Masonry Magazine August 2000 Page. 20
Employees on Scaffolds
Employees on scaffolds above ten feet need fall protection. Guardrails and/or personal fall protection is required depending on the scaffold used. Employees below must be protected from falling objects. This requires a hard hat to be worn and the use of one other form of protection such as screens or mesh. A critical oversight often found is the absence of a competent person. This individual must inspect the scaffold prior to each shift when the scaffold will be used. Make sure all employees are trained. Anyone who may use the scaffold must receive training on the hazards, procedures to correct the hazards, handling materials on the scaffold, scaffold capacity and applicable components of the standard.
FALL PROTECTION
Another serious problem for mason contractors is general fall protection. The OSHA standard addressing elevated surfaces, such as a floor roof, decking or formwork, is Standard 19260501 (Duty to Have Fall Protection). It ranks third in penalties and number of citations. All workers on these surfaces at 6 feet or higher must have fall protection. The type of protection is indicated by the surface and work performed such as overhand bricklaying. Options include: safety nets, personal fall arrest systems, guardrails, safety monitoring systems and controlled access zones. Contractors must become familiar with the protection which applies. An awareness of the specifications for the protection used is also needed based on the penalties received. They are for Standard 19260502 (Fall Protection Systems Criteria and Practices). Training is the final consideration. Failure has resulted in a number of citations for Standard 19260503 (Fall Protection Training Requirements), which ranked seventeenth, as seen in Table I.
PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT
Based on penalties in the amount of $242,912, the third most serious problem facing the industry is failure to use appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) Two PPE standards can be found in the top ten: Standard 19260100 (Head Protection) and Standard 19100134 (Respiratory Protection) (see also Standard 19260103). Hard hats account for the majority of the citations. They are needed when there is danger from falling or flying objects. Perform an analysis of the hazards in an area. Make sure employees are required to wear hard hats, eye protection, hearing protection or any other PPE needed to avoid exposure to hazards present. Special consideration should be given to respiratory protection. OSHA issued a new standard in 1998. It requires a written program implemented by a competent person, a medical evaluation, annual fit testing, proper maintenance and care of respirators and training. This standard, as well as Standard 19260055 (Gasses, Vapors, Fumes, Dusts and Mists) have received greater attention from OSHA due to a special emphasis on silica. Make sure silica dusts are controlled where possible by engineering methods, such as wet cutting. Where dusts exceed exposure limits, implement an effective respiratory protection program. The remaining standards violated, whether grouped as a hazard category or taken individually, account for less than $100,000 in penalties per hazard.