Original posting: Atlanta Real Estate Forum
The Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) is always introducing new rules or enforcing old ones to keep construction workers safe at their jobs. These can be difficult to keep up with, but fortunately, organizations like Pike Consulting Group are here to help builders stay on top of all the regulations.
On today’s All About Real Estate segment of Atlanta Real Estate Forum Radio, Mitchell Smith, president of Pike Consulting, joins co-hosts Carol Morgan and Todd Schnick to discuss how his company helps builders and construction workers stay educated and trained on the federal standards for construction.
Mitchell was a Fayette County fireman for 20 years and a residential builder for 18 years. His experiences and understanding of construction safety practices prompted him to form Pike Consulting Group. Since Mitchell noticed that the rules for the National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA) and OSHA are so similar, he and his colleagues were able to create a comprehensive safety manual to implement preventative practices at his building company. Within a year and a half, over 250 other building companies asked him to do the same for them.
Before anyone goes to a job site, Mitchell says, they are required to be trained on how to properly navigate and perform their tasks, but this does not happen as often as it should. In response to this, Pike Consulting trains firms, helps install management systems and trains builders, subcontractors to follow those safety standards, such as the proper angle for climbing a ladder.
The most common mistake Mitchell sees on job sites is with fall protection. On average, Mitchell says, nine fatalities occur in construction every day across the United States, and thirty-three percent of fatalities are falls. These occur in both commercial and residential construction, but the majority of them are residential.
To fix this, Pike Consulting evaluates the job site and creates a health and safety management system, teaches all the employees how to perform their tasks safely and re-evaluates the job sites and whether the rules are being followed.
What sets Pike Consulting apart is that they work to connect with workers. Pike’s safety experts accompany the workers to their job sites and teach them how to complete tasks in a safe and preventative manner. Additionally, Pike’s close relationship with OSHA helps them keep their clients informed of new rules being introduced.