Conexpo Con/Agg 2014 Safety Seminar Recap

March 18, 2014

The safety seminar Regulation Roulette: What’s Hitting in New OSHA Regulations was presented by Jim Maddux, OSHA Directorate of Construction. The goal of the seminar was to inform attendees about the biggest workplace hazards that result in fatalities. OSHA has affectionately named the most common causes of workplace death, “The Fatal Four.” Those four common causes of workplace fatalities are: being caught in or between objects; electrocution; being struck by an object; and the most common cause of workplace fatalities is–you guessed it–falling. As far as citations are concerned, “Fall Protection in the Construction Industry,” was the most frequently cited OSHA violation in 2013. At this point, there are two different initiatives that OSHA is trying to promote in order to improve fall protection in the workplace.

PREVENTION THROUGH DESIGN
The first initiative is known as, “Prevention through Design” and OSHA has joined forces with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). The Prevention through Design concept is officially defined as, “Addressing occupational safety and health needs in the design process to prevent or minimize the work-related hazards and risks associated with the construction, manufacture, use, maintenance, and disposal of facilities, materials, and equipment.” 

In short, OSHA and NIOSH would like fall protection systems to be included in the design plans for any type of industry buildings where people will be exposed to height during building maintenance procedures. Please note that OSHA and NIOSH want people to remember that fall protection must be used during the construction process too. The idea of Prevention through Design has already been very successful in the United Kingdom and in Australia.  And the ultimate goal of Prevention through Design is: “To prevent or reduce occupational injuries, illnesses, and fatalities through the inclusion of prevention considerations into all designs that impact workers.”

OSHA CAMPAIGN
Because of the massive number of workplace fatalities that have occurred due to falls, OSHA is implementing a new campaign for fall protection in the workplace. The campaign is as follows: PLAN. PROVIDE. TRAIN.

Each section of the new campaign is expanded upon on OSHA’s website—which can be found here. But here is a brief synopsis of each of those steps… 

PLAN ahead to get the job done safely. When you’re planning and developing the budget for a job, make sure that you review the jobsite for the different hazards that are present on location.  This will help you determine the budget needed for the safety equipment and tools at the job site.

PROVIDE the right equipment. As soon as a worker is over 4 to 6 feet (depending on your industry), they are at risk for a dangerous fall. You MUST pick the equipment that is appropriate for the location and the job tasks. Ladders, scaffolding, fall protection, and any other forms of personal protection equipment are critical for creating a safer work environment. Make sure that you assess the equipment to make sure that it applies to the height that is being applied at your worksite.

TRAIN everyone to use the equipment safely. Once you have all of all of the equipment in place, its important to train your employees how to use the equipment. Although some parts of fall protection may seem obvious, there are other tidbits of knowledge that people may not know. And this is why fall protection training is important. People need to know the risks associated with height, and they need to know how to protect themselves when they are working at those heights.

OSHA and NIOSH have joined forces to develop programs that will work for construction and industrial sites across North America. But remember, by creating a safer work environment, you are creating a safer and healthier lifestyle for your employees.

Until the next time, stay safe up there!

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