Cleanliness and Safety

Construction is a dirty and messy business. Whether you have decided that new construction is the way forward for your facility, or you’ve decided to renovate and add on square footage, you’ll need to prepare for the inevitable mess that results. You can make the construction clean up process much easier with a little tactical planning.

Prior To Construction

Making a plan in advance of the commencement of work makes a huge difference in how smoothly your construction site cleanup is executed. Before any work begins, investigate all city and county codes and ordinances and make sure your plan is compliant with these local directives. Some cities have special locations for the drop off of construction waste, while others have strict guidelines dictating how long trash can be on a site, in a parking lot, or on a curb.

If you require waste container (s) such as dumpster(s), make sure you have the quantity you require booked well in advance of your project. In addition, make sure the container you reserve is suited to your specific needs. Concrete disposal requires a much stronger waste receptacle than other types of debris. Lighter duty waste can be bagged in heavy duty refuse bags to keep waste neat and out of the way.

As Construction Progresses

Safety is of the utmost importance during on site cleanup. If demolition is slated at your facility, make sure the cleanup crew stays well out of the way of heavy equipment until the area is safe. Per OSHA regulations, hard hats are an absolutely essential tool to ensure workers are protected from head injuries. To ensure the proper protection of your cleanup crew, every crew member must wear an ANSI approved hard hat while on the job site.

To keep building debris from building up on the site, collaborate with your construction firm or general contractor to establish specific waste removal times. To avoid hindering work in progress it is recommended that sweeping and waste removal commence in the evening after work crews have left for the day. Keeping up a steady pace of waste removal as construction progresses can make post construction cleanup much easier,

Post Construction

Work has concluded, and the crews are no longer on site. Your completed project looks amazing…except for the leftover clutter. Dust, scrap wood, leftover hardware items and the like can make for quite a messy site. Scattered nails can cause havoc, and dust can stick to furniture and fixtures. Prior to occupying the completed building, it is recommended to complete the following checklist of common post construction project cleaning tasks.

• Remove visible debris
• Wipe down walls, doors and baseboards to get rid of fine dust
• Clean light fixtures, door handles and cabinets/cabinet pulls
• Clean glass fixtures such as windows & mirrors.
• Change all HVAC filters to eliminate recirculation of dust
• Thoroughly vacuum carpets and sweep floor surfaces
• Pressure wash exterior paved surfaces

Timely and efficient construction clean up will help reduce on site accidents in addition to reducing the risk of accidents. It can be a grueling task to organize construction clean up on the fly. This is where professional help is a great idea. At Atlantic Sweeping & Cleaning, we have a specialized team devoted to construction cleanup. With our professional team on the job, you can worry less about site safety and waste compliance and concentrate on other tasks while enjoying a less cluttered construction site.