Tag: Toolbox Talks

Eye Safety

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The construction industry has the highest rate of eye injury, with approximately 120 workers disabled or forced to miss work daily. The two most common causes of vision loss in construction workers are: 1) metal slivers entering the eye, and 2) nails that rebound during normal carpentry.

Other causes of eye injury include:

  • Flying debris, chips and dust from grinding and windy conditions;
  • Chemical splashes from acids and cleaning solutions; and
  • Loose straps, cords or branding that breaks under extreme tension.

These hazards can cause a corneal abrasion, a scratch on the eye’s cornea (the clear, protective covering over the iris and the pupil). The cornea helps you see and protects the eye.

To remove a particle from your eye, flush the surface of the eyes with clean water or sterile saline solution and seek medical attention. If the abrasion is deep enough, the physician might prescribe antibiotic eye drops or ointment to prevent infection and other drops to ease pain and inflammation. A minor scratch should heal on its own within a few days. Severe abrasions may take longer to heal.

Eye injuries can occur at any time on the job. Some injuries occur simply by passing a work area or working next to someone who is grinding, sawing or welding.

Because some injuries can occur even when you’re wearing eye protection, it is important to wear properly fitted protective equipment at all times. Types of personal protective equipment include:

Safety goggles – These enclose the whole area around the eyes to prevent debris from entering.

Safety glasses and side shields – These should be made of impact resistant material to provide protection against airborne particles.

Grinding shields – Shields can help protect from grinding debris, flying projectiles and chemical splashes.

Protective eyewear should have the stamp “Z87” on the frame or lens. To test safety glasses, manufacturers shoot a quarter-inch BB traveling at 100 miles per hour at the lens and drop a one-pound, pointed weight from a height of four feet. If the glasses break during the testing, they won’t receive the Z87 rating.

Do everything in your power to protect your eyes. Remember – your properly fitted protective eyewear only works when you wear it.

Falls

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Gravity is the natural force that attracts objects toward the center of the earth or each other. This is the force that pulls us down when we fall or jump, and it’s constant. You might be thinking, “Everyone knows this; it’s just common sense.” We may know it, but we don’t always think or plan ahead to find ways to prevent ourselves from falling victim to gravity’s force.

These circumstances resulted in falls on worksites:

  • A worker finished rigging material on a flatbed truck for unloading. While he was walking across the load to get off the truck, the worker slipped and fell – landing on a load of I-beams.
  • A worker drove a machine onto an uneven and unstable surface, which caused the machine to tip over. The worker jumped and broke both wrists when he landed on the ground.
  • A worker stepped on a catwalk grating that was not properly secured to the catwalk frame. The grating flipped up and created an opening that the worker fell through. The worker injured his hands and fingers trying to grab onto the catwalk frame.
  • A worker walked across a mat of rebar and tripped, falling onto the rebar and injuring his knees and hands.

In each of these instances, the workers were on surfaces that were uneven, not properly secured or had obstructions – creating the perfect opportunity for the worker to lose his or her balance and fall.

Also, remember to use a set of stairs or a ladder to come down from a surface. Jumping may be faster, but jumping creates a greater chance for injury. The impact when you land can cause damage to your knees, hips and back. You may negate the time you save by jumping with a subsequent week-long absence due to injury.

We can prevent many falls if we just think ahead.

  • Is the surface area level and cleared?
  • What kind of surface is below?
  • What is the risk of injury?

A jump or fall may be short-lived, but the possible injury could last the rest of your life.

Clean Up Your Act

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We often refer to site cleanup as housekeeping. People overlook this necessary job because they either don’t care, or they believe there are other, more important things to do. And sometimes, they add to an already untidy work area by littering.

One study revealed some of the typical reasons for littering, including:

  • The area is already messy;
  • The garbage can is too far away;
  • The garbage can is already overflowing;
  • The garbage can is marked for specific trash only;
  • I’m only throwing away a small piece of trash;
  • Everyone else litters;
  • There are no consequences for littering; and
  • I have more important things to think about.

The list could go on. People come up with countless excuses to throw their trash on the ground instead of taking the time to properly dispose of it. But the clean and orderly arrangement of your work area is vital to the safety of all workers.

Litter can cause severe accidents. Trash on the ground is a slip and trip hazard. Trash in the roadway is an accident waiting to happen. If you see a mess in your work area, take care of it. Don’t wait for someone else to do it. Immediately clear scrap and debris from walkways, passageways, stairs, scaffolds and floor openings. Clean up spills of grease, oil or other liquids at once, or cover them with sand or other absorbent material until you can clean it up. If you’re driving, be sure your load is secure. An item in the roadway can damage someone’s vehicle or cause a wreck if someone swerves to miss it.

Litter looks terrible and sends an “I don’t care” message to others. This isn’t a positive reflection of ourselves or the project owner. A tidy workplace shows you take pride in your work and makes the work environment more pleasant.

Cleanliness is an expression of your attitude about yourself, your co-workers and your work environment, so do your part to keep your workplace neat and clean.

Preventing Ladder Injuries

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According to the U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission, approximately 165,000 Americans require medical treatment for ladder-related injuries each year. The majority of these accidents were preventable.

Here are five reasons most ladder-related accidents happen.

Selecting the wrong type of ladder

Selecting the right tool makes all the difference when it comes to safety – especially when selecting a ladder. Each ladder supports a maximum weight limit. If the user exceeds that limit, the ladder could break, causing a fall and possible injury. You should also choose a ladder that’s the correct height for the job.

Carrying items up a ladder

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 50 percent of all ladder-related accidents are due to individuals carrying items as they climb. You should carry small items such as hammers, pliers, measuring tapes, nails and paint brushes in pouches, holsters or belt loops. Use a hand line to pull or lower large or heavy objects to a different level.

Using worn or damaged ladders

Ladders have a shelf life. Constant use causes wear and tear. Damaged ladders can easily break, causing serious injury. Thoroughly inspect each ladder before using it. If you find damage, either repair the ladder to meet the manufacturer’s specifications, or replace it.

Using ladders incorrectly

Human error is the leading cause of ladder accidents. Don’t use a ladder for anything other than the manufacturer’s intended use. Don’t lengthen or alter a ladder in any way. While on the ladder, always maintain three points of contact to ensure stability. Never reach for something while on a ladder. It’s much safer to get off the ladder, move it and then climb back up.

Incorrect placement of ladders

Make sure the ground is level and firm before positioning the ladder. Never place it in front of a door that isn’t locked, blocked or guarded. Have a co-worker support the base of the ladder while you’re on it. Make sure the ladder has appropriate foot covers to prevent sliding. You can also stake the ladder feet if you are using it outside, and no one is available to support it.

Weather: Prepare for the Worst

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There’s a lot of talk these days about global warming, melting glaciers and the rising levels of the oceans, and almost every scientist has a different opinion about climate change and its effects. One thing we know for certain: at some point during almost every construction project, you’ll have to deal with severe weather. Because you could experience torrential rainfalls, hail storms, high winds or even a tornado, OSHA requires every company to have an emergency action plan on all jobsites where it schedules work for more than a few days.

Here are the elements that you should include in your emergency action plan, as required by OSHA specification 29 CFR 1926.35.

Emergency evacuation plan

Routinely explain your plan to everyone on the construction site, and clearly state the conditions that require evacuation. Employees should know their escape route assignments before an emergency occurs.

Critical operations

Do not simply abandon exposed electrical circuits or running machines. Account for these operations in your plan; give instructions on what to do; and provide the time you need to shut down safely.

Account for every employee

Appoint one or more individuals to make sure that every worker has left the jobsite if you need to evacuate. Appoint someone at the designated meeting place to account for everyone.

Rescue and medical duties

Make sure site supervisors know the location of medical supplies and the emergency numbers. Train supervisors to know what to do in situations requiring rescue services.

Reporting emergency situations

Communication is critical in an emergency. Your emergency action plan should outline procedures for communicating with employees about what’s happening and the actions they need to take.

Company representative(s) responsible for the plan

Clearly state in your plan who is responsible for each aspect of the plan, and train those individuals to carry out their jobs efficiently.

We cannot control the weather or predict every unsafe condition, but having an emergency action plan in place will help us respond to these conditions safely.

Skid-Steer Loader Safety

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A critical incident involving the operation of a skid-steer loader happened this past week in Indiana. Fortunately, the incident didn’t result in a fatality – but it could have easily.

Incident Summary

The operator was using a skid-steer loader with an attachment requiring several hydraulic hoses to power various parts. After the machine was in operation for a time, one of the hoses disconnected from the attachment. The operator stopped the machine and exited the cab to disentangle the hose, which had fallen between the attachment and the front tire. Once he freed and reconnected the hose to the attachment, he reentered the cab. As he did, his foot slipped and pressed down on the pedal control of the hydraulic system. This actuated the hydraulics and lifted the attachment suddenly. As the attachment lifted to full height, it crushed the operator in the pinch point between the lifting attachment and the cab structure. The operator sustained severe bruising to the upper body and head, along with deep lacerations to the right arm requiring emergency treatment.

Conditions

Observers said the operator wasn’t totally familiar with the controls of this particular type of skid-steer loader, and he left the machine running when he exited the cab. An examination of the skid-steer revealed that the seat belt was fastened and pushed to the back of the operator’s seat, and the parking brake wasn’t activated.

Root Causes

No one likes unexpected interruptions when they are focused on getting a job done. Interruptions can make many people feel impatient and aggravated. We typically want to eliminate the distraction and get on with the job as fast as possible. This impatient mind frame causes us to do things without thinking, and sometimes in a way that we might not ordinarily do them. This could lead us to take risks that we normally wouldn’t take – like in this case when the operator left the engine running and didn’t activate the emergency brake. The hydraulics would not have engaged when he slipped on the pedal if the operator had taken these two steps.

Sometimes, workers with years of experience become overconfident in their ability to do a task – even if it’s a task they don’t do regularly. A worker may have operated a variety of machines, but that doesn’t guarantee expertise on every machine, especially newer models with reconfigured controls. New machines and tools are often changed and improved, and workers need to familiarize themselves with the safe and correct operating procedures for each one.