing a building.
There are some forward-thinking demolition firms that not only meet government standards but exceed them and look for new and innovative ways to reuse building materials instead of sending them directly to a landfill. Commercial demolition experts have a unique perspective on the best ways to take down buildings. Therefore, there is a lot they can teach residential contractors when it comes to building methods, material selection and much more.
For residential builders, there is a definite cost-value to focus on eco-friendly issues, with the spike in demand for green construction from consumers that have taken place in recent years. Cradle-to-cradle methods of building that anticipate future green demolition can add points towards achieving LEED certification – which for earth-friendly building is the Holy Grail. The following tips are some of the most important things that industrial demolition experts recommend that residential builders consider.
Limit exposure to harmful chemicals
Residential building contractors are, of course, aware of the serious dangers of lead, asbestos, and other hazardous materials involved in home construction. None of these toxins are found in new houses, but residential contractors frequently get hired to perform retrofitting work so that an older house can be brought up to code. The following are some examples of hazards that are not illegal but potentially irritating that residential construction workers may run into while they are working on old buildings:
Synthetic mineral fibers (SMF). This refers to fibrous products that are made fiberglass, ceramic and rock wool. Studies that shown that SMFs are not as noxious as asbestos, and are therefore used in thermal and sound protection products still. The most common symptoms associated with SMF exposure are an irritation to the throat, nose, and eyes. However, some people question whether SMFs may also cause lung cancer since at times they contain fiberglass. Industrial demolition experts recommend that workers be required to wear protective clothing and respirators whenever it is possible they will come into contact with SMFs.
Wood dust containing formaldehyde. When inhaled, the wood dust might become stuck inside of the nasal passages, and it is believed to have caused nasal cancer in certain woodworkers. Particleboard and wood paneling contain the toxic formaldehyde substance sometimes. Whenever the wood is manipulated or cut, formaldehyde-laced dust gets sent into the air, which can pose a major risk for workers who are nearby. That is why it is recommended by demolition contractors that workers wear protective respiration gear whenever they are dealing with paneling and particleboard.
Lead paint. One frequently overlooked hazard is the dangers that are involved when torching steel beams that contain lead paint. Just cutting a couple of painted beams may expose the worker to very high airborne lead levels. OSHA requires workers in these cases to be provided with protective clothing, respirators, hand washing stations.
There are just a couple of materials that demolition companies need to carefully prepare for and monitor when you are taking a building down. OSHA has a comprehensive set of standards specifically for demolition procedures. If this is an area your team is not experienced or confident in, you should strongly consider contacting a commercial demolition professional and consult with them. An established demolition company will have extensive experience it taking buildings down from factories to air traffic control towers. These experts can offer unique insights into the best way to remove chemical hazards from the site.
Fall protection
Since the entire business of demolition companies is to create holes and tear things down, they are very aware of how important fall protection is. Whenever working around an open roof, open wall, or hole with a fall of more than 6 feet, usually demolition workers are required to have on full-body restraints. Those same hazards often are present throughout the construction phase also, and that means fall protection is as critically important for builders.
Recycling materials including steel and concrete
Green industrial demolition contractors are aware of what can be recycled from defunct buildings. That information can be very useful when residential buildings are choosing earth-friendly building materials for their projects. From the perspective of commercial demolition, the following materials can be recycled effectively upon demolition. Given how high disposal costs are currently, it often worth the cost to pay workers to separate these materials out.
Concrete. Tons of concrete can be derived from one demolition project. Fortunately, you can crush the concrete into gravel, which is a material that is in high demand for new building projects. There are some industrial demolition contractors that use huge, mobile concrete crushers that are able to process all of the concrete on-site very easily.
Steel. With the proper expertise and equipment, steel and other types of scrap metals may be processed to recycle into new products.
Beams and wood interior doors. Wooden posts, doors, and beams in good condition often can be reused, recycled or sold. Numerous architectural salvage companies that have an interest in these kinds of materials. You can recycle the wood if they are in poor condition.
Toilets and sinks. If these fixtures are in good condition an architectural salvage company can usually reclaim them. Otherwise, you can recycle porcelain materials with concrete, and stainless steel fixtures can go with other scrap metals to be recycled.
The two ends of the lifecycle of a building are construction and demolition. So it makes a lot of sense that the professionals from these two phases have plenty the can teach one other. Consider consulting with a demolition expert if your contracting team could use some new building knowledge.
Industrial Demolition is a fully insured and licensed demolition company that serves Tampa and the greater Tampa Bay region and holds certifications for handling hazardous waste along with expensive experience working on LEED-certified green demolitions.
Have a demolition project you need assistance with? Contact today!
