Storm Preparation Tip: Secure Construction Job Sites

It is always important that you make a plan and prepare your home and family for the potential arrival of a tropical system or hurricane. It is also important to prepare construction jobsites for the arrival of a storm. Developing an action plan now can protect valuable equipment and make a big difference in how efficiently your crew is able to respond to an impending storm.

Greater Orlando Builders Association (GOBA) has compiled recommended guidelines for jobsite hurricane preparedness. These guidelines include:

• 60-48 Hours Prior to Landfall – Postpone delivery of building materials to all jobsites.
• 48-24 Hours Prior to Landfall – Stop all construction activity, activate your hurricane jobsite plan, and notify your subcontractors to help you secure the jobsite.
• Stay Safe – Advise your subcontractors to leave and not return to the jobsite until the hurricane threat has passed.

Additional jobsite preparation and protection tips include giving priority attention to those located in populated areas; confirming batteries are reliable in all important equipment and tools, including cell phones; filling up gas tanks in work and personal vehicles; taking photos of valuables that cannot leave the jobsite; cleaning up all construction debris; tying or banding together all loose plywood and lumber; securing other loose building materials; removing your permit board and all jobsite signage; turning off electricity, water and gas; and pushing over portable toilets and securing them by placing concrete blocks or sand inside.

For more information about storm readiness from Orange County Government and contact information for Orange County’s Office of Emergency Management, please visit www.OCFL.net/Storm.