6 Must Follow Safety Tips While Using Concrete Saws

6 Must Follow Safety Tips While Using Concrete Saws

As a construction worker, if you are a part of a construction project wherein you have to carry out concrete cutting and drilling services, you must have the proper knowledge of how to use your tools. Whether you use a concrete saw or a core drilling machine, you must know all the safety measures to carry out your work safely. It’s never easy for inexperienced construction workers to execute concrete cutting and core drilling services because they have to deal with bulky equipment that can injure them when mishandled.

In other words, they must be aware of all essential techniques used in concrete cutting and core drilling, not just because they must accomplish their work safely but also because they should also do it effectively.

It becomes the contractors’ responsibility to improve on-site safety measures so that workers can avoid harm and injuries.

Here are six essential safety tips that construction workers must follow while cutting concrete and drilling holes into hard surfaces or materials.

Check If the Machines Are Working Properly or Not

Construction workers should consider checking the machines first and the essential safety measures. See if the concrete saw or the core drilling machine is working correctly or not. If the appliances are not functioning properly, they must repair or replace them. A device that does not work correctly can create many problems for them, so it’s better to fix the issue before they begin their work.

Don’t Start Your Work Without Wearing Safety Gears

All construction workers must wear safety gear before starting their on-site work. It means whether you are someone who will be using a concrete saw or a core drilling machine, you must put on your safety gear. In addition, workers who have nothing to do with concrete saws and core drilling machines but still have to work on the construction site should also take necessary safety measures to prevent injuries.

Some essential safety gear workers should use while cutting concrete include gloves, strong shoes (which may consist of steel-toed footwear), ear plugs, goggles etc. They should also wear proper clothes to prevent injuries. Sometimes fatal accidents occur on-site when the workers wear clothes and come in contact with the machines.

Follow Instructions While Using a Core Drilling Machine

Considering that core drilling machines are designed to create holes in rigid materials such as reinforced concrete, masonry, granite etc., workers must follow the instructions provided by the machine manufacturers to maintain proper safety. For example, they should not be using the equipment for any other purpose besides the ones they are made for. It means you should not use a core drilling machine to do additional work apart from creating holes in reinforced concrete, granite, masonry, etc.

Kickback And Lock-In

However, with proper usage, you could avoid accidents. Manufacturers use kickback differently, which refers to when the saw jumps towards an operator. Lock-in is when the blade gets jammed in the concrete and pulls the saw away from the operator.

Kickback is caused by using the upper part of the cutting blade or when the cut is interrupted. Do not put a blade back into an amount that has already been started; if you have to do it, please ensure that the blade is spinning at top speed before going ahead with the cut.

Lock is necessary as the machine sometimes gets shifted and pinches the blade. Please ensure that it is supported and clamped so that it does not happen. One more cause of lock-in is trying to cut too deeply too quickly or trying to cut in a radius; it can lock a blade. The best safe practice is making a shallow guide cut and returning for a deeper one.

Stay Away from Dust

Construction workers should follow all the possible procedures to avoid dust produced on-site while cutting concrete, which is very dangerous for their health. The dust made while cutting concrete has the potential to damage the lungs, so it’s essential to stay away from it. Workers should use pneumatic devices or wet-cutting techniques to control dust production while executing concrete-cutting services.

Stay Away from Water While Using Electric Tools

It will help if you stay away from water when using an electric tool to prevent accidents. It would help if you try to prevent short circuits to avoid more significant problems, so stay away from water while using an electric tool.

Don’t Let Anything Distract You

If you are cutting concrete with your tool, ensure you never allow anything to distract you, as that can lead to accidents. For example, if you are using a concrete saw, ensure you do not start talking to a fellow worker or attend a phone call, as that can lead to a fatal accident. So, prevent distractions; otherwise, you may injure yourself from the machine.

Last but not least, concrete cutting and core drilling contractors must have a proper idea of how to use their tools to avoid unforeseen events.