Annotated Dictionary of Construction Safety and Health

Charles D. Reese

• Publisher: CRC Press
• Year: 2018
• Print ISBN:
  9781138431072
• eBook ISBN:
  9781351466394
• Topic: Technology & Engineering
• Subtopic: Industrial Engineering
• Index: Technology & Engineering

The Annotated Dictionary of Construction Safety and Health covers the most common types of risks or hazards that impact the safety and health of construction workers. Arranged in alphabetical order for ease-of-use, the Dictionary meshes regulations, common sense, and practical construction work aspects in a logical style. The author discusses a vast range of issues in construction safety. He covers the most common types of risks or hazards that impact the safety of construction workers, and includes the OSHA requirements where applicable. This comprehensive view of safety in the construction industry has its foundation in the author's belief that jobsite safety is a critical factor in good business practices, productivity, and cost containment. The construction industry has always been viewed as an industry with unique hazards. The Annotated Dictionary of Construction Safety and Health provides you with a tool for addressing occupational safety issues in the construction industry. As a guide and reference, it will be the foundation upon which you can build stronger safety initiatives and prevent jobsite deaths and injuries.

FALL PROTECTION (1926.500-503)

Scope, Application, and Definitions Applicable to This Subpart (1926.500)

Falls on construction sites are the leading cause of death to construction workers; thus the need for fall protection in construction workplaces. Fall protection is not required when workers are making an inspection, investigation, or assessment of workplace conditions prior to the actual start of construction work, or after all construction work has been completed. Requirements relating to fall protection, as described in this section, does not apply to scaffolds, cranes and derricks, steel erection, ladders and stairways, and tunneling operations, or to electrical power transmission and distribution construction, each of which has its own requirements. The major components of fall protection, described herein, are for installation, construction, and the proper use of body belts, lanyards, and lifelines, and the requirements for the training of fall protection. Some general do’s and don’ts for climbing and working at heights are found in Table 7 and Table 8.

Duty to Have Fall Protection (1926.501)

It is the employers responsibility to determine if the walking/working surfaces on which its employees are to work have the strength and structural integrity to support employees safely. Employees are allowed to work on those surfaces only when the surfaces have the requisite strength and structural integrity. Any time a worker is on a walking/working surface (horizontal and vertical surface), or constructing a leading edge with an unprotected side or edge which is 6 feet or more above a lower level, the worker must be protected from falling by using guardrail systems, safety net systems, or personal fall arrest systems. If the employer can demonstrate that it is not feasible or creates a greater hazard to use these systems, the employer shall develop and implement a fall protection plan (consult Appendix E in Subpart Mof 29 CFR 1926).

Each worker on a walking/working surface 6 feet or more above a lower level where leading edges are under construction, but where the worker is not engaged in the leading edge work, must be protected from falling by using a guardrail system, safety net system, or personal fall arrest system. If a guardrail system is chosen to provide the fall protection, and a controlled access zone has already been established for leading edge work, the control line may be used in lieu of a guardrail along the edge that parallels the leading edge.

Workers in a hoist area are to be protected from falling 6 feet or more to lower levels by using guardrail systems or personal fall arrest systems. If guardrail systems, (chains, gates, or guardrails), or portions thereof, are removed to facilitate the hoisting operation (e.g., during landing of materials), and the worker must lean through the access opening, or out over the edge of the access opening (to receive or guide equipment and materials, for example), that employee must be protected from fall hazards by using a personal fall arrest system (see Figure 44).

Table 7

Dos for Working at Heights

• Do Close and Latch All Hatches, Security Gates, and Hinged Walkways, to Seal Openings Where There Is Fall Potential. • Do Barricade or Fence Around Chimneys or Stacks When Working on These Structures. • Do Tie Off to a Secure Anchor. Ask Yourself if You Would Hang Your New Pickup Truck From This Anchor Point. • Do Inspect All Fall Protection Equipment Prior to Use. • Do Wear All Other Types of Personal Protective Equipment Such As Hardhats, Gloves, Hearing Protection, Rain Suits, Respirators, or Protective Eyewear. • Do Maintain Three Points of Contact at All Times While Climbing (Two Hand and One Foot, or Two Feet and One Hand). • Do Work Cautiously and Slowly. • Do Follow All Safety and Health Procedures for Working at Heights. • Do Wear a Pair of Leather Gloves While Climbing.

Table 8

Don’ts for Working at Heights

• Don’t Climb Without Fall Protection. • Don’t Overlook Potential Hazards. • Don’t Climb or Work at Heights During Adverse Weather. • Don’t Assume Someone Else Has Assured Your Safety. • Don’t Wear Jewelry Which Could Catch On Other Objects. • Don’t Climb or Work at Heights if You Evaluate the Conditions as Unsafe. • Don’t Use Any Fall Protection Which Is Worn or Has Not Been Inspected. • Don’t Walk on Roofs Unless You Can Verify They Are Strong Enough to Support You. • Don’t Work at Heights Where There Is a Chance of Falling Without Tying Off. • Don’t Carry Tools or Other Objects, Which Could Slip or Fall, While Tucked Into Your Safety Belt or Harness. • Don’t Hoist Heavy Loads to Your Work Area Without Being Tied Off. • Don’t Climb or Work on Faulty Built Scaffolds. • Don’t Climb or Work on Ladders Which Are Not on Stable Ground, Chocked, or Secure at Base and Secured at the Top. • Don’t Climb a Stack, Chimney, Etc. Unless There Is a Securely Anchored Ladder or Rungs. • Don’t Use Safety Belts, Use Only Full Body Harnesses. • Don’t’ Carry Any Loads or Objects in Your Hands as You Climb.

Figure 44. Worker with personal fall protection in a hoist area

Each worker on a walking/working surface is to be protected from tripping in, or stepping into or through holes (including skylights), and from objects falling through holes (including skylights), by using covers.

Each employee on the face of formwork or reinforcing steel shall be protected from falling 6 feet or more to lower levels by using personal fall arrest systems, safety net systems, or positioning device systems. Also, workers on ramps, runways, and other walkways are to be protected from falling 6 feet or more to lower levels by using guardrail systems; workers at the edge of an excavation 6 feet or more in depth are to be protected from falling by using guardrail systems, fences, or barricades; and, workers at the edge of a well, pit, shaft, and similar excavation which is 6 feet (1.8 m) or more in depth must be protected from falling by using guardrail systems, fences, barricades, or covers.

Workers less than 6 feet above dangerous equipment are to be protected from falling into or onto the dangerous equipment by the use of guardrail systems or equipment guards. When workers are 6 feet or more above dangerous equipment, they must be protected from fall hazards by using guardrail systems, personal fall arrest systems, or safety net systems.

When workers are performing overhand bricklaying and related work 6 feet or more above lower levels, they must be protected from falling by using guardrail systems, safety net systems, personal fall arrest systems, or they must work in a controlled access zone. If these workers must reach more than 10 inches below the level of the walking/working surface on which they are working, they are to be protected from falling by using a guardrail system, safety net system, or personal fall arrest system.

Workers engaged in roofing activities on low-slope roofs, with unprotected sides and edges 6 feet or more above lower levels, are to be protected from falling by using guardrail systems, safety net systems, or personal fall arrest systems; or, they are to be protected by using a combination of a warning line system and guardrail system, a warning line system and safety net system, a warning line system and personal fall arrest system, or a warning line system and safety monitoring system. When on a steep roof with unprotected sides and edges 6 feet (1.8 m) or more above lower levels, workers must be protected from falling by using guardrail systems with toeboards, safety net systems, or personal fall arrest systems.

During the erection of precast concrete members (including, but not limited to the erection of wall panels, columns, beams, and floor and roof “tees”), and related operations such as grouting of precast concrete members, those working 6 feet or more above lower levels are to be protected from falling by using guardrail systems, safety net systems, or personal fall arrest systems, unless the employer can demonstrate that it is not feasible, or creates a greater hazard to use these systems. The employer must then develop and implement a fall protection plan. Note: There is a presumption that it is feasible and will not create a greater hazard to implement at least one of the above-listed fall protection systems. Accordingly, the employer has the burden of establishing an appropriate fall protection plan.

When workers are engaged in residential construction activities 6 feet or more above lower levels, they must be protected by guardrail systems, safety net systems, or personal fall arrest systems unless the employer can demonstrate that it is not feasible, or creates a greater hazard to use these systems.

Each employee working on, at, above, or near wall openings (including those with chutes attached), where the outside bottom edge of the wall opening is 6 feet or more above lower levels, and the inside bottom edge of the wall opening is less than 39 inches above the walking/working surface, must be protected from falling by using a guardrail system, safety net system, or personal fall arrest system.

When workers are exposed to falling objects, the employer must have each employee wear a hard hat and implement one of the following measures:

1. Erect toeboards, screens, or guardrail systems to prevent objects from falling from higher levels.

2. Erect a canopy structure and keep potential fall objects far enough from the edge of the higher level so that those objects would not go over the edge if they were accidentally displaced (see Figure 45).

3. Barricade the area to which objects could fall; prohibit employees from entering the barricaded area; and keep objects that may fall far enough away from the edge of a higher level so that those objects would not go over the edge if they were accidentally displaced.

Fall Protection Systems Criteria and Practices (1926.502)

Figure 45. Canopy for overhead protection

Employers are to provide and install all fall protection systems before an employee begins the construction work that necessitates the fall protection. The fall protection system, selected by the employer, is to be the one which the employer deems is most appropriate for protecting the workforce.

Guardrail Systems

Guardrail systems are to be composed of the top rail, midrail, and toeboard. The top edge height of top rails, or equivalent guardrail system members, are to be 42 inches, plus or minus 3 inches, above the walking/working level. When conditions warrant, the height of the top edge may exceed the 45-inch height, provided the guardrail system meets all other criteria. Note: When employees are using stilts, the top edge height of the top rail, or equivalent member, shall be increased an amount equal to the height of the stilts. Guardrail systems are to be capable of withstanding, without failure, a force of at least 200 pounds applied within 2 inches of the top edge, in any outward or downward direction, at any point along the top edge. When the 200-pound test load is applied in a downward direction, the top edge of the guardrail must not deflect to a height less than 39 inches above the walking/working level. Guardrail system components are to be selected and constructed in accordance with the Appendix B to Subpart M.

Midrails, screens, mesh, intermediate vertical members, or equivalent intermediate structural members are to be installed between the top edge of the guardrail system and the walking/working surface, when there is no wall or parapet wall at least 21 inches high. Midrails, when used, are to be installed at a height midway between the top edge of the guardrail system and the walking/working level. Screens and mesh, when used, must extend from the top rail to the walking/working level, and along the entire opening between the top rail supports. Intermediate members (such as balusters), when used between posts, must not be more than 19 inches apart. Other structural members (such as additional midrails and architectural panels) shall be installed such that there are no openings in the guardrail system that are more than 19 inches (.5 m) wide. Midrails, screens, mesh, intermediate vertical members, solid panels, and equivalent structural members shall be capable of withstanding, without failure, a force of at least 150 pounds applied in any downward or outward direction at any point along the midrail or other member (see Figure 46).

Guardrail systems must be so surfaced as to prevent injury to an employee from punctures or lacerations, and to prevent snagging of clothing. The ends of all top rails and midrails are not to overhang the terminal posts, except where such overhang does not constitute a projection hazard. Steel banding and plastic ...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• ABRASIVE GRINDING (1926.303)
• FALL PROTECTION (1926.500-503)
• PRECAST CONCRETE (1926.704)