Caught-in or -Between Hazards

Last blog post we spent some time outlining one of OSHA's Focus Four hazards, so this week we're turning to a new one: Caught-in or -between hazards.

This hazard includes instances where employees are trapped between heavy construction equipment and fixed objects such as walls, trapped in trench collapses, or caught in parts of moving machinery.

Key ways to protect yourself from caught-in or -between hazards include:

1. Trench safety practices, such as soil classification, shoring, sloping, and benching. Make sure a trenching competent person is available to make the determination for which of these is the most appropriate for the trench you're working in. Remember also that air monitoring is required for any trenches deeper than four feet.

2. Lock-out Tag-out procedures for each piece of equipment that employees may need to perform maintenance on or otherwise need to have their hands or other body parts exposed to moving machinery. The equipment should have a step-by-step process to ensure that the machine cannot be accidentally turned on while the employee is engaged in the tasks that must be done while the machinery is powered off.

3. Line of sight with equipment operators - Employees on foot in a construction zone should attempt to keep within the line of sight of equipment operators. Similarly, equipment operators should not proceed with operating if they know a pedestrian is there and not currently visible. Hand signals should be discussed and agreed upon before work begins as well.

Check out this 1.5 minute video that summarizes how to keep yourself safe from caught-in or -between hazards:

Struck By Hazards

We're well into construction season and lots of projects are underway. It's a great time to review struck by hazards and what can be done to protect yourself.

Struck-By hazards are one of what are called OSHA's Fatal Four hazards -- the top four hazard categories in construction fatalities.

The others are falls, caught-in or between, and electrocutions.

Together, these account for 60% of fatalities in construction.

Struck-by hazards are a big category. Incidents can include being struck by a vehicle, a thrown tool, rocks or gravel, or any other objects, large or small.

Check out this two and a half minute video on how to anticipate and protect yourself against struck by hazards, which can be just about anywhere in a construction setting.

Make sure to remain aware, wear your required PPE, and stay out of a vehicle's path of operation as a pedestrian.

Fourth of July Safety

TT&S wishes everyone a safe and happy Fourth of July! We hope everyone has a great time with their family and friends. Remember these safety tips to keep yourself and your loved ones safe and unharmed over the holiday.

Numbers are In: Safety Training's Impact on Employees

EHS Today recently published an article on how safety training affects employees' attitudes about their workplace, including how safe they feel, whether they'll consider staying with the company, and their overall job satisfaction.

One of the points we like to educate readers on continually is how safety is not just an added expense or cost of doing business, but that it can contribute to your bottom line. It's just not always an intuitive connection. Articles like these help to bolster that point.

The survey referred to in the article reached out to 600 employees across several safety-sensitive industries. Here's some of the findings:

• "81% report that their training makes them feel more inclined to stay at the company
• 62% believe that good training improves job satisfaction
• 57% say that safety issues make more seasoned workers leave – which contributes to the skills gap
• 44% say that safety issues make it harder to hire – which contributes to the labor shortage and widening skills gap"

Workforce hiring, training, and retention are all real costs to the business. One component to keeping those costs down is a robust safety culture and safety training program.

 

Challenge Ahead: Spot the Hazards

June is the National Safety Council's safety month. They've released a lot of great resources for employers, but this one especially caught our eye. Can you spot the hazards in each of these pictures?

Here's an idea: Consider sending these pictures out to employees. Ask if they can spot all the hazards in the picture most relevant to their workspace (the office picture for office employees, etc). The employee that finds the most hazards wins the challenge -- and maybe even a prize? Up to you. The hazards that get found the least are the ones that your employees need the most training about. Feel free to connect with TT&S to deliver training on the subject.

Check out the pictures below and follow this link to find the answers to the challenge.

Seat Belts Save Lives

 

Sobering statistics from Vision Zero ND, a North Dakota state initiative to promote traffic safety, show that we've got a long ways to go with seat belt use.

Here's just a few of their numbers:

69% of North Dakota motor vehicle fatalities in 2022 were not wearing a seat belt.

Back in 2019, there were enough fatalities due to not wearing seat belts that every 11 days one unbelted vehicle occupant died in the state of North Dakota.

Over the ten year period of 2010-2019, seat belt use in North Dakota was consistently lower than the national rate.

Remember that your seat belt use doesn't just affect you -- if things go really wrong, it can affect your family, friends, and everyone you associate with.

This heartbreaking story of the Nelson family attests to this reality. Buckle up for the ones you love.

It's all in your head: Hard hats vs. Safety helmets

Back in December, OSHA announced they were switching from hard hats to safety helmets for their own compliance officers to better protect them from hazards on the job. They also released a publication detailing the differences between the two and why employers might want to consider making the switch too (spoiler alert: they did not mandate the switch, but they did make some good arguments that direction).

Hard hats have been the 'meat and potatoes' of workplace PPE for many years, and for some it might be hard to consider a change. But here's some solid points that might make you consider safety helmets instead.

1. Chin straps.

For working at heights or with potentially awkward positioning, chin straps can help ensure the safety helmet stays on and doesn't become a falling projectile and hazard for someone below.

2. Vents

Safety helmets can incorporate vents that allows heat to dissipate inside the helmet, allowing them to cool easier.

3. Integration of accessories such as hearing protection, eye protection, or communication systems

While there are a few systems now that can be used with hard hats as well, integration is currently more advanced for safety helmets.

Whatever your company decides for head protection, make sure you're evaluating the risks and choosing the head protection that most appropriately addresses those risks.

From the publication mentioned above, OSHA outlines the following categories of head protection (this applies to both hard hats and safety helmets):

"Two Types (impact) and three Classes (electrical) of head protection are recognized.

Type I head protection offers protection from blows to the top of the head.

Type II head protection offers protection from blows to the top and sides of the head.

Class G (General) head protection is designed to reduce exposure to low voltage conductors and are proof tested at 2,200 volts (phase to ground).

Class E (Electrical) head protection is designed to reduce exposure to higher voltage conductors and are proof tested at 20,000 volts (phase to ground).

Class C (Conductive) head protection is not intended to provide protection against contact with electrical hazards."

 

If you have any questions about which head protection is most appropriate for your employees, feel free to reach out to TT&S.

 

Inspect the Uninspected: Fall Protection Basics

This week is National Safety Stand-Down to Prevent Falls in Construction, which is a perfect opportunity to remind all our member company employees about the basics of fall protection.

 

This one is easy to remember. You don't need to be working up very high to need fall protection. In 2018 the Center for Construction Research found that 11.7% of fatalities from falls were from heights between 6 and 10 feet. Another 19.7% of fatalities occurred from falls between 11 and 15 feet high. That's not even taking into account serious injuries, which could impact you for the rest of your life.

(If you're working under "general industry" rather than "construction," you'll need fall protection at only four feet or higher, so keep that in mind as well!)

 

 

Fall protection systems have three components, which must all be in good condition for the system to work. You can have the best-rated harness and lanyard in the world, but if you clip off onto a corroded, flimsy anchor.... you're not in fall protection anymore. Make sure all components are available and in good condition before proceeding with work at heights.

If you've never inspected your harness or lanyard, here's a great tutorial to get you started:

 

This one goes out to supervisors as well as employees. If a task involves working at heights, it's important to plan the task from start to finish before anyone takes the first step off the ground. Anyone working at heights also needs to be trained to do so before they don a harness for the first time.

As always, please feel free to reach out to TT&S for any fall protection training needs or questions. We'd be happy to help.

Who's "Competent" and why it matters

 

If you walk up to a work site and ask who's the competent person, you might get a few laughs. Everyone wants to be thought of as competent, but in the safety and compliance world, the term "competent person" is an actual legal term that has real ramifications.

First, what does it mean?

From https://www.osha.gov/competent-person: An OSHA "competent person" is defined as "one who is capable of identifying existing and predictable hazards in the surroundings or working conditions which are unsanitary, hazardous, or dangerous to employees, and who has authorization to take prompt corrective measures to eliminate them" [29 CFR 1926.32(f)].

 This talks about two important components:

 - A competent person is capable of identifying hazards, so they have the background, education, and / or experience that allows them to know what the hazards are; and

- They have authorization (from their employer) to correct the hazards.

With these two elements together, this means they have a pretty big role on a work site. Here are a few more points about a "competent person" that you may not know.

1. Employers confer this status.

There are training programs that may be called Fall Protection Competent Person, or Confined Space Competent Person. They may even give you a fancy certificate at the end, certifying that the attendee is a bona fide competent person. However, the only entity that can confer the status of a competent person is the employer of said competent person. That's because part of the definition of a competent person is having the authority to correct a hazard -- an authority that can only come from the employer.

It's up to the employer to consider the experience, background, and characteristics of a person before granting them this title. It's never a bad idea to send an employee to more outside training, just know that a training can never give them "competent person level" status.

2. Sites need to have a competent person assigned, and everyone in the vicinity should know who they are. 

The following work activities require a competent person on site and may have further specific requirements regarding competent persons:

- Excavation (trenching / shoring)

- Fall protection

- Confined space

- Rigging

- Cranes

- All aspects of construction activity

One of the first things an OSHA inspector would ask once on one of these sites would be, you guessed it: "Who's the competent person?" Hopefully the answer will be something more than a deer in headlights stare in return.

3. Competent persons could have some personal liability.

As with any role tasked with ensuring employee safety, there is a chance that should safety be completely ignored, the competent person could be personally fined and even imprisoned. The same goes for company management and supervisors. A few conditions would need to be met, including the violation being willful (on purpose), and the violation resulting in a fatality. Check out this blog post for more detailed information, as well as the other two situations that could warrant fines or even jail time.

This just drives home the point that this stuff is serious, and we need to consider safety as priority number one during these high hazard activities. Make sure your competent person has the adequate experience and training to do the job right, and make sure they're supported to make the right decisions to keep employees safe.

 

National Work Zone Awareness Week: April 15 - 19th

According to the National Safety Council, there were 891 fatalities and 37,701 injuries in work zones in 2022.

Remember to slow down and respect work zones. Here's a shout out to the many in our industry who wear the green vests every day. People in work zones are your coworkers, family members, and friends. Slow down and respect the green and orange!