Caught between hazards can be generalized into four categories: working in unprotected excavations, being involved in a structure collapse, and being caught within a pinch point or having a load fall on a worker.

Workers caught in an excavation collapse is the leading cause of caught between hazards. When working in an excavation narrower than 15 feet and deeper than 5 feet, trencher protection is mandatory. Trench protection may be sloping or benching the trench walls, or shielding the worker with shoring, or a trench box. It is vital for workers to never work outside of the protection afforded by these protective systems.

While structure collapse is something the typical construction worker cannot anticipate, there are some safety considerations to note. Strict adherence to an erection plan, will ensure that the structure is properly connected and supported as the structure is erected. Inadequate connections, premature erection on uncured columns and footings, and premature removal of forms and shoring before proper concrete curing time are all leading causes of structure collapse.

Workers who are caught between loads, are either caught between a load and a pinch point such as a structure wall, or the load and the ground. It is important to understand that most of these types caught between hazards result from the load moving unexpectedly when it is initially raised. Heavy loads, lifted by a boom type crane will load the boom tip ending it down slightly. This increases the radius. When the load is lifted off the ground it will always swing away from the crane. The worker must keep this in mind and stay clear of the load when it’s initially raised.

Falling loads are typically the result of improper rigging. This results from defective rigging equipment, or placing the rigging in a way that the load will move and/or slip out of the rigging, falling to the worker below. It is important to not only inspect rigging after every lift, but to only use qualified riggers for hoisting materials. Workers also need to keep out of the load path when loads are being moved by cranes or other equipment.

A comprehensive health and safety program will list various conditions were struck by hazards exist, and which countermeasures to employ for safety. A safety and health plan will have countermeasures for working around excavations, with erection plans and methods, with moving loads, and working around elevated loads.

Falls are the leading cause of death in the construction industry, and one of the leading causes of death in general industry. Several hundred construction workers every year die from falls. Most of these falls are from elevated heights and most of those are from scaffolds and ladders. Falls from roofs, account for another significant cause of falls from elevated Heights.

There are no all prevention requirements for ladder usage, so strict and proper usage of ladders, per OSHA and the manufacturer’s requirements are required at all times-no exceptions. Falls from scaffolds are typically the result of the lack of guardrails. Guardrails on scaffolding are required at heights of 10 feet or higher platform height. Missing or poor guard rail construction is the cause of most of the scaffold accidents. Falls from roofs can be the result of falling from either a steep roof or a low slope or flat roof. While it may seem hard to fall from a flat roof, it happens with regularity. This is due mostly from workers failing to recognize their location on the roof and they inadvertently step off to the side or to the rear of from the roof edge. Falls from sloped or steep roofs are typically the result of not having the correct fall protection equipment. For steep roofs, conventional fall protection is required with a harness, lanyard, and connection to a roof anchor.

Fall prevention is the employment of guardrails, floor covers, and fall restraint. These measures prevent falling in the first place, and is considered by far the preferable remedy for fall exposure. Fall arrest is the usage of a harness, lanyard, and Anchorage system so that if a worker would actually fall and gain momentum, the personal fall arrest system would deploy to slow the worker down to a safe stop. This is considered the second-most desirable form of fall protection. The last form of fall protection, fall awareness is the application of warning lines, controlled access areas, along with a safety monitor. This form of fall protection is by far the absolute worst, and should only be used as a last resort when other measures are not available.

A comprehensive health and safety program will list the various conditions were fall protection is required and what sort of fall protection to use. A safety and health plan will have countermeasures listed for fall prevention, fall arrest, and fall awareness situations.

Before installing a new roof the top of the building should be checked for any weak spots, holes, chimneys and or skylights. If the structure does have a chimney or skylight the location of the skylights and or chimney should be marked off around them.

All ladders should only be placed on level ground and one should make sure that the ground is not soft or uneven. If the ground is soft, stakes should be used in the ground for the legs to be tied to. This insures that the ladder is more stable when the ground is soft. The top pf the ladder should be tied off to the structure also. The rungs of the ladder should be free of dirt, oil or other debris. Making sure that the rungs are clean will prevent one from slipping when climbing the ladder.

A safety harness should be worn at all times. The harness should first be checked to make sure that there are no flaws. A safety rope should be securely attached to the harness and the anchors that are attached to the roof.

Safety glasses and hardhats should be worn. Safety glasses will help to protect the eyes from and flying debris or worse rouge nails. Hardhats will protect the head from bumps and falling debris. Wearing these two basic pieces of safety equipment is essential in almost any phase of the construction process.

By following these basic rules and having a safety plan on site will help to reduce the number of accidents.

The second item to consider is pinning the sections together. OSHA doesn’t have a strict rule to pin sections together, only that it should be done when there’s a possibility of “uplift”. I consider it a best practice to pin sections together every time, partly because you can’t predict every situation where uplift can occur, but also because a manufacturer may require it, and if you’re using that particular brand, you would be in violation if you didn’t pin the sections together.

The last item concerns rolling sectional/ frame scaffolds. First, since you’re on casters, you need to check the working load rating of the casters to ensure that they are strong enough to support four times the total intended weight of the scaffold assembly. Next, the rolling scaffold assembly needs a horizontal diagonal brace at the top and bottom of the assembly to prevent racking as the scaffold is moved around. And, of course, since the scaffold moves around, the working platform has to be secured to the bearers of the frame assembly to prevent them from falling when the scaffold is moved. Finally, with sectional/ frame scaffolds, you need to be careful with how tall you build it in comparison to its width. OSHA talks about a 4:1 height: width ratio, but a best practice would be to limit the height to 3:1 ratio.

Remember, proper use of sectional/ frame scaffold will save you a lot of time and effort, and will usually provide the safest working environment for you and your workers.

The second ladder angle to be concerned with is 75 ½ degrees. Never heard of that one? This comes from the 4:1 rule: that is, when the ladder is set against the structure its base is required to be set 1 foot away from the structure for every 4 feet in height. This 4:1 ratio works out to 75 ½ degrees. All straight and extension ladders are designed with this angle in mind, and is not only the correct angle, but the safest angle. There are a couple of ways to determine this, but the best way I believe is the Ladder Level (see figure 2 – ladder-level.com) which intuitively allows the user to set the ladder at the exact angle every time, just by looking at a bubble level which is formed at the correct angle and set in the siderail. Again, a very simple to use and very inexpensive (aro $6 ea.) ladder accessory.

Remember, ladder accessories can help you transport, set, secure and use your ladder more effectively.

Next make sure your hands are always free to climb. Put all tools in pouches and carry material in slings, hoist them up later, or have someone hand them up to you. Face the ladder square, approach and step up – don’t “swing up” from the side. Stepladders should be climbed holding on to the siderails as you climb. Extension or straight ladders may be climbed by holding onto the siderails, or holding onto the rungs, as desired. When climbing, always maintain three points of contact at all times – two hands and a foot, or two feet and a hand.

When climbing down, take an extra measure of caution, many ladder accidents happen when descending in too big a hurry. Climb down in the same manner as you climbed; facing the ladder and using three points of contact. Also, take extra care on extension ladders when transitioning from the top or “fly” section to the bottom section. There are two set of rungs in the overlapped area, which will reduce to the inner rung only as you descend. This is a critical part where your foot could easily slip off the rung.

Finally, if your work is done, and you’ve untied an extension ladder at its top, make sure someone is holding the base of the ladder before descending. This is the point at which the ladder could slide sideways.

Remember; keep these tips in mind whenever climbing a ladder will help you to work safely on a ladder.