Ways We Design for Safety in Our Walls

Businesses often invest in commercial renovations to upgrade their physical locations. From adding a new room to replacing a floor, these construction projects can help you deliver a more enhanced experience for customers and users.

Safety should be a top priority no matter what construction project you take on. If you schedule renovations during regular business hours, you need to follow proper safety procedures to keep customers safe. 

While some sites use drywall to separate ongoing construction from other business procedures, temporary walls are a superior alternative. Temporary barriers have simple installation measures and key safety features. They can help maintain a safe construction environment while completing your project.

Read on to learn more about construction safety and how SwiftWall commits to safe wall design.

Common Challenges in Construction

Renovations and construction projects are common in most industries. Whether you manage a shopping mall or a school building, new construction can update your facilities and enhance user experience.

However, building projects can present challenges for businesses and other organizations. Many choose to keep up with regular operations during construction, so they won’t lose revenue or discontinue important services. But ongoing construction can lead to challenges with the following:

1. Maintaining Safety

It’s crucial to prioritize customer safety during construction. Renovations often require specialized equipment and procedures that only professional crews should handle. If you allow construction to occur during normal business procedures, keeping customers away from moving equipment and materials is vital.

Construction projects could create hazards like:

• Exposed electrical cords
• Tripping or falling hazards
• Exposure to airborne materials

Specific industries like healthcare require construction projects to meet certain standards. During renovations, the equipment can stir up dust and bacteria. These materials could reach patients and infect them if they aren’t properly restrained. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) mandates that the project must pass an Infection Control Risk Assessment (ICRA) if you complete renovations while around patients.

Establishing a clear divide between building efforts and the remaining facilities can help maintain a safe environment. For example, a dining establishment might want to build an additional dining area for its customers. They could bring in a construction crew to develop the new room but still allow regular customers to access the rest of the restaurant. To keep construction separate from the other customers, the restaurant could use a temporary wall divider.

2. Keeping Spaces Clean

Construction can also pose a challenge to cleanliness. No matter your industry, businesses need to maintain a clean environment for customers and users. From restaurants to malls, customers expect sanitary conditions. The cleaner your area is, the more satisfied your buyers become.

But depending on the size of your project, ongoing construction can make it more challenging to maintain a clean environment. Without proper separation, sawdust or drywall dust could reach other areas of your facility. 

Your renovation project could also make organizing your location more difficult. You might have to block off certain entrances, exits or other important areas. As you make these changes, keeping everything organized might become more challenging. For instance, you might lose storage space or have to move tables together. A crowded area can become more challenging to clean or maintain.

3. Minimizing Distractions

Lastly, construction projects can create significant distractions for customers or other users in the building. For instance, they could cause disturbances like:

• Visual disruptions: Projects can display many images or other visual distractions for users. Many renovations need heavy machinery or equipment, which can take up large portions of space and distract customers. You might also have to block off certain areas during construction, which can disrupt your usual layout. Customers might be bothered by these variations and have a less positive experience.
• Loud noises: Construction can also cause noise disturbances. Drills, saws, jackhammers and similar tools create a clamor while in use. Consistent noises might make it harder for customers to communicate clearly with employees. Loud noises can also cause headaches or frustration, lowering customer satisfaction. Many businesses try to schedule noisier construction for times of low traffic or outside regular business hours.

Too many distractions can prevent customers from enjoying services or products. It’s important to regulate construction so it doesn’t impact overall customer satisfaction. If your renovations are extensive, you could consider closing for a short period to complete them. However, most companies don’t want to lose revenue due to a shutdown.

Businesses often choose tools like temporary walls to minimize disturbances and remain open. These tools can hide construction equipment and progress from customers. Some temporary barriers even have sound-proofing capabilities to limit equipment noises.

The Importance of Safety and Construction Containment

Once you commit to a renovation, your facilities have extra safety considerations. Whether you replace ceiling tiles or remove an entire wall, safety is the most critical feature of your construction project. Construction sites must follow the correct procedures to keep employees and passersby safe. 

Critical safety practices include: