G2 Provides Health and Safety Consulting Services to Portland, Oregon Architecture Firm
An architecture firm that provides Construction Manager as agent (CMa) services to the General Services Administration (GSA) retained G2 to review their general contractor’s health and safety programs and to perform safety site inspections over the course of a six-month construction project.
Project Overview
The project included exterior restoration work on a nine-story federal building with white marble wall panels that spans two city blocks. Prior to initiation of the project, G2 provided feedback on safety programs regarding conformance with regulatory compliance. Throughout the duration of the project, G2 performed safety site inspection of ongoing restoration activities and reported on potential occupational safety violations.
The nature of work and foot traffic in the area presented challenges with ensuring the safety of building entrants and the public during the project. Much of the restoration work was performed on swing stages, man lifts and scaffolding. The work involved replacing the existing sealant from the marble wall panel joints, repairing the marble panels as needed, and cleaning the exterior construction. Meanwhile, the building needed to maintain normal accessibility for occupants and open public walkways.
Actions Taken
Before any site work began, G2 provided written feedback to the architecture firm regarding their health and safety programs, which included the following:
- Accident prevention program
- Emergency response program
- Swing stage layout plan
- Fall protection plan
- Fire prevention plan
- Housekeeping plan
- Night operations lighting plan
- Site sanitation plan
- Hazard communication plan
During the restoration work, G2 performed a dozen site safety inspections to evaluate safety measures and identify potential violations of occupational safety standards. The observational work entailed reviewing a variety of health and safety aspects, including:
- Safety-related project documentation
- Safety barricades
- Swing stages
- Scaffolding
- Man lifts
- Covered walkways
- Personal protective equipment
- Fall arrest systems
- Contractor usage of tools and equipment
In addition, ongoing project safety documentation was reviewed, including daily rigging checklists, weekly safety meeting reports, and site attendance lists.
G2 Recommendations
G2 reported a handful of potential violations and made several recommendations on improvement opportunities for better overall safety of site activities and work environments. Some planned safety initiatives were discovered to be impractical after beginning the project, so G2 advised on properly documenting appropriate changes in safety policies and ensuring all hazards were adequately controlled. Moving forward, G2 will be available to the architecture firm for continued program support.
About G2 Consultants
G2 Consultants is a Northwest US based firm with nationwide capabilities. We provide full-service occupational safety, industrial hygiene, and environmental health consulting services to public, private, and governmental sector clients. Our expertise covers regulatory compliance consulting, risk assessment, health hazard evaluations, waste management, and indoor environmental quality evaluations. The G2 team boasts over 80 years combined experience. We pride ourselves on taking a fresh and innovative approach to our work and delivering on time and on budget.
Contact us today for your occupational safety and industrial hygiene service needs. Our team, comprised of credentialed professionals with extensive experience, can provide the tools, assessment services and expertise you need to keep your employees and workplace safe.