The War on Dust

Why it’s a must to eliminate smut and soot from today’s jobsites By Ron Treister

Paul Guth, iQ Power Tools’ President of Product Development and Co-Founder, debuting the iQ1550 prototype at Hardscape North America 2021.

Paul Guth is an interesting guy, to say the least. Whereas he is currently President of Product Development and co-founder of iQ Power Tools, a Southern California manufacturer of state-of-the-art electric cutting tools for the masonry, concrete, ceramic tile, natural stone and related contractor industries, since our first meeting, I’ve always envisioned him as more of an consummate innovator, product design and developer, always thinking about tomorrow.

Read on and see if you agree... Some quick history. Paul began as a mason, working for a California-based construction firm specializing in delivering high quality installations, primarily for the commercial construction sector. The firm was profitable, getting lots of call-back work from top-ranked general contractors in the region. But something was needed. “In 1995, my brother Joel, who owned the construction firm, invented a dry-cutting masonry saw to be used by our workers,” Paul says. We wanted something safe, easyto-use and, a product that even back then, would address a topic so in demand today: ‘the need for speed.’” From Day 1, people liked this saw. But from its inception, they noticed whatever it was cutting, the results seemed to elicit a huge dust cloud polluting the jobsite. This gnawing question, What is our necessity? kept haunting them starting right at that point. What was this necessity? As Paul puts it, “We needed to provide not only our workers, but the entire contracting industry with a saw that could actually protect all workers from the dangers of airborne silica and other similar and equally dangerous dust particles.” New designs were painstakingly developed and prototypes built in house for testing. This process went on for a couple of years, and the products were proving to be useful and marketable. However, the Guths knew all along for this to be a real success, they would need total stateside distribution. They knew that in order to be able to reach that goal, they had to dig in and start a fullfledged educational program to train users. This clearly was a necessity. “There were a few obstacles, to say the least,” Paul says. “We had to perfect the design and performance of a highly durable electric saw that could pull silica dust out of the air. We also had to perfect our ‘dry-cutting’ designs. Because the construction marketplace was slow after the recession began in 2008, we had time to put our heads together when deciding to come up with not only ideal products for the construction industries we served. But also, find a way to somehow spearhead and implement a national campaign alerting workers (and their owners) of the

“In our travels, which now are many, we realize we’ve only scratched the surface. Today, we’ll go to a large jobsite and very directly, ask the workers if they are aware of the dangers possible by inhaling silica dust."

absolute dangers present relative to the inhalation of silica dust.” Finally, after the recession was over, the construction company became a thing of the past and iQ Power Tools became their sole business in 2012. Times continued to improve business-wise, and soon they were selling their products on a national basis. iQ began exhibiting at key trade expositions around the country, introducing strong public relations and social media programs... and subsequently, jump started the “War on Dust” campaign in high gear shortly thereafter. “We were just starting to scratch the surface,” Paul says. One major connection that proved beneficial relative to the “The War on Dust” campaign took place in 2018—the American Lung Association (ALA) reached out. For years, the organization’s caution agenda centered on the dangers of smoking cigarettes. Now, there was a whole new area the group could focus upon. This helped iQ gain credibility. “And immodestly, we helped them, as well,” Paul says. “Basically, the overall theme focused upon how dangerous silica dust can be to workers on job sites; even those wearing masks.” Granted, lots of contractors who were rooted in doing business as they always had were simply not open to change. Upon hearing from not just iQ, but also from the ALA, their combined messages started to resonate. For example, iQ received many appreciative notes from contractors across the country after explaining to them, along with ALA, that silica dust once getting inside one’s lungs, actually stays there, developing scar tissue. With continued exposure an individual or worker will severely diminish his lung capacity. This will affect his quality of life as the worker gets older, making him more susceptible to lung related diseases.

Building bridges

Obviously, Paul cares if the national and international marketplaces iQ Power Tools purchases and benefits by using his cutting machinery. Over recent years, the firm has developed distribution points for its products in Canada, Australia, Scandinavia and Europe. But even more so, Paul’s real passion has been to fully educate the global construction industry and to completely understand the dangers of silica dust. “In our travels, which now are many, we realize we’ve only scratched the surface. Today, we’ll go to a large jobsite and very directly, ask the workers if they are aware of the dangers possible by inhaling silica dust.” Shockingly, only about 10% know anything about these risks. This is why everyone in construction must step up and push for strong grass roots education programs relative to this topic. How progressive/responsible are other countries with respect to protecting their workers from the dangers of silica? In Australia for example, it clearly is documented that certain employers have been summarily sued by their workers who contracted silicosis on the job. “We’re not advocating ‘protect or else be sued,’” Paul says. “Rather, we are advocating that if you are a professional company that takes care of its workers, it is your responsibility to protect those who labor on a daily basis for you. And that these same workers should be educated on what these dangers are and how to take the proper precautions to avoid being affected by them.” It also is important to know that not just the cutting of masonry, concrete, wood, ceramic, stone, composite results in airborne dust that is highly dangerous. But also, other surface finishing regimens such as grinding, milling, polishing, surface finishing, et al, also can result in highly dangerous dust conditions affecting workers’ lungs. iQ’s business, not surprisingly, has grown in great leaps and bounds during the last decade. “It’s not just about hiring professional individuals who care about their job, their co-workers and their company’s reputation,” Paul says. “It also is about making sure these workers know as much as possible regarding the ‘War on Dust’ from their very own vantage points. And this means caring about the safety of everyone on every jobsite. CCR

Ron Treister is a marketing communications specialist. For three decades, he has worked with major accounts in the commercial construction sector. He can be reached at rontreister@gmail.com.