OSHA’s New Rules Substantially Increases Penalties

On April 22, 2010, Dr. David Michaels, head of OSHA, sent a letter to his 10 regional administrators outlining the new rules in an effort to blatantly increase the dollar amount of penalties for deterrence. The penalty changes will become effective over the next several months.
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Compressed Gas Cylinders- Storage & Handling

Some of the most dangerous devices may be found on your jobsites and in your shop. Compressed gas cylinders of all types have a tremendous capacity for injury from mistreatment or mishandling. The sheer energy storage that is contained in a cylinder (especially Oxygen) makes this equivalent to storing and handling a bomb. Oxygen cylinders are typically pressurized to 2,000 P.S.I, and acetylene cylinders are typically pressurized to 250 P.S.I. The following will cover the common high-pressure oxygen/ acetylene cylinder regulations outlined by OSHA in Subpart J “Welding & Cutting”, and should be a part of your safety program. Most of the handling techniques addressed here will apply to CO2, LP, and other similar gas cylinders.
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[Excerpt from MO House Bill 1549]

[Section] 292.675.

1. As used in this section, the following terms shall mean:
(1) “Construction”, construction, reconstruction, demolition, painting and decorating, or major repair;
(2) “Department”, the department of labor and industrial relations;
(3) “Person”, any natural person, joint venture, partnership, corporation, or other business or legal entity;
(4) “Public body”, the state of Missouri or any officer, official, authority, board or commission of the state, or other political subdivision thereof, or any institution supported in whole or in part by public funds;
(5) “Public works”, all fixed works constructed for public use or benefit or paid for wholly or in part out of public funds. “Public works” includes any work done directly by any public utility company when performed by it pursuant to the order of the public service commission or other public authority whether or not it be done under public supervision or direction or paid for wholly or in part out of public funds when let to contract by said utility.
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POWDER-ACTUATED TOOLS

Hilti, Ramset, and Red Head are just a few of the manufacturers of powder-actuated tools. These tools are designed to fire a special nail or fastening device into concrete, steel and masonry using a small caliber charge as a firing device. The number one safety rule to remember is – only property trained and qualified operators should ever use powder-actuated tools. Users should possess ‘Qualified Operations Cards’ which, after thorough training, are issued by a particular manufacturer’s authorized dealer or distributor or other competent source.
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Confined Spaces – Attendant Duties

You are standing at the top of an open manhole acting as an attendant for a team of maintenance personnel who have entered a confined space that required an entry permit. It has been several minutes since you talked to the crew, but you can peer down into the space and see them. During your last few checks with them, everything was A-OK. This time, however, when you yell down to check on them, you don’t get a response. You look inside the hole and you notice that they are slumped over or leaning up against the wall like they are taking a nap.
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LADDERS – CLIMBING

• OSHA estimates that there are 24,882 injuries and as many as 50 fatalities per year due to falls on stairways and ladders used in construction. When using ladders, be mindful and follow these basic safety rules:
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Fall Arrest Anchorage Requirements

I saw an article recently written by an engineer complaining about the 5000 pound anchorage for fall protection. He was troubled that while OSHA mentions identifying a 5000 pound Anchorage, they do not state who needs to identify the anchorage. Typical contractor safety plans and construction safety programs in general, comply with and use this 5000 pound rating in the fall protection and safety chapters. As a professional engineer, he was prohibited by law from designing a certified anchorage without proving that the existing structures adequate. Basically he was stating to be legal he would need to perform required calculations not only on the new anchorage, but on the structure itself to be legal. His question was, “why do OSHA and ANSI allow someone who’s not a professional engineer to do something a professional engineer trained in the analysis of structures cannot do? “

I think he’s missing the point about anchorage in construction. OSHA allows for a layperson, i.e. craftworker, who is not an engineer to look around and “eyeball” a structure for potential 5000 pound anchor points. The worker has to have a good faith belief that the anchorage can hold 5000 pounds. However OSHA allows an engineer to design in anchor that is twice the anticipated load. Personal fall arrest systems with shock absorbing lanyards have a typical load applied to them in the fall of less than 900 pounds. Therefore, an engineer could conceivably design in anchor that is 1800 pound strength. The requirement for a worker to look around and find a 5000 pound anchor point is almost 3 times as strong as what is actually required to arrest the worker in a typical situation. A fall protection safety program with this criteria. I believe is sufficient.

If we would require an engineer to verify every point of fall protection. It would be too large a burden for constructability. However, we need to keep mindful of assuming that the overall structure can accommodate a 5000 pound anchor point, even if we are using a store-bought anchor. For instance, while there are several 5000 pound rated anchors for residential would trusses, many trusts manufacturers, ardent putting out disclaimers stating that there would trusses are not designed for these and on anchor points. That is, the wood trusses are designed for snow load, not personal fall arrest systems. Accordingly, scaffolds manufacturers clearly state that their products are not designed or engineered to accommodate personal fall arrest system anchor points. The contractor and craftworkers alike need to be aware of the limitations of the structures they are attaching to. These are items that should be part of any good overall safety program, and revealed in a fall hazard analysis on a construction project.

Even traditional structural steel projects may have limitations. The most recent steel erection rule from OSHA now requires that to use bar joists as fall protection anchor points, it does need to be verified with the engineer of record for that structural steel project. This is a departure from previous attitudes that any “red steel” was sufficient for anchorage.

While I think the 5000 pound anchorage rule as it exists is a good one, however I do have a problem with the fall restraint anchorage values. I will cover that in another article.

Rebar Placement Information Work Sheet

1. Project Controlling (general) contractor name, address, contact person/number:

1. Project name:

2. Project address:
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Excavations

1) Before an Excavation Begins

a) Competent Person A Competent Person is required to be on site to direct an excavation project. He should make inspections at the start of each workshift, and when conditions change.
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Fall Protection

1) General All workers on elevated surfaces 6 ft. or higher are required to be protected from falling onto the surface below. There are up to ten types of fall protection methods available for any situation. Check with your supervisor for the method(s) available to you for your particular situation.
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