Blog

by Jorge Vazquez on

As the weather becomes “frightful” during winter months, construction workers who must brave the outdoor conditions face the occupational hazard of exposure to the cold. You need to be especially mindful of the weather, its effects on the body, and proper prevention techniques.Environmental conditionsThe following four environmental conditions are… read more

by Jorge Vazquez on

Accidents occur for many reasons. In most jobsites people tend to look for "things" or “people” to blame when an accident happens, because it's easier than looking for "root causes,"Failure to Pre-Plan the Work:There is a lot of talk today about Job Hazard Analysis. JHA's are an effective way to figure out the smartest ways to work safely and… read more

by Jorge Vazquez on

Mobile (also known as rolling) scaffold setups require you to use the same common sense safety rules that apply to the use of stationary upright scaffolding. You should always keep the planks clean; never overload the unit and watch where you are walking.In addition, they require a separate set of cautions that are particular to their design.… read more

by Jorge Vazquez on

Notice to Supervisors: Read and be prepared to answer questions. Every employee should know to report near misses to their immediate supervisor.At the Marek Family of Companies we expect everyone to report unsafe conditions and actions, as stated in PROJECT SAFE. A near miss is always considered an unsafe condition that needs immediate… read more

by Jorge Vazquez on

In any company, whether differences among members are great or small, functioning as a team is critical to success.In today’s meeting, we want to focus on behaviors that violate these principles in the worst way. We are speaking of verbal and physical confrontations, more commonly known as "having words” and fighting.Our company’s response to… read more

by Jorge Vazquez on

Working in confined spaces can be pretty common in construction. If you’ve ever had to run conduit in a crawl space or install insulation in a cramped attic, you have worked in a confined space. If that crawl space or attic had some kind of hazard in it- such as volatile fumes from spry insulation or high temperatures caused by the heat of a… read more

by Jorge Vazquez on

Bob NoPay has a problem that affects a lot of employees; he is speaking to his Production Manager on Friday about a short check. When all the facts are reviewed, Bob finds out that his attendance is the problem, not a clerical error from his foreman or payroll.Absenteeism impacts the Marek Family of Companies in many ways. Your foreman and… read more

by John Hinson on

Marek Dallas Division President John Hinson wrote the following President’s Message for AWCI's Construction Dimension magazine. Hinson is the 2015-2016 President of AWCI.I am honored to serve our industry for the next 12 months as president of the Association of the Wall and Ceiling Industry. I have worked in the wall and ceiling… read more

by Jorge Vazquez on

Noise is one of the most common health problems in workplaces today. Right now, about 30 million workers are exposed to high noise levels. If you’re one of those workers, you may be losing some of your hearing. And, you might not realize it until it’s too late!!!Most of us take hearing for granted. When we go home at the end of a workday and when… read more

by Jorge Vazquez on

Let's take a quick test. How many basic senses do we have at birth? Name them. Is it one.... two.... four? I'm sure we all agree the answer is FIVE. These five senses are SIGHT, HEARING, TASTE, TOUCH and SMELL. If you were faced with sacrificing four of these five basic senses, which ones would you keep? Most people would keep their sense of SIGHT… read more