 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|||||||||||||
 |
|
||||||||||||||
|
Every construction
site is dangerous, but good habits help reduce the number of costly
accidents involving workers and property. By Paul Hull |
||||||||||||||
The old signs of "Danger! Men at work!" were not intended as an insult to male workers but as a reminder to the public that there is always danger when machines are running and tools are doing what they are supposed to do. For many years people have accepted hardhats as visible warnings about the dangers from falling and flying objects, but it’s not just a ding on the head about which we should be careful. Eyes do not like being struck with flying debris or splashed with stinging chemicals; ears do not like too much noise; structures next to a job site do not appreciate excessive vibration; hands need protection from sharp materials. Workers whose equipment shakes them to pieces each day are not productive. For most construction jobs involving machines and tools, wearing strong gloves and clothes that won’t catch in rotating equipment makes good sense. Do you insist on that for your employees? Perhaps the most frightening (and still too common) accident is when a trench caves in on people and equipment. My (late) neighbor Dave M. would have traded all the monetary compensation he won for the ability to walk without sticks, drive a car, and speak coherently. "We were careless," he would say ruefully. "We didn’t believe it could happen to us." When trenches are big enough to allow people to work in them, it is essential that they be made safe. The simplest method of protecting workers and equipment from cave-ins seems to be shoring or shielding. Shoring can be less expensive than traditional sloping or benching of trenches and allows installation work to progress more efficiently. With shoring, there is often less excavation required (more than 60% less, say some contractors), and that could make a real savings of time, labor, and equipment. All manufacturers of trenching equipment stress the importance of good preparations for operations, and some public authorities require that one worker be designated the observer at the site–that he stay aboveground all the time and keep an eye on what is happening in and near the trench. The Canadian Province of Manitoba, at www.gov.mb.ca, publishes excellent guidelines for safety; they are worth reading. One point made is that injuries and fatalities occur because employers and workers forget (or don’t know) that, when they remove earth from the ground, they are creating a situation in which enormous pressure might be produced at the face of an excavation. The most dangerous aspect of this might be that the trenches seldom look dangerous. A cubic yard of soil can weigh more than 3,000 lb. That can easily break bones or crush the breath out of a buried employee (or a contractor who just jumped into the trench to see how things were going). In a recent accident in Illinois, it was the fact that the trench had no supported walls that delayed the rescuers three hours; it had taken them only three minutes to reach the scene. "It’s our district policy that we do not enter a trench or ditch that doesn’t have supported walls because we don’t want to become victims ourselves while attempting a rescue," notes a representative of the fire protection district. Reports say that the worker was working in the trench, without a hardhat, trying to connect two concrete sewer pipes (each weighing more than 2 tons). One piece was hanging near the worker, and a witness said that pipe struck the worker in the head, but another said the heavy pipe trapped the worker against the sidewall. Both witnesses said the worker was then buried knee-deep in the clay at the bottom of the trench. There is no magic formula for avoiding accidents in the construction industry, and when they occur, the negative publicity for all of us is seen everywhere. The greatest threats to a safe site might be the attitudes that "It can’t happen here" or "Those accidents only occur in foreign countries!" or, most frequently, "We can risk it just this once." Every accident that has hurt a construction worker, project engineer, or bystander has been "just this once," because that is all it takes. We all know how careful we should be, so let’s work that way. If you need that last, feeble incentive: Accidents at your work site are expensive, and you cannot afford them. "There was a great focus on training about 10 years ago, when Subpart P, the Excavation Standard, was passed," comments Marko Kaar, whose company Operation Safe Site is a specialist in this field. "Many employees were trained at that time to help bring contractors into compliance. However, many of those same employees have had no subsequent retraining, and thousands of new workers have been added to the work force. Given today’s ‘flashtrack’ schedules, we may have a recipe for disaster." With today’s sensitive controls, it could be a grave mistake to imagine that your experienced employee "who can run anything ever made" will do a good job for you. He might not only be less productive than he should be, he could be dangerous.
Most safety tips are so obvious that it is embarrassing to mention them, but this is for those who ignore them (because their "just this once" may be today). Advances in machine design and manufacture have improved performance, saved fuel, and made operation easy enough for less-skilled workers to run the machines, but they are also safer … if the users follow the manufacturers’ recommendations. There is a service schedule for your machine; find it and follow it. Check fluid levels, lubricate and grease wherever and whenever recommended by the manufacturer. Inspect for leaks and damaged or broken parts before starting the day’s work. Some contractors have technicians on-site in the early hours before the day starts to ensure that every machine is in good working order. Not all contractors have that many workers available, but we can all check our equipment before we use it rather than kick it an hour after we have started because that tire went completely flat or that bolt finally fell off. Know where to find all the safety and control features on the machine, and don’t pretend to understand something that you don’t. With advances in engineering come new operating techniques. Manufacturers such as Caterpillar, Kobelco, New Holland, Volvo, and Bobcat have studied the best methods for using their machines, and they make their recommendations readily available. For example, hydrostatic drive systems are popular and more responsive than anything we’ve known before. Machines will move immediately after you activate the controls. Operators with long experience on other controls might have to adjust hand and finger movements that have become almost automatic, and because of the new controls’ sensitivity, such movements as pulling back quickly can be harmful to you and the machine. "I believe that one of the problems is complacency," asserts Kaar. "Many excavation contractors have been working for so long without a mishap that they have developed a sense that either they must be doing it right or that the work really isn’t as dangerous as it seems. They are both common and dangerous misconceptions."
Guess which were the two "most serious" citations listed by OSHA in 2000 for all industries. They involved scaffolding (6,047 citations) and fall protection (3,920 citations). Companies such as DBI Sala are international experts in fall protection and offer a variety of products to make work safer when it is done at a place where somebody could fall. One of the interesting situations is when work must be done horizontally at elevated surfaces. That could be working on rooftops, painting the sides of buildings, bridge construction and repair (one of the most common projects currently), and all those sectors of construction where the workers are aboveground, walking on scaffolding or even trying to maneuver along less tested platforms. Since these jobs are not always the regular work of the employees, there is a greater likelihood that they will not know how to function correctly. Be careful for anybody who has to work at any spot from which a fall is possible. A horizontal lifeline can be, literally, a lifesaver. Is this too obvious? Looking in the direction of travel helps keep the machine on its correct path, and you don’t need to be reminded that riders are not allowed, do you? All other workers and bystanders should be kept away from your equipment when it is running, and when you have to get off or out, turn off the engine. A machine can move by itself if the engine’s running–remember that freight train that went for a solo ride in Ohio in May?–so turn off the engine and engage the parking brake. Remove the key to prevent unauthorized starting. Keyless starting is a safety feature that has quickly become popular with contractors (and rental companies) because it keeps the wrong people from starting and running your equipment. That is something you should investigate from the aspect of equipment security as well as site safety. You might be amazed if you knew how many machines have been stolen because they were left unprotected at a construction site–with the keys in them.
Improvements in cab designs for almost all construction equipment have contributed much to safer work sites. When the operator can see all around, he knows where he can swing the excavator’s boom, reverse the dozer, or turn the grader. Even if others are careless or casual on the site, the operator with good visibility can be aware of them. Good visibility works both ways, however. Not only should construction workers be able to see where they are working, but other people should be able to see them as they work. It would be a mistake to imagine that all rivers going past a road construction site are carefully looking for workers and anticipating that one might step back to admire his work. In 1999, there were 868 fatal accidents at road work sites. The fact that 80% of the dead were motorists, not construction workers, should be no consolation. It would be a mistake to think that the SLOW/STOP sign you are holding is clearly visible when you are leaning against the foreman’s pickup for a brief chat. It would be a mistake to assume that workers on the ground always look up or down to see what is happening above them or at their feet. Just as when you are driving your personal vehicle, you should anticipate the carelessness of others and be prepared for sudden dangers. If any worker is more vulnerable than another, it is the one on foot. That applies especially when the light is not good–during night work or those times of day or kinds of weather when natural visibility is not good. Lighting for such sites is recommended. There are many portable lighting towers available; most of them provide excellent lighting conditions. The worker on foot is in a dangerous position because most of us driving vehicles or machines are alert, but we are looking for other vehicles and other machines. Apart from good lighting, the other way to ensure the safety of workers on foot is to provide them with clothing that is highly visible in daytime or at night. OSHA recognizes the importance of this and requires employers to provide their workers with "reflectorized and highly visible materials to enhance their safety." We recommend that you contact the International Safety Equipment Association (ISEA) for more information on this subject–it has an informative booklet about it. You can understand the seriousness of the safety problem at job sites when you learn that the ISEA represents more than 80 companies that offer thousands of tested products, including protection for heads, eyes, ears, hands, and faces; fall-protection gear; protective and high-visibility apparel; and relevant instrumentation for site hazards.
Some dangers come from above, some are on the ground–and both of those are often visible. Dangers underground might be invisible. Electricity, gas, water, cable TV, telephone, sewage–they are often buried pleasantly out of sight (but not always out of site). Companies that specialize in underground construction (e.g., Vermeer, Ditch Witch, American Augers, McLaughlin, and TT Technologies) have good materials available concerning hazards that might be met below the surface. There are instruments for locating underground materials and techniques recommended for avoiding what experienced contractors consider obvious pitfalls. With products such as Vermeer’s Bore Planner, the contractor can plan the route of his underground boring so that it avoids hazards below the surface. Excavators can break pipe and cable as easily as anything else. We don’t need to remind you that you should always find out what is underground at the place you intend to sink that bucket, but we are back with that "just this once" thinking mentioned above. Somebody tells you there cannot possibly be a water or electric line under that patio. If there is, and you didn’t ask about it before digging, you could be in for a bath and a shock–literally and financially. A point sometimes forgotten is that users of excavators and grading equipment should check the limitations of operating surfaces and clearances at the site before starting work. Should you be using a tracked machine instead of a wheeled model? On muddy and slippery ground, tracks are not only more productive, they may be safer too. Earlier this year, when a compactor not suitable for the ground conditions started tipping into a ditch, the operator could not jump off in time. What Did the Foreman Tell Us to Do Just Now?
Have you ever heard of accidents that happened because somebody did not listen to instructions? It’s possible they listened, but did not hear. A manager or an employee who cannot hear what is being communicated is a danger to everybody else, but that person might not be officially deaf. It is simply that he or she cannot hear correctly in the workplace. He or she might not be working next to a loud machine because the source of the noise might be several meters away. Using hearing protectors at sites where noise levels are hazardous is common sense, but we should immediately insert a word of caution. This might also be a case where more is not necessarily better. The use of hearing-protection devices with noise attenuation that is higher than necessary can defeat the purpose of the protection. "The use of hearing protectors is like using goggles for welding," explains Elizabeth Antry, director of marketing at Dalloz Safety. "If a welder is working near dangerous flashes, the welder’s goggles are needed to reduce the intensity of the light to a safe level, but they maintain as much vision as possible to allow the work to proceed. The worker does not put on a blindfold!" Similarly, the employee working near high noise levels does not need to wear an ultrahigh-attenuation hearing protector that is just like a blindfold for the ears. The right hearing protector will reduce the noise to a safe level but still allow the wearer to hear the useful sounds needed to do the job efficiently. If the hearing protector eliminates the useful, relevant sounds (such as warning signals or verbal communications from supervisors or other workers), it can create an extremely hazardous situation in the workplace by its very use. The choice for a hearing protector, then, should be based on what is required, not necessarily on what is the highest attenuation available. It’s comparable to loaders. The largest available wheel loader is not necessarily the best machine for a job; a skid-steer loader might be more practical and efficient. Possibly the greatest danger we’ve heard mentioned is that some workers will not wear their hearing protectors because they are uncomfortable to the extent of being painful or "because they don’t allow us to communicate with the foreman." Earmuffs with moderate protection–adequate protection in many situations–tend to be smaller and lighter and have less headband force than the high-attenuation muffs. "If people do not wear their hearing protectors because they inhibit good work or communication, they have no protection at all," adds Antry. Protectors seem to be available in three basic types: reusable (or disposable) earplugs, earmuffs, and semiaural products. Most earplugs today are disposable and inexpensive. They tend to have a high noise-reduction rating, so overprotection is a concern. The foam-type plugs that the user rolls and inserts deep into the ear have caused some hygiene concerns. Earmuffs are termed active or passive. Active models have either electronic or mechanical components to limit or cancel noise; passive muffs are simply barriers. Earmuffs are considered the most comfortable to wear, though their use should be avoided in hot or confined spaces. They have become quite sophisticated and are even available with frequency-specific attenuation, which can make communication easier. Semiaural hearing protectors (also called semi-inserts, canal caps, and banded plugs) are comfortable to wear and give moderate protection, but they do not go deep into the ear. They use earplugs or soft, pliable pods attached to a flexible metal or plastic band, which can be used behind the head, under the chin, or over the head. Selection of the best level and style of hearing protection requires some information from manufacturers and distributors, but the resulting increased efficiency is certainly worthwhile. Perhaps hearing protection should be offered with every rental item. Paul Hull writes on construction and environmental topics for several international magazines.
|
|||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||
