Safety on the job: Visiting clients houses

When people talk about computer repairs one would think that there wouldn’t be much danger involved. I am sure most of you have heard a story or two from a pizza delivery boy who had some scary moments on the job. Well, with pizza delivery boys at least they don’t have to go into the client’s house for at an hour, onsite computer technicians do.

Working as an onsite computer technician for some years I have seen it all, from ultra rich people, to very poor people and just plain creepy people. I have been in houses owned by drug addicts, renters that have garbage piled from floor to roof, people who have 20+ cats, places with huge dogs and just plain creepy people. A close friend of mine who also works as a computer technician has been in a client’s house that had sexual paraphernalia about the house that wasn’t hidden.

Some of the more obvious health concerns is working with electrical parts and lifting heavy objects such as cases and CRT monitors. However, there are also more insidious health concerns to be aware of such as germs. Studies have been conducted that say that a keyboard and mouse contains more bacteria the seat of a public toilet. The same keyboard and mouse you work with for hours on end at client’s houses.

How to be safe on the job:

• Always let someone know the address of where you are going, even if it’s just a post-it note on the fridge.
• Always wash your hands after visiting a clients place, especially if you have been using their keyboard and mouse.
• When working with hardware in a clients PC, always take out the power cord. Not only to protect yourself from possible electrocution but to avoid the potential damaging parts inside the clients PC by accidentally dropping a screw onto an electrically sensitive area (ie, inside the power supply).
• Bend with your knees when picking up heavy objects.
• On the phone, trust your instinct and if something doesn’t seem right, tell the client that you are too busy to take the job.