 In April 2019, the final piece of the OSHA Cranes & Derricks Standard 29CFR 1926.1400 came into effect. This requires employers to conduct evaluations of crane operators to ensure that they are certified and qualified. If an employer is not conducting evaluations of their crane operators, they are not in compliance with OSHA.
Once the operator has been successfully evaluated for the necessary skills and knowledge for the size and configuration of the crane they plan to operate, they may operate similar equipment. In order to do so, it must be determined that it does not require considerably different skills, knowledge, or ability to recognize and avert risk. Operators must demonstrate their skills and knowledge, which includes understanding of crane configuration, counterweight setup, use of safety devices and operational aids, and other items. The OSHA Crane & Derricks standard 29CFR 1926.1400 took almost 10 years to fully come into effect. Rigger & Signal persons had to be qualified by November 2010 and crane operators had to be certified by November 2017. The final piece, the requirement to evaluate operators, is now also in force. Best Practices
Resources: OSHA Enforcement Memo Free Operator Evaluation Form Operator Qualification final rule https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/regulations/standardnumber/1926/1926.1427 This Safety Flash was contributed by Bryan McClure, Senior Safety Consultant, Trivent Safety Consulting in cooperation with SEAA’s Safety Committee. It is designed to keep members informed about ongoing safety issues and to provide suggestions for reducing risk. Best practices are gathered from a variety of sources. They may be more or less stringent than individual corporate policies, and are not intended to be an official recommendation from SEAA. Always get approval and direction from your company officers on any new practice or procedure as these best practices may not work for all situations. Everyone benefits when a worker avoids injury. Submit your ideas for Safety Flash to executivedirector@seaa.net  Bar joists are popular for steel construction, because they are economical and strong. However, working with bar joists come with many hazards until they are completely installed and under deck.
Historically, building collapses and accidents occurred during bar joist installation. OSHA Subpart R 1926.750 specifically addresses procedures to prevent structural collapse and/or injury. Unfortunately, there are still erectors that do not understand these rules and procedures. The hazards start with unloading and continue through each step of construction, including hoisting, laying out, placing, connecting, welding, burning, guying, bracing, bolting, and rigging bar joists. Training employees on how to properly install bar joists and their potential safety hazards is crucial to prevent injuries and structural collapse. Give your employees the proper training to understand clearly how to erect joists safely. Reviewing and following these best practices will reduce the chances of collapse and possible injuries. Best Practices Inspect the load before the chains are taken off the truck. Often banding is broken during delivery. If the driver releases chains with broken bands, bar joists can fall off the truck, creating a crushing hazard. If they are not properly banded, take precautions such as basketing with proper sized wire rope slings and holding the joists in place with a crane or forklift before releasing or breaking the chains. You might also possibly re-band the loads while they are being held by the crane or forklift, to re-secure them. As unloading begins, do not break the banding while the joists are in the vertical position. This is a common mistake. Instead, lay all joist and girders flat prior to breaking shipping bands. Once joists are laid out in the laydown area, they will need to be sorted and bundled according to sequence of erection. Before building erection begins, bracing and fall protection plans must be established.
Use proper methods for landing joists and placing loads on joists. Although there are several options for doing so, it is an area where poor practices are commonly used. Landing joists can be done by setting a bundle in a bay, landing a single joist, or by panelizing. When landing bundles, the bundle must be secured prior to being released from the crane or forklift. As the erector begins shaking the joist out, OSHA requires that each steel joist must be attached to the support structure. This must be on at least at one end on both sides of the seat, immediately upon placement in the final erection position and before additional joists are placed. It is not permitted to shake the entire bundle out and then go back and weld in place. Even with a site-specific erection plan, OSHA states that erectors are required to keep decking bundled within 1 ft. of the beam/girder line. When landing a single joist, the erector needs to understand how many rows of bridging must be installed prior to releasing the bar joist from the crane or prior to placing loads on the joists. When panelizing, the panel/joist must be attached at the four corners prior to releasing from the crane. Resources OSHA 1926.757 Steel Erection 1926.757(a) General. 1926.757(b) Attachment of steel joists and steel joist girders 1926.757(c) Erection of steel joists. 1926.757(d) Erection bridging. 1926.757(e) Landing and placing loads. Ironworkers: On the Safe Side: Erecting Open We Steel Joist Steel Joist Institute 2008 “Technical Digest No. 9, Handling and Erection of Steel Joists and Joist Girders AISC: 2017 NASCC The Steel Conference Presentation, "Safe and Efficient Installation of Steel Joists and Metal Deck" Ironworkers: On the Safe Side: Erecting Open We Steel Joist This Safety Flash was contributed by Ed Valencia, Safety Director, Derr & Gruenwald Construction in cooperation with SEAA’s Safety Committee. It is designed to keep members informed about ongoing safety issues and to provide suggestions for reducing risk. Best practices are gathered from a variety of sources. They may be more or less stringent than individual corporate policies, and are not intended to be an official recommendation from SEAA. Always get approval and direction from your company officers on any new practice or procedure as these best practices may not work for all situations. Everyone benefits when a worker avoids injury. Submit your ideas for Safety Flash to executivedirector@seaa.net  The construction industry is four times more likely than any other industry to lose an employee to suicide. Take time to educate employees about the contributing factors, signs, and prevention during National Suicide Prevention Week, September 6-12. The suicide rate in construction is 45.3/100,000 compared to the national average for other industries of 14.2/100,000. Based on these numbers, it is five times more likely that an employer will lose an employee to suicide than to what OSHA considers the fatal four: falls, electrocution, struck by, caught in/between. For men between the ages of 25 and 54, suicide is the second biggest cause of death. Men in the construction industry face the additional hardship from physical activity paired with a ‘tough guy’ culture that can make it more difficult to reach out and seek help. Stress is one of the main contributors to the decline in mental health, and it can manifest in four ways: physical, emotional, intellectual, and personal well-being. Physical symptoms can present itself as rapid weight gain or weight loss, difficulty sleeping or fatigue. Emotional stress symptoms can come from feeling incompetent and cause irritability. Intellectual symptoms are often shown through procrastination or difficulty concentrating, and personal well-being stressors can mean isolation from friends and family or a loss of sense of humor. These types of stress can exacerbate mental health issues and lead to depression and suicidal thoughts. Often, individuals choose to self-medicate and abuse both drugs and alcohol instead of seeking professional help, due in part to the stigma associated with mental health. Stress factors common in the construction industry that can contribute to a decline in mental health:
In the workplace, it is important to know what resources are available to support employees’ psychological health, and where there are gaps in the system. Learn to recognize the signs of an at-risk employee and create a supportive environment where individuals aren’t afraid of being reprimanded. Best Practices
Construction Industry Alliance for Suicide Prevention (CIASP) American Foundation for Suicide Prevention Suicide Awareness Voices of Education Man Therapy Suicide Prevention Awareness Month This Safety Flash was contributed by Dax Biederman, CHST, Trivent Safety Consulting in cooperation with SEAA’s Safety Committee. It is designed to keep members informed about ongoing safety issues and to provide suggestions for reducing risk. Best practices are gathered from a variety of sources. They may be more or less stringent than individual corporate policies, and are not intended to be an official recommendation from SEAA. Always get approval and direction from your company officers on any new practice or procedure as these best practices may not work for all situations. Everyone benefits when a worker avoids injury. Submit your ideas for Safety Flash to executivedirector@seaa.net.
 When trucks bring steel back from a jobsite, it most often just gets thrown into a laydown area,
or bone yard, with cranes, lifts and welding machines. This can cause a lot of potential hazards, as improper material storage can cause leg, ankle and/or hand crushes, also known as pinch points. All laydown areas are dangerous, not just those on jobsites. They create trip hazards that can do more damage than just a crushing injury, such as broken bones, caused by a fall. One of the most important things to have when working in a laydown area is to have a spotter. A spotter should always make himself/herself seen by the forklift operator, know how to handle the forks on the lift, and always be on the lookout for damaged dunnage. When working in a bone yard, remember to watch where you put your hands. The laydown area can be full of spiders and snakes in addition to the sharp edges. Never go into the bone yard unprotected. Old cables or chokers can cut you, that’s one of the main reasons they’re in the bone yard. There can be many hidden traps, so you must be on the lookout. That means to look under, around, and beside you, even if you’re just getting one piece out. Always fix the pile when you’re done. Don’t leave a trap for the next person. Best Practices
Resources Middle Georgia State University- Environmental Health and Safety manual for pinch points https://www.osha.gov/Publications/OSHA2236/osha2236.html This Safety Flash was contributed by Dave Schulz of Schulz Iron Works, Inc., in cooperation with SEAA’s Safety Committee. It is designed to keep members informed about ongoing safety issues and to provide suggestions for reducing risk. Best practices are gathered from a variety of sources. They may be more or less stringent than individual corporate policies, and are not intended to be an official recommendation from SEAA. Always get approval and direction from your company officers on any new practice or procedure as these best practices may not work for all situations. Everyone benefits when a worker avoids injury. Submit your ideas for Safety Flash to executivedirector@seaa.net Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) in Construction: Liability, Recordability, and Financial Implications4/9/2020
 Summary
Toolbox Talks are an important part of safety and health programs. They allow employers to proactively address hazards specific to the jobsite or project, creating awareness of certain risks and how workers should handle them. Perhaps just as important, Toolbox Talks can be used to build trust and boost communication when the tone is one of a safe space for employees to voice any safety concern or suggest ideas they have for improving safety.  Training in a controlled environment using “real life” models and training aids exposes the trainee to safe and efficient practices. Summary Safety is a core value for many construction companies, with many subscribing to the mantra that all workers will return home at the end of the day in the same condition as they left home. But as experienced workers leave the industry, maintaining this goal with workers with less experience creates a new challenge. |
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