Workplace Safety for Painting Contractors
Paint contractors and their employees face many unique hazards related to their work and their work environment. As a general rule, safety standards painting contractors should adhere to are established and enforced by Federal OSHA. However, some states have their own "safety" agency. You can check to see if you're state is under Federal OSHA or under its own state agency by
clicking here. If you're state does have its own agency, you'll want to visit your state's safety agency website and see out regulatory standards for general or construction industries; depending on if you work on construction sites or if you only paint at non-construction sites. These standards will be the key to complying with the law and keeping workers safe.
Painting Hazards and Control Measures
The hazards associated with painting vary depending on what type of painting you do and where painting is performed. For example, residential interior painting will involve fewer hazards than commercial exterior painting. So again, the OSHA (or your state's equivalent) website will be key in identifying hazards and control measures for painting operations your employees are involved in. But just for fun, let's look at just a few common ones:
- Fall hazards
- Electrocution
- Respiratory hazards
- Slips, trips, falls
- Heat illness
- Cold injuries
These are the most commonly recognized hazards by painters. What about control measures? Well, again the OSHA (or your state's equivalent) will have the details you need, but we'll list a few of those too:
- Personal Fall Arrest Systems (PPE)
- Employee hazard recognition training
- Respirators (PPE)
- Safety signs
- Adequate water sources
- Proper clothes suited for the weather
These are just the basics. Painting contractors can do much more depending on the training they receive.
Painting Safety Procedures
Painting safety procedures will vary depending on the type of painting being conducted. Detailed procedures can be developed that are company specific by checking out the OSHA standards related to each "hazard" related to the painting work employees perform. A good place to start is the
OSHA standards (or your state's equivalent) of course. Or you could also use the painting safety procedures from our
painting safety manual template.
