It doesn’t matter if you’re a well-oiled machine of a contractor with years of experience or someone completely brand-new to the construction world. There is one word you should always have on your mind on a job site: safety. The safety of yourself, the other workers, and anyone near the construction zone should always be a top priority, no matter how simple the job might seem. Even if you already know all these important safety measures for construction sites, it’s crucial to keep them fresh in your mind as you continue working. The last thing you want is to get too comfortable and slip up somewhere.

Regular Safety Training Reviews

When you’ve been in the game for a while, some things just become second nature. You know what tools to grab for each job, you know who to assign where, and you know how to get the supplies that you need as soon as possible. However, safety on the job site is not something to relegate to the back of your mind. It should always be at the forefront when considering each job.

That’s why it’s so important to regularly review safety training videos and instructions. Even the guide you’re currently reading is all about refreshing your knowledge of how important these safety measures truly are. You can never have too much knowledge about how to stay safe. Even if you recall everything from the videos or training, it can help a lot to refresh your memory.

Head Protection

Construction sites are littered with hazards that can come from anywhere, and especially from above. There are plenty of reasons why construction zones require hard hats. They don’t just protect you from falling debris; they can protect you in case of a fall. They also protect you if you get struck by something moving sideways.

If you’re working with tools at a higher elevation, you owe it to everyone to put on a hard hat. Don’t just assume that you’re “being careful enough.” No matter how long you’ve worked in construction, you can’t control everything that goes on in a work zone. Save yourself, and your coworkers, from even more problems by wearing the proper head protection while working. While you may think you’re being safe, you never know if others on the site are just as cautious. Humans aren’t perfect, and slipups happen.

Eye and Face Protection

In the same vein as head protection, you’ll also need to make sure you have all the equipment you need to protect your eyes and face depending on the work you’re doing. Anything involving dangerous substances, such as welding or using concrete surface preparation tools, will involve some sort of facial protection.

Your eyes are among the most vulnerable parts of your body. This means that even if you’re not the one doing the work, you should still wear goggles. This category also covers things such as respirators for work with substances that can create dangerous silica. Both concrete grinding and working with chemicals require respirators to avoid inhaling any harmful particles.

Fall Protection

Working at heights above one story is common for most construction professionals. However, any job where you need to be above six feet off the ground needs to provide some sort of fall protection. Larger jobs often use scaffolding, and this has its own set of rules and regulations to make sure it’s actually safe.

Fall protection is an incredibly important safety measure for construction sites. Anyone who suffers a fall can experience significant consequences. Falling is one of the deadliest forms of construction site accidents, so protecting against it is no joke. Any job site must make fall protection a serious priority.

Electrical Safety Measures

Electricity and its many dangers should be on your mind the moment anyone on the site deals with wiring or cabling. On average, one worker per day is electrocuted while on the job in the US. That number needs to be closer to zero. Overhead and underground power lines are particularly dangerous, so everyone on the site needs to be well aware of their presence and keep a safe distance.

It should go without saying that no one should use electrical equipment in a damp environment. Any sort of rain means no one should work on something involving electricity. Remember to also ground all power lines whenever necessary and always power down equipment that isn’t in use.

Safe Work Method Statements

You must prepare Safe Work Method Statements (SWMS) in advance of any project considered a high-risk job. The point of SWMS are to outline all the potential hazards and dangers associated with the specific job you’re doing. Ideally, you will create SWMS for any dangerous part of a project.

Safe Work Method Statements need to be more than just a description of the potential dangers you’ll face. You must also have strategies in place as to how you’ll manage these dangers. Following SWMS to the letter should help you prevent the worst, if not all, of the possible risks you and your workers might face.

Signage

Safety protocols won’t do anyone any good if they aren’t clearly communicated to the rest of the team. This is why signage is so important to any job site. The SWMS need to be on display at all times so that anyone can refer to them whenever they need. You should also put up other critical signs that include emergency numbers, maps and blueprints of the space, and the locations of important items such as first-aid kits, fire extinguishers, and emergency exits.

At Bedrock Supplies, we know how crucial safety is to a functioning job site. That’s why we made this list; to give people a refresher on some of the most important safety procedures they need to follow. We want you to be safe on the job, which is why we provide the best safety and construction products available. With our equipment, you can get the job done quickly and efficiently. Contact us today for more information.

No one ever said working with concrete was a glamorous job. Part of the reason why it’s not so glamorous is because it’s messy, time consuming, and strenuous work. If you’re in the business of grinding and polishing concrete, you need to know the different hazards that come with the line of work. Here we’ll go over some of the safety hazards to know when grinding and polishing concrete to make you more prepared to face them on the job.

Silica Dust

The most important safety hazard of grinding and polishing concrete you need to know is that of silica dust. Both grinding and polishing concrete produce silica dust as a byproduct. This dust is extremely fine and can easily get into your lungs. If it does get into your lungs, you run the risk of it affecting your respiratory system permanently.

Reducing Risk of Silica Dust

There are a few ways to reduce this hazard. One of which is to use a wet grinding technique rather than a dry one. The water you use will keep the dust to a minimum and make it easier to dispose of as a slurry, rather than waiting for the dust to settle on its own. Breathing apparatuses are also an essential tool when grinding or polishing concrete you cannot ignore. You must wear them at all times when the grinding tool is in use.

Eye Irritation

All that dust isn’t just bad for your lungs. Proper eye protection is critical when you’re grinding or polishing concrete. Silica dust can also irritate and do damage to your eyes, so you need to always wear safety goggles when the grinding is taking place.

Losing Control of Your Tool

Most construction workers know that slow and steady wins the race for almost everything. This is especially true for grinding and polishing concrete. Slow and steady passes are the keys to getting that smooth and shiny finish you’re looking for. However, should you try to rush the job, you can quickly lose control of your cutting tool and harm either yourself or others nearby. Always take a methodical approach to anything related to concrete grinding.

Grinding and polishing concrete doesn’t have to harm anyone. Just remember to always follow proper procedures. When you’re looking for the surface preparation equipment you need to get your job done right, Bedrock Supplies will be there to help.

Here at Bedrock Supplies, we focus on the tools that help you get your job done right. In this pursuit, we’ve come across plenty of alternative tools that can do similar jobs. Diamond tools might be our specialty, but there are a few alternatives that can also get the job done. Both polycrystalline diamond (PCD) and cubic boron nitride (CBN) tools bring a lot to the table in a similar way as diamond tools. Here, we’ll look at the difference between PCD and CBN cutting tools.

Polycrystalline Diamond Tools

PCDs have been on the market since the mid-20^th century. PCDs are manufactured from graphite and are mostly used for tools that cut and grind. The most useful aspect of PCD tools is their consistency and reliability. Both PCD and CBN tools are the right choice when the material you’re working with is highly abrasive or difficult to machine, but PCD tools are what you want to choose when you need a very replicable result.

If, for example, you need to cut something to an extremely specific length so each piece will fit together perfectly, you can rely on a PCD tool to always get that right. PCDs are most useful for reaming, drilling, and milling:

• Light and heavy metals
• Non-ferrous materials
• Plastics
• Ceramics
• Synthetic glass

Cubic Boron Nitride Tools

There are actually a few materials that either cannot or should not be machined by diamonds or PCDs. For these specific materials, CBN tools are a powerful alternative that can really make a difference. One of the most common uses of CBN tools is on ferrous materials. They can also be extremely effective on materials that are particularly high on the hardness scale.

CBN tools boast a strong resistance to heat when machining. This allows them to be used in spaces and at temperatures that normal diamonds or PCDs wouldn’t be able to handle effectively. When we consider cutting with CBN tools, there are a number of alloys that are ideal for its application:

• Chilled cast iron
• Hardened ferrous materials
• Superalloys
• Monel
• Stellite

The differences between PCD and CBN tools may seem small, but they are actually incredibly important to completing vastly different jobs. Whether you need tools like these or concrete polishing and grinding machines, Bedrock Supplies has you covered. We want your job to be done right, which is why we make these tools available to you.

The great thing about the construction industry is its stability. It won’t be replaced by some other industry any time soon, so it’s a great place to get your start. To give you a little bit of assistance, we’ve come up with a few tips on how to start your own construction business. This guide should help you get off the ground so you can build something truly impressive.

Do Thorough Market Research

It doesn’t matter what kind of business you’re planning on starting, market research is key to your success. You’ll need to use it to make sure the area in which you’ll operate actually has enough business opportunities to sustain you. Always check out your competition first; get a read on their reputation, their areas of operation, and how much they tend to cost on average. “Know thy enemy” is as important a phrase today as it was when it was first spoken.

Research your potential customers. Find the major population centers where you’ll spend most of your time doing work. Get an idea on the trends they like to follow and the design elements they enjoy incorporating into their homes for a better idea of what your jobs will look like in the future. It’s also crucial to know what kind of socioeconomic status most of you customers are based in, as this will also inform your business’ practices and potential contracts.

Craft a Good Business Plan

Whether you plan on being a roofing contractor or a concrete grinding contractor, your business will need to have a business plan written down somewhere. The business plan will serve as a guide for your practices going forward and be a crucial element for obtaining future funding.

A good business plan will cover many of your business’ important functions and how you plan on moving forward. Some of the essential elements to any business plan include:

• Structure and management positions
• The services you’ll provide and the kinds of jobs you’ll perform
• What and where your target markets are
• Your top competitors and where they operate
• Your starting employees
• The estimated cost of starting the business
• Marketing plans

For anything else your business might need, bring in a CPA to help you draft your plan. They’ll help you finalize any other details you may have missed and put your business plan in official writing. Then you can register your business for all the benefits provided to businesses, including tax benefits and legal protections.

Get Licensed and Obtain Permits

When it comes to knowing how to start your own construction business, you need to make sure you have all the appropriate licenses and permits in order to operate fully. These can vary greatly based on a number of factors including your area of operation, the type of construction you’re going to do, and how many employees you’ve hired.

Many of these allowances are rather simple to apply for online—but you’ll need to separately apply for both federal and state guidelines. As long as your location won’t be somewhere with a zoning ordinance, you can apply for the licenses and permits you need very easily.

This step is vital. You cannot overlook licenses and permits to work in certain areas—unless you want to incur heavy fines and your worksite getting shut down.

Get the Right Insurances

Your business can’t get off the ground without the right insurance, both for the business itself and for each worker it employs. Construction is a dangerous business; the more you ignore that fact, the more people are going to get hurt and be unable for damages. Always have a plan for the worse case scenarios, no matter how unlikely they are to happen.

Almost all of your contracts will make you show proof of worker’s compensation insurance, but there are other types of insurance you may also want to consider, including:

• General liability insurance
• Auto insurance
• Builder’s insurance
• Professional liability insurance

Secure Your Funding

Funding is going to be the lifeblood of your business. If you aren’t lucky enough to finance your entire business yourself, you’ll need to get a bank loan. You can also look into government loans and funding programs. Check your state’s website to see if there are any grants for small businesses to help you out as well.

It’s important to remember that construction projects tend to have small profit margins, so you’ll need to be on top each project’s funds. A lot of construction project costs come near the beginning, so make sure you can secure funding as early as possible. If not, your company might be unable to even start.

Bedrock Supplies wants nothing more than for your construction company to succeed. That’s why we provide the tools you need at the best price possible so you can focus on getting the job done right. When the time comes to start up you own business, we’ll be there to help you along the way. Don’t hesitate to give us a call if you have any questions about our products or services.

If you’ve ever used a diamond saw blade, you understand how they’re the perfect mixture of sturdy and fragile. When you need to cut or grind the hardest of materials, nothing is going to do you better than a diamond tip saw blade. If you count this tool among the most used tools in your kit, you should probably learn how to extend the life of your diamond saw blades so you don’t have to keep replacing them.

Know Which Bond Matrix You Have

You saw blade’s bond matrix refers to how strongly the diamonds in the blade are set into the metal. There’s a rule of thumb to remember here: a softer bond matrix is better for harder materials like concrete, while a harder bond matrix is better for softer materials like asphalt. If you get this wrong, you can cause the diamonds to wear down much quicker than they normally would. Make sure you look closely at the manufacturer’s recommendations for each saw blade.

Use the Correct Equipment To Match the Blade

Whatever cutting equipment you may be using will determine the kind of blade you should be using inside of it. Blades that tend to have a lower performance will work better in lower horsepower-cutting equipment, whereas high performance blades will perform better when put into higher horsepower equipment. Failing to do this can cause the blade to warp and be less effective.

Use Wet Cutting Whenever Possible

While some materials require dry cutting, such as wood, you’ll want to try and use a wet cutting method as often as possible with your diamond saw blades. The wet cutting method continually cools the blade and reduces heat buildup. Both of these factors lead to a longer lifespan for your diamond blades. Wet cutting also reduces the amount of dust kicked up from your saw, so there are many benefits to choosing this method.

Clean Your Blades Properly

Knowing how to extend the life of your diamond saw blades means knowing how to clean your blades properly. One of the easiest ways to do this is start up your saw and cut into something hard, such as concrete, for about 10 to 15 seconds. This will help remove the grime and grit you may have accumulated while using the blade.

Bedrock Supplies is ready to help you be more efficient on the job site. Our diamond saw blades are ready to go whenever you need them and they’ll get the job done right, the first time. For all of your contracting supply needs, keep Bedrock Supplies in mind.

When it comes to flooring, you can rarely go wrong choosing an epoxy flooring or finish. Epoxy floors are durable, easy to clean, and can look great with the right finish. If you’re interested in knowing more about epoxy flooring, you might find it fascinating how quartz sand comes into play in many occasions. In this article, we’ll take you through how quartz sand is used in epoxy floors so you can see the benefits that adding this small modification can have to the finished product.

Used for Grouting and Coving

When quartz sand is added to an epoxy mixture in large quantities, a few things start to occur. The mixture starts to become thicker and acts more like grout than traditional liquid. This can be extremely useful for covering cracks and other floor damage. You can also shape it better than a more liquid epoxy, such as adding rounded coves to floor’s edges.

Used as an Aggregate To Reduce Slipping

One of the more common ways that quartz sand is used in epoxy flooring is spreading larger granules over a wet basecoat of epoxy. This creates a rougher, more textured coat that’s remarkably anti-slip. Epoxy itself is already quite anti-slip, but the added element of the quartz sand multiples this effect. This is mostly used for when the floor will be placed in harsh conditions and it needs the extra protection and slip resistance.

Used for Decoration

Quartz sand can offer quite the striking appearance when added on top of a floor. Usually the quartz is coated and layered over it to create a shimmering appearance. This application is most often used in places with high levels of foot traffic, such as shopping centers and pedestrian walkways.

Used To Bond Multiple Layers

When you’re going for a thicker application of epoxy, multiple coats of the product are usually needed. One of the ways professionals make sure the different layers bond is to have quartz sand in their epoxy supplies. Sprinkling the sand over a primer or base coat will allow the next layer added on top to bond stronger with the layer below. This is especially important when the layers will be added days apart.

Bedrock Supplies has all the epoxy supplies you need to make your next job the best one yet. We have a range of products that’ll help you out on the next job site and we’re proud to offer them at a great price.