WORKPLACE - 26.10.2011

Decorating, without the drama!

Watch out, wet paint!

Although decorating, especially painting, is a task that most of us feel confident enough to tackle, if you overlook the associated risks, it could be a recipe for disaster. For example, staff or customers covered in paint, thinners spilt over a computer, poorly thought out work at height systems collapsing... the list goes on. Fortunately, however, making sure that disasters are avoided, isn’t particularly difficult.

Tip 1. The most effective way of managing the work is to detail in a method statement what is going to be completed, by whom, when and how (see The next step).

Tip 2. Because the work has an element of risk associated with it, you should identify what the significant risks are and how they will be managed in a risk assessment (see The next step). This should be attached to the method statement.

Tip 3. Before you start work, you should consult your asbestos register. This should highlight whether any of the areas you are planning to work in contain asbestos.

What are you going to do?

The most important stage of the process is planning. If you don’t work out how the work is going to proceed, problems are inevitable.

Tip. Before you do anything, you need to identify what needs to be painted and the potential impact on those working in the area. For example, will staff be able to continue working? Will their furniture have to be moved etc.?

Note. Although this step sounds obvious, an experienced painter and decorator we consulted stated that in many cases this doesn’t happen. He said that he’s expected to work around staff, which is usually nigh on impossible.

How are you going to do the work?

The next stage of the process is to identify how the work is going to be completed. For example, using rollers, brushes or even spraying. Admittedly, you’re unlikely to go for the latter, but if you decide that you need a specialist finish, you may need to consider an option such as this.

Tip 1. Wherever possible choose a method which avoids working from height, e.g. rollers. This will mean that you don’t need to hire in mobile tower scaffolds etc.

Tip 2. Short duration work at height, such as cutting in, can in most cases be completed from a ladder, stepladder or hop up. However, if you feel that due to the layout of your workplace, e.g. there are particularly high ceilings, stairwells etc. this isn’t safe, you will need to consider other types of access equipment.

Tip 3. Rather than trying to work out the safest option yourself, speak to the staff at your local hire shop. They should be able to direct you towards practical and safe equipment that’s suitable for your needs.

For a sample decorating method statement (HS 10.04.06A) and a sample risk assessment (HS 10.04.06B), visit http://healthandsafety.indicator.co.uk.