Safety Pays, but Falls Cost

Here is a copy of an article I found written by Jim Maddux, director of OSHA Directorate of Construction.  Take a few minutes to read it.

Safety Pays, but Falls Cost

OSHA’s Fall Prevention Campaign promotes ‘Planning,’ ‘Providing’ and ‘training’ to reduce the number one cause of death in construction

By Jim Maddux, director, OSHA Directorate of Construction

Falls account for one third of all work-related deaths in the construction industry. In 2010, there were 264 fall fatalities (255 falls to lower level) out of 774 total fatalities in construction. Of those deaths from falls, 90 were from roofs, 68 from ladders and 37 from scaffolds.

Many of the workers who are killed and injured on the job are temporary workers who perform the most dangerous jobs and often have limited English proficiency, and who don’t always get the training and equipment they need to do their jobs safely. As Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Dr. David Michaels has said, “All workers have the right to go home safe and sound at the end of the day, whether they’ve been on the job one day or 25 years.” Continue reading

OSHA Scaffold Citation

Here is an article I found that may be on interest to you.  Be sure when your employees are working on scaffold that they have had training on the proper use of scaffold.  ! fine like this could be devastating to the profit from the job.

Trade News Release Banner Image

Region 2 News Release: 13-1858-NEW/BOS-13-162
Sept. 24, 2013
Contact: Ted Fitzgerald      Andre J. Bowser
Phone: 617-565-2075      617-565-2074
Email: fitzgerald.edmund@dol.gov      bowser.andre.j@dol.gov

US Labor Department’s OSHA proposes more than $272,000 in fines, cites
four contractors for safety hazards at midtown Manhattan site

NEW YORK – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has proposed $272,720 in fines against four New York contractors for safety hazards identified during the construction of a midtown Manhattan hotel. The March 21 inspection was conducted in response to a complaint about fall hazards at the 325 W. 33rd St. work site.

The largest penalties of $249,920 are proposed for Flintlock Construction Services LLC, the Mamaroneck-based general contractor for the construction of the 23-story hotel. Flintlock was cited for seven violations of OSHA’s fall protection and scaffolding standards that involved workers exposed to potentially fatal falls of up to 26 feet while they were on scaffolding.

“These employees were one trip, slip or misstep away from a deadly or disabling fall. Falls are the leading cause of death among workers in construction,” said Kay Gee, OSHA’s area director for Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens. “There is no excuse for an employer’s failure to supply and ensure the use of legally required safeguards that can prevent injuries and save lives. The sizable fines proposed reflect both the severity of these hazards and that Flintlock was aware of, and failed to correct, the hazards.”

Specifically, Flintlock failed to provide and ensure the use of fall protection, such as guardrails or personal fall- arrest systems, for workers on the scaffold; the scaffold lacked a safe means of access, causing workers to climb its cross-bracing to reach their work platforms; the work platforms were not fully planked; and the scaffold was not tied off to restrain it from tipping. These conditions resulted in the issuance of four willful citations, with $233,200 in fines to Flintlock.

OSHA also issued three serious citations, with $16,720 in fines, to Flintlock for additional hazards. These include failing to provide training on the hazards associated with erecting scaffolds; failing to have a competent person determine the feasibility of providing fall protection for workers erecting and dismantling the scaffolding; a scaffold walkway that was too narrow; and inadequate anchorage for the fall protection system.

V&P Altitude Corp., a Brooklyn-based siding contractor, was issued five serious citations, with $13,200 in fines, for lack of fall protection; no safe access to the scaffolding; not fully planking the scaffold platforms; failing to tie off the scaffolding; and not locking mobile scaffold wheels and casters.

SMK Associates, an Astoria-based masonry contractor, was issued three serious citations, with $7,600 in fines, for electrical hazards and failing to provide eye and face protection. Maspeth Steel Fabricators Inc., a Maspeth-based steel framing contractor, was issued one serious citation, with a $2,000 fine, for failing to provide training on the hazards of working on scaffolds.

The citations can be viewed at http://www.osha.gov/ooc/citations/FlintlockCitations.pdf*,http://www.osha.gov/ooc/citations/SMKCitations.pdf*, http://www.osha.gov/ooc/citations/VPCitations.pdf* andhttp://www.osha.gov/ooc/citations/MaspethCitations.pdf*.

A willful violation is one committed with intentional, knowing, or voluntary disregard for the law’s requirements, or with plain indifference to worker safety and health. A serious violation occurs when there is substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result from a hazard about which the employer knew or should have known.

Due to the nature and severity of violations committed by Flintlock Construction Services LLC, the general contractor has been placed in OSHA’s Severe Violator Enforcement Program, which mandates targeted follow-up inspections to ensure compliance with the law. OSHA’s SVEP focuses on recalcitrant employers that endanger workers by committing willful, repeat or failure-to-abate violations. Under the program, OSHA may inspect any of the employer’s facilities if it has reasonable grounds to believe there are similar violations.

Each employer has 15 business days from receipt of its citations and proposed penalties to comply, meet with OSHA’s area director, or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

OSHA has created a Stop Falls Web page at http://www.osha.gov/stopfalls, which has detailed information in English and Spanish on fall protection hazards and safeguards. The page offers fact sheets, posters and videos that vividly illustrate various fall hazards and appropriate preventive measures.

To ask questions, obtain compliance assistance, file a complaint or report workplace hospitalizations, fatalities or situations posing imminent danger to workers, the public should call OSHA’s toll-free hotline at 800-321-OSHA (6742) or the agency’s Manhattan Area Office at 212-620-3200.

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA’s role is to ensure these conditions for America’s working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education and assistance. For more information, visit http://www.osha.gov.

Construction Rises to the Top Spot in Labor Statistics’ Deadliest Industries List

number and rate of occupational injuries, by industry sectorFatal work injuries in the private construction sector increased 5 percent to 775 in 2012, while total hours worked in the industry increased just one percent.

The 2012 increase in fatal occupational injuries follows five consecutive years of declining fatalities in construction. Fatal construction injuries are down 37 percent since 2006.

The reversal in construction’s worker-fatality trend is stark in light of the fact that the 2012 fatal-work-injury count for all U.S. employers is down 6.6 percent to the second-lowest total since the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics first started conducting the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries in 1992

The rate of fatal work injury for all U.S. workers in 2012 was 3.2 per 100,000 full-time equivalent workers, down from a rate of 3.5 per 100,000 in 2011. There were 9.5 U.S. construction-worker deaths in 2012 per 100,000 full-time workers.

Construction Pump Jack Braces

Construction Pump Jack Braces

Support Brace

There are two types of braces for aluminum pump jack scaffolding: The rigid brace and the folding brace. In the rigid brace, the piece resting against the roof does not swivel, allowing it to provide unmoving support. In the folding brace, there are two separate supports, each of which can swivel. This allows it to provide support against two planes with differing angles. There are advantages to both, and generally we recommend that you own both styles. Each scaffold will usually need both types, as described below. Continue reading

Reechcraft PowerLift ML60

reechcraft powerlift ml60

reechcraft powerlift ml60

ReechCraft, Inc. is excited to introduce the newest product to their line of innovative access solutions. The 25 foot PowerLift® will give operators the ability to take their jobs to new heights.

The 20 foot working height on the Reechcraft PowerLift ML60 is known for being lightweight as well as easy to operate, transport and store, and the 25 foot lift is no different. Due to its compact size and maneuverability, the product is designed to go where other lift products can’t, like down stairs or in tight spaces. The added height makes it a perfect solution for those jobs that are just out of the 20 foot platform’s reach.

PowerLift is a great option for facility managers, maintenance professionals, contractors, builders and homeowners and has a wide variety of applications. The unique lift is built for one operator, and the only tool needed to operate the lift is a simple cordless or corded drill.

How much does a jobsite injury really cost?

I recently can across a very interesting tool to help you to realize how much does a jobsite injury cost you.  Employers can use the” $afety Pays” to assess the impact of occupational injuries and illnesses on their profitability. This program uses a company’s profit margin, the average costs of an injury or illness, and an indirect cost multiplier to project the amount of sales a company would need to generate to cover those costs. The program is intended as a tool to raise awareness of how occupational injuries and illnesses can impact a company’s profitability, not to provide a detailed analysis of a particular company’s occupational injury and illness costs. Your local OSHA On-site Consultation Office can help small businesses identify workplace hazards and develop and implement an effective injury and illness prevention program.  This tool is part of the OSHA Small Business program that provides links to numerous OSHA resources and information designed specifically for small business employers, including safety and health tools and publications, easy-to-follow guides for specific OSHA standards, and descriptions of benefits that small businesses receive from OSHA. The page also includes information on the Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program (SHARP), which recognizes small business employers who operate exemplary injury and illness prevention programs.

Ladder Safety

Is your ladder safety training up to date?

This free ladder safety training is a tool for the proper selection, care and safe use of all ladders, including stepladders, single and extension ladders, articulated ladders, and mobile ladders. Provided by the American Ladder Institute, this ladder safety training outlines safe ladder practices in all applications, such as construction/painting, building and custodial services, warehousing, power, manufacturing, chemical and petrochemical, oil and gas, and at home.  Please visit our web site for more info.

OSHA Guide to Scaffold Use in Construction

OSHA’s Safety Standards for Scaffolds publication.  This informational booklet is intended to provide a generic, non-exhaustive guide to scaffold use in construction. This publication does not itself alter or determine compliance responsibilities, which are set forth in OSHA standards themselves and the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970.

OSHA also has a list of publications covering many other issues that effect business operations.  Most of these can be downloaded and used as handouts.  They are also offered in different languages.

They also offer links to online training for the OSHA 10 hr, 30 hr. construction courses and also the 10 hr. and 30 hr. general industry course.

Moreover, because interpretations and enforcement policy may change over time, for additional guidance on OSHA compliance requirements, the reader should consult current administrative interpretations and decisions by the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission and the courts.

Material contained in this publication is in the public domain and may be reproduced, fully or partially, without permission of the Federal Government. Source credit is requested but not required.

Battery Powered Scaffold

Granite Industries has developed a new product that is designed to help eliminate OSHA citations when using narrow rolling scaffold.   When working on narrow scaffold the wheels must be locked.  When employees are doing repetitive work, which require constant moving of the scaffold from one location to another,  employees tend to forget to lock the casters.  In some cases they move the scaffold while on it. Trades that do this can be painters, electricians, and ceiling installers.  Granite has developed a motorized narrow scaffold that will eliminate the issue of not locking the casters and also increase production by eliminating the need to get down off the scaffold to move it.  The product is called Power Snappy.  It is available in three sizes.  It is battery powered by two 12 volt sealed batteries, has a built in battery charger, all controlled by a joy stick while standing on the work platform.  It can transported easily, both to and around the job site and will fit on a standard elevator.