If you’ve read my post on my visit to Oregon and the NexGen Research Center, you know, then, just how important conserving water is these days. And … if you’re a red-blooded American homeowner – you probably want a lush, green and good looking lawn.  Now, here’s the thing – To grow that healthy lawn and further to grow the grass that lives in and makes up your lawn – your grass needs, well, water – just like any other plant.  I’d say a lot in the beginning, but still good amounts as it matures.

Pennington Seed, who maintains NexGen, puts an amazing amount of effort into developing seed that can grow greener and live longer on less water. Take for example their newest Smart Seed – it is said to stay green up to three weeks without water, and requires up to 30 percent less water year after year.  A result of course of their efforts at NexGen.

This, Smart Seed, is exactly the seed I selected to hit a shallow slope next to my house.  (Well, to disclose fully – I was compensated for this project, and the cost of my seed was covered).

The two problems I’ve had with growing grass in this particular area … one, an abundant amount of shade (this area likely only gets about 2 to 3 hours of sun a day) and well, two . . . it had been under attach with water runoff for a handful of years.

The area immediately above it was void of vegetation (because it sits under a large and shady decorative maple).  Anyone that knows anything about erosion, grade stabilization and runoff – knows, well – this is bad.  Last summer, though, I took it upon myself to plant under this tree.  And while it really hasn’t filled in quite as much as I would have hoped, the Vinca I planted is doing … okay.

That … and right up next to the porch in this area … I had a gutter, but no downspout, dumping water right down onto this slope as well.  I have since installed a new gutter, a downspout and a bonus 60 gallon rain barrel here … (I hope to post on this install soon). This rain barrel will come in handy as I need to water my-soon-to-be new little seed babies. (I posted to HomeTalk earlier in the week about it, installing a manufactured rain harvesting barrel.)

Water and Your Lawn

Beyond simple tips like watering in the morning or at night, planning around wind, as well as broom cleaning, there are many things we can do to help reduce water usage when watering the lawn. Some of which Pennington has provided me.

• Pennington suggests installing water-saving systems.  Besides adding a rain barrel for harvesting and using rain water in your landscape, consider using a drip irrigation system around trees and shrubs in your landscape. Drip irrigation systems apply water only when needed, minimizing water loss due to evaporation – which in turn prevents moisture from reaching needed spaces between plants. (For tips with preparing to install irrigation, see How to Prepare to Insall an Irrigation System.)
• Make sure sprinklers are watering the lawn, and defined landscape areas, not the driveway or street. If water is seen running into the street or onto the sidewalk, this may mean that sprinklers are not properly aligned, too much water is being applied or the soil has reached a point of saturation.
• Spread mulch when seeding new areas to add a protective layer over soil. The mulch will help your soil retain moisture during the critical seed germination and establishment stages. The clippings from mulching mowers also serve the same purpose—preserving soil moisture and nutrients for growing grass. (While I have not does this in my own installation below – I do plan to.)
• Fertilization supplies plants with essential nutrients for strength, uniform growth and a healthy, fibrous root system. A vibrant and healthy plant makes the best use of available water, meaning less water is needed over time. There also is less chance of the plant being “burned” or dried out to a point beyond recovery. (Fertilizers, however, should not be applied during periods of drought.)
• Pennington says, “Stay Calm! Don’t be overly reactive.” Lawns tend to be overwatered, often with entire lawns being watered to avoid a few dry spots. Overwatering can cause numerous problems, including: shallow root systems; increased disease, weed or insect infestations; reduced drought tolerance; and increased thatch and excessive growth. A lawn does not need water until the color falls by 50 percent, at which time only one inch of water should be added.
• Plants can be conditioned for dry weather starting at the beginning of the spring season by irrigating less frequently but longer. More watering is needed earlier in the development process during germination and establishment. As part of ongoing maintenance, decrease the frequency of watering and increase the amount of water penetration to encourage deeper rooting. Deeper roots will be more drought-tolerant.

In addition, Pennington adds: By utilizing grass seed that requires less water, lawns are more resilient during periods of drought and easier to maintain (e.g. reduced time, energy and resources). Consider a pure bred, drought-tolerant seed, like Pennington Smart Seed.  The varieties in every bag were developed to help you establish a fuller, healthier and greener lawn … while efficiently using natural resources.

Watch Me Work – OverSeeding in 5 (okay 8) easy steps

1. I mowed closely (on my mower’s lowest setting) then removed cut grass and leaves by raking.

2. I aerated the entire area working with a cultivator in established areas and using a thatcher in the bare spots to prepare the seedbed.

3. Because I had some low spots in this area, I added about a 1/4 yard of enriched top soil. (I added another 1/4 yard as I was sowing my seed below.)

4. While I could have conducted a soil test, I chose (on the recommendation of my local garden center) to sweeten the soil with pulverized lime.

a drop spreader is recommended

5. Using a broadcast spreader, I added Starter Fertilizer at the recommend rate.

6. I sowed my seed, spreading at the recommended (on the bag) rate, added a little more top soil and gently raked with the goal of covering (or bedding) the seed.  (The Smart Seed I used had a recommended planting depth of 1/4 of an inch.)

ideally I would have covered more of the area

7.  While I would have covered this area with a mulch (a (super) thin layer of straw in most cases), I ran short of time. I plan to circle back and fan lightly with grass clippings, harvested from other areas of the yard.

mulch is recommended

8. Keep the lawn moist until seedlings are established, then water as needed.  (For me, this meant – modifying an old garden hose and watering with water from my new rain barrel.)

*******

$50 from Pennington :: A Give Away Winner 

Congrats out to Rebacca Shockley of St. Paul, MN.

*******

And that’s it for me … happy lawn caring and, well, happy Mother’s Day. For more on the basics of lawn care, please enjoy our Pinterest board :: Lawn Care 101. Cheers. ~jb

-

Disclosure Statement
Central Garden & Pet partnered with bloggers such as me to help educate us all about their Pennington products. As part of this program, I received compensation. They did not tell me what to purchase or what to say about the use of the products. Central Garden & Pet believes that consumers and bloggers are free to form their own opinions and share them in their own words. Central Garden & Pet’s policies align with WOMMA Ethics Code, FTC guidelines and social media engagement recommendations. A winner will be chosen by random and gift card fulfillment will be handled by a third party.

Find Building Moxie Also On:

Twitter	Google Plus	Facebook	Pinterest	HomeTalk	Houzz

My cell is ringing, I have a dinner date at 7 and we are 15 minutes from all the home centers; the local yards close to us are closed. We have three tired guys, including myself, who have labored hard all day and even additional time to maximize profit and finish this job, this day. At this point, all our frustration is due to one tube of white caulk. I could continue and build on this story, because in reality – we have all been there in some shape or form, at one point or another.

But there are some things we can gain from this story. First, there are always common items, the things we each use daily. Our ability to be prepared and have these items or tools readily available, and organized, can greatly improve our bottom line in any aspect of construction business.

There will always be that time when there is an item needed that you never in a million years would have on your truck. In these cases, you are going to be late to dinner … once in a while, and your wife is going to be mad. But generally, as in anything, we can work to minimize these situations with a little planning and organizing.

A tradesman’s truck says a lot about the person operating it; some will disagree. But to me if a tradesman shows up in a vehicle that carries his tools and materials in an organized fashion, he has already created a good impression. As a homeowner, I am going to feel comfortable that he is a professional.

In my mind, the guy who shows up with the huge pile in his vehicle basically makes me think, “This is going to be messy and expensive.” That is – in the sense of … time is money, he is going to spend a lot of time digging in his truck and I am paying for that time either as an employer, a sub or even as a person hiring the job.

The flip side of all of this of course is we can all use our trucks to provide a positive first impression on our clients. At some point, your client will come out to your truck, but more likely – throughout the project actually, so let it speak to your professionalism. Professionalism is a lot of things, and think about it – none of us would like our doctor’s or dentist’s tables piled high with tools and left over parts from the last surgery or root canal, all while they are preparing to see us and do a procedure.

*******

For our customers, their home is a big investment, so create a good first impression with an organized truck.

We all know what parts or fasteners we frequently use and I recommend having a system for storing them, whether it’s steel drawer units mounted permanently, portable plastic boxes, Sortainers, and the list goes on. Maybe it’s a combination of these items, and most likely if your space is limited, it will be.

Next, is the common use tools. We all have this grouping unique to us whether you use a Veto Bag or a Bucket Boss, Systainers or maybe a traditional toolbox; we all have a basic set of tools we have mobilized for ourselves. If you don’t, maybe this is a good starting point for proficiency.

Finally, the other tools and equipment we carry, such as – extension cords, nailers, power tools, etc.

*******

I plan to write an article for the four main types of vehicles used in this industry, followed by a final on unique situation vehicles. First – the traditional pickup truck, second – the service truck or utility truck, followed by – the van and fourth – the trailer.

By no means will I be able to cover everything, great time for example could be spent on lettering your truck as well. I realize there is no perfect vehicle and some things I will bring up are things you may already know, yet – refreshing the mind is a good thing.

Until next time stay profitable my friends. ~Aaron

*******

Find Building Moxie Also On:

Twitter	Google Plus	Facebook	Pinterest	HomeTalk	Houzz

Nothing Runs Like a Deere

courtesy of John Deere

courtesy of John Deere

courtesy of John Deere

Now, I won’t go too far into the short-lived line of tractors designed to match your patio furniture, nor will I delve into the company’s brief experiment with the electric riding mower (Really!) … instead I will tell you about the one common thread. That equipment, you see, was produced in the John Deere Horicon Works facility in Horicon, Wisconsin.

I had the opportunity for a brief visit and tour of Horicon Works last week. Located about 45 minutes northeast of Madison, on the edge of the Horicon Marsh, Horicon Works has been John Deere’s flagship factory for more than 100 years. Horicon Marsh, I’ll mention, is the largest freshwater cattail marsh in the US and the town of Horicon is smack dab in the center of Packers Land. (Maybe only a slight coincidence that these two organizations share the same iconic colors.)

While the plant itself has a long history, John Deere Horicon Works has been the home for John Deere Lawn Equipment since 1963.  And anyone quick with the math knows that that makes, yep, 50 years.  Fifty years since their first lawn tractor (tagged as the 110) rolled off the lines.

courtesy of John Deere

John Deere 110; no. 60

The town will celebrate this summer a Weekend of Freedom Machines – the 50th Anniversary Celebration of Deere’s Lawn and Garden Tractors.

*******

Cheese? You might ask. … Well, I didn’t really see any.  Brats … yes! Cheese … No!

What I did see was a finely-tuned, wholly American manufacturing plant (1400 employees strong) in action.  And fighting back a spastic chant of “U.S.A. U.S.A….”, by 2012 – John Deere Horicon Works had produced some 9 million products, shipping and selling in all parts of the world.

*******

The Tour :: Stamping Steel

After we suited up, our tour started in the 201,000 sf Department 101 - the company’s world class stamping facility.  We saw bone shaking machines, hi-tech lasers and an almost inconceivable amount of cast and die sets – racks and aisles, one after another – around 4400 sets in total.

This plant handles needs throughout all of Deere, working some 50,000 tons of steel last year – resulting in 26 million individual pieces.  This high capacity operation can handle two-ton steel coil stock. But it is the stamping method, and their attention to steel chemistry, which allows for Deere’s signature “deep deck” – formed from steel … plates.

Robotics are used throughout.  Steel is bought mill direct and is used to make both production and services parts. The entire operation seems to remain true to the legacy of John Deere, the man himself – a New England Blacksmith with a “knack for solving problems.”

*******

The Tour :: Powder Coat Paint  

Parts stamped in 101 (above) make their way to the “Paint Building,” technically part of the downtown 201 facility.  Some 9 miles of conveyor wind in and out of this space … parts of all kinds are painted in each available color (Black, Deere Green and Egg Yellow).  The word “ballet” comes to mind watching them all move.

Deere incorporates a powder type coating method, similar to what you might find in the automotive industry – we witnessed this first hand.  All parts are prepped (and painted), before assembly, in a 4-part process.  The most intriguing step of which is a special E-Coat – a treatment applied to help inhibit rust.

Paints are oven baked and electro-statically charged when applied (similar maybe to galvanizing) … each rack along the conveyor is bar coded, and using sensors throughout the chain – a computer is told what to paint … what.

*******

The Tour :: Making Tractors and … Zs

* X300 and X500 Select Series Factory Line 
Continuing into the main portion of the 1.2 million sf Building 201, we witnessed the assembly of their x300 Select Series Lawn Tractor and the x500 Select Series Garden Tractor.  A floor-sensing, “smart car” conveyor system whips machines to different stations within the assembly process.

* EZtrak Factory Line 
The EZTrak line stopped us shutter bugs in our tracks. It was at the end of this line that a chunk of Deere’s How We Run commercial was shot. Unlike the other equipment we saw – the EZTraks (or Zs as they are called) are designed with one purpose and only one purpose in mind … these are lawn cutting machines. Released by Deere initially in 2007, only after extensive trial and error used to minimize cost.

* X700 Signature Series Factory Line
The company’s pride and joy – x700 Signature Series … for those that want a luxury mow. We heard of some of the design considerations that went into this tractor mower (and I will get into these next time). The company designs all their machines to fit those from the 5% female @ 4’10” up to the 95% male @ 6’5”.

A tractor is said to be loaded every 8 minutes.

*******

Horicon’s riding equipment portfolio includes:

• EZtrak™ Mowers
• X300 Select Series™ Tractors
• X500 Select Series Tractors  (adding a 4 year warranty)
• X700 Signature Series™ Tractors
• Riding Lawn Equipment Attachments

We had to opportunity to test them all, plus the D100 Series - made however in Greeneville,TN (as well as some top competitors’ equipment) at a “Ride and Drive Event” immediately after our tour.

But more on this next time.

courtesy of John Deere

*******

For even more pictures from our tour please see my albums on:

Google Plus
Facebook

Thanks. ~jb

Find Building Moxie Also On:

Twitter	Google Plus	Facebook	Pinterest	HomeTalk	Houzz

Presentations about Twitter, Facebook, Google Plus, LinkedIn, Olioboard and Pinterest were prevalent. There was a technology bar for one-on-one instructions. I took part in the Industry Leader Roundtables event in which attendees circulated between tables asking industry leaders questions. All of the questions posed to me centered around social media. How to get started on Twitter? What should I tweet about? Where else online should we be active? They want to be a part of the conversation and relationships.

My show highlight was our kbtribechat tweet up on the second day of the show hosted by Wellborn Cabinet. Our group had a great time catching up with each other in person then went on a tour of the Wellborn booth with their designer Karen Stanley as our guide.

Karen did the booth design and her insider tips made the tour very interesting. Here is a montage of pictures from the Wellborn Cabinet booth. They had many partners including Cambria Quartz, Crossville Tile and Miele. I loved the cabinet knobs they used by Belwith Keeler and their new grey paint color. Cabinetry for many areas in the home was represented including a gift wrapping station.

Here are my product highlights:

There was much to get excited about in the Salice booth. They have a new hinge color called Titanium. It is a warm finish that will go well with darker woods. Salice also has a new line of cabinet interior accessories with a chrome profile that is nice. Their kitchen space organizers have a nice updated look compared to chrome wire that is so prevalent. I also think their automatic sliding door is great! They showed it on an upper cabinet but it has many possible applications.

There were many beautiful sinks and faucets featured in the Rohl booth but I particularly liked this combination. Using these warm metal colors is a trend I think we will see more of.

I also found much to be excited about in the Brizo booth this year. They featured a beautiful new line of freestanding tub fillers with many styles to choose from. I particularly like their faucets with matte colors and metal combinations. They have many touchless faucet choices.

Touchless faucets were everywhere at KBIS and are definitely a trend.

There were quite a few new cabinet knob and pull choices to see at the show! Here are a few that stood out to me.

Textural wood finishes is a trend I saw at KBIS with this one by Northern Contours as a good example. I love the leather cabinet pulls too!

For more images and information, please check out these two Pinterest boards on KBIS 2013. We have a Kbtribechat board and a group board hosted by Clever Storage US.

 –

Next year the International Builders’ Show and the Kitchen and Bath Industry Show are taking place together in Las Vegas during Design and Construction Week, February 4-6, 2014. Hope to see you there!

*******

Note from the hosts: Stacy popped over a few weeks back to give us her KBIS 2013 Preview. Her recap, here, an even bigger treat.  Thank you Stacy, it sure seems New Orleans was a blast.  Maybe we catch you in Vegas next year.  ~jb

Find Building Moxie Also On:

Twitter	Google Plus	Facebook	Pinterest	HomeTalk	Houzz

Long time friend of BMoxie, Todd Vendituoli recently launched the eye catching super site HomeCentrl. If you haven’t checked it out, please do.  But for now a few questions and an interview with him.  All the best Todd. Cheers! ~jb

*******

Building Moxie: Ok, Todd – it seems that you have been traveling a bit.  What’s going on in your life right now?

Todd V.: Well I have been traveling a bit this year and it started with a trip to the IMM show in Germany with a side trip to Amsterdam after that courtesy of BlogTour. Seeing the products, designs and styles from Europe was really a great treat and then I was in New York for Brizo’s Fashion Week. Again it was a wonderful time and learning experience. As you may know, travel doesn’t bother me at all and going to various trade shows is a valuable resource for myself and the companies that sponsor me for those events.

Building Moxie: Yet you still had time to design and release a new website?  HomeCentrl – can you tell us a little bit about that process?

Todd V.: Actually it took about 2 ½ months to do the new sites design and I really have to thank the people of Waylay Design for all their hard work and patience. I wanted a clean looking site that could provide an easy navigation and a nice viewing experience. Wayne and Selina did a great job and are still there to answer questions I have. Top notch in every respect!

Building Moxie: It appears that with HomeCentrl you are pulling, encapsulating and aggregating highlights from around the web?  Are you still producing original content?

Todd V.: HomeCentrl was designed to be multi-faceted. The section entitled- Centrl Aired is posts that are relevant to the theme of the site, which is everything about your home, from various other people that have blogs. All of the links and such go directly back to their sites and helps them get some exposure from my site. It also adds a variation of content for others to view.

I still write original content under the heading- The Building Blox and that is done 6 days per week. I have just added a new section called The Front Porch, which is a mixture of original content and a view of many different things. So generally I write about 11 original articles per week for the site.

Building Moxie: Can you name some of your goto sources?  Better – what are you looking for and what exactly to you strive to share on HomeCentrl?

Todd V.: The whole concept of HomeCentrl was to provide a place that could be a resource for people to use in obtaining information about their homes, whether that be from a construction standpoint, for design or for various products. By providing a diverse base of knowledge, it will be a place to look for information that will be centralized and broad enough to be used by many. At present, we have close to 800 published articles and that tends to grow by the month with an average publishing rate of 160+ articles per month.

Building Moxie: I know you have been doing quite a bit of work with trade shows and other brand events.  Do you have sponsors or at least significant brand support behind HomeCentrl?

Todd V.: At present we have some advertising on the site and I do expect that to continue to grow. As the site grows, there becomes more interest from larger companies but it’s really about the number of readers that you have and such before sponsors will step up. At this point, we have been funding most aspects of the site but I do expect to see an increase of sponsorship soon. Now, I would add that we are always willing to discuss options with brands from trade show sponsorship to sponsoring on the site itself.

Building Moxie: Does HomeCentrl officially mark a transition from builder/remodeler to full-time online publisher?

Todd V.: For the most part JB it is. I may still dabble in the actual construction field but at present producing such amounts of daily content takes a great deal of time and energy. I also feel that at this junction of my life that there are more options for being a publisher. Publishing doesn’t tie me to a physical location and the economics of that area. I also do work for various people and brands in the field of social media, such as handling certain aspects of their accounts or consulting on best practices of using social media platforms. As people’s time gets shortened, I’m finding that this aspect of the site is expanding.

Building Moxie: Can you tell us what we can expect out of HomeCentrl? Where is it going in 2013 and beyond?

Todd V.: HomeCentrl was launched on January 22 and since that time has been continually growing. We have actually increased in the global rankings of the site by almost 60,000 since the launch, which I’m thrilled to be saying. I think this new year will drive the site continually higher and I also expect that as more content is indexed by Google and other search engines, it will continue to grow.

I’m also expecting to see an increase in advertising money this coming year as the site grows.  I know some consider that a sell out, but the truth is without money coming in, I can’t afford to keep doing what we’re doing now. So if there are any benefactors that don’t want to see advertising and such on the site, let me know and we’ll set up a yearly payment plan or a trust fund. Seriously, everyone needs to make a living and doing this is no different.

I am also expecting to see more brand sponsorship of the site and for events in the coming year. HomeCentrl is a great platform for creating exposure and audience so I believe we’ll be seeing more on this avenue too.

Building Moxie: Anything else you might like to add?

Todd V.: I’d like to thank JB for the opportunity to tell others about my new site HomeCentrl and hope you’ll continue to be fans of Building Moxie and HomeCentrl for some time to come!

Thanks JB!

Find Building Moxie Also On:

Twitter	Google Plus	Facebook	Pinterest	HomeTalk	Houzz

What follows are photos and thoughts from the install plus some helpful tips if you are installing this unit, or any other garage door opener.

*******

Step 1 – Instructions (out of shot) are read and parts are identified and laid out before us.

Step 2 – Three piece rail is assembled and screw drive is connected using supplied metal collars.

(Rail is coming together.)

Step 3 – The powerhead is flipped and placed on cardboard. The rail assembly is slipped into place.

Step 4 – Rail is bolted securely to the unit with the powerhead bracket.

Step 5 – Calculations are made for placement of door bracket. This will be the point on the door from which the lifting is taking place.

Step 6 – Door bracket is installed.

Step 7 – Unit is attached to wall using the header bracket. Rail is affixed in line with the door bracket. Above the unit here, we can see the old ceiling light of the garage has been converted to a receptacle.

Step 8 – Powerhead is kept floating until we are satisfied that the shuttle, door bracket and header bracket holding the rail are all in line. Once this is verified we will mount the powerhead to the ceiling joists.

Step 9 – Meanwhile, our second installer moved into mounting the Safe-TBeam source and sensor on either side of the door about 6″ for the floor.

Step 10 – The sensor is connected to the powerhead by wires that are routed along and affixed to garage framing using the supplied insulating staples.

(Here we can see the 2 sensor wires have been routed to the powerhead but are not yet connected to the unit.  We opted to attach the powerhead itself to the garage ceiling using a heavier gauge strapping than Genie supplied.)

(A close up of the rail assembly attached to the garage header using the header bracket. The wiring for the Safe-TBeam sensors can be seen routing to the powerhead.)

Steps 11 & 12 – Installer 2 (Cam) finishes mounting the wiring while installer 1 (Rich) begins installing the curved door arm.

(A slight adjustment is made to the door arm using a grinder.)

Step 13 – Cam completes the wiring at the powerhead.

Step 14 – The wall console is installed.

Step 15 - Cam wrapped the wire 12 times around a screwdriver prior to attaching it to the Safe-TBeam Sensor.

(The coiled wire allows for a mishap at the sensor during normal activity in the garage. If the sensor is struck the coil will help to assure that the wiring is not accidentally disconnected.)

(The coil is repeated on the opposite side.)

Step 16 – The install is complete and the unit is tested. The sensors work properly, stopping the door when the beam is broken and door movement is fluid and impressive.

We are all satisfied with how the opener works but agree that there are some parts on the unit which we feel could have been sturdier. We undertook the install at a fairly leisurely pace and it took about 4 hours including our trip to Depot. Cam offered that a paid installer would work at a much quicker pace but the four hour install time was probably just about right for a homeowner undertaking the job. Having a helper seems fairly essential to me if you want to avoid extra time figuring out how to support things along the way.

*******

Thanks to Genie for the opener and our installers Rich & Cam for their time and expertise. We learned a lot and hope you did too!

For videos on installing this and other types of Genie components, please also see Installation Videos on the company’s new G-TV >> http://geniecompany.com/genie-video.aspx.

Find Building Moxie Also On:

Twitter	Google Plus	Facebook	Pinterest	HomeTalk	Houzz

source below

A first aid kit is something many of us take for granted. You may have one in your home or your job site, but do you know what it contains, or how to use the contents?

The time to know these things is now, not when an accident happens, so here are some tips and advice on keeping a well-rounded first aid kit on hand, that you can actually use.

Training

You need to know how to use every item in your kit. First aid kits are designed to cover a variety of ailments and circumstances, so supplement the contents with first aid and CPR training. Share any training with your family and other people on the project; you may be the one who becomes injured.

First aid and CPR training may be provided or orchestrated by your employer. Otherwise, you can find classes in your location at www.redcross.org/take-a-class.

Contents

There is no fully-comprehensive checklist for building a first aid kit because no one location has exactly the same set of hazards. You’ll always want to be well-stocked with the basics, but there will be some additional tweaking needed to tailor your first aid kit to your particular home or office.

Your first aid kit should cover at least:

• Cuts and abrasions
• Insect bites and stings
• Mild illness symptoms such as nasal congestion, cough, and low fevers
• Over-the-counter pain relievers
• Allergic reactions
• Gastrointestinal upset
• Burns
• Splinters
• Sprains/strains
• Eye injuries

Keep first aid kits visible and accessible, while avoid storing them in damp or humid spaces, as this can compromise bandage adhesives or medications.

An accident is a bad time to find out you’re missing an essential item or that a medication is past its expiration date. Regularly inspect kits to make sure they are fully stocked and in adequate condition. Keep a list of the contents on hand to reference.

Take particular care to inspect the quality of items in your first aid kit that are related to protection from bloodborne pathogens, such as CPR mouth guards and latex gloves. Include suitable glove alternatives with the kit in case someone has latex allergies. In many places, latex items are prohibited for this reason.

Checklist

This list is not exhaustive, because hazards unique to your work area have not been considered. Use this list based on Cal/OSHA Construction Employers as a starting point to consider what your first aid kit may require.

• Item instructions
• Disposable latex or synthetic gloves
• Roller gauze and gauze pads
• Cold packs
• Adhesive dressing
• Adhesive tape
• Eye dressing packet
• Antibiotic ointment
• Saline solution
• Hand sanitizer
• Triangular bandages
• Thermometer
• Cotton balls and swabs
• Tweezers
• Scissors
• Safety pins
• Flashlight
• Bulb suction device
• Duct tape
• Petroleum jelly
• Assorted bandages in both roll (i.e. Ace) and strip (i.e. Band-Aids) form
• Aloe vera gel
• Calamine lotion
• Hydrocortisone cream
• An item to administer liquid medications, such as a syringe or spoon
• Antihistamines
• Over-the-counter pain relievers (include aspirin and a non-aspirin alternative)
• Decongestants
• Insect sting kit
• Common cold medications, preferably in tablet or capsule form. Do not include items that need to be refrigerated.
• A list of emergency contact numbers

Always follow safe practices with your health (and the health of those around you) in mind. In the event of an unfortunate accident, be prepared with a properly-stocked first aid kit.

*******

Jay Acker leads a team of writers and blog regularly for www.safetyservices.com. The company provides a variety of safety training training aids and supplies including first aid kits for small, medium and large companies.

Photo Source: http://www.morguefile.com/archive/display/536834.

Find Building Moxie Also On:

Twitter	Google Plus	Facebook	Pinterest	HomeTalk	Houzz