Construction Safety

PUBH 3310

November 11, 2005

1
 Objectives
• Be familiar with accident rates for construction
– How fatality and injury rates compare with other types
of work
– Fatal injury causes
• Understand excavation safety
– Basic precautions
– Protective systems
– Soil classification
• Recognize basic scaffold safety issues
– Competent person duties
– Safety factor
– Fall protection
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 Construction Fatality Rates
• Construction is the third most hazardous
occupation (2002 data)
– Mining
• 23.5 deaths per 100,000
– Agriculture, fishing and logging
• 22.7 deaths per 100,000
– Construction
• 12.2 deaths per 100,000
– All private industry
• 4.2 deaths per 100,000
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Fatal occupational injury rates by industry, 2002

Average for all private

industry is 4.2 deaths
per 100,000 workers

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Construction Fatality Rates
• Hazardous construction work
– One fourth of all construction fatalities
occur among laborers
– Average fatality rate for construction is
13.2 deaths per 100,000
• At 75.6 deaths per 100,000, ironworkers have
the highest fatality rate

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24% of construction deaths occur among laborers

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Fatal occupational injury rates for construction
laborers, 1992–2001

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Ironworkers have the highest fatality rate

Fatal occupational injury rates

by construction trade, 2001

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 Construction Injury Rates
• Construction workers have the highest rate
of non-fatal injuries and illnesses
• Injuries and illnesses per 100 workers (2001
data)
– Construction = 7.9
– Agriculture = 7.3
– Manufacturing = 5.7
– Mining = 4.0

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Injuries and illness incidence rates 1992–2001 .

2001 average injury and illness rate

was 5.4 per 100 workers

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 Construction Injury Rates
• Hazardous construction work
– Construction laborers and ironworkers
have the highest lost-time injury rate
• Average lost-time injury rate for construction is
2.68 per 100
• Laborers and ironworkers have lost-time injury
rates 2-3 times higher

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 Injuries and illness rates involving days away
from work for construction laborers, 1992–2001.

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Injury and illness with days away from work
by construction trade, 2001

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 Falls are the leading cause of
death in construction
• 2001 fatality statistics for construction
– Fall from elevation – 4.3 deaths per 100,000
• Most fatal falls are over 30 feet, from roof or
scaffold
– Highway accidents – 1.7 deaths per 100,000
– Electrical shock – 1.6 deaths per 100,000
• Contact with overhead wires
• Over 480 volts
– Struck By object - 1.2 deaths per 100,000
• Trench collapse
• Falling objects
– Poor rigging of loads or poor material storage
– Struck by vehicle – 1.1 deaths per 100,000
• Heavy construction equipment
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Cause of construction fatalities , 2001

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Ironworkers fell to their deaths
more than other construction
workers

• 2001, deaths per 100,000 workers

– Ironworkers - 66.8
– Roofers - 30.1
– Construction laborers – 10.2
– Average for construction – 4.2

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Fatal occupational fall rates by selected
construction trade, 2001.

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 OSHA citations reflect the
hazards of construction
• 12-month total, Sept 2003 – Oct 2004
– More than half of OSHA construction citations
are for fall-related violations
• Scaffolds, fall protection, ladders and stairway
violations were 53% of OSHA construction
citations
– Excavation and electrical violations were 16% of
construction citations
– 1% of citations were for the general duty clause
violations
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Most Frequent OSHA Citations for
Construction, 2004
Other
24% Scaffolds
General 26%
Duty
Clause
1%
PPE
7%

Ladders & Fall

Stairways Protection
7%Electrical Excavation 19%
8% 8%
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 Excavation Safety
• Excavation work is among the most hazardous
type of work done in the construction industry.
– The number of cave-in accidents do not occur more
frequently than other accidents, but they are much
more likely to be fatal.
• Studies indicate there are from 10 to 50 non-fatal
lost time accidents for each fatality.
• In comparison, all construction averages 174 to
250 non-fatal lost time accidents for each fatality.
• OSHA issued a new standard in 1989

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 Excavation Hazards
• Soil collapse is the most important excavation hazard
– Trench cave-in, wall collapse, etc.
– Hazard is increased by:
• Wet soil
• Sandy, uncohesive soil
• Previously excavated soil
• Other hazards include:
– Adjacent structures
– Underground installations (utilities)
– Falls, heavy equipment, falling items, hazardous
atmospheres, etc.

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Excavation Hazards

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 OSHA Excavation Standard

• 1989 OSHA Excavation standard

– Applies to all open excavations made in
the earth's surface. Excavations are
defined to INCLUDE TRENCHES
– Clarifies requirements
– Uses performance criteria
– Provides consistent methods of soil
classifications
– Allows flexibility in providing protection
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 OSHA Excavation Definitions
• Competent person:
– Capable of identifying existing and predictable hazards,
has authorization to take prompt corrective measures
• Protective systems:
– Method to protect from cave-ins
• Registered professional engineer (PE)
• Stable rock
• Structural ramp: wood or steel ramp
• Support system: support for adjacent structure
• Tabulated data: tables approved by PE to design
protective systems
• Trench: an excavation where the depth exceeds the width

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 Excavation Safety

• Underground Installations
– Determine estimated location of utility installations;
contact utility or owner
• “Blue Stakes” in Utah
– Proceed cautiously if utility cannot respond within
24 hours
• Find exact location with detection equipment or
acceptable means
– Support, protect or remove installation in open
excavations

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Supporting Underground
Utilities

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 Excavation Safety
• Access and Egress
– Structural ramps designed by competent person
– Egress (ladder, stairs) from trenches over 4 feet deep
• Protection From Falling Materials,
– Loose soil and rock - scaling, barricades, etc.
• Equipment
– Warning system or barricades when mobile equipment
operator lacks clear view of edge of excavation
• Surface encumbrances creating hazards
– Remove or support
• Overhead loads
– No employee under loads handled by equipment
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 Excavation Safety
• Hazardous Atmospheres
– Testing and controls for oxygen deficiency (<19.5%
02) or flammable atmosphere (>20% LEL)
– Emergency rescue equipment available and attended
where hazardous atmospheric conditions could
develop
• Water Accumulation
– Employees not allowed in excavations where
accumulated water unless precautions have been
taken
– Water removal monitoring by competent person
– Natural surface drainage prevented
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 Excavation Safety

• Stability of Adjacent Structures

– Support endangered structures
– Excavation below foundation base or footing only
with adequate support system or PE approval
– Sidewalks, pavement, etc. not undermined unless
additionally supported
• Interim Fall Protection
– Walkways and bridges with standard guardrails
– Remote locations with physical barrier

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 Excavation Safety

• Inspections - Worker Exposure

– Daily - prior to work, conducted by competent
person
– As needed - during work when competent person
determines a hazardous condition exists
(employees are removed until precautions are
taken)
– After rainstorm or other hazard increasing
occurrence

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 Protective Systems

• Protective systems are required

unless:
– Excavations entirely in stable rock
– Excavations less than 5 feet deep and
examination by competent person provides no
indication of potential cave-in
• Protective system options
1. Sloping and benching systems
2. Support, shield, or other protective systems

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 Protective Systems
• Sloping & Benching Options
– Excavation sides are angled to prevent caving

Sloping Benching
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 Protective Systems
• Support, Shield, Other Systems Options
– Supports (shoring) hold up the sides of the
excavation
– Shields (“trench box”) protects workers in a cave-
in

Shoring
Trench box 33
Sheet Shoring

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 Soil Classification
• Soil must be classification to select the
proper protective system
– Determined by the competent person
– Type A Soil
• Cohesive soils, unconfined compressive
strength at least 1.5 ton per square foot (tsf)
• Clay, silty clay, cemented soils, etc.
• No prior excavation
– Type B Soil
• Cohesive soil, 0.5 tsf to 1.5 tsf
• Silt, silt loam, sandy loam
– Type C Soils
• Cohesive soils, 0.5 tsf or less
• Gravel, sand, loamy sand
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 Soil Classification
• Visual Tests
– Examine excavation
sides, excavated soil
• Cracks, fissures,
spalls Plasticity test
• Soil clumping
• Manual tests
– Plasticity, dry strength
– Penetration Pocket
penetrometer
• Thumb
• Penetrometer,
shearvane Shearvane 36
 Protective Systems
• Sloping and benching examples
– Acceptable slope angle is determined by soil type
Soil type Height/Depth ratio Slope angle
Stable Rock Vertical 90°
Type A ¾ :1 53
Type B 1:1 45
Type C 1½:1 34
Type A (short- ½ :1 63
term, for a
maximum
excavation depth
of 12 ft)
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 Protective Systems

• Shoring examples
– Timber Shoring
– Hydraulic shoring

Timber shoring

Aluminum hydraulic shoring

Shoring jacks 38
 Scaffolds

                                     

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 Scaffold Safety
• 1996 OSHA standard, 1926.450
– Competent person supervises scaffold installation
& removal, fall protection, etc.
– Fall protection required over 10 foot
• Guard rails or fall arrest systems
– Capacity (“safety factor”)
• 4x load capacity for scaffold
• 6x load capacity for rope and hardware
– Stability
• Maximum 4:1 height ratio for free-standing
scaffolds
• Guys, ties for scaffolds over 4:1
• Adequate foundation, plumbed and braced
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 Scaffold Safety
• 1996 OSHA standard, 1926.450 (cont.)
– Scaffold platform construction
• Fully planked or decked
– Gaps and openings restricted, overlap planks
– No modification or mixing of scaffold components
– Safe access
• No climbing cross braces
• Rest platforms
– Falling object protection
• Hardhats required
• Protect employees below
– Barricades
– Toe boards at edges of platforms
– Panels, screens, canopies allowed
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Scaffold General Requirements
• 1996 OSHA standard, 1926.450 (cont.)
– Use
• Never overload
• Inspection by competent person
• No horizontal movement with employees
• Maintain clearance near powerlines
• No work on snow, ice covered platforms
• Tag lines on swinging loads
• No work during storms or high winds

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 Web References
• http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/chartbook/ (NIOSH
Worker Health Chartbook)
• http://www.bls.gov/ (Bureau of Labor Statistics)
• http://www.trenchsafety.org/trench/sample/ (Sample
online training)
• http://physics.uwstout.edu/geo/sect6.htm (University of
Wisconsin, Engineering Properties of Soils)
• http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/trenchingexcavation/index.h
tml
(OSHA excavations)
• http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/scaffolding/index.html
(OSHA scaffolds)
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