OSHA violations trench/excavation cave-ins

 

 

 

 

An average of 60 workers die in trench/excavation cave-ins each year. Of the 607 cave-in fatalities identified by NIOSH researchers in the ten year period from 1980 to 1989, construction workers accounted for 77% of those deaths. Almost without exception, trench/excavation deaths can be prevented by following existing OSHA safety regulations.

Several factors contribute to trench cave-ins. For example, soil stability is related to soil type and may be affected by changes in weather. In the spring, unshored trench walls, heavy from rain, can become unstable. Also, when damp soil is exposed to air during excavation, it can dry out and lose the ability to stand on its own, increasing the risk that it will slide into the trench. Other factors, such as how close the excavation is to highways, large machinery, back filled areas or existing structures, can affect soil stability as well.

The following trench/excavation rules are those that OSHA recently cited the most when inspecting construction jobsites.

#1 Protection in excavations—Employees in an excavation must be protected from a cave-in by an adequate protective system unless the excavation is: (1) made entirely in stable rock, or (2) less than 5 feet deep and a competent person has determined there is no indication of a potential cave-in. Protective systems that may be used include: sloping and benching, trench shields, or support systems such as timber or aluminum hydraulic shoring.

#2 Inspections—Your competent person must make daily inspections of excavations, the adjacent areas, and protective systems for evidence of situations that could result in possible cave-ins, indications of failure of protective systems, hazardous atmospheres, or other hazardous conditions. Your competent person must conduct the inspection prior to the start of work and as needed throughout the shift. Inspections must also be made after every rainstorm or other hazard increasing occurrence. These inspections are only required when employee exposure can be reasonably anticipated.

#3 Access and egress—In excavations that are 4 feet or more deep, a stairway, ladder, ramp or other safe means of getting out must be located so as to require no more than 25 feet of lateral travel for employees to reach the escape method.

#4 Spoil piles and other fall back—Employees must be protected from excavated or other materials or equipment that could pose a hazard by falling or rolling into excavations. Protection must be provided by placing and keeping such materials or equipment at least 2 feet from the edge of the excavation, or by the use of retaining devices that are sufficient to prevent materials or equipment from falling or rolling into excavations, or by a combination of both if necessary.

#5 Exposed employees—Where your competent person finds evidence of a situation that could result in a possible cave-in, indications of a failure of a protective system, hazardous atmospheres, or other hazardous conditions, exposed employees must be removed from the hazardous area until the necessary precautions have been taken to ensure their safety.

This information is provided by Assurance Agency https:www.assuranceagency.com

 

Protective Systems

 

You are exposed to many hazards during a construction work day. If you work in excavations, the chief hazard is the danger of cave-ins. 

OSHA requires that all excavations, where employees are exposed to potential cave-ins, must be protected by:
• Proper sloping and/or benching of the sides of the excavation.
• Supporting the sides of the excavation with timber or aluminum hydraulic shoring.
• Placing a shield between the side of the excavation and your work area.
• Employers are free to choose the most practical design approach for a particular circumstance. Once an approach is selected, the required performance criteria for that system must be met.

The standard does not require protective systems when an excavation is: 
• Made entirely in stable rock, or
• Less than 5 feet deep and a competent person has examined the ground and found no indication of a potential cave-in.

Protective systems — There are many factors involved in designing a protective system. Some of them are: soil classification, depth of cut, water content of the soil, changes due to weather and climate, or other operations at the work site. The OSHA rules provide several different methods and approaches.

Protective systems must be able to resist, without failure, all loads that are intended or could reasonably be expected to be applied or transmitted to the system.

Installation and removal of protective systems — The following steps are required for protecting employees when installing support systems: (1) securely connect, (2) safely install, (3) never overload members, and (4) install other structural members to carry loads imposed on the support system when temporary removal of individual members is necessary.

As soon as work is completed, the excavation should be backfilled as the protective system is dismantled. After the excavation is cleared, workers should slowly remove the protective system from the bottom up, taking care to release members slowly.

Materials and equipment — Employers are responsible for the safe condition of materials and equipment used for protective systems. Defective and damaged materials and equipment can result in the failure of a protective system and cause excavation hazards.

This information is provided by Assurance Agency https:www.assuranceagency.com

RCEC/RHBA Holiday Event

 

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Hazards with Suspended Loads

 

Multiple times a year I’m sent a serious injury or fatality report associated with suspended loads. You should never consider working, walking, standing or traversing under a suspended load.Suspended loads pose great dangers to all involved in that work task and all of those who are not associated with that task.

Let’s consider some scopes of suspended loads:
• Crane picks
• Lull and forklift operations
• Beta hoist material handling
• Chain fall material handling
• Well wheel material handling
• Boom lift material setting
• Scissor lift material handling
• Ladder material handling
• Suspended Swing stage work
• Backhoe’s placing shields in deep excavations

What could possibly go wrong?
• Communication breakdown amongst the tradesmen
• Tradesmen/people traversing under our loads
• Rigging failures
• Equipment failures
• Over Loading the capacity of such equipment’s
• Human error while guiding a load

 What can we do to prevent these struck by/crushed by accidents?
• Better pre-planning
• Better jobsite communications in orientations
• Inspections of all rigging
• Knowing the capacity ratings of such equipment’s
• Only certified/trained operators on mentioned equipment’s
• Constant inspections of equipment and rigging prior to each use
• Keep 20 ft away from overhead powerlines

Demark a controlled access zone with directional and warning signage at ground level
• Provide a spotter or flagger while lifting or swinging load
• Provide public canopies at access routes
• Wear high visibility PPE
• Discuss upcoming suspended work at weekly foreman meetings
• Only one person at a time communicates with crane operations
• Place bobcat buckets and lull forks on the ground when not in use

There is plenty of information here to benefit from regarding suspended loads. Take a look at your projects today and discuss who may be performing suspended load applications. Address their task according to what we have discussed within this document.

This information is provided by Berglund Construction

Carcinogens

 

Carcinogens are hazardous substances at your jobsite that can cause cancer. This handout points out the Hazard Communication (HazCom) Standard’s requirements for handling carcinogens. All requirements of the HazCom standard must be followed when dealing with chemicals considered to be carcinogenic.

As with all hazardous substances, carcinogen exposure should be controlled primarily using engineering and process controls such as ventilating a workspace. Personal protective equip­ment should only be used after other measures fail or are not feasible.

How OSHA determines a carcinogen

OSHA’s HazCom Standard, 29 CFR 1910.1200, defines a carcinogen as a chemical that:

·         Has been evaluated by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), and found to be a carcinogen or potential carcinogen.

·         Is listed as a carcinogen or potential carcinogen in the Annual Report on Carcinogens published by the National Toxicology Program (NTP).

·         Is regulated by OSHA as a carcinogen.

Safety data sheets

Only chemical manufacturers and importers are required to perform hazard determinations on chemicals. Any chemical your company receives that is regulated by OSHA as a carcino­gen, or is on one of the previously mentioned lists, must be labeled as such, and an entry must be made on the Safety Data Sheet (SDS).

Labels and other forms of warning

Labels provide an immediate warning of the hazards to which you may be exposed. Chemi­cals “known to be carcinogenic” and those that may “reasonably be anticipated to be carcino­genic” by NTP must have warnings on the label and information on the SDS. All IARC listed chemicals in Groups 1 (carcinogenic to humans), and 2A (probably carcinogenic to humans), must include appropriate entries on both the SDS and label. Group 2B chemi­cals (possibly carcinogenic to humans) need be noted only on the SDS.

Employee training

You must have additional training when a new physical or health hazard is introduced at your worksite. If the newly introduced hazard is a suspect carcinogen, and there has never been a carcinogenic hazard in the workplace before, then new training for carcinogenic haz­ards must be conducted for you in those work areas where you will be exposed.

This information is provided by Assurance Agency https:www.assuranceagency.com