Construction Fatalities Decrease in 2011

According to the Bureau Of Labor Statistics, fatal work injuries were down in 2011.  An interesting note is that fatal work injuries in the private construction sector declined to 721 in 2011 from 774 in 2011.  This is a decline of 7% and the fifth consecutive year of lower fatality counts. Fatal construction injuries are down nearly 42% since 2006.  However, even with the number of fatalities declining, construction still accounted for the second most fatal work injuries of any industry sector in 2011. Falls, slips or trips resulted in 666 worker deaths in 2011, about 14 percent of all fatal work injuries. Falls, slips and trips were the cause of 35 percent of workplace fatalities in the construction industry.  Struck by accidents caused a total of 472 worker fatalities and made up 10 percent of construction industry deaths in 2011. To see the complete article   http://www.bls.gov/news.release/cfoi.nr0.htm.  

Safety Training

I found this new web site http://stopconstructionfalls.com that may be of interest to you.  This new  fall prevention campaign will focus on prevention and training relating to falls from roof, ladders and scaffolding on construction jobsites.  It has many training tools and resources for you to use.  Please check it out.

OSHA Top Citations

OSHA recently released its list of the most frequently cited workplace safety and health violations for 2011. The top 10, starting with the most violations: fall protection in construction, scaffolding in construction, hazard communication, respiratory protection, lockout/tagout, electrical wiring methods, powered industry trucks, ladders in construction, electrical requirements, and machine guarding. Find compliance advice at www.osha.gov/SLTC.

One man aerial lift by by Reechcraft-Powerlift

SAFETY

Reechcraft treats safety as job one. PowerLift was designed for safety as well as convenience and productivity and fully meets ANSI A92.3 safety standards. You can’t be productive if you don’t feel safe. The fully enclosed personnel basket on the PowerLift provides security and safety. An anchor point for a safety harness is also provided. A hand crank system is provided for emergency lowering if there is a loss of power or the operator is incapacitated.

PRODUCTIVITY

PowerLift is perfect for locations where access is difficult for other lifts such as down stairs and tight spaces. It works great in factories, warehouses, offices, and homes. It’s a super lift for outdoor work as well.

PORTABILITY

PowerLift is the lightest mid-range lift on the market. At 278 lbs empty weight one person can easily move it about on it’s castors. Other mid level lifts weigh more than 650 lbs, too heavy to carry up slopes or stairs.

SIMPLICITY

PowerLift’s only electrical component is the drill for power(corded or cordless). There are no expensive controls, sensors or switches to go wrong and repair. PowerLift is very simple to operate.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ThVxVbx9SJs

Fall Protection Residental Roofing

Fall Protection in Residential Construction

The United States Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has
issued a directive rescinding the Interim Fall Protection Compliance Guidelines for Residential Construction
(STD 03-00-001).

Before issuance of this new directive, STD 03-00-001 allowed employers engaged in certain residential construction activities to use specified alternative methods of fall protection (e.g., slide guards or safety monitor systems) rather than the conventional fall protection (guardrails, safety nets, or personal fall arrest systems) required by the residential construction fall protection standard (29 CFR1926.501(b)(13)).

With the issuance of the new directive, all residential construction employers must comply with 29CFR 1926.501(b)(13). Residential construction employers generally must ensure that employees working six feet or more above lower levels use guardrails, safety nets, or personal fall arrest systems DIRECTIVE NUMBER: STD 03-11-002

EFFECTIVE DATE: December 16, 2010

ENFORCEMENT DATE: June 16, 2011

OSHA Residential Construction Fall Protection

Just a reminder that the three month phase in period for the OSHA residential construction fall protection is over.  It is know required and non compliance can mean large fines.  A simple solution is the use of a roofers bucket safety kit that complies with the OSHA requirements.  Another solution would be guard rail roof brackets that are installed at the roof edge to eliminate a fall.  For larger jobs system guardrail packages are available from Bluewater Manufacturing.  Avoid fines that could be crippling to you business.

Safety Training Videos

while searching the internet I came across some safety videos that might be of interest to you to keep up with OSHA training requirements. Two of the sites are free and one is pay.

A video on fall distance calculations as covered in 1926.502(d)(16).

This 22 minute video introduces the viewer to fall distance calculations for personal fall arrest systems. OSHA, (July, 1998). Topics covered include anchor points, lanyard types, lanyard reach and various harness types. Sample calculations for determining proximity to the edge of a platform and fall distances are also included in the video.

http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/video/whatsthefalldistance/video.html

Roof safety video

http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=osha+safety+videos&hl=en&emb=0#q=roof+safety+video&hl=en&emb=0

This web site has training programs available at a cost that your employees can do online.

http://direct.safetyskills.com/safetyskills-course-list.aspx