Framing a multi-story residential building with the guardrail and window rail already in place. (Photo: Jan Thomas)

Many construction framers like to think that they fall into the “residential exemption” at 1926.501(b)(13) and .502(k) where they explain in a written fall protection plan that it is infeasible for them to use conventional fall protection systems.  I’ve seen one too many companies search for excuses instead of finding solutions. 

As I’ve pointed out in the past, there are so many products available today that provide common and leading edge fall protection.  Once the initial expense for this equipment is taken the crew’s production can increase and everyone goes home at the end of the day.

Or, you can do what this company has done and design and fabricate your own portable guardrail system.  I watched this job while 2 men installed lengths of their perimeter guarding system while working from a personnel hoist. Right after it was installed the team of framers came in and deck and set the outer walls.  It was precision, quality and production all based upon planning and design, not excuses.

A broken anti-two block… on the ground while its crane is still in operation. (Photo: Jan Thomas)

I was going through my picture catalog, looking for inspirations for this blog when I came across this photo.  Here is the story…  a couple of summers back I seemed to follow one particular crane and operator around the region from job-to-job.  This crane was almost always without its required “anti-two block” – necessary when lifting personnel platforms and a good idea for all other types of lifts.

I kept asking that this be fixed.  It kept getting fixed.  And the next time I came across the operator he showed me his most recent two-block, on the ground after another failure to keep it up.  As you will notice, this wasn’t a brand new mechanism.  And, as you might suppose, there were some other issues here beyond a mere mechanical failure.  Questions were asked; people were spoken to and agreements put in place.  I’ve seen the crane recently and it proudly sported its anti-two block.

But, what this photo called to my mind was the question – what has happened to OSHA’s proposed  Cranes and Derricks standard for construction?   So far it’s been two-blocked and is lying on the ground.

NOTE ADDED – sortly after this was posted OSHA published the final standard – see OSHA crane page at http://www.osha.gov/cranes-derricks/index.html - the new standard becomes effective November 9, 2010.

August at the top of the construction and it's hot. (Photo: Jan Thomas)

One of several now available. (Sun Shield for Omega II Full Brim Hard Hats)

I’m just back from ASSE’s Professional Development Conference in Baltimore, Maryland.  I’ve been going to these for over 25 years and have even presented at a number of them.  Every year I have attended I’ve come back with new information from the educational sessions as well as from chats with professional colleagues.  And, let’s admit it, we all love and learn from the vendor displays. 

I almost always find one new “safety gadget” that causes me to say to myself “darn, if I only patented that idea when I first thought about it.”  This year it came when I saw at several booths the “sun shield” for hard hats. 

Yes, that patent would have been nice to tuck into my professional portfolio but it really belongs to the worker I photographed 3 summers ago on the top of a building.

I acknowledge that he has “modified” his hard hat and he may be out of compliance with 29CFR1926.100 (b) or ANSI Z89.1-1969, Safety Requirements for Industrial Head Protection but I have to admit that he had a good idea!

Keep cool and safe out there.  Jan

As per the eLCOSH Use Policy – this is a screenshot of the browse page at CPWR — The Center for Construction Research & Training, elcosh.org/images.

When I switched to digital I began my current collection which now suffers from my lack of time to organize it and digitally enhance or correct some images.  Even though I’ve got enough of my own shots to support this website (although I still waste time finding the right one) I’m always on the lookout for others’ helpful collections.  Voila.

Just this month The Center for Construction Research and Training (eLCOSH) added a free-of-charge image library to their already helpful website.  It provides high resolution, downloadable photos of hazards on construction sites.  Each photo has been fully described and the site is well organized and searchable by key words.  Find it at www.elcoshimages.org.

Be sure to read the “Use Policy” before you download.  Thanks, eLCOSH, and thanks to all the contributing photographers.

Forty feet up or more. (All photos by Jan Thomas)

I’ve dipped into my photo collection to start out this year’s blogging.  It’s been several years since I took this series of pictures from a public street near Circle Safety’s Richmond offices. 

Look closely… Two guys, on an aluminum work board (not a two-point suspended scaffold), one with a hard hat and PFAS in use, the other getting a good suntan.  The horizontal white lines you see are ropes strung through small diameter PVC pipe, one on each side of the work board.  Acting or at least looking like guardrails?  Look closer and you’ll see more problems.

The biggest problem could be missed but I believe is the root cause of the observed hazards – these guys are working for the company that won the low bid to do cleaning and painting of this tower.  I don’t know for sure but I’ll bet they were required to provide their own equipment.

I want to say right now that although I do have my “hazard radar” turned on almost all the time, I very rarely make a referral of an unsafe condition to OSHA.  It has to be a true imminent danger situation which I believed this to be.

(In a later blog I would like to speak to the issue of a “duty to respond.”  I have spoken with many professions including enforcement officers, emergency responders and public officials who have admitted to the dilemma of not always knowing if they should ignore something or get involved.) 

It wasn’t my jobsite or my client, but on this day I decided that I had to save two lives.  I took the photos and contacted my local VOSH office. Within half an hour, these lucky workers were on the ground talking to a VOSH inspector. 

Rock climbing equipment attached to wire rope….

I say “lucky” because the photo below is a close-up of their sole anchor point. 

What do you think?

I’ll bet most of the public and construction folks don’t realize that the tradition of putting an evergreen tree on the last big beam of steel being swung in place is a European custom handed down through the carpentry guilds from pre-Christian European times.  (Find out more by using search term: Topping Out).

Today, a Topping Out Ceremony will usually start with a party on the ground that includes the placement of the evergreen and the nation’s flag on the last large beam to be swung into place.  The beam is then signed in chalk or marker by the “dignitaries” and trade workers.   And, if the General Contractor is really in the know, he or she uses this opportunity to remind workers of the safe job they have done so far with an appeal for the same awareness as the structure continues into the next phases. 

Along with the blessing of the tree-spirits, I wish you a safe and prosperous new year.   Jan Thomas

Trim carpenter set up to work by himself with his hard hat parked at the door. Hmm… Please don’t hang your hat on the switch wiring even though it’s not hot, and don’t run your cord across the metal door frame unless you protect it. (Photo: Jan Thomas)

I keep a list of what I call “challenge questions.”  When I’m looking for a blog topic I can always find inspiration as well as frustration by looking at my list.  When I’m walking a construction site and encounter crews who have not worked with me before—and don’t already know my response, I’m often asked one of these questions.

Here is an example:  “So, I’ve always been told I don’t have to wear a hard hat if no one is working around me.  Why are you telling me different now?”

Those of you who have been reading my blog know my bottom-line answer to this and similar questions is – “Our company/site policy goes beyond OSHA standards.  In this case, our policy is to wear hard hats 100% of the time with only a few exceptions.”  It’s the part about “a few exceptions” that leads to long discussions, which I try to use as “teaching moments.”

I start by acknowledging that the main OSHA hard hat requirements are found in two places – General Industry’s §1910.135 & Construction’s §1926.100.  Both require employers to determine the need for PPE and sometimes this leads to the evaluation that there is no possible danger if a person is working alone, or in the cab of a well-protected piece of equipment, or under a cabinet fitting a fixture.  And, yes, OSHA said in 1983 that “where employees are not exposed to possible head injuries, head protection is not required by OSHA standards.”

Yet, typical hazards are not always anticipated, such as the hot electrical connection not seen yet touched by the worker’s head, or the rock that ricochets into the open window of the excavator’s cab, or the worker’s own dry wall hammer bouncing off a stud into his forehead.  Ouch.

Believe me, I’ve seen all of these happen more than once.  That’s why I try to convince my clients and all I contact in workplaces to wear their hardhats all the time (okay, except for maybe when they are sitting in the lunch trailer or in their car taking a nap).

A city block of construction with security fences and traffic control devices (Photo: Jan Thomas)

But what about safety of the public – on adjoining streets or sidewalks, or across the fence in the school yard, or even across the intersection?  What about invited visitors on site?  OSHA is almost silent.

Some of the OSHA rules for protecting workers do secondarily protect the public.  For example, OSHA requires placarding of parked equipment, barricading of open trenches or the swing-radius of a crane, and using flaggers at traffic work zones. But these are few and indirect.

What may be needed is an actual plan for public safety, especially at sites where the public is ever present (city streets) or in high-risk areas (near schools).  Common sense may help guide such a plan but you may want to also check out a little-known consensus standard – ANSI/ASSE A10.34-2001 (R2005)  Protection of the Public on or Adjacent to Construction. 

Here is a quick review.  The public is defined as “All persons and property not affiliated with the construction project.  This includes invitees to the construction project who are not employed by the project constructor or contractors.” What about trespassers?  They are excluded from the definition of the public.  But, be sure to put up those No Trespasser signs to defend your property rights.

The consensus standard provides guidelines for developing a site-specific public hazard control plan and emergency action plan.  Fourteen specific hazards are identified and the standard’s appendix provides a checklist.  The consensus standard is fairly short but is a great place to start your thought process for extending safety beyond the boundaries of your construction site.

(Note: this was first posted on November 6, 2009 at the Construction Law Musings blog – see http://constructionlawva.com/.  My thanks to Chris Hill for continuing to invite me to provide guest posts).

Laser warning sign, laser safety glasses and safety instructions – all rare sights in the workplace. (Photo: Jan Thomas)

Lasers used to be a rare sight on construction sites. When they were used, a warning sign was often posted. The user was sometimes “certified” by the manufacturer. Other workers stayed out of the posted area. The laser safety glasses were in the carrying case although hardly ever used. And, no one really knew much about the potential dangers other than “you shouldn’t look into the beam.”

Most of these conditions have remained the same except that I now see more lasers in use, no warning signs, and a lack of training or qualification to use. But, the OSHA laser standard remains the same and requires all of this – see 29 CFR 1926.54.

Typical leveling lasers seen on construction sites today are rated at less than 1mW and therefore fall into a Class II category as per the Laser Hazards- Section III: Chapter 6 of the OSHA Technical Manual.

Quoting from it “CLASS II: low power visible lasers which emit above Class I levels but emitting a radiant power not above 1 mW. The concept is that the human aversion reaction to bright light will protect a person.” The referenced “human aversion reaction” is a fancy way to say “eye blinking.”

So, bottom line…. We want the laser operator trained with documentation. The user is to post a notice telling us what Class laser is in use. All employees in the area need laser safety awareness training. And, what about those weird red glasses? If the equipment is Class III or IV then we will probably need special laser eye protection depending upon the exposure. BUT, if it is Class I or II – everyday construction laser – then all we need to do is be aware a laser is in use and not try to out stare it.

By the way, I’ve not referenced OSHA’s Technical Manual on this blog before – it’s the official go-to guide for the OSHA compliance officers and therefore is of use to us.

Masons need safe access and a few other things too. Photo: Jan Thomas

When is a Prefabricated Scaffold Frame Also an Access Ladder?

I’ve been in the safety profession long enough to remember how we used to do it 30 years ago.  And yes, we used to climb those end-frames that look like ladders.  Heck, the more agile workers climbed the cross-bracing (and some still do).

If we follow OSHA’s 1926.451(e)(6) or the less informative OSHA 1910.28(a)(2), we know that we need prefabricated scaffold access frames that have evenly spaced rungs at least 8 inches wide and not more than 16 3/4 inches tall from one rung to the next.  Where in the world do they get these dimensions from?!  ANSI standards, of course, but there is one other body of knowledge guiding us in this example.

A normal ladder has rung spacing at 12 inches on center, a rung width from 15 to 20 inches, and a tread thickness of 1 3/8.  These numbers represent our “cultural expectations” (that’s a fancy ergonomics principle).  Cultural expectations should be followed as close as possible on workplace equipment that may compromise safety, such as a ladder substitution.

Test yourself on the following examples of prefabricated scaffold frames.