For most businesses, growth is a good strategy. You need to keep growing in order to ensure that you don’t become obsolete. On the other hand, explosive growth can be difficult to manage, particularly if you don’t have a ton of business experience. With these tips, you will know if your business growth pattern is starting to shift out of control.

You Can’t Say No to New Work
In the early years of your contracting business, you may not have to say no to new work opportunities. In fact, at some point you may be delighted to get them. But on the other hand, some businesses are so successful and in demand at the beginning but they are quickly inundated. This can be a problem. After all, saying yes to every job opportunity can leave you burned out and may even pressure you to make shortcuts on the jobs you have. It isn’t a good long-term strategy, because it can leave you without a reliable, satisfied client base.

Your Backlog Is Longer than Your Client List
For most people in construction, a little bit of a backlog can be a good thing. You don’t want to be finishing projects so quickly that you have days without work before the next one. On the other hand, too much of a backlog can make it difficult for you to focus on a more gradual rate of growth. The right backlog depends on the field that you’re in. If you’re regularly taking projects that will last weeks or months, it’s common to have a backlog that could last you several months. But if most of your work takes a week or less, you don’t want to be booked out so far that people conclude you are simply unavailable. There’s a good balance between booking out past the end of the calendar and being ready to do the work tomorrow.

You’re Hiring People Faster than Paying Them
Having so much work on your plate that you need to hire employees to help is a great problem to have. You just have to make sure that your workload can sustain the expenses. In many small businesses, payroll is the biggest single expense. For every person that you hire, you need to be reasonably certain that you have future work sufficient to continue their services. And this isn’t just about protecting your relationship with employees who may be difficult to find. Logic and laws dictate that if you hire people to do work, you have to pay them for it. Sometimes, if you hire too many people too quickly, you may run out of work and money faster than you expected.

Your Expenses Are Doubling
When your clients are coming out of the woodwork, it’s tempting to look at all these projects and think only of the future profits. But you also have to consider how this can increase your expenses. For example, trying to run twice as many projects in the same amount of time may require you to rent or purchase more equipment, or order more supplies. The value of the projects may significantly exceed the expenses, but you’ll need to keep a close eye on it. When your total costs to run the business are much higher than they were a few months ago, it may not take much to send your cash flow spiraling.

Your Cash Flow Isn’t Improving
The last sign that your business is growing out of pace is your cash flow. Cash flow is the liquid assets you have to keep your business running:

• Pay yourself and employees
• Pay bills
• Order materials from suppliers
• Outsource administrative tasks, like taxes
• In theory, if you average about 70% expenses on each project you do, that leaves at least 30% for cash flow and possible profits. But this depends on the projects that are most in-demand. If you go through a period where you were doing more work with a lower margin, you might watch your cash flow evaporate.

Once you start your contracting business, you want it to grow at a steady rate. For more information about beginning your career path in construction, visit CSLS today!

Environmental hazards have a way of affecting the way you think and even your health. Although you might be most concerned about your living space, your workspace also deserves careful consideration. You may need to conduct a detailed analysis, especially if you’re already encountering symptoms. With these tips, you can discover the common health risks presented by workspaces, both office and industrial.

Sick Building Syndrome
Sick Building Syndrome is not a particularly new concept, but it’s something worth keeping in mind when you’re working in spaces built in the last 70 years. In essence, Sick Building Syndrome describes a pattern of health problems for the people who live and work in the space, tied to the construction of the building itself. It’s kind of like chronic illnesses and health concerns that people might develop if they live in an area where the water or soil is contaminated. In this case, it’s the construction, layout, and function of the building that triggers issues for the people inside it.

Signs and Symptoms
Environmental exposure to contaminants or irritants is common enough that you might not even think about it. But there’s a difference between an occasional issue and one that seems to come up all the time. People who are getting sick at their place of work often experience the following:

• Colds that never seem to go away
• Chronic allergies that get better with time away from work
• Chronic headaches or migraines
• Exhaustion or inability to focus
• The quick spread of communicable diseases
• Unfortunately, these symptoms are sufficiently mainstream that people may not realize they are tied to the workspace. But just as you would clean up your home if you suspect a problem, you may have to inspect your workspace in the same ways.

Sanitation
If you have been paying attention to anything that has happened in 2020, you know that sanitation can be a significant factor in your health at home and work. The recent pandemic has made a lot of people rethink their sanitation strategies, particularly related to diseases that spread by contact, droplets or aerosols. Protecting yourself from common conditions involves more than the extra clean-up tasks you do to prevent COVID-19, however. After all, you can contract colds, influenza and even food poisoning at your workplace. If you find that you spend half the year with a sniffle at work, you know that increased sanitation is something you’ll need to keep.

Ventilation
Improvements in modern construction techniques have solved problems while simultaneously creating others. For example, changes in the ways that people envision the building envelope have greatly improved energy efficiency by controlling the airflow. Unfortunately, this presumes that every system has an ideal ventilation system, and that people will use it regularly. In a building that is tightly sealed, ventilation makes the difference between safe spaces to work and harmful off-gassing of VOCs. This is as much a concern of behavior as it is a factor of the equipment. In some cases, increasing the filtration minimizes the harm. In other cases, people have to convince themselves to use the ventilation in the first place.

Chemicals and VOCs
Sometimes, certain features of the building or activities inside it can trigger a lot of these health problems. Many products that people use at home or work contain volatile organic compounds. These VOCs can release contaminants into the air over time. Some of them are relatively harmless, but others are not. For example, if a warehouse cleaning crew is using cleaning products or solvents that are meant to be used outside or with proper ventilation, there may be problems when they use them inside with the doors closed. In many cases, a funky smell is an indicator that you need to increase the ventilation. However, you can’t guarantee that you will know a toxin by scent. After all, carbon monoxide is deadly but also odorless.

Getting work done means ensuring that your workspace isn’t causing health concerns. With these tips, you’ll know if you have a problem. To find out about the benefits of expert contractor licensing exam preparation, visit CSLS today!

Have you ever received a written document in handwriting and had no idea what the person had written? This is a common problem for a lot of people who aren’t composing all of their documents by computer. Although you may be set up to type and print almost everything, every now and then you’ll fill out an estimate or similar form in your own writing. Can the client read it? Here’s how you can make sure they do.

Choose the Right Implement
There is a right pen for anyone. If you haven’t found it yet, it’s time to keep looking. Some people prefer pens with ink that dry virtually on contact. If you’re finding that your handwriting smears easily, you may need to take this route. Other people feel that cheap pens quit on them too easily or force them to press much harder than they would otherwise. In this case, a pen with free-flowing ink may help you to relax your grip and write with greater ease. Invest $10 or $20 in a handful of choices, and test them out for more than just a scribble. This process will help you narrow it down to a few options.

Take Your Time
If you look at someone’s handwriting, you can usually tell when they are taking their time and when they’re in a hurry. Someone who is writing very quickly makes more mistakes and may press too hard. Good handwriting takes practice, but it also takes focus. If you are trying to fill out a detailed page in only five or 10 minutes, it’s much more likely to come out looking like chicken scratch. Instead, give yourself the time to focus on the words and numbers that you’re writing, especially on the parts that require absolute clarity. Think about it as you would signing a deed or writing a check. Money may be involved here, so it’s worth the wait.

Relax Your Grip
Many people who struggle with their handwriting realize that they are holding onto the pen for dear life. Like any other tool you use for your contracting business, a pen is a device that you must handle correctly. If you’re gripping it tight enough to snap it in two, your hand will wear out and you’ll be more likely to punch through the paper. Instead, try a few different ways to grip the pen and not just the one that your primary school teachers told you to use. Find one that feels comfortable and natural to you. You’ll be able to keep going on longer forms this way.

Write on a Stable Platform
Practically everyone has had an experience of trying to write down some important information on a piece of paper against a car‘s windshield. This is not the ideal surface on which to write, which is why it’s not surprising that you may find information written in this way hard to read. You need a stable platform that isn’t likely to shift unexpectedly. Of course, writing at a desk is ideal, but not every contractor has this option. If you’re writing on the jobsite, consider asking to sit down at a desk or table to fill out the relevant information. If you’re writing in your car, look for portable writing desks that don’t require you to lay them across the steering wheel.

Practice, Practice, Practice
The best way you can improve your handwriting in a way that will stick is to build a habit. In order to build a habit that improves upon your previous handwriting, you’ll need to practice. Once you reach a point where your handwriting is consistent, clear and easy to read, continue working at that pace. Over time, you may be able to build up a little more speed. Since clarity is the goal, keep in mind that rushing your practice is more likely to re-introduce the bad habits you worked so hard to get rid of.

Having good professional communication can help you run a successful contracting business. So does a thorough grounding in the knowledge you need to pass your contractor licensing exam. To find out more about your options, contact CSLS today!

When you run a business, you need to make sure that your income stays ahead of your expenses. The trouble is that there are a variety of hidden costs that you might not know about, and they can certainly add up. Be sure to factor in these unexpected fees or charges, so that you can form a plan to keep your accounts in the black.

Permits, Licenses and Insurance
The ability to conduct business depends on the type of licenses you have and how you maintain them. For example, you’ll need to pay a fee every couple of years to renew your contractor’s license. This license is not the same thing as your business license, which you will also need to renew regularly through the state. Given the type of work contractors do, you should also plan to carry insurance to protect yourself, your equipment and your clients, where applicable. These fees may need to be paid once a year, twice a year or more frequently. You may need to save up so that you can pay them in a lump sum on the month that they are due.

Credit Processing Fees
Credit processing fees usually take a small percentage of each transaction that you accept by credit card. It typically amounts to 3-4% of the transaction, and may not necessarily have a maximum dollar amount per transaction. If you sign up for one of the many payment-handling platforms like PayPal or Square, you’ll still need to pay the transaction fees. You can avoid this problem by deciding not to accept credit cards, but that depends on the way you plan to run your business. Contractors who work primarily with residential customers and not businesses may find it very difficult to do business without accepting credit cards.

Interest on Debts
It’s not uncommon for business owners to carry at least a small amount of debt in the form of small business loans or a line of credit. Before you apply for loans like this, you should consider the interest rates and how quickly you will be able to pay them off. For example, a fixed-rate loan at a low rate gives you a predictable payment you can plan for until it’s paid off. A line of credit or a business credit card offers you flexibility in determining how much money you need. In exchange, you may have to deal with an adjustable interest rate. Keep in mind that credit card companies aren’t necessarily required to keep a fixed-rate credit card at the same rate after the initial term. With advance notice, they may be able to raise the interest rate over time.

Late Fees or Extensions on Rentals
Many contractors find that renting equipment is often quite a bit cheaper than buying it. After all, if you don’t use the equipment daily, you don’t want to pay more to have it sitting in a warehouse most of the time. When you reserve the equipment, you should pay attention to the rental interval and what happens if you’re not able to return it at the right time. Getting charged for an extra day of use or a late fee could double the cost, which may amount to hundreds or thousands of dollars that you did not expect.

Employee Benefits
You offer employee benefits as a way to keep good workers and entice more to join your team. Even if those benefits aren’t tangible, they still typically come at some kind of cost. For example, if you offer employees a few weeks of paid leave each year, you must expect them to take it. If you only have a few employees, you may not be able to maintain the same level of productivity while they are taking a day off. It is wise to consider your cash flow so that you can always cover payroll, regardless of the project that you are working on this week.

Running a contracting business may cost more than you think. If you pay attention to these hidden costs, you’ll have a better idea of what you can expect. For a great investment to help you prepare for the contractor licensing exam, visit CSLS today!

On occasion, you’ll have people who help you out with your contracting business. From your first mentors to the reliable employees you can hire to make your business a success, you definitely don’t do it alone. It’s a good idea to thank them, but you should do it in the right way. Here are a few ways you can thank the people who paved the way for your business to thrive.

Thank Mentors
Many contracting business owners have a better experience if they can rely on a mentor to help them get started. Mentors give you valuable information about your field or how to succeed in business. They can serve in a variety of roles, including:

• Teachers
• Former bosses
• Older family members
• Colleagues

The way that you thank a mentor depends on the position that they play in your business life currently. For many people, an earnest thank-you note is much appreciated. Be wary of giving gifts unless you know that the person will be able to accept them without worrying about a conflict of interest.

Refer Subcontractors
Subcontractors who do great work and provide a reliable service can be difficult to find and even harder to keep. Most of the time, professionals who are that good at what they do are well aware of it. But sometimes, you’ll find someone who is just starting out and hasn’t realized their own potential. In that case, one of the best things that you can do to thank them is to give them the benefit of word-of-mouth recommendations. Let other contractors in the area know of your high opinion of the subcontractor’s work, so that they can grow their own business as well.

Reward Employees
When you find a good employee, you should go out of your way to let them know how much you appreciate them. In the past, business owners might be wary of thanking employees too much out of fear that it changes the balance of power in the company. On the other hand, in the midst of an unprecedented labor shortage, you need all the good workers you can get. Employees who feel valued by the business that they work for are more likely to do good work and even more likely to stay with the company. If you have the capacity, reward your employees in the form of higher pay, better benefits or more time off.

Cultivate Relationships With Colleagues
There’s a reason that networking is so high on the list of what you need to do to succeed in a business. Forming long-lasting, rewarding relationships with other people in the industry can ensure that you have more access to opportunities to grow your business. Of course, not everybody enjoys networking, and you may have to work with people with whom you don’t want to build a relationship. But when you do, it’s worthwhile for both parties to invest in it. Keep in contact with colleagues you like, who do good work in your community. You’ll be able to continue helping each other out that way.

Create Referral Programs for Clients
When you start a contracting business, you might think of your relationship with your clients as a simple one. You provide a service, and they pay for it. But on occasion, you’ll have a client who expands your opportunities for projects. For example, a well-connected client might recommend your services to other potential clients. You can always thank them personally or in writing for the effort. If you’d like to take it to the next level, you could consider creating a referral program. Referral programs provide a small incentive to clients for referring new customers to your door.

Knowing how to thank people is one way to create a positive business ethic. To learn more about what you’ll need to run a contracting business, contact CSLS today!

Every now and then, something is going to happen in your personal life that may put your contracting business at risk. Crises like a family illness or major car accident could divide your attention and most importantly, your time. Here are a few things you can do to ease your stress when you’re trying to manage a difficult load.

Set Priorities
People sometimes get into trouble when they try to balance too many things at once during a crisis. It’s not difficult to imagine. You try to make sure that you handle everything in normal order, even when your personal life is in chaos. This can lead to burn out, which increases the likelihood of mistakes. Instead, you should set the most basic priorities that will keep your business functioning, such as:

• Completing pressing work
• Notifying clients of delays
• Paying bills
• Paying employees

These are the tasks that help you keep the lights on while you devote time to more important matters.

Determine Likely Points of Failure
One of the first things you have to learn as a business owner is risk management. Risk management is a business practice that encourages you to evaluate the risks you’re likely to encounter with a project or approach. When you reach a point where you can’t keep running your business as you have been, it’s time to do some analysis on the most likely points of failure. This can be difficult for business owners to do because it requires you to admit honestly what you are most likely to do wrong or incompletely. But making a list can help. These points of failure are the ones that you need to plan for in advance, so that they don’t sink you.

Designate Checkpoints
Some people find themselves in a situation where they will be in a crisis for the next week or so. For others, it might be a month or two. In either case, you want to set a handful of checkpoints that allow you to evaluate your situation and decide if you need to make changes. This step is important because you may not need to operate at the same diminished capacity for the entire duration. There may be points where you can do more work, and days or weeks when you will need to do less. You can ask a friend, relative or business partner to help you remember to check-in. Otherwise, even a reminder on your smartphone may be enough to help you dedicate that time.

Delegate
The way you run your business depends a lot on your personality. Some people like to do the vast majority of the work by themselves, so that they don’t have to answer to anyone or delegate. Others prefer to lead by example and build a team of employees who can support them as fully as possible. When you find that you’re stuck in a bad situation, being able to delegate is a very useful skill. Assigning tasks to someone who is willing and able to perform at full capacity can help to ensure that they get done on time and according to specifications. If you don’t have employees, this might be a good time to research a few options for outsourcing that you can call upon when you need it.

Avoid Overextending Yourself
You know that meme about the dog that is sitting and drinking coffee inside a building that’s on fire? You definitely don’t want that to become your business. Overextending yourself is a quick way to lead to burnout, especially when you are having personal issues. If you build your business on the premise that people want to hire a contractor who will get the job done right the first time, you can understand the damage that can be caused when you’re so overcommitted that you start to cut corners. Instead, try to under-budget your time, assigning yourself less work than you think you can handle. That way, you can always give someone a pleasant surprise instead of disappointment.

Personal crises are likely to come up sometimes. How you manage them can help you keep your business afloat. For more information about building your contracting career, contact CSLS today!

The virtual meeting seemed like something that construction professionals were only going to need for a few months. Now it looks like they are here to stay. And really, it makes sense. If you need to give an update to a client who is hundreds of miles away, virtual is the way to go. But it isn’t always easy. Here are a few tips to simplify the process.

Learn How to Use the Platform
One of the biggest nightmares of virtual meetings in 2020 is the high number of people who do not know how to use the platform. Although it seems like there ought to be a great deal of similarity between platforms like Google Meet or Zoom, there can still be a steep learning curve. Most people who end up doing something ridiculous or embarrassing in the middle of a virtual meeting found themselves in the predicament due to a lack of understanding. If you’re considering new platforms for virtual meetings, set up a few meetings with employees or even friends who can help you test it out. That way, by the time you’re ready to meet with clients, you’ll have more expertise.

Find Tutorials for Clients and Employees
Part of the reason that hearing about virtual meeting horror stories has been so entertaining is that it’s a combination of shared experience and a high unlikelihood likelihood of occurrence. In short, lots of people are still struggling to use these programs effectively, largely because they didn’t get time to learn them in the first place. If you find a good tutorial with information that your clients and employees can use to help them master the platform, share it with them. Don’t worry that they’re going to think you assume they’re ignorant. If they don’t need the information, they’ll just disregard the attachment.

Send Documents in Advance
Meetings tend to take much longer than they should, and this is more likely to happen when people don’t get a chance to prepare in advance. When you’re meeting with clients, you may need them to sign a contract or review a design plan in order for you to be able to proceed on the project. One of the best things you can do to smooth out the meeting process is to send these documents in advance. Give other participants of the meeting at least 1-2 business days to take a look at the documentation and prepare questions. This will save you a lot of time spent waiting while they read the document.

Follow Meeting Etiquette
As a general rule, behaviors that you would never do in a meeting in person should also be avoided for virtual meetings. Many people get into the habit of thinking that meeting on a virtual device allows them the freedom to act as if they are not in a meeting at all. But even if your camera is off while the sound is on, you can still end up in odd or annoying situations. For example, if someone takes a device outside next to a busy road, you may not be able to hear them over the sounds of traffic. Keep in mind that sound travels differently through speakers than it does in a room. If you’re doing a lunch meeting, keep the speaker away from your face so that no one has to hear chewing.

If All Else Fails, Send an Email
In all the rush to stay connected despite remote work, many people seem to have forgotten the old wisdom that technology is only necessary when it can be useful. The fact is that there are many meetings that never needed to happen if the relevant parties were simply willing to communicate by email. Meetings aren’t bad, and there are times when you can accomplish much more by meeting face-to-face even virtually than you could in writing. But it’s worth investigating whether the time you spend collaborating is actually getting you closer to the solutions that you need.

Maintaining communication with clients is part of running a successful contracting business. A good education is another. To learn more about our contractor licensing exam preparation options, contact CSLS today!

Back in the spring, lots of people thought that COVID-19 was going to have short-term effects on the world, and then everyone would move on. As it turns out, systemic changes in business practices will continue into the new year and beyond. Companies are thinking about how to use commercial spaces when they don’t necessarily want people to come in. With this information, you’ll have a sense of what’s coming, and how your contracting business can get involved.

Separate Workspaces
For the last 10-15 years, office spaces have emphasized an open floorplan as much as possible. Even the idea of the cubicle, with the half walls that are easy to adjust, feels like a relic of the previous century. The pandemic has changed the way people think about working in a crowded office space with only a couple of feet between themselves and their coworkers. This is creating a rise in demand for separate workspaces, places where people can be productive outside of the home without putting themselves at additional risk for the spread of airborne diseases.

Efficient Building Spaces
Since people are predictably wary of gathering together, businesses that are likely to occupy commercial spaces are looking for high levels of efficiency in the use of buildings. There might be a new trend bringing everyone back together in five or 10 years, but right now, people prefer to be apart. For office spaces, this means keeping individual offices but allowing multiple people to use them in tandem. Such a design makes it easier to maintain office space for a workforce that is mostly remote. In the retail and service industries, you may notice much less indoor space for congregating. That leaves more room for outdoor interactions and parking.

Outdoor Meeting Areas
Parts of the country with mild winters have long relied on open outdoor spaces to minimize the need for structures. After all, if you live in a part of California that isn’t buried in snow four months of the year, you might easily be able to meet outside. The difference is that the rest of the country is catching up, and they are less worried about avoiding inclement weather. You’ll see an increased emphasis on large, outdoor spaces with seating that is spread out instead of crowded together. This allows people to get together, collaborate or simply enjoy each other‘s company, without the same risk they would face if they were meeting inside. The landscaping industry is likely to see a jump in demand as a result.

Drive-Thru Service
One benefit of the pandemic has been a re-conceiving of the idea of quick service. Businesses now understand that getting people the things they need as quickly and efficiently as possible, with as little contact as possible, is the safest method for everyone. Drive-thru service is becoming an increasingly popular type of building design, and it’s not just for fast food anymore. Industries that already relied on a drive-thru are expanding those systems, with multiple lanes in exchange for the large parking lots they used to keep for indoor, seated customers. Industries that never relied on drive-thru service or now re-examining their options to see how they can make it work.

New Concepts in Hospitality
Although the hospitality industry has been hit hardest by the pandemic, it will bounce back. People will eventually want to take vacations again, and business trips will once again become common. This is relevant because the hospitality industry is an important part of new construction starts and renovations. After all, if no one wants to build a new hotel, they won’t be hiring anyone to build it. New concepts in hospitality rely on some of the same themes in other commercial spaces, including fewer indoor meeting areas, opportunities to minimize contact from the point of entering the building to entering a hotel room, and greater visibility for sanitation tasks.

Starting a career in construction is easier when you can tell how the pandemic is likely to change the industry. To get started, contact CSLS today!

Toward the end of last year, industry experts were predicting a slowdown in new construction starts. What they saw is much different than what they expected. Although construction management throughout the pandemic has taken up most of the attention, the industry continues to move forward. Here are a few advantages and concerns that professionals in the industry are likely to see in 2021.

Construction Is an Important Part of the “New Normal”
Starting to get tired of all the people talking about the new normal? You’re not alone. But it’s also worth remembering that the new normal involves lots of opportunities and not just opportunities for anxiety. This year has taught people that the way that they were occupying buildings caused problems for themselves and others. It took a pandemic with a set of frightening symptoms and unpredictable targets to make people rethink the way they do things. They’ll do them differently in the future, and they will need buildings that are set up to allow them to do this. That’s one reason the construction industry hasn’t been hit as hard as others have this year.

Construction Industry Work Is Rebounding
If you consulted experts in 2019, they would have told you to expect a slowdown in construction. These predictions are heavily dependent on the region, but they were also predicated on the assumption that the industry couldn’t keep its high pace after so many years. It’s not surprising that the spring of 2020 brought a lot of chaos to construction projects, just as it did for everything else in the world. But in the midst of an unpredictable world, the need for building continues. And the proof lies in the fact that there are more construction jobs at the end of the year than there were at the beginning of the pandemic.

The Labor Shortage Is Still a Big Problem
It’s tempting to see construction labor shortage within the context of supply and demand, but that’s an oversimplification of the problem. The truth of the matter is that construction doesn’t have enough trained experts in certain fields. As someone leaves a career after decades invested in it, there must be someone who can come into the field to take their place. The problem is that this hasn’t been happening. If a general contractor can’t hire an electrician to help them complete their project, they won’t be able to finish the project. At best, they’ll come in late and over budget. As the number of projects rebounds, the demand for highly-skilled professionals may rise to the levels seen in previous years.

Periodic Restrictions Likely Throughout 2021
It would be nice to close 2020 with a sense that the pandemic is over. After all, there is a vaccine to help prevent people from getting it, and it is now available. Yet, it may be months or more than a year before the majority of the population has access to it, and even longer before the vast majority of the population has received it. This means that state and local governments will continue to keep an eye on the spread of the virus, with periodic shutdowns or limitations on activities as needed. Although construction has been labeled an essential service, it’s not always easy to tell how it will affect adjacent industries or the supply chain. Construction professionals should keep that in mind for the next year.

Construction Is a Strong Career Choice
All signs point to a bright but cautious future for the construction industry in the years to come. There is a lot of work to do, and there still aren’t enough people with the right training and skills to complete it. If you’ve been thinking about starting a career in construction and 2020 has made you wonder if it’s still a good idea, you should know that it is. Your investment now will create benefits that could last your whole career.

The last year has been a whirlwind for many industries, including construction. The good news is that there are a lot of reasons to be optimistic about the future. To discover how you can become a licensed contractor, contact CSLS today!

Like some industries, construction has a tendency to put people at risk for illness or injury. This is why so many tasks require personal protective equipment (PPE). There are many types of PPE you may need, depending on your field and the kind of work you do. Here’s what to expect from headgear, masks, gloves, boots and more.

Masks
The recent pandemic has made masks a topic of national attention. The right kind of mask for the construction job depends on what you’re trying to prevent. In the normal case, you’re looking to minimize what you inhale. Masks that are designed for disease prevention filter what you breathe out as well as what you breathe in. For most jobs, using a standard N95 mask may be sufficient. For jobs involving hazardous chemicals or inhalants, you may need a respirator with a filtration device. Face shields can also minimize your exposure, but unless they provide a tight seal around your head, they’re usually meant to be used along with masks and protective eyewear.

Eyewear
The type of protective eyewear that you should use depends on the task at hand. For example, someone who is simply trying to avoid a minimal amount of dust in the air may be able to get away with a basic pair of protective glasses. People who are working with hazardous materials may need to use goggles that surround their eyes and create a tight seal to completely prevent any contamination. Working outside during daylight hours may require you to use tinted eyewear to minimize sunburns and increase visibility. If you’re working with equipment like welding, you might need to wear a specialized protective helmet or shield with a certain type of tinted glass.

Footwear
For most jobs in construction, you need footwear that covers the entire foot and is comfortable to wear for long periods of time. As a general rule, you may also want to purchase boots with ankle support and a slip-resistant sole. This helps you to avoid falls, particularly if you are working above the ground in an exposed area. For use with certain types of tools, you may consider boots with a puncture-resistant upper. This can prevent you from hitting yourself in the foot with a nail, or puncturing your foot by stepping on something sharp.

Body Protection
Although many forms of PPE focus on protecting your eyes and nose, there are a variety of equipment choices you may want to make as well. For example, you may want to invest in:

• Protective, durable outerwear that covers the body and can go over your regular clothing
• Gloves that protect your hands from freezing, burning or cuts, depending on the task
• Hard hats that minimize the risk of injury from falls or from falling debris
• Hearing protection when you are working with or nearby equipment that causes loud noises

These tools are highly specific to the job at hand. You may need some or all of them.

Fall Protection
In most cases, your protection against falls comes from the layout of your working space and additional equipment installed. This means that you should look for things like guard rails and safety nets if you’re going to be working in an exposed area above ground. Otherwise, there are systems that you can use to minimize your risk. For example, you may wear a safety harness connected to a cable that will prevent you from hitting the ground if you fall. You may also wear a monitoring device that can alert you or someone else that you may be about to fall.

In an industry like construction where you work on your feet and spend time with heavy equipment, the right kind of PPE is key. So is a thorough grounding in your field. For more information, contact CSLS today!