Blog - Month: January 2024
Documenting Small Safety Incidents Key to Preventing Major Ones
Studies show that for every major workplace injury or fatality, there are nearly 10 minor injuries — and more than 30 accidents that lead to property damage.
While minor injuries may not seem consequential, they can be indicators of structural problems in an employer’s safety standards. Capturing data even on minor incidents that may seem trivial can be critical in informing efforts to prevent much greater dangers in the future.
This documentation isn’t done in a vacuum and it’s important that managers and supervisors at all levels are trained to be focused on the numbers game of workplace safety. Here is where management’s main efforts should be concentrated:
Don’t ignore minor incidents. Document all of them. Even if you have avoided injuries and severe property damage so far, keeping careful records may provide critical risk management insights — and enable managers to take action to prevent accidents before they occur.
Identify patterns. Do minor incidents seem to happen in the same area? Involve the same or similar machinery? Are they in the same department or under the same manager? Careful record-keeping is a valuable tool for identifying patterns.
Discourage presenteeism. Workers who come to work sick may be taking medications that increase the risk of incidents. Sick or distracted workers may make serious or deadly mistakes. To prevent this, have a sustainable sick leave policy and encourage workers to take time off when needed.
Encourage reporting. Studies have shown that employers either improperly report or fail to report the majority of minor incidents.
One study found that 85% of workers had experienced work-related symptoms, 50% had experienced persistent work-related medical symptoms and 30% had lost time from an incident or from a repetitive motion injury — yet only some 91% of those workers told researchers they had formally reported any of these incidents.
When asked why they didn’t report safety incidents, workers cited a number of reasons:
- Fear of reprisal.
- Poor management response to prior reports.
- Fear of losing their job or being transferred to a less desirable position.
- Belief that pain or another medical symptom was a normal consequence of work activity or ageing.
Maintain OSHA-required injury logs. By federal law, most employers must maintain the following safety documents:
- OSHA Form 300 — Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses
- OSHA Form 300A —Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses
- OSHA Form 301 — Injury and Illness Incident Report
Employers with 10 or fewer employees at all times during the preceding calendar year are exempt from the federal requirement, though many states may impose more stringent requirements.
Record near misses. Often, near misses — in which property damage, injury or fatality were narrowly avoided — can provide data that’s just as valuable as for incidents resulting in actual damages or injuries. This information can prove vital to informing prevention efforts.
Perhaps most importantly, carefully documenting all safety incidents and near misses, however minor, may help establish a culture of safety throughout the organization.
The takeaway
Companies that maintain robust documentation of all incidents, including minor ones — and even near misses — can use that information to identify patterns and take corrective action.
By taking steps to address the hazards your data gathering uncovers you can reduce the likelihood of workplace incidents.
8 Tips for Improving Electrical Safety on Construction Sites
The construction industry has the highest percentage of electrical fatalities out of all industries.
While electricity is a crucial component in a construction project’s success, it poses a risk of harmful shock, horrific burns or fatal electrocution. These accidents can occur when workers come into contact with power lines, wiring, transformers or other electrical machinery.
Fortunately, there are steps that companies can take to minimize the dangers. The following are eight tips on how to improve electrical safety in the construction industry:
- Provide personal protection — Electrical safety in the industry starts at a personal level. All the electrical work personnel or people working in an area with electrical materials should wear protective gear, such as insulated gloves and footwear. This provides basic safety when they get into contact with electrical equipment, whether accidentally or intentionally.
- Training in handling electrical equipment — Electrical mishaps can occur when there is misuse or mishandling of electrical equipment. Workers should be trained on how they should handle and operate the equipment safely. Conduct regular training to ensure the workers don’t become lax when they use the same equipment.
- Use proper testing equipment — Proper testing equipment should be part of the essential tools required on a construction site. Voltage detectors, receptacle testers and clamp meters are among the tools every worksite should have to enhance electrical safety and help prevent electrical accidents.
- The right signage — Lack of awareness can lead to catastrophic electrical accidents. All electrical hazards should be marked to warn your workers of the dangers. The signs should have labels in language and illustrations that can be easily understood by a layman. This way, all the personnel working on the site can take precautions and avoid electrical accidents.
- Proper risk assessment and planning — Conduct a risk assessment survey of the worksite before operations begin. This will help identify hazards that can compromise electrical safety and allow you to come up with solutions accordingly.
The assessment will also help your team develop a plan on how to lay out electrical infrastructure with safety in mind. A plan will indicate where and how electrical equipment will be placed and how the wiring will be done. - Use circuit breakers and voltage regulators — Even with all the planning and precautions, emergencies can occur in case of a power surge, short-circuit or any other electrical issue. That’s why it’s essential to have circuit breakers and voltage regulators to cut off power during such situations.
The ability to regulate or shut down power supply on time during a crisis can avert catastrophic damage and loss of life on a site. - Avoid wet conditions — Electrical equipment and infrastructures in the worksite should be shielded from coming into contact with water at all costs. This should be done during the planning process. When the equipment comes into contact with water, the power supply should be cut off immediately and later turned back on a professional electrician’s recommendation.
- Organize and insulate all exposed cables — A construction area should never have messy or uncovered power cables. When unorganized, the cables can contact each other, resulting in short-circuiting and possibly fire. If left uncovered, workers may accidentally touch them, leading to shock or electrocution.
Cover all cables in a construction site with appropriate insulating material and organize the cables to enhance electrical safety.
The takeaway
While overall safety is a significant concern in the construction industry, electrical safety can be contained if the right measures are implemented.
The above tips can help construction firms to boost electrical safety in their operations. However, all the parties on a construction site must be diligent for maximum electrical safety.
As Dump Trucks Grow Longer, Tip-overs Increase
Dump truck and semi-trailer dumping rig tip-overs are occurring at an increasing frequency, often resulting in drivers and sometimes workers on the ground being injured or killed.
The reason for the increase is that end-dump-truck bodies and semi-trailer dumping rigs are being built longer than ever before.
For the most part, tip-overs are more often associated with semi-trailer rigs than with straight dump trucks, but both are susceptible to tipping over.
If you have these vehicles in your fleet, you should be concerned about the main factors that can result in tip-overs:
- Truck stability
- Poor hazard controls
- Poor maintenance
- Improper loading
- Improper dumping
Stability
The time when the dump truck is at its most unstable is when the box is in the raised position. When the center of gravity of the box and load is not roughly between the frame rails of the unit, there is a risk of tip-over (see diagram).
One or more of the following factors can adversely affect stability:
- The truck is on an unlevel surface when dumping.
- There is too much material in the upper portion of the raised box.
- Material gets stuck in the top portion of the box, or on one side of the top portion.
- The rear wheels settle unevenly as the load slides out of the box.
- Heavy winds can tip trucks with raised boxes over, especially if the box is of the longer variety.
Hazard control
You should also avoid using semi-trailer dump trucks on rough grading, or on uneven or loosely compacted surfaces.
If you are hauling material on these types of surfaces, you should opt for a straight dump truck instead, which has less chance of slippage since it is not pulling a trailer.
If the truck is hauling aggregates that will be spread for road construction, belly-dump semi-trailers are a better and safer choice than end-dump semi-trailers.
We understand that you may not always have a choice of dump vehicles, but you should try to use trucks that are appropriate for the conditions.
One other consideration: In cold weather environments, you should consider heated boxes. Otherwise, there is a chance the materials may freeze in the box and stick during dumping.
Maintenance
Preventive maintenance can also reduce the chances of tip-overs.
- Check tire pressures before the start of each work day. The pressure should be the same on both sides of the vehicle, and according to the manufacturer’s recommendations. Uneven pressure can cause instability.
- Examine and lubricate pins and bushings regularly.
- Inspect suspension systems under the box to ensure that they work properly and provide even suspension. If the suspension system is worn or weak, replace it immediately.
- Inspect hoist cylinders regularly. If worn, replace them with cylinders of the same specification (no smaller cylinders and none that are rated at lower operating pressure).
- Make sure that repairs to boxes leave the bottom and sides clear and unrestricted. Rough patchwork repairs near the top of the box can catch and hold sticky materials.
Loading
Boxes should be loaded front to back, and the load must be less than allowable gross weight and axle weight limitations set by the U.S. Department of Transportation or your state’s DOT.
Don’t pile too much material at the top end of the box, as it can impede the flow. Consider spreading it out more or reducing the load.
You may also want to install box liners, which can help materials flow better during dumping.
Dumping
Follow safe operating procedures when dumping materials.
- Operators should be trained to recognize unsafe dumping areas like soft surfaces or surfaces that are not properly compacted. Before dumping, the truck should be on a reasonably level surface.
- Before dumping, operators should ensure that the tailgate is unlocked.
- Before spreading material by dumping it from a moving truck, make sure that the entire length of travel is reasonably level.
- Trucks should not dump when they are parked side by side with another vehicle, as this can risk injury to the operator of the adjacent vehicle.
- Dumping operations should not be too close together, which increases the risk of injury.
- Other personnel must be warned prior to the dumping operation to stay clear.
- Workers should not congregate in areas where dumping is under way.