1. Clamp meter
When working with electricity, electrical safety is paramount! A clamp meter will help you to measure the electrical current at a job site. They are clamped around the live wire to measure the current running through it, meaning you don’t have to cut any wires or turn off any circuits to do testing. They are especially helpful when performing maintenance or troubleshooting, as they can help detect issues if part of your installation has been overloading fuses or circuit breakers.
2. Ladder wedge
A ladder wedge acts as a ladder leveller and can be helpful primarily for installing in lumpy garden beds and uneven pavement. The ladder wedge that Big Star Lights carries also serves as: A ladder stand-off to avoid leaning against more delicate surfaces like windows A tool carrier A leveller for leaning a ladder from one section of the roof to another, or working from stairs
3. Pitch Hopper
The Pitch Hopper is a great tool for making rooftop work more comfortable. It has hundreds of tiny rubber grippers that latch onto asphalt shingles, giving you a level workspace to stand on or lean against, or somewhere to keep your tools while you work. It's primarily used in the roofing industry by those who spend all day on the rooftop, so you know it can be trusted!
4. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
There are a few pieces of equipment that we believe are essential to keeping your staff safe and injury free on the job site. These are:
- Work gloves that are protective but docile enough to do delicate work with
- Harnesses for working on rooftops and in lifts
- Roofing shoes with replaceable pads, if your staff work from rooftops
- Reflective vests for wearing while working in busy areas
Other amazing PPE to check out:
- Anti-slip roofing pants
- The Goat Steep Assist
5. The right ladder
There’s nothing worse than having the wrong ladder for the job. Whether it’s too big or too small, it can affect how quickly your day goes and it means a higher risk of injury. For this reason, we love multi-position ladders that can act as both step ladders and larger 20+ foot ladders. Before showing up to a job, consider the property and what types of ladders you’ll want on hand for the day. The biggest rule of all? If the job looks dangerous - don’t do it! Try opting for a lift rental if it’s an accessible location of your customer’s property. If it’s not, there’s no harm in turning down a job you’re not comfortable with.
6. First aid kit (and first aid training)
It is well worth the investment to train your team in First Aid so that they are prepared to assist a coworker if something goes wrong. Having a basic first aid kit in each of your work vehicles means you’ll be prepared for smaller incidents like scrapes, sprains, and bruises, and proper training means your team will know when it’s time to call for help. Keep your staff up to date on reporting requirements so that you know when an incident has occurred and whether follow-up care will be required.
7. A co-worker (or a few!)
Teamwork makes the dream work! Working alone, especially from a ladder, can be dangerous. It’s best to have someone on-site to make the installation go quickly and to spot for you when you’re working at heights. Having a team of at least two is great - one can focus on the roofline while the other focuses on the finer details like tree and shrub decorating.
8. A light hanging pole
This one is simple but incredibly helpful and time-saving. A simple light hanging pole can be fashioned out of an extendable painter's pole and paired with one of our Ultimate Christmas Light Hanging Hooks. This tool means that you can easily wrap tree canopies without using a ladder or climbing any limbs. They’re also great for large-scale tree installations where you may have two staff passing a string of lights from one side of a tree to another from lifts.
And that concludes our most recommended tools for on-the-job safety. Do you have a piece of equipment that you can't imagine going to work without? Let us know by shooting an email to us.