In construction safety, basic measures most companies take in evaluating and controlling construction hazards are through written safety & health plans. These plans, typically designed to address site-specific construction hazards, then become an integral part of a company’s safety & health program. Implementing a written plan to address identified hazards in the workplace is a crucial step to bring awareness to employees, reference applicable Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) construction regulations, prevent accidents, and drive a company culture that prioritizes safety.
Key Safety & Health Programs
Important safety & health programs, designed to address and control safety hazards facing construction workers, include:
♦ Accident Investigation ♦ Hot Work
♦ Bloodborne Pathogens ♦ Housekeeping
♦ Compressed Gas Safety ♦ Job Safety Analysis
♦ Confined Spaces ♦ Jobsite Safety Field Manuals
♦ Cranes & Derricks in Construction ♦ Lockout/Tagout
♦ Electrical Safety ♦ Overhead Cranes
♦ Emergency Action Plan & Fire Safety ♦ PPE
♦ Ergonomics ♦ Powered Industrial Trucks & Forklift Safety
♦ Fall Protection ♦ Respiratory Protection
♦ Silica/Lead/Hexavalent Chromium/Asbestos Awareness
♦ First Aid, Hazard Communication
♦ Hearing Conservation
♦ Heavy Equipment Safety ♦ Trenching & Excavation
OSHA Construction Standard: Employer Responsibilities
An OSHA Construction Safety Standard is a legal requirement that employers must follow to minimize employee risk of injury or illness in the performance of work. Adherence to OSHA standards protects workers from fatal hazards and health risks. The Construction Standard, found in 29 CFR 1926, addresses some of the more prominent employer responsibilities regarding safety and health of employees in the construction industry – including:
- Ensure employees are adequately trained/experienced to operate equipment/machinery.
- Ensure first aid services/medical provisions are available.
- Provide and require wearing of appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) in operations where hazardous conditions are present.
- Ensure harmful debris – such as scrap lumber, protruding nails, etc. – is cleared from work areas and walkways during construction.
- Ensure adequate illumination in walking-working areas where work is in progress.
- Ensure access to PPE for excessive noise exposure, where necessary.
- Provide fall protection – such as guardrails, safety nets, safety harnesses – to employees working at heights of six feet or more.
- Develop and consistently implement effective fire protection/ prevention program throughout construction/demolition projects.
- Ensure all electrical equipment used at job sites is safe/free from recognized hazards.
- Ensure that pressure vessels/boilers have current, valid certification from insurance company or regulatory authority.
Aids to Compliance
To enhance their efforts to comply with the OSHA construction standard, employers can implement a variety of aids to that promote compliance and influence employee behavior. Some of the more popular approaches are:
Develop an Effective Safety & Health Policy — Senior management should create a safety & health policy with clear objectives – indicating the basic health and safety philosophy of the organization. This policy should include the site-specific, written safety & health programs mentioned above.
Enable Frontline Workers to Respond Proactively – OSHA standards can be easily met when organizations empower frontline workers to mitigate health and safety risks at the onset. Before commencing work, site supervisors should regularly conduct an OSHA Toolbox meeting for workers to be aware or reminded of job hazards, best practices, and preventive measures. Environmental Health & Safety (EHS) managers should implement real-time Incident Reporting through mobile-ready OSHA 300 forms to identify leading indicators to safe performance. Establishing an adaptive work environment allows employees to take greater ownership of occupational health and safety for themselves and their co-workers.
Maximize Use of Cost-Effective Digital Tools – Time can be saved by replacing paper-based incident reporting/recordkeeping with powerful software tools. Proper recordkeeping and documentation of safety & health programs are critical in substantiating compliance with OSHA standards.
Celebrate Wins to Boost Motivation – EHS managers should recognize safe and on-time performance – facilitating peer-to-peer observations, providing informal feedback, and engaging in follow-up discussions – to further encourage and support safe behavior among employees. Consistent hazard prevention, prompt incident reporting, proactive response to safety issues, and appropriate solutions to recurrent problems should also be rewarded.
Stay Updated by Consulting the OSHA Webpage Regularly — Maintaining compliance with OSHA standards entails the commitment of the organization, its management, and all employees to prioritize health and safety. OSHA’s FAQs (at www.osha.gov) provide up-to-date releases/revisions of OSHA standards – such as the final rule to improve tracking workplace injuries and illnesses, new training requirements, and compliance audit schedules.
Safety Training — Employers are responsible for providing workers with the knowledge and skills required to perform all work-related tasks while ensuring their safety. While educating and training all workers to follow OSHA’s standards, employers must provide safety training in a language and vocabulary workers can understand.
HETI…Helping Evaluate and Control Construction Hazards
HETI can assist facilities facing the challenges discussed in this newsletter through an assessment of health and safety hazards and compliance with the OSHA Construction Standard. Our experienced industrial hygienists and safety professionals can provide a workplace evaluation for construction-related hazards – recommending appropriate and feasible solutions to control them. If hazard control methods are already in place, HETI can conduct an assessment to document their effectiveness.
References:
- Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Department of Labor, 29 CFR 1926 OSHA Construction Standard: www.osha.gov/laws-regs/regulations/standardnumber/1926
- Occupational Safety and Health Administration Website, Standards, Enforcement, Topics, Help and Resources: https://www.osha.gov/