5 Important Tips for Staying Safe While Working in Trenches

Earlier this year, it was announced that reducing injuries and deaths caused by trenching and excavation collapses would be a priority goal for OSHA in 2018.  The administration planned to achieve this through increased inspection rates, public service announcements (PSA), updating online resources, and creating a better public-private partnership. Recently, OSHA made good on their promise to issue PSAs and update their online resources.

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OSHA Fines 5 Contractors Involved with Florida Pedestrian Bridge Collapse

As other organizations, like the NTSB, are busy analyzing the root cause of the pedestrian bridge collapse that killed 6 people and injured 8 others in Florida in March, OSHA has finished their investigation and issued safety violations to 5 different contractors.

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Virginia OSHA Cites Contractor for $304K for Silica Dust Violations, Possibly Largest in Rule History

OSHA had to fight hard to finally get its relatively new crystalline silica dust exposure regulations passed, and, once it did, the agency wasted no time enforcing the law.  In the regulations first 6 months, OSHA issued 116 violations, but the highest penalty at that point was $9,239.  More recently, the Virginia Occupational Safety and Health Compliance Division (VOSH) has possibly issued a record citation to a highway contractor, a whopping $304,130 penalty.

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7 Short Videos To Help Train Your Construction Crews on Silica Dust Hazards

It’s been almost a full year since OSHA’s more stringent regulations regarded respirable crystalline silica dust officially became enforceable.  Even though the topic has been a staple in news outlets since before and after September 23, 2017 (the official enforcement date), there is still plenty of confusion across the industry.

To help contractors comply with the new regulations, OSHA has recently announced a few new resources to be used for training.  Among them are a customizable PowerPoint Presentation (pdf download link), an FAQ page, and several short videos. Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) reported that the FAQ page, which contains 53 frequently asked questions and their answers, was directly linked to a lawsuit filed by several construction industry groups, including ABC.

The videos are a combination of one OSHA produced overview video and several others that were produced by ERG and are specific to a task or piece of equipment. You will find each of those videos embedded below. More information can be found on OSHA’s Silica for Construction home page.

Protecting Workers from Silica Hazards in the Workplace Video

Handheld Power Saws (any blade diameter)

Masonry Table Saw

Handheld and Stand-Mounted Drills

Jackhammers

Handheld Grinders for Mortar Removal (e.g., tuckpointing)

Handheld grinders for uses other than mortar removal

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FIU Bridge Collapse Update: Court Documents Claim Engineer Dismissed Safety Concerns Hours Before Collapse

As the United States just recently suffered another tragic and deadly construction incident involving civilians after a crane collapsed in Seattle over the weekend, we’re reminded that the bridge collapse on FIU’s campus in Miami in early 2018 still has many unanswered questions.
Dashcam Video of Deadly Seattle Crane Collapse Surfaces, Giving Clues to the Cause
Crane Collapse in Seattle Kills 2 Civilians, 2 Workers and Injures 4 Others

For the past 3 years, Seattle, Washington has had the most construction cranes out of any United States city. But, as we know, from various videos and news stories, a crane collapse can have absolutely devastating consequences. On Saturday, a crane collapsed in downtown Seattle onto an open road below, killing two construction workers, 2 pedestrians, and injuring several others in the process.
May 6 Kicks Off 2019 Safety Stand-Down to Prevent Falls in Construction
Rash of Trench Collapse Deaths Highlight the Continual Need for Training

All trench collapse deaths are preventable.  As soon as everyone on a job site starts believing that we might actually make some progress.  In just the past 10 days, there have been 4 trench collapse deaths across 3 separate incidents, further highlighting how far we still need to go.
[VIDEO] Construction Worker Survives Being Impaled by Rebar THROUGH HIS HEAD

Falls on the jobsite is the leading cause of injuries and fatalities in construction.  Keeping up with housekeeping on your site is a great way to reduce risks of falls, but other protections, like rebar caps should be installed when rebar is exposed.  A young construction worker recently found out the hard way what happens when rebar is left exposed.
Secretary of Labor Expects OSHA Inspections to Increase, Here’s Why

On April 3, a congressional appropriations hearing was held to discuss the U.S. Department of Labor’s Federal funding for fiscal year 2020.  During the hearing, the secretary of Labor, R. Alexander Acosta, told the committee how OSHA plans to spend their budget and how the agency fared in the previous year.
Procore Announces 3 New FREE Safety Courses for Silica Dust, Confined Spaces, and Safety & Tech

Safety training in the construction industry is necessary to build worker awareness – not to mention that it’s legally required – but it can be extremely time consuming and expensive to have completed. There are many companies out there looking to make money off of keeping workers safe, which is why it’s great when a company offers training free of charge, like Procore’s Safety Qualified program.
[VIDEO] Crane Catches Fire, Collapses on Georgia Construction Site

Cranes collapsing on-site are serious business, especially since many of them resulted in the loss of life.  A recent crane collapse on a construction site in Alpharetta, GA was caught on camera after it caught fire, but luckily no one was injured.
[VIDEO] 8 Injured After Crane Collapses During Renovations of Royal Caribbean Cruise Ship

There are a lot of different specialty construction contracting sectors within the industry and cruise ships are definitely one of them.  There are plenty of unique challenges when dealing with a moving ship versus a static building.  A recent accident highlighted the challenges when a crane collapsed on a cruise ship under renovations, injuring 8 people.

OSHA Proposes Rule Rolling Back Injury and Illness Requirements for Large Companies

OSHA

OSHA

When the Trump Administration released their Spring 2018 Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions earlier this year, they promised a few regulation rollbacks that would affect the construction industry throughout the year. 

Among those rollbacks was a plan to “reconsider, revise or remove provisions of Improve Tracking of Workplace Injuries and Illnesses, also known as the Electronic Injury Reporting and Anti-Retaliation final rule in July 2018.” Just under the wire, on July 27, OSHA has issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would remove the requirement for companies that have 250 or more employees to submit information from OSHA Form 300 (Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses) and OSHA Form 301 (Injury and Illness Incident Report).

Just like smaller companies, these larger companies will now only be required to electronically submit OSHA Form 300A, which is merely a high level summary of work-related injuries and illnesses.  The Department of Labor stated that the proposed change was issued in order to protect privacy and reduce burdens on employers.  OSHA Forms 300 and 301 contain sensitive information about individual workers who are injured or made ill.

July 1, 2018 was supposed to be the deadline for large companies to submit the OSHA Forms 300 and 301 with 2017 data through the online system, but OSHA is not currently accepting them, pending the rule change. OSHA is, however, currently accepting OSHA Form 300A with 2017 data, though any forms submitted past July 1 will be counted as late.

Full story: The Department of Labor Proposes Rule to Better Protect Personally Identifiable Information | OSHA

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FIU Bridge Collapse Update: Court Documents Claim Engineer Dismissed Safety Concerns Hours Before Collapse

As the United States just recently suffered another tragic and deadly construction incident involving civilians after a crane collapsed in Seattle over the weekend, we’re reminded that the bridge collapse on FIU’s campus in Miami in early 2018 still has many unanswered questions.
Dashcam Video of Deadly Seattle Crane Collapse Surfaces, Giving Clues to the Cause
Crane Collapse in Seattle Kills 2 Civilians, 2 Workers and Injures 4 Others

For the past 3 years, Seattle, Washington has had the most construction cranes out of any United States city. But, as we know, from various videos and news stories, a crane collapse can have absolutely devastating consequences. On Saturday, a crane collapsed in downtown Seattle onto an open road below, killing two construction workers, 2 pedestrians, and injuring several others in the process.
May 6 Kicks Off 2019 Safety Stand-Down to Prevent Falls in Construction
Rash of Trench Collapse Deaths Highlight the Continual Need for Training

All trench collapse deaths are preventable.  As soon as everyone on a job site starts believing that we might actually make some progress.  In just the past 10 days, there have been 4 trench collapse deaths across 3 separate incidents, further highlighting how far we still need to go.
[VIDEO] Construction Worker Survives Being Impaled by Rebar THROUGH HIS HEAD

Falls on the jobsite is the leading cause of injuries and fatalities in construction.  Keeping up with housekeeping on your site is a great way to reduce risks of falls, but other protections, like rebar caps should be installed when rebar is exposed.  A young construction worker recently found out the hard way what happens when rebar is left exposed.
Secretary of Labor Expects OSHA Inspections to Increase, Here’s Why

On April 3, a congressional appropriations hearing was held to discuss the U.S. Department of Labor’s Federal funding for fiscal year 2020.  During the hearing, the secretary of Labor, R. Alexander Acosta, told the committee how OSHA plans to spend their budget and how the agency fared in the previous year.
Procore Announces 3 New FREE Safety Courses for Silica Dust, Confined Spaces, and Safety & Tech

Safety training in the construction industry is necessary to build worker awareness – not to mention that it’s legally required – but it can be extremely time consuming and expensive to have completed. There are many companies out there looking to make money off of keeping workers safe, which is why it’s great when a company offers training free of charge, like Procore’s Safety Qualified program.
[VIDEO] Crane Catches Fire, Collapses on Georgia Construction Site

Cranes collapsing on-site are serious business, especially since many of them resulted in the loss of life.  A recent crane collapse on a construction site in Alpharetta, GA was caught on camera after it caught fire, but luckily no one was injured.
[VIDEO] 8 Injured After Crane Collapses During Renovations of Royal Caribbean Cruise Ship

There are a lot of different specialty construction contracting sectors within the industry and cruise ships are definitely one of them.  There are plenty of unique challenges when dealing with a moving ship versus a static building.  A recent accident highlighted the challenges when a crane collapsed on a cruise ship under renovations, injuring 8 people.

New App Uses Virtual Reality to Teach Construction Workers About Fall Protection

Falls from height are the leading cause of fatalities on construction sites by a long shot, as the account for around 40% of deaths.  Fall protection training in the classroom can often fall short, because hearing words and learning definitions about fall prevention may not have the same effect as seeing and interacting with fall prevention techniques.

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[VIDEO] Hi Rise Building Collapse During Demolition Critically Injures 1 in Miami

On Monday morning, a 13 story building in Miami Beach that was being prepped for demolition suddenly collapsed, injuring one Project Manager that was struck by debris.

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Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Hospitalizes 12 Construction Workers in Maryland

DANGER CARBON MONOXIDE

A dozen construction workers in Odenton, Maryland were transported to local hospitals on Tuesday, July 17 after apparent carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning, according to local fire officials.

Crews began working on a federal credit union building around 5am Tuesday morning and between 8am and 9am, several workers began feeling sick, prompting a call to 911.  According to CBS Baltimore, propane powered saws were being used indoors that morning and is the likely cause of the incident.

When firefighters arrived, they measured carbon monoxide levels of up to 850 parts per million (ppm) inside the credit union. According to the CSPC, ppm amounts as low as 70 can cause symptoms like headaches, fatigue, and nausea. At sustained levels of 150 to 200 ppm, more severe symptoms like disorientation, unconsciousness, and death are possible.

3 of the victims were treated for serious symptoms and the other 9 were treated for possibly serious symptoms. Fire officials stayed on the site after the workers were transported to ventilate the building and bring the inside air down to safe levels.

As a reminder, CO is a colorless and odorless gas that is otherwise undetectable until symptoms appear. Even small propane powered tools have the ability to quickly fill an indoor space with CO. The CDC has a few recommendations to reduce the hazards of carbon monoxide on the jobsite, including not allowing gas powered equipment to be used indoors unless the engines can be located outside and away from air intakes and educating employees to recognize the common signs of CO overexposure. Electric powered or compressed air equipment should be used indoors, when possible. If it is impossible to avoid using gas powered equipment, employees can be outfitted with personal CO monitors to alert them if unsafe levels have been reached.

 Full story: 12 Hospitalized After Carbon Monoxide Poisoning At Credit Union | CBS Baltimore

Featured
FIU Bridge Collapse Update: Court Documents Claim Engineer Dismissed Safety Concerns Hours Before Collapse

As the United States just recently suffered another tragic and deadly construction incident involving civilians after a crane collapsed in Seattle over the weekend, we’re reminded that the bridge collapse on FIU’s campus in Miami in early 2018 still has many unanswered questions.
Dashcam Video of Deadly Seattle Crane Collapse Surfaces, Giving Clues to the Cause
Crane Collapse in Seattle Kills 2 Civilians, 2 Workers and Injures 4 Others

For the past 3 years, Seattle, Washington has had the most construction cranes out of any United States city. But, as we know, from various videos and news stories, a crane collapse can have absolutely devastating consequences. On Saturday, a crane collapsed in downtown Seattle onto an open road below, killing two construction workers, 2 pedestrians, and injuring several others in the process.
May 6 Kicks Off 2019 Safety Stand-Down to Prevent Falls in Construction
Rash of Trench Collapse Deaths Highlight the Continual Need for Training

All trench collapse deaths are preventable.  As soon as everyone on a job site starts believing that we might actually make some progress.  In just the past 10 days, there have been 4 trench collapse deaths across 3 separate incidents, further highlighting how far we still need to go.
[VIDEO] Construction Worker Survives Being Impaled by Rebar THROUGH HIS HEAD

Falls on the jobsite is the leading cause of injuries and fatalities in construction.  Keeping up with housekeeping on your site is a great way to reduce risks of falls, but other protections, like rebar caps should be installed when rebar is exposed.  A young construction worker recently found out the hard way what happens when rebar is left exposed.
Secretary of Labor Expects OSHA Inspections to Increase, Here’s Why

On April 3, a congressional appropriations hearing was held to discuss the U.S. Department of Labor’s Federal funding for fiscal year 2020.  During the hearing, the secretary of Labor, R. Alexander Acosta, told the committee how OSHA plans to spend their budget and how the agency fared in the previous year.
Procore Announces 3 New FREE Safety Courses for Silica Dust, Confined Spaces, and Safety & Tech

Safety training in the construction industry is necessary to build worker awareness – not to mention that it’s legally required – but it can be extremely time consuming and expensive to have completed. There are many companies out there looking to make money off of keeping workers safe, which is why it’s great when a company offers training free of charge, like Procore’s Safety Qualified program.
[VIDEO] Crane Catches Fire, Collapses on Georgia Construction Site

Cranes collapsing on-site are serious business, especially since many of them resulted in the loss of life.  A recent crane collapse on a construction site in Alpharetta, GA was caught on camera after it caught fire, but luckily no one was injured.
[VIDEO] 8 Injured After Crane Collapses During Renovations of Royal Caribbean Cruise Ship

There are a lot of different specialty construction contracting sectors within the industry and cruise ships are definitely one of them.  There are plenty of unique challenges when dealing with a moving ship versus a static building.  A recent accident highlighted the challenges when a crane collapsed on a cruise ship under renovations, injuring 8 people.