With hurricane season fast approaching Miami, many people are working out how they can protect their property from damage. This is especially important for South Beach and Miami Beach construction sites, but is often overlooked as part of the planning process. We at Construction Guide know how important it is to plan for things like this, so we’ve written this guide explaining how you can prepare your construction site for hurricane season.
Make sure that all of your equipment (particularly things like fork lifts and heavy equipment) are secure, safe, and in good working order. If a hurricane does hit, you’ll need these to move debris so your crew can continue with work. Part of construction site planning should be for cleaning up as well as protection.
All construction sites should have an emergency plan in place, but this is particularly important for severe weather during hurricane season. Ensure your plan contains emergency site contacts, project contacts, and procedures for how to handle situations. Everyone on site should know where this file is located and it should be accessible at all times. For this reason, obviously have a paper copy alongside a digital copy.
The worst thing you can do on a construction site during hurricane season is leave debris lying around. This is what will cause damage to your project, so remove it while you can. Make sure everyone on site knows the procedure, and that they’re constantly clearing up after themselves. This will hopefully minimize damage and make recovery easier.
Hurricanes notoriously bring plenty of water along with everything else, and this can be a major hindrance on a construction site. So to prepare yourself for hurricane season, make sure you have water removal systems in place that can be up and running as soon as needed. Much like with your equipment, make sure water pumps are kept in good working order so they’re ready when you need them.
If it comes down to it that a hurricane is on the way and you’re still on site, close it down. In the event of a hurricane the most important thing you can do is protect those working on your site. Your Miami construction site will likely be insured for weather damage, and any materials can be replaced. People, however, are much more important. So while it might mean losing a few days, send your people home before things get too bad.
Getting ready for Miami hurricane season isn’t easy, and it’s not something many like to do. However, being prepared is so important and makes all the difference if a hurricane does hit. The final piece of advice we at Construction Guide can give is to work smart in the weeks leading up to a possible hurricane because this will make everything much easier.
