Annual FHWA 1391 Report

Source: Katie Daniels, INDOT Lead Workforce & Education Specialist

Annual FHWA 1391 Report

This applies to all Prime contractors, subcontractors, and haulers (NOT including material suppliers) working on a federal-aid highway construction contract in excess of $10,000.00.
The FHWA 1391 Report continues to be an ITAP application and all reporting must be done via that application. Paper forms or excel spreadsheets will not be accepted and will be returned. To create an ITAP account go to: https://itap.indot.in.gov/login.aspx and the application needed is called FHWA 1391 Report.

This year’s reporting period will be for the week of July 23-July 29, 2023. Detailed instructions can be found within the FHWA 1391 Report application itself by clicking on the “HELP” icon. The application will open on July 23, 2023 and close on August 31, 2023. Once it closes you will not be able to submit your workforce and you will be in non-compliance with the FHWA requirements.

Workforce reporting is simplified, it is no longer necessary to report your workforce by each individual contract. Instead, each contractor or hauler will be required to submit one FHWA 1391 Report for their entire workforce on ALL federal-aid contracts. If your company does not have workforce on any federal-aid contracts during the reporting period there is a box to click indicating “No Activity” and then submit the report.

Please feel free to contact kdaniels2@indot.in.gov with any questions.

FMCSA Announces Exemption Renewal for Concrete Pump Operators

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has renewed the American Concrete Pumping Association (ACPA) exemption (Effective Oct. 9, 2019, Expires Oct. 9, 2024) from the 30-minute rest break requirement in the Agency’s hours-of-service (HOS) regulations for commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers. The exemption enables all concrete pump operators, concrete pumping companies, and drivers who operate concrete pumps in interstate commerce to count on-duty time while attending equipment but performing no other work-related activity toward the 30-minute rest break provision of the HOS regulations. FMCSA has analyzed the exemption application and the public comments and has determined that the exemption, subject to the terms and conditions imposed, will achieve a level of safety that is equivalent to, or greater than, the level that would be achieved absent such exemption.

Refer to the Federal Docket for additional details.

Emissions Unit Reporting Requirements Comments Requested

The Indiana Environmental Rules Board has scheduled a public hearing on amendments to Indiana code concerning the rules governing emissions unit reporting requirements during start-up, shutdown, and malfunction (SSM). Please plan to attend to provide comments prior to the final consideration of final adoption of the rules by the board. Please see the following links for meeting details.

http://www.in.gov/legislative/iac/20160831-IR-326150326PHA.xml.html

http://www.in.gov/legislative/iac/20160831-IR-326150326PRA.xml.html

 

New OSHA Construction Standard – Part I

OSHA published the final rule covering confined space in construction in the Federal Register on May 5. The rule will become law before the end of this summer. With this in mind, all workers and supervisors should understand the general expectations of the law and be ready to comply with the specific requirements.

We rarely encounter confined space issues in some types of construction work. However, because there is a new and specific regulation, compliance officers should be aware of the hazards of confined space and be watchful for possible situations where confined space protocols should be applied.

In order to understand the requirements for this new regulation, we must first understand the definition of confined space. A confined space is one that:

  • Is large enough and configured so that an employee can bodily enter it;
  • Has limited or restricted means of entry and exit; and
  • Is not designed for continuous employee occupancy.

Some of the more common confined spaces we encounter on construction sites include:

  • Pits (elevator, escalator, pump, valve or other equipment. A pit can have a wide-open top and still be a permit-required confined space.);
  • Manholes (sewer, storm drain, electrical, communication or other utility);
  • Tanks (fuel, chemical, water, or other liquid, solid or gas) and machinery (incinerators, scrubbers, concrete pier columns and sewers);
  • Vaults (transformer, electrical connection and machinery);
  • Ducts (heating, ventilation, air-conditioning and all forms of HVAC, air receivers, air preheaters and ID fan systems, bag houses and exhaust);
  • Storm drains (water mains, precast concrete and other pre-formed units);
  • Drilled shafts;
  • Enclosed beams;
  • Vessels;
  • Digesters;
  • Lift stations;
  • Cesspools;
  • Silos; and
  • Sludge gates.

This is by no means a comprehensive list. In fact, the basic definition of confined space can apply to hundreds of situations where workers might be in a hazardous situation, and escape would be difficult.

Part II of this discussion will cover programs to put in place that will provide maximum safety for workers in a confined space.