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Safety News |
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Join us for a
Safety Stand Down during
National Work Zone Safety Awareness Week
April 15-19, 2013
View ALDOT's Public Service Announcement
Click here to
Download Stand Down Registration Form
Click here to Download Tool Box Talk
Click here to view
Drive Safe Alabama website
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OSHA issued its first directive Oct. 16,
2012 for inspecting roadway construction projects (work zones)
The Directive explains how to use the
general duty clause and OSHA standards to cite employers. The
directive, CPL 02-01-054, marks the first time OSHA has detailed
how compliance officers should go about checking road construction
projects. Still no crane directive though.
The Directive provides guidance on how
compliance officers should inspect road construction sites, apply
OSHA standards, and follow safety precautions while at the sites.
The directive also applies to work on or near roads, such as
sidewalk and utility construction, where vehicular traffic
exposes construction workers to struck-by hazards.
The main standard covering road
construction sites is 29 C.F.R. 1926, Subpart GSigns, Signals,
and Barricades, the directive says. The standard incorporates by
reference Part IV of the Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA)
Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices. OSHA's 5 (a)(1) general
duty clause (29 U.S.C. 654(a)(1)) may also be used to cite
violations.
For more Details on the Directive
.....
The directive explains that checks of road
construction sites have two focusesinspections of construction
work, and inspections of temporary traffic controls.
Inspecting road construction work is much
the same as inspecting other types of construction, the directive
says. In particular, inspectors should pay attention to
compliance with standards for noise, dust, silica, illumination,
personal protective equipment, scaffolds, fall protection,
equipment, excavations, precast and poured concrete, steel
erection, and cranes.
When checking temporary traffic controls,
inspectors are expected to refer to the FHWA's Manual of Uniform
Traffic Control Devices, the directive says.
As part of assessing traffic controls, the
inspector shall request a copy of the project's traffic control
plan, which should detail the work site's safety measures, such as
where temporary pavement markers are to be located. If a
contractor has failed to install the specified temporary pavement
markers, the traffic control plan could be evidence of the
employer's recognition of the hazard and the feasibility of
abatement, the directive says.
Using 5(a)(1) General Duty Clause
The Directive focuses on using the general
duty clause for hazards such as failing to ensure workers wear
high-visibility clothing in some circumstances, allowing a
situation where workers must cross lanes of high-speed traffic, or
exposing workers to falls into traffic from construction vehicles
while setting or retrieving traffic cones. We have seen many such
5(a) (1) citations over the year; most of them involving areas on
which the FMUTCA says little about worker safety.
The directive also sets requirements for
OSHA's staff. Each of OSHA's 10 regions must designate a staff
member as the traffic control coordinator who will provide
support to investigations of traffic control issues and ensure
that compliance officers receive training on inspecting roadway
work sites. For example, OSHA inspectors assigned to check work
zones with a speed limit above 45 mph must complete a safety
training course.
Protecting workers in roadway work zones is
an ongoing concern at OSHA. From 2007 through 2010, road
construction site accidents took the lives of 321 workers,
according to Bureau of Labor Statistics figures cited in the
directive. The majority of the deaths were the result of workers
on foot being struck by vehicles.
In April, a study released by the
Associated General Contractors found that highway contractors
considered vehicle crashes into work zones a very serious safety
issue compared with other hazards, with 84 percent saying the risk
is greater now than a decade ago).
More than two-thirds of the highway
construction contractors responding to the survey reported vehicle
crashes at their job sites within the past 12 months, resulting in
injuries to workers in 29 percent of the crashes and worker
fatalities in 18 percent of the accidents.
While the language focuses heavily on
concerns about vehicular traffic, we have seen as many, if not
more fatalities involving dump trucks, supplier trucks and
equipment of other contractors onsite.
The directive is available at
http://www.osha.gov/OshDoc/Directive_pdf/CPL_02-01-054.pdf.
Information Provided by:
Howard A. Mavity
1075 Peachtree Street, NE
Suite 3500
Atlanta, GA 30309
Tel: (404) 240-4204 E-mail:
hmavity@laborlawyers.com
Cell: (404) 277 8596
Back-up Cell: (404) 579-1813
Fisher & Phillips LLP
Representing employers nationally in labor
and employment matters
www.laborlawyers.com
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| Tool Box
Safety Talks |
Kristi Weatherford
with ATN recently shared the following
"Circle of
Safety" with members of ASSE. It makes you realize
why it's important for drivers to perform the Circle of Safety
Walk around their vehicles before driving.
Please consider using it for your next tool box safety talk
or Safety Moment.
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Thank you for joining our
"Safety Stand Down" During
National Work Zone Safety Awareness Week 2012
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Appreciation is extended to those
firms who participated in
National
Work Zone Safety Awareness Week - April 23-27, 2012
This years topic was Distracted
Driving. We had Over 13,000 employees
participate in our
Work Zone Awareness Safety Stand Down
It's not too late to make an impact:
Download the Presentation in a PDF format
to use in your next Tool Box Safety Talk.
Also, please take a moment to
view the attached Video link:
The video in the link below has been
making the rounds on the internet.
The video was supposedly taken by a State
Troopers dash camera.
Allegedly, during the investigation, an
unsent text message
was found on the drivers phone.
The video only
takes a few seconds to view; but it is worth viewing.
http://rmirror.net/r/videos/comments/q5hu9/car_accident_nsfl/
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Governor Bentley signs Proclamation Recognizing
Work Zone Safety Awareness Week |
In recognition of this years Work Zone Safety Awareness Week,
Gov. Robert J. Bentley issued a proclamation marking the 13th
anniversary of National Work Zone Awareness Week.
Additionally, the exterior of the ALDOT Central Office in
Montgomery will reflect orange lighting and billboards will be
displayed across the state. Federal and state
agencies, road builders, contractors and local officials are also
joining statewide to heighten awareness about the dangers of
driving in work zones and to encourage motorists to drive with
caution to make Alabamas highways safer.
ALDOT's mission is to provide a safe,
efficient, environmentally and economically sound transportation
network across Alabama. For further information, visit
www.dot.state.al.us.
Read full ALDOT Press
Release....
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| AGC
Survey finds 68% of Highway Contractors Had Vehicles Crash Into
Their Construction Work Zone during the Past Year |
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More than two-thirds of highway contractors
responding to a new Associated General Contractors of America
survey say that motor vehicles crashed into their work zones over
the past 12 months and almost one-fifth
reported construction-worker fatalities in
those accidents.
AGC of America released the survey today,
near the start of National Work Zone Awareness Week, a joint
industry-government effort to put a spotlight on the dangers on
highway job sites and reduce fatalities and injuries. There has
been progress. According to U.S. Dept. of Transportation
statistics, there were 576 deaths in highway work zones in 2010,
the most recent data available, down 15% from 2009s total of 680
and far below the 1,006 fatalities recorded in 2006.
Brian Turmail, an AGC of America spokesman,
says, Any improvement is something wed very much welcome.
He credits efforts by government and
law-enforcement officials to urge motorists to drive more safely
in job sites and also says many contractors are taking pretty
aggressive actions to protect their workers. But he adds,Were
not going to stop until the fatality number is zero and injury
number is zero, if we can get it there.
One surprising finding of the AGC survey
was that construction workers were slightly more likely to die in
vehicular work zone accidents than motorists were. Specifically,
18% of contractors responding to the survey said they had workers
die in highway jobsite accidents and 15% of firms said there were
driver or passenger fatalities in such crashes. But US DOT
Secretary Ray LaHood said in an April 23
blog posting that 10% to 15% of work zone
deaths were workers and 85% to 90% were motorists or passengers.
Turmail said that portion of the AGC survey findings caught us by
surprise. We did not expect that."
See Results of Survey.
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Tool Box Safety Topics |
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Lock Out Tag Out |
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Please
view the attached link which tells of a tragedy which
exemplifies the importance of following all procedures of Lock
Out Tag Out. The family of the worker hopes that this
information can be used during safety talks so that this
type of tragic accident will not happen again.
Please feel free to use it in your next Safety Talk. |
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