The Construction Safety Guide: Injury and Illness Prevention through Design

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Contents

Injury and Illness Prevention

• Occupational Safety Health Act (US Congress)

- General Duty Clause

- Basic Safety Rules

• Code of Safe Work Practices

• Job Hazard Analysis (JHA)

- General

- Hazard Types

- Health Consequences

- Chemical Exposure Routes

- Physical Hazards

- Biological Hazards

- Controls

• Prevention through Design

• Heat Illness Prevention

- Definitions

- Acclimatization

- Heat Illness

- Environmental Risk Factors

- Personal Risk Factors

- Shade Access

- Water Provisions

- Emergency Procedures

- Training Topics

- Prevention

- Cal/OSHA Amendment Highlights (May 2015)

• Multi-Employer Work Sites

- General

- Categories

- Supervisor Principles

• IIPP Summary

- California IIPP

• OSHA Inspections

Occupational Safety Health Act (US Congress)

General Duty Clause:

Employer Responsibilities:

• Provide a workplace free from recognized chemical, physical, biological and environmental hazards that are causing or likely to cause death/serious harm.

• Comply with occupational safety and health standards.

Employee Responsibilities:

• Comply with all applicable occupational safety and health standards, rules, orders, regulations, work policies, practices and procedures.

• Tell employer about any hazard that could result in an injury or illness.

NOTE: It is illegal to be fired or disciplined for reporting unsafe working conditions to OSHA.

Basic Safety Rules:

• Anticipate/Recognize hazards.

• Think through each job before you begin.

• Follow safety policies, procedures, rules.

• Avoid taking shortcuts.

• Seek prompt medical treatment if an injury (illness) occurs.

• Report the incident to your supervisor.

Code of Safe Work Practices

1. THINK first, ACT second.

2. Report unsafe equipment, conditions, actions, behaviors to the Supervisor.

3. Immediately report accidents, injuries and illnesses to the Supervisor.

4. Work is prohibited for those with impaired alertness, fatigue, illness, intoxication, etc. that expose themselves or others to injury or illness.

5. Avoid unsafe behaviors like horseplay or scuffling.

6. Exits shall be well lighted, unblocked and unlocked during work hours.

7. In case of fire, sound the alarm, exit and gather at a predetermined location.

8. Keep areas under and around stairways free of obstructions.

9. Store equipment and materials away from exits, aisles, fire extinguishers and ladders.

10. Dispose of waste in the proper container

11. Clean up spills immediately.

12. Use the proper lifting technique. Get Help if the object is too heavy or cumbersome.

13. Avoid storing or stacking materials unsafely (e.g., on top of unsecured furniture).

14. Carry objects using caution and/or assistance avoiding obstructions and unstable footing.

15. Repair/replace deteriorated insulation and (frayed) or exposed wiring (e.g., cords).

16. Maintain protective working space and access around energized equipment, fixtures, or circuit conductors.

17. Avoid handling, operating, repairing unfamiliar equipment, machinery, piping or materials.

18. Ground (double insulate) portable power tools and equipment.

19. Avoid metal ladder use near energized equipment, tools and other conductors.

20. Maintain three points of contact while ascending/descending extension ladders.

21. Plug all electrical tools and equipment into properly grounded (3-prong) receptacles.

22. Do NOT overload strip or line plugs with multiple appliances (e.g., heaters).

23. Tape down cords or use rubber protectors to minimize tripping hazards.

24. Inspect machinery, motorized equipment and vehicles daily (or prior to use).

25. DRIVE VEHICLES CAREFULLY!

26. Shut off engine, set parking brake and block wheels prior to loading/unloading.

27. Never jump on OR off a moving vehicle unless staying is more dangerous.

28. Inspect rigging and pallets for integrity and stability prior to loading, lifting or handling.

29. Avoid storing or using compressed gas cylinders near heat sources, electric arcs, or high temperature pipes, lines or conveyances.

30. Identify piping, vessel or container use/contents prior to contact with same.

31. Don’t use compressed air ( >10psi) for cleaning clothes, surfaces, or equipment.

32. Wear NIOSH-approved hearing protectors when noise levels may exceed 85 dBA.

33. Goggles and/or face shield must be worn during grinding operations.

34. Remove faulty or excessively worn hand tools from service and replace same.

35. Guard, barricade or obstruct leading roof edges and cover floor openings.

36. Workers must wear a personal fall arrest system at heights six feet or above.

37. Never enter confined spaces without first isolating hazards and testing air quality.

38. Fans must be guarded to keep fingers, etc. from the blades.

39. Keep heaters in well ventilated areas away from combustible/flammable materials.

40. Store hazardous materials in closed, properly labeled containers when not in use.

41. Only trained personnel should respond during emergencies.

42. Do NOT eat/smoke near or when working with hazardous materials (wash hands).

43. Store compatible hazardous materials containers in a secure, well ventilated areas.

44. Hazardous product information is found on the Safety Data Sheet (SDS).

45. Organize, design and adjust the tools/tasks for the individual.

Job Hazard Analysis (JHA)

Perform a JHA before the start of each work task or activity:

General:

• JHA’s are used to help anticipate and recognize hazards associated with each specific job task and then to develop effective methods, controls and strategies (e.g., substitution, elimination, engineering, procedures, personal protective equipment) into the design process.

• The positive business results include:

- A safer work environment

- Increase in safety program participation

- Lower workers compensation insurance costs

- Increased efficiency and profitability

- Better employee morale

- Less absenteeism

- Employee retention

• JHA’s must be completed before each job begins in conjunction with all the work-team members’ input in the daily planning process.

Hazard Types:

• Chemical

• Physical

• Biological

• Environmental

Health Consequences:

• Death

• Disabling

• Injury or Illness

• Almost Accident (aka near miss)

• Unsafe A cts, B ehaviors and C onditions (A,B,C’s)

Chemical Exposure Routes:

• Inhalation

• Skin/Eye Absorption

• Ingestion

• Injection (Puncture)

Physical Hazards:

• Electrical

• Noise

• Flammable/Explosive

• Elevated Work

• Thermal (Cold/Hot)

• Pressurized

• Oxygen Deficiency (Enrichment)

• Mechanical (Lifting)

• Slips, Trips, Pinching, Crushing, Falling

• Excavation/Trenching

• Confined Spaces

• Engulfment (drowning)

• Entrapment

• Entanglement

Biological Hazards:

• Animals (aggressive, diseased, venomous)

• Insects (flying, biting, stinging, venomous)

• Plants (poison oak, sumac and ivy)

• Anatomical (fluids, blood, parts)

• Pathogens (micro-organisms, bacterial, viral)

Controls:

• Engineering (impermeable barriers, exhaust ventilation, substitution)

• Administrative (procedures, safe work practices, traffic zones)

• Personal Protective Equipment (head, eye, ear, face, hand, foot, body)

Prevention through Design (PtD)

• The goals of PtD are:

- To achieve acceptable risk levels.

NOTE: RISK — Probability of Occurrence x Adverse Consequences of the Outcome

- Prevent or reduce occupational injuries, illnesses, and fatalities.

- Reduce the cost to retrofit downstream to mitigate hazards and risk not pre-empted through design or redesign.

• PtD focuses on avoidance, elimination, reduction and control of occupational safety and health hazards and risks in the design and redesign of work areas and processes, tools, equipment, machinery, and substances.

• Design and redesign include construction, manufacture, use, maintenance, and disposal or reuse of equipment in a balanced life-cycle system approach.

Example: Designing skylights with proper guarding that would prevent falls through the openings during their installation.

• PtD provides an integrated Occupational Health and Safety Management (OHSM) system for determining and achieving acceptable risk levels for anticipated hazard exposures that cannot be eliminated during initial design efforts.

• This OHSM system approach encourages worker collaboration and anticipation of hazards and risks that can then be assessed, prioritized and efficiently managed.

• PtD applies four major stages to risk management:

- Pre-operational stage means during the initial planning design, specification, prototyping, and construction processes where the opportunities are greatest and costs are lowest for hazard and risk avoidance, elimination, reduction and control.