Safety Blog
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Safety Focus of the Week: Inspection of Chains, Cables, and Slings (Revisited)
Rigging of all types shall be visually inspected by the user or designated person for each shift the rigging is to be used (per ASME B30.9, the recognized standard for rigging).
The inspector is to look for the following:
Chains:
- Distorted, Damaged, or Worn Links
- Distorted, Damaged, or Worn Hooks/Rings/etc.
Wire Rope Cable:
- Crushed or Kinked
- Broken Strands
- Bird Caging
- Damaged Splices
Synthetic Slings:
- Burns, Melting, or Charring of any part of the sling
- Holes, Tears, Cuts, or Snags
- Broken or Worn Stitching in Load Bearing Splices
- Excessive Abrasive Wear
Safety Focus of the Week: Risk Assessment Thinking
“If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” – Benjamin Franklin
Having a plan before starting any task is essential to the success and safety of the project. And, the essence of good planning is performing a risk assessment because no plan can be expected to work perfectly unless it contains contingencies for failures in the basic assumptions of the plan. A risk assessment challenges these assumptions and allows for contingencies or an alternate method if the assessed risk/hazards are unacceptable. We typically apply risk assessment planning in our project estimating, planning, and daily safety evaluations. However, a risk assessment mentality is necessary throughout the entire process and not just during formal document preparation and planning.
Safety Focus of the Week: Small Tools (Revisited)
Small tools are used everyday on our job sites: hilti-drills, circular saws, grinders, powder-actuated tools, small pneumatic tools, etc.
- Select the proper tool and blade (abrasive disc, etc) for the application.
- Inspect the tool before each use: look for damage, frayed power cords, sharpness/integrity of blade, and missing guards.
- Set yourself up with the proper PPE, which may include: safety glasses, hearing protection, leather gloves, face shield, etc.
- Set up your work area to support your work (vice/clamps/sawhorses, etc.).
- Verify that the power supply is protected with a ground fault circuit interrupt.
- Understand manufacturers instructions.
- Powder-actuated tools require that the user be certified.
- Remove the power supply when changing blades, abrasive tooling, belts, etc.
OSHA has a standard on small tools: OHSA Small Tools
Safety Focus of the Week: Driving Sheet Piling
Our work sometimes involves driving and extracting steel sheet piling with our vibrator hammers. This work involves special safety considerations and planning:
- Crane Operations:
- Lift Capacity at required radii
- Duty Cycle considerations (duty cycle crane or reduced crane chart)
- Rigging types (shackles, cable slings, ground release shackle, etc.)
- Crane Hazards (OH Electric, Firm Ground, etc.)
- Crane Signals
- Planning:
- Crane Position & Reach
- Support Equipment (vibro, power pack/hoses, manlift, etc.)
- Material Staging (sheeting handling)
- Operations:
- Overhead hazards (falling material)
- Sheeting fatigue at jaw grip (sudden release of energy)
- Extraction Forces (high potential energy condition)
Safety Focus of the Week: Being Prepared for a Safety Compliance Inspection (Revisited)
A good way to manage your construction site is with the assumption that there could be a safety compliance inspection at any time, whether from our safety department, our clients, or OSHA.
Always being ready means the following:
- Maintain a clean and organized site, including safe access/egress to the site, excavations, traffic work zones, confined spaces, etc.
- Properly notify our workers of the potential hazards to themselves and the traveling public with the daily Job Hazard Analysis. Provide the appropriate systems for their protection and verify they have the appropriate training, understand the need, maintenance, and proper use.
- Have all safety documents completed and available (Job Hazard Analysis, SDS sheets, ECI Safety Manual, trench box certifications, material labeling, etc.)
- Tag out-of-service equipment appropriately and remove from service.
- Store and label hazardous materials (such as flammable liquids and gases) appropriately.
- Make certain that any subcontractors are follow both their own and ECI’s safety program.
If your site is visited by OSHA officers then please use the following protocol:
- Request that they stay at the edge of our site while you get our JHA form to do a safety briefing.
- Immediately call the ECI Safety Director so that he can be available to discuss any observations made by the officers.
- Provide the OSHA officers with our JHA and require the appropriate level of PPE.
- Request that they wait for our Safety Director if they don’t mind.
- Notify our client when appropriate.
- To the extent possible, always accompany the officer so that we observe and document the same conditions.
Safety Focus of the Week: Respiratory Protection
This week we are focusing on respiratory protection which is described well in the following OSHA webpage:
https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/etools/respiratory/respirator_basics.html
The basics covered include:
- Respirator Users
- Medical Requirements
- Maintenance and Care of Respirators
- Fit Testing
- Written Program
- Voluntary Use of Respirators
Safety Focus of the Week: Demolition Plans
“Before the start of every demolition job”, OSHA requires that the contractor prepare a demolition plan (1926.850(a)). This very broad requirement appears to be applicable for any engineered structure such as: houses, silos, barns, towers, dams, bridges, etc. OSHA is likely to include even the most basic of structures if an incident occurs related to the demolition.
In most cases, a rather simple plan would be sufficient, provided that it contains a risk assessment and a plan to address the identified risks. Therefore, a typical demolition plan might include:
- Method of Demolition – Equipment, Waste Handling, etc.
- Engineering Survey – To assess the potential and take measures to prevent pre-mature collapse
- Exclusion Zone – To keep workers and the public out of the danger zone.
- Hazard Material Assessment – To verify that the waste won’t include lead, asbestos, etc.
- Personal Protective Equipment – for the potential hazards
- Verification of Utility De-Energizaton – gas, propane tanks, electric, water, etc.
- Emergency Plan – PD/FD/Rescue Call Numbers, 1st Aid Kit Locations, Emergency Meeting Place
- Special Blasting Procedures – if blasting used
The demolition of a complex structure, especially ones involving: demolition equipment on the structure, blasting, in-close demolition of tall structures, or piece-by-piece structural removal would involve a very detailed plan involving engineered procedures and bracing systems.
This link is a training guide from OSHA discussing the hazards:
http://www.osha.gov/doc/outreachtraining/htmlfiles/demolit.html
Please notify the safety department when your project involves demolition for further assistance in preparing a demolition plan.
Safety Focus of the Week – Silica Exposure (Revisited)
Silica dust exposure is a concern where construction materials are cut, ground, drilled, or crushed. The best protection from silica dust exposure is by wetting the product. If not effective, then it is necessary to wear a respirator for further protection. As always, your PPE (in this case the respirator) should be considered a secondary line of defense after the engineering controls (wetting, vacuuming away the dust, etc.).
This is one of our biggest potential exposures to a chronic health hazard, which we take very seriously. Silica Dust can cause silicosis, lung cancer, and other systemic diseases. Silica Dust exposure is from inhalation of microscopic particles. Visible dust is not small enough to penetrate deep into the lungs and therefore is not a potential exposure. However, visible dust typically contains invisible size particles that can cause health effects.
The OSHSA guideline is a useful reference:
Safety Focus of the Week: Fire Safety
This week’s safety focus is Fire Safety, which is an important consideration at all jobsites, in the shops, in our office, and at home. It is particularly important when we are doing hot work like torch work, arc welding, thermite welding, etc.
The physics behind fire protection is understanding the fire triangle which consists of fuel, oxygen, and heat. Fighting a fire, and preventing a fire, involves removing one of the three from the process.
Fires are classified as:
A – Trash/Wood/Paper
B – Flamable Liquids including petroleum products, paints, and propane
C – Involving Energized Electrical Equipment or Wiring
D – Reactive Metals (for example: thermite welds)
K – Cooking Oils
Make sure that the fire extinguisher is rated for the type of fire. Using the wrong extinguisher can spread the fire or cause electrocution in the case of a type C fire. Many of ECI’s extinguishers are ABC for any of these three types.
Finally, take the time today to do the following for all extinguishers in your work area:
- Check for the proper charge (check monthly)
- Familiarize yourself with the type of extinguisher and consider whether it is appropriate for the types of potential fires in your work area.
- Verify that the tag has not expired. Return expired extinguishers to Stu/Matt for replacements.
This reference link provides a handy reference for fire safety: www.fireextinguisher.com
Safety Focus of the Week: More on Traffic Control Plans & The MUTCD
This week we are continuing our discussion on Traffic Control Plans. Our go-to resource for traffic control is the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (2009 Edition), a document published by the Federal Highway Administration. The MUTCD contains guidelines for arrangements of traffic control devices for nearly every potential arrangement (shoulder closures, lane closures, lane shifts, detours, blasting operations, etc.) on nearly every type of roadway (rural road, urban streets, divided highways, railroad at-grade crossings, etc.). Devices are considered to be signage, cones, barriers, flaggers, signals, programmable message boards, etc.
MUTCD Section 1A.02-02 Principles of Traffic Control Devices offers the following guidance on devices:
To be effective, a traffic control device should meet 5 basic requirements:
A. Fulfill a Need
B. Command Attention
C. Convey a Clear, Simple Meaning
D. Command Respect from Road Users, and
E. Give Adequate Time for Proper Response
The MUTCD is available for free on the following FHWA weblink:
https://mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov/pdfs/2009r1r2/pdf_index.htm