University of Kentucky Occupational Health and Safety Personal Safety While On Construction Sites

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University of KentuckyOccupational Health and
SafetyPersonal Safety While On Construction
Sites
I want to talk to you today about your safety
while on a construction site. The University,
because of various liability and other issues,
requires that contractors oversee and conduct
their own safety operations while doing business
at the University of Kentucky. Contractors are
required to follow the Occupational Safety and
Health Administration (OSHA) Standards as well as
other regulatory Standards, Codes and guidelines.
Within this framework, I want to talk with
you about what you can do to protect yourself
while on site and to give you an idea of the
things you need to be on the look out for and
some conditions to avoid so you dont get
injured.
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If this is your low bid building contractor
showing up for the newest campus construction
project, you really do need to do some
construction safety awareness training!!!
Both back tires are flat, the shocks are driven
up through the floor board, back seat has 10 bags
of concrete (80 lbs.each). On the top are
40-2x4s, 24- 4x4s, 16- 3/4 sheets of OSL
plywood. The estimated load is 3100 lbs, the car
is a VW Jetta, with Florida plates. The guy was
on his way to Annapolis to help his
brother-in-law.
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29 CFR 1926

• OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH STANDARDS FOR THE
  CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY

We will follow some of the safety guidelines
listed by OSHA in their standards for the
Construction Industry. We are not going to go
into the requirements of the standards but will
use this as a reference.
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Most Frequently CitedSerious Violations
I thought we would look at the most frequently
cited OSHA serious violation for the construction
industry in FY 99. This will give an overview of
some of the areas you may encounter while on the
job site. Even with a 10 yard concrete truck we
cant cover all the things that one may be
exposed to on a site.

• Construction - FY-99

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Most Frequently Cited Serious Violationsin
Construction - FY 99
Fall protection - Unprotected sides edges
Head protection - Appropriate Hard hat
Excavations - Protection of employees Scaffolds
- Fall protection
Standard Subpart - 1926.
Scaffolds - Safe access
Scaffolds - Platform construction
Portable ladder - 3 feet above landing surface
with safety feet provided on
all straight ladders
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Leading Causes Of Work Related Deaths For The
Construction Industry
This is based on data from the National Safety
Council.
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Subpart M - Fall Protection(1926.500 - 503)
Unprotected sides edges - Fall protection
Fall hazards training program
Fall protection - Residential construction 6 or
more
Fall protection - Roofing work on low-slope roofs

• Fall protection - Steep roofs

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Here is an example of open sides. This area is
required to be protected and in fact the open
side is where most of the fatal falls occur. But
dont look just at that look at the floor
opening. It has rebar around it now, but that
may or may not warn you in time to keep you from
backing into the hole. It needs to be guarded
with a warning line or barricade. When you are on
such an area look for all the open spots you can
fall into.
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Here is an example of pretty good perimeter
guarding. You see the horses and the tape area.
There are some other trip and fall areas, but
there usually is at this stage of construction.
Look for them.
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This is another type of fall protection. A
safety harness and tie off rope is used to work
at this elevated space. The system must have a
safety lanyard in the rear, midway up the back,
and hooked into a D ring. No longer are waist
belts acceptable as fall protection. Thank
goodness! They sometimes saved a life but the
damage done to the body and back was catastrophic.
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One of the best systems for fall protection is a
cage like this. It has top rail, midrail, toe
board and inward opening door for easy entry
access.
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However this cage has some problems. One is what
it is being lifted by. If the Sky Trak doesnt
have a self-leveling front, when the cage is
lowered it will tip. In this case, the cage is
not anchored to the machine up simply lifted.
The guys need to be provided with a harness
system. From my point, if the machine is not
moved forward or back and the cage is tied in, I
would ride it.
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This is one way to avoid the problem of securing
the cage. Dont use one. This is not
recommended.
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This is one of the most used aerial devices on
campus, and it is a neat piece of equipment. The
cage has all the guards midrail, toeboard, etc.
But look at the entry point. This bar is
supposed to be picked up to enter then it lowers
automatically. But this one is roped up. The
other problem with these things is when they are
moved over rough ground, they can throw you out
of the cage. If you tram it, you have to be tied
in.
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If you use the thing like this, it doesnt matter
if the door is open or not. If you are one of
the guys on the roof you need to stay at least 6
feet from the edge. If you need to be closer,
youll need a harness.
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No problem! While we are here. Look at the
bucket on the boards and the bricks. Dont just
look down when on site, be sure to look up also.
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Subpart E - Personal Protective Life Saving
Equipment(1926.95 - 107)
Head protection required
Eye and face protection
PPE - Provided, used and maintained
U K
Safety nets for falls over 25 feet
Life jackets/vests
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When I operated equipment with a cab protector I
refused to wear a hard hat. I didnt stay on
some jobs very long but that was the 60s when
road construction work was every where. Truck
drivers, operators, inspectors dont need to wear
hard hats only if you stay in the vehicle cab or
in the job trailer.
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Although work is not going on above that you can
see, the ladder suggest it may be. Also, look at
the lack of fall protection on the open sided
floor. Remember the falls?
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Subpart L - Scaffolds(1926.450 - 454)

• Scaffolds above 10 ft. - Fall protection

Scaffold access
Scaffold working levels - Planked decked
Training for employees using scaffolds
Body belt worn and lanyard attached to boom
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Anyone want to go up? I think the long boards
are off of a pirate ship where they were used as
planks. See the hangmans noose at the end of
the top plank? The boards are not scaffolding
grade, (which have to be at a minimum a full 2 x
10 inches and rated for scaffold use). These
appear to be regular dressed 2 bys.
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This one looks good for as far as it goes. The
planks are right sized (2x10), lapped over the
end scaffold and bottom floor, but where is the
fall protection? The top floor was put down to
be used but the guardrails are not up. The metal
X bracing is just to keep the bucks together,
they dont provide fall protection in the middle.
42 inches is the minimum for the upper rail of
guardrails.
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This one is interesting. Note the floors are not
tight to the supports. What happens if the
boards move side to side when you step on them.
You will fall! This system is close to the limit
of free standing. Each buck is 5 ½ feet high.
If you get over 26 ½ feet in height and 30 feet
in length, the scaffold has to be anchored to the
structure.
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This scaffold is required to have guardrails. If
it were any where else but on this concrete pad
it, like all scaffolds, would also be required to
have feet with adjustable screw jacks. As a
matter of fact, if this pad were not level, the
adjustable feet would be required here to make
sure the scaffolding is plumb and level.
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I call this the Leaning Tower of Scaffolds. What
did I say about plumb and level? No! this is
not an acceptable way to access the roof edge.
As you can well see, all the weight of the
system is on the back legs of the scaffolding
which were never engineered to handle that weight
or sheer force. Yes it was used. OSHA did cite
the contractor for, among other things, not
having a competent person in charge of the
scaffold erection. The superintendent of the
job was the supposed competent person but the
OSHA compliance officer questioned his
credentials.
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Subpart F - Fire Protection Prevention(1926.150
- 159)
2A fire extinguishers - Building area

• Flammables/combustibles - Approved containers

Storage of LPG containers
Fire protection program/equipment
10B fire extinguisher within 50 ft. of flammable
liquids
10 fatalities from fire
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Tanks like this with lines feeding into the
building would be a reason for concern. What is
fed and how is it controlled?
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Subpart G - Signs, Signals Barricades(1926.200
- 203)
Traffic signs at points of hazard
Flagmen - Warning garments

• Flagmen/traffic control

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As a pedestrian, which way do you go here? What
can be done to help the traffic flow at this
site? Just about anything would be an
improvement here. One, remove the fence inserts
so one can see through the fence and around the
corner. Two, make a place for pedestrian traffic.
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Travel so you can see what is coming at you and
so the traffic can see you. At least this way,
you have an opportunity to get out of the way of
a gawking driver or one talking on a cell phone.
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This lady needs a guardian angel.
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Do you see her by the bus?
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Sometimes the traffic has to get out of the way
of the equipment. Often the equipment, traffic
and pedestrian traffic must compete for the same
space. Irritated drivers may do things that add
to the unsafe conditions such as the driver of
the car behind this backhoe. He must have gotten
tired of following the hoe because just as the
hoe turned here, he drove under the boom and
almost hit the pedestrian.
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Subpart N - Cranes, Derricks, Hoists, Elevators
Conveyors(1926.550 - 556)
Swing radius at rear of crane barricaded
Cranes derricks - Manufacturers specifications

• Crawler, locomotive, truck cranes - ANSI
  B30.5-1968

Daily inspection - Competent person
Annual inspection - Competent person
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A good rule to remember. If you cant see the
operator, he cant see you. If you need to check
a cut stake or elevation hub around the crane,
make sure you approach from the front, not under
the load, make sure you communicate with the
operator.
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Remember, 86 deaths from being struck by
equipment
There is no way the operator knows these guys are
there!!!
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Subpart K - Electrical(1926.400 - 449)

• Branch circuits - Ground fault protection/
• Assured equipment grounding conductor program

Grounding path
Ground-fault circuit interrupters
Guarding live parts
Equipment installation and use
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140 deaths by electrocution
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I dont think Id touch it.
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Subpart P - Excavations (1926.650 - 652)
Employee protection in excavations - Protective
system use
Inspections by competent person
Egress from trench excavations
Protection from falling/rolling
materials/equipment
Competent person inspection - Employees removed
from hazard
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Please dont do this. Stay away from the edge of
banks and excavations. You can fall in with the
dirt. Remember the swing area we talked about
with cranes, this isnt much different than a
crane. Both rigs have counterweights and
restricted vision to the rear. And, this rig
backs up a lot more often.
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On construction sites, you must look up and down.
Look at the tire tracks at the upper hole.
Could this have been made by the Sky Trac with
the work platform full of people that were not
equipped with safety harness and lanyard?
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Good example of shoring but this is to prevent
the land from slipping away from the tree. Any
ditch must be sloped or shored if over 5 feet in
depth and over 8 feet in length, and in a
previously excavated area.
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WALER
CROSSBRACE
UPRIGHT
This is an example of both worlds. What is right
and what is wrong? The wood on the left consists
of dressed 2x4 and ¾ inch plywood, neither of
which is strong enough for shoring. Wood must be
at least a true 2-½ inches and at least 1 inch
thick plywood used only with a hydraulic shoring
system. The system on the right is a good
commercial protection system made up of aluminum
sheeting and hydraulic shore jacks and braces.
This is perhaps protection more that this type
soil requires. Soil is classified as A, B, or C.
A being good compact clay and C being something
like sand or gravel.
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Here is the acceptable plywood, but not an
acceptable shoring system. The top is all that
is provided with a brace. There is not a waler
to help support the plywood. Nothing keeps the
bottom from kicking out and covering you up.
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56 deaths from collapsing material
Remember the crushed by material resulting in
56 deaths. This may be one of the causes. Look
at this, dressed 2 x 4 s holding up a roadway.
What would happen if a heavy truck, backhoe, or
any other vehicle came close to the edge?
Remember the shoring use in the first slide? It
was just to keep a tree from falling into the
hole.
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A trench is a cut through the earth. An
excavation is the same thing but it is considered
an excavation if it is wider than it is deep. A
trench may not be more than 15 feet wide measured
at the bottom of the excavation. The reason for
the definition is that if it is an excavation,
1-½ times the height of the high wall is an area
where a cave in would not trap you or pin you
under the tons of dirt. A cubic foot of medium
dry clay soil will weight between 90 and 110
pounds. A cubic yard (27 cubic feet) may weigh
more 1 ¼ ton. The guy working on this form is
more than one and a half times the height of the
high wall away from it. But what about when the
concrete was poured for this other footer. It
certainly isnt in a safe area away from the
wall.
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Over burden adds to the height of the trench and
is not nearly as stable soil as that in the
trench wall. Overburden must be at least 2 feet
from the edge of the trench. Obviously storage
of material such as this can not be allowed on
top of the pile.
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Subpart O - Motor Vehicles, Mechanized Equipment,
Marine Operations(1926.600 - 606)

• Earthmoving/compacting equipment - Reverse signal
  alarm

Bidirectional machines - Horn
Industrial trucks - ANSI B56.1-1969
Vehicles with obstructed rear view -
Alarm/observer
Lifting/hauling equipment - Use of safety platform
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Subpart Q - Concrete Masonry Construction(1926.
700 - 706)

• Reinforcing steel - Guarding

Masonry walls - Bracing
Masonry construction - Limited access zone
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Here is an example of rebar that is required to
be protected. The stuff on the working level not
on the top of the form. The colored mushroom
heads you see on site are not protection from
anything other than scratches or cuts. The rebar
must have a board or other type barrier over the
top of the steel.
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Subpart T - Demolition(1926.850 - 860)

• Engineering survey - Prior to operations

Dropped material - Area protected
Testing for dangerous chemicals
Wall openings - Protection
Chute openings - Toeboard/bumper
Inspections by competent person
56 fatalities caused by collapsing material
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Subpart X - Ladders(1926.1050 - 1060)
Portable ladders 3 feet above landing surface

• Stairrails handrails

Stairways/ladders required
Minimum clearance between rungs
Training program
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This looks to be a well-placed ladder. It
extends more than 3 feet above the top of the
concrete side. The angle appears about right.
Remember the rule of 4 to 1. For each 4 feet of
vertical rise, the ladder should be set out
horizontally one foot. If you arent sure of the
height, count the rungs, they are about 12 inches
high. But it is not tied off at the top.
3 ft.
75?
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See many things wrong with this ladder? The
angle may be the only thing that is about right.
The top is not high enough, it is not tied off,
and where are the safety feet? I am not too sure
this would hold a big person with a load of tools
on a belt.
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Subpart Z - Toxic Hazardous Substances(1926.110
0 - 1152)

• Asbestos - Exposure assessment by competent person

Asbestos - Monitoring to determine airborne
concentrations
Asbestos - Class I, II, III asbestos work in
regulated areas
Asbestos - Protective clothing
Asbestos - Identify ACM/PACM before work
Asbestos - Training program
Asbestos-containing material/Presumed
asbestos-containing material
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Subpart D - Occupational Health Environmental
Controls(1926.50 - 66)
Lead - Exposure assessment

• Lead - Interim respiratory protection

Silica exposure from sandblasting, cutting brick,
block, concrete
Gases, vapors, fumes, dusts mists - Controls
Asphyxiate gases in confined spaces
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Look at this area, What do you see? The trench
is not the only thing here. See the box in the
lower left corner. An open manhole with good
ventilation, right? Look at the line going into
the hole. That is an oxygen-acetylene torch
which means that a flammable gas and an oxidizer
have been used in the hole and there has probably
been cutting done in the area. That may mean an
oxygen deficient area. A permit required
confined space. Which requires a safety harness,
attendant, and monitoring at the site. Ask some
one at the site what has been going on in the
space. Wait a while before you go in.
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Does this look like a confined space? What has
to be done before you can enter this space?
Right, rescue, air monitoring, communications the
whole bit of a Permit Required Space.
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Dont think that areas have to look like those we
saw. A classroom or sealed room like the one we
are in can become a killer if a 45-horse power
gas fired internal combustion engine piece of
equipment like this has been running in here.
This was the case just recently in an accident
that sent two people to the hospital for carbon
monoxide poisoning. Air the areas out before you
go in for any time. You cant smell CO you just
become faint, sick, and then dead. Remember the
graph about the causes of death, 12 people died
last year on construction jobs because of oxygen
deficiency.
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At the end of the day, we all want to be able to
go home in as good of health as when we left.
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REMEMBER

• UK SAFETY
• BEGINS WITH
• YOU