Provide adequate artificial light wherever necessary, throughout the building, and especially in passageways and on stairways. Incandescent electric lamps that burn continuously throughout the working period should be inspected twice a day, and all broken or burned-out lamps should be immediately replaced by new ones.

It is specially important to keep all stairways, passageways, and gangways free from obstructions of every kind, and the men should not be allowed to store materials or supplies in these places.

Keep all materials and supplies well away from the edges of hoist shaftways, stair wells, and other similar openings, and also from the outside walls of the building. Loose, light material should not be left lying about on roofs, nor on upper floors that are not closed in, especially when high winds are prevailing, because it is likely to be blown off into the street and cause injuries.

Bolts, nuts, and rivets should not be left lying about, but should be collected daily and placed in kegs or other suitable receptacles.

Caution the men with regard to handling bags containing lime, because these bags sometimes burst and the lime gets into the eyes of the workmen, causing serious and painful injuries.

Fig. 100. Keep all Material Well Back from the Edges of Open Floors.

Fig. 101. Using a Cloth Screen to Prevent chips of Stone from Flying into the Street.

(The workman was less mindful of his own safety, however, as he was not wearing eye protectors).

Men engaged in cutting or chipping concrete, one, or metal, should wear suitable goggles or eye-protectors to prevent injuries to the eyes from flying chips. Similar eye-protectors should be worn by the men when doing any other work that is likely to cause Injury to the eyes. (See also paragraph 62).

When chipping is being done in exposed places the public should be protected against flying pieces of stone or metal by stout screens placed in positions where they will intercept the chips. When a number of men are working in a group upon cutting or trimming operations of this nature, they should also be protected from one another by means of similar screens.

73. Inspections

No one thing is more essential to safety in building operations than intelligent and thorough inspections; and the service should be frequent, because the conditions that prevail in such work change quite rapidly. If the operation is a large one, it is often advisable to have at least one inspector on the premises constantly, while the work is progressing most actively; and on the very largest jobs it may at times be wise to have two or even more men thus engaged. On a small job it is not feasible to maintain a man continuously for inspection work only, but in a case of this kind it is easy for the foreman to have personal knowledge of every important condition, and with the assistance of a professional inspector at reasonable intervals he should be able to conduct the operation in a safe way.

A plan that has been found to work well in operations of average size consists in making a preliminary inspection as soon as the work is started, and submitting recommendations for the improvement of conditions and the installation of suitable safeguards. On his next visit the inspector sees that the recommendations have been carried out, or are in process of fulfilment, and submits new recommendations to cover new conditions that have arisen on account of the progress of the work. This routine is followed at each inspection visit, to insure safety at all times.

It is reasonable to suppose that the best inspection service will be rendered by a corporation that has a large money-interest staked upon the safety of the men, because a corporation of this kind has a definite and positive material incentive to thoroughness and efficiency. The contractor also has an interest in the matter, financial as well as humane; but he has many other things to think of at the same time, and he can hardly give the safety problem the minute attention that it must receive, if accidents are to be prevented or effectually reduced. The compensation and liability insurance company is the most logical source from which efficient inspections may be expected, and if it is alive to its possibilities and responsibilities it will maintain an inspection force that is competent to deal with the accident problem in an intelligent and effective manner.