Highway Construction Safety

 

Highway construction means working side by side with 3,000 pounds of metal speeding along two to three feet from you eight hours a day! Consequently, 86 workers died in 1999 from highway, street, bridge, and tunnel construction according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

What are the hazards?

Traffic is not the only concern. Almost as many workers are killed by heavy equipment. Also, a number of fatalities occur when heavy equipment rolls over. Remaining hazards involve heavy lifting, falling hazards (i.e., bridge sites), overhead power lines, underground electrical lines, ungrounded electrical equipment, poorly maintained tools and jacks, unguarded moving parts, excavation cave-ins, vibrating tools, carbon monoxide from vehicle exhaust, asphalt fumes, extreme heat/cold, rain and fog, and darkness at night.

How can you protect yourself?

While there are many hazards, there are also many ways to protect yourself:

·         Wear highly visible clothing and a light-colored hard hat. During the day, you must wear a vest, shirt, or jacket that is orange, yellow, yellow-green, or a fluorescent version of these colors. At night, the vest, shirt, or jacket must be retroreflective.

·         Work where drivers can see you, but as far as possible from traffic. Drivers may not be able to see you when the sun is low in the sky or when it is rainy, foggy, or dark.

·         Get in and out of traffic spaces and heavy equipment areas quickly and safely.

·         Stay alert and don't wear a radio headset.

·         Do not operate equipment or a vehicle unless you are trained and authorized.

·         Always wear your seat belt when operating equipment or vehicles.

·         Make visual contact with workers on foot near you before moving equipment.

·         Make sure equipment is inspected and corrected daily.

·         Use equipment with rollover protective structures.

·         Chock two wheels when leaving equipment.

·         If you must park your vehicle near traffic, park where drivers can see you (don't park around blind corners).

·         If working on pile driving, know the special hazards of this work.

·         If working on trenching and/or shoring associated with a work zone, be sure all excavations are being properly shored and be aware of cave-in hazards.

·         If working on a bridge over another roadway or over water, use appropriate fall protection.

 

Heavy Equipment Overview

 

The OSHA rules for heavy equipment are broken down into two sections: motor vehicles and materials handling equipment. The motor vehicles section covers off-road vehicles, and on-road vehicles such as dump trucks and pick-ups when they are off-road. The materials handling section is further broken down into: earth moving equipment such as scrapers, loaders, and dozers; and materials moving equipment such as forklifts and telescopic handlers. This handout will help you get the big picture of how OSHA approaches the safety rules for heavy equipment.

General safety and health provisions

Using any machinery, tool, material, or equipment not in compliance with OSHA standards is prohibited. They must be identified as unsafe by tagging or locking the controls, or be physically removed from the jobsite.

Only employees qualified by training or experience can operate equipment and machinery.

Motor vehicles and mechanized equipment-General requirements

This section covers equipment in general. It discusses:

·               Leaving equipment unattended at night.

·               Using safety tire racks and cages when inflating tires.

·               Suspending, blocking, and cribbing equipment to prevent falling or shifting during maintenance.

·               Moving in the vicinity of power lines or energized transmitters.

·               Parking brakes, safety glass, and other safety equipment.

Motor vehicles

This section covers motor vehicles that operate at off-highway jobsites, not open to public traffic. This section discusses:

·               vehicle safety equipment such as brakes and lights,

·               horns and reverse signal alarms,

·               windshields and seat belts, and

·               inspections.

Earthmoving equipment

These rules apply to earthmoving equipment such as scrapers, loaders, crawlers, wheel tractors, bulldozers, off-highway trucks, graders, and similar equipment. This section covers:

·               seat belts,

·               roadways and grades,

·               brakes,

·               fenders,

·               rollover protective structures, and

·               horns.

Materials handling equipment

These rules apply to lift trucks, stackers, forklifts, handlers, and similar equipment. This section covers:

·               rated capacities,

·               modifications and additions,

·               steering mechanisms,

·               overhead guards, and

·               personnel platforms attached to forks.

The OSHA regulations and your operators manual, together, are good companions and give you the tools you need to make your equipment operations and your jobsite safer.