Saturday, January 31, 2009
You Can't Fix Stupid
Friday, January 30, 2009
Public Hearing on the Proposed Crane and Derrick Standard
March 17th - the date of the hearing - is St. Patrick's Day. I'm not sure if that will interfere with participation or not. I guess that it is better than having it on March 18th when many might be "under the weather."
I'm not sure if the Friday the 13th (2/13/09) date to notify of your intention to testify is significant or not. If you are superstitious, it may not bode well for participation either.
Anyway, today is Friday (not the 13th) and I'm thinking about making a "Bacon Explosion" for Sunday's game.
Have a good weekend!
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
The Bacon Explosion
So, imagine my delight when I came across a story in the New York Times about a couple of guys who "invented" the "Bacon Explosion."
The Times reports that "this recipe is theBacon Explosion, modestly called by its inventors “the BBQ Sausage Recipe of all Recipes.” The instructions for constructing this massive torpedo-shaped amalgamation of two pounds of bacon woven through and around two pounds of sausage and slathered in barbecue sauce first appeared last month on the Web site of a team of Kansas City competition barbecuers. They say a diverse collection of well over 16,000 Web sites have linked to the recipe, celebrating, or sometimes scolding, its excessiveness. A fresh audience could be ready to discover it on Super Bowl Sunday."
Are you a pork lover? Want to know more? Click here.
Oh, by the way, don't let your cardiologist know about this!
Roat Osha? What's That?
I know there's a pun in there somewhere and the story seemed too good to keep to myself. If you are really interested in Thai food in Minneapolis (and not the OSHA pun), click here.
Manhattan Man Dies in Trench Collapse
OSHA personnel were on the site yesterday to perform their investigation. However, the seasoned safety professional can guess - the trench probably wasn't shored or sloped, who know where the spoil was piled, and on top of all that - he was working alone! To read more, click here.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Fall Protection Training Videos
Or, a video about guardrails on stair openings? - click here.
Here's one on falls from unguarded forms - click here.
Here's one on falls from the "top plate" - click here.
These are short and to the point! Good stuff for training sessions. The theme seems to be that these guys were good at their jobs, been doing it for years, they knew what they were doing. How many times have you heard that?
OSHA 300A Form Posting Reminder
Crane and Derrick Hearing Announced by OSHA
Saturday, January 24, 2009
MSHA: Contractors to blame for death
12 Bold Safety Claims & Predictions for 2009
1. People will continue to teach safety practices in the lamest and most outdated ways possible.
2. Safety glasses may actually tip the scale, with fashionable glasses outweighing clunky obnoxious styles.
3. Consumers will continue to order safety equipment online about three seconds before they need it.
4. Guardian Fall Protection will invent a Jell-O Anchor. Finally.
5. People will continue to forgo ear protection and still hear that constant buzz.
6. Fall Protection companies will keep making uncomfortable harnesses for next to nothing.
7. Chainsaw Chaps will become fashionable for everyone, not just loggers, strippers, and the Village People.
8. Wile E. Coyote will turn down a lucrative branding offer from Wiley X Safety Glasses.
9. Some moron will tie off to the back of a pickup truck that will inevitably drive away.
10. Elvex will develop a hard hat with can holders on the side.
11. FogTech will find its way into the bedroom
12. The Bucket of Safety finally pop the question to Mr. Bucket.
Worm Infects Millions of Computers Worldwide
Take minute to read this important article. I don't know about you, but without my computer, my safety duties would be much less efficient and certainly much less fun.
Here's one in the "They Walk Among Us" category
According to the newspaper "police implicated a goat in an attempted automobile theft. In a front-page article on Friday, the Vanguard newspaper said that two men tried to steal a Mazda car two days earlier in Kwara State, with one suspect transforming himself into a goat as vigilantes cornered him.
The paper quoted police spokesman Tunde Mohammed as saying that while one suspect escaped, the other transformed into a goat as he was about to be apprehended.
The newspaper reported that police paraded the goat before journalists, and published a picture of the animal.
Police in the state couldn't immediately be reached for comment.
Belief in black magic is widespread in Nigeria, particularly in far-flung rural areas."
What Next???
Hey Lee County - here's one in your backyard
Anyway, here's a good training example about the types of injuries caused by electrical hazards. It could have been worse if he had been working at an elevation. So, was this an electrical accident or a fall accident?
Friday, January 23, 2009
OSHA Interpretations
The first - whether catch platforms must comply with the scaffolding requirements. The short answer is "yes." Click here to read the entire interpretation.
The second deals with re-qualification requirements for mobile crane operators on construction sites. The letter indicates that there are no specific "re-qualification" requirements, but the letter adds a "however" which you may wish to read. Click here to read the letter of interpretation.
Tampa Contractor Fined $119,000 by OSHA
OSHA is proposing two willful citations with $99,000 in penalties after inspections conducted in July and August 2008 revealed that the Wesley Chapel, Fla., company violated OSHA standards by failing to provide employees with protection from cave-ins while they worked in trenches. The agency defines a willful violation as one committed with plain indifference to or intentional disregard for employee safety and health.
The agency is proposing a repeat violation with an $8,000 penalty after it found that material excavated from a trench was placed too close to the edge of the excavation, making it possible for the soil to fall back into the trench where employees were working. The company had been cited for a similar violation following a 2007 inspection.
Four serious violations with penalties totaling $12,000 are being proposed for the company's failure to control water from seeping and accumulating in trenches, not providing proper ladders for employees working in trenches, not training employees to recognize unsafe conditions and failing to instruct employees in ladder safety.
"These proposed penalties reflect the seriousness of the dangers faced by employees and management's indifference to their employees' safety," said Les Grove, OSHA's area director in Tampa.
Unfortunately, this type of thing doesn't surprise me. My experience in Florida has been that we don't do very many trenches/excavations (except shallow) and we don't very often do them correctly. I have seen everyone of the citations noted above violated on Florida construction projects frequently. I'm surprised that they weren't cited for the lack of a "competent person" on the site. I believe that, if contractors made sure of compliance with the "competent person" requirement, the rest would fall in line.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Changes for Workers Compensation and Union Laws
To read more, click here.
Scaffolding Collapse in Overland Park, Kansas
OSHA Recommends Fines in July Crane Collapse
White House Review Touches Cranes, Diacetyl, Confined Space Rules
Although I think we need a federal crane safety standard as soon as possible, I thing a review of the confined space proposal is a good thing. Based on the initial proposal, I think the originally proposed construction confined space standard is cumbersome and burdensome. For most of us construction safety guys who find a confined space hazard on one of our sites, we would turn to the General Industry Standard for help. I'm not sure why we don't simply adopt the GI standard for confined space in a fashion similar to the adoption of the GI HazCom standard.
Send me your comments. And, to read the entire OHS article, click here.
Construction Worker Falls 15 feet into a Trench
As safety people, we are usually very concerned about the dangers of trench collapses and injury to people working in the trench or excavation. This incident highlights another significant trenching hazard. I have spent a lot of time trying to get site personnel to understand the importance of barricades, stop logs, etc. to protect people and vehicles (like forklifts) from accidentally entering the open excavation. Well, I guess it's not so rare that a pedestrian worker accidentally falls into the trench.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
OSHA Letter May Help Respirator Manufacuturers
This is a very interesting article (click here to read the entire article) and I suspect that this will be a long, on-going court challenge. Keep your eyes and ears open for more on this topic.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Ryobi Circular Saw Recall
Ryobi Corded Circular Saws Sold Exclusively at Home Depot Recalled By One World Technologies Inc. Due to Laceration Hazard
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed.
Name of Product: Ryobi Corded Circular Saws
Units: About 12,400
Manufacturer: One World Technologies Inc., of Anderson, S.C.
Hazard: The return spring on the circular saw’s lower blade guard can break, posing a laceration hazard to consumers.
Incidents/Injuries: None reported.
Description: This recall involves Ryobi corded circular saws with the following model numbers: CSB123, CSB133L, and CSB142LZ. Circular saws included in this recall have manufacturing date codes between 0836 and 0842 on the data plate near the trigger handle of the saw. Circular saws with a green dot on or near the data plate and on the outside of the package are not subject to this recall.
Sold exclusively at: Home Depot stores nationwide from October 2008 through November 2008 for between $30 and $70.
Manufactured in: China
Remedy: Consumers should immediately stop using the circular saw and contact One World Technologies Inc. to locate their nearest authorized service center to schedule a free repair.
Consumer Contact: For additional information, contact One World Technologies at (800) 525-2579 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday, or visit the firm’s Web site at www.ryobitools.com
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Cost of Safety = Economic Advantages
According to the ACP article, "You don't practice safety, you live it. Safety has to become ingrained in every employee starting with the head of the company and that applies to any sized operation from the largest to the smallest. If the head of the company isn't concerned about safety the attitude carries on down through the ranks to the lowest person on the totem pole.
Jobsite accidents can result in the loss of life, limb and senses. It would be fantastic if we were able to eliminate them from happening, but because we are human all we can do is work at controlling them and doing everything within our power to minimize the risk.
This factor alone should be reason enough to make management the strongest supporter of safety but adding economics into the equation makes being safe even more compelling. A history of accident-free work days is an asset when negotiating insurance packages. Companies with goods safety and security records pay fewer dollars for this very necessary expense."
Click here to read the whole article, then pass it along to someone else who you believe should read it!Friday, January 16, 2009
Ex-OSHA Inspector Raises Red Flag About Agency Procedures
This is interesting reading about agency fabrication of citations while under pressure from congress. It's also interesting to remember that I heard the same things about Florida having the highest fatality rate in the country when I was there. I believe now, as I did then, that the statistics are twisted to say what they want you to believe. The highest number of fatalities does not necessarily reflect the highest rate. Rate has to do with the number of fatalities against the number of work hours in that industry.
Anyway, this is interesting reading at khou
Accident Kills Worker at Crucible Steel in Syracuse, NY
Click here for the whole story.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
OSHA Comments on Written Safety Programs - Print vs. Electronic
This interpretation allows for our written safety programs to be published solely in electronic format, provided that it is made available to all employees and that "the employer ensure that employees know how to access the document and that there are no barriers to employee access."
This is great news! However, I still like to have a few printed copies around too! Click here to read the entire letter of interpretation.
Monday, January 12, 2009
OSHA Revises it's Field Operations Manual
The Field Operations Manual is the guiding document for OSHA's Compliance Officers, whose mission is to assure the safety and health of America's working men and women. The manual assists Compliance Officers in scheduling and conducting inspections, enforcing regulations, and encouraging continual improvement in workplace safety and health. The manual also guides Compliance Officers on how to inform employers about cooperative programs—such as On-Site Consultation, Strategic Partnerships, and the Voluntary Protection Program—to help them eliminate potential or existing hazards from the workplace.
"The new Field Operations Manual is a comprehensive resource of existing OSHA policy and procedural documents," said Acting Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA Thomas M. Stohler. "It gives Compliance Officers important guidance in implementing OSHA's balanced approach to workplace safety and health: enforcement, education and training, and cooperative programs. The Field Operations Manual will also be a resource for employees and employers, giving them a consolidated reference on how OSHA expects workplaces to be made safe and healthy. This is part of OSHA's continuing commitment to make its standards and enforcement activities transparent and understandable to all parties."
The Field Operations Manual, formerly called the Field Inspection Reference Manual, constitutes OSHA's general enforcement policy and procedures for use by the field offices in conducting inspections, issuing citations and proposing penalties.
If you have never looked at this 322 page document, you might want to take a look now. Click the hot link above to download your own copy.
Worker Dies In Fall
The Times-Picayune yesterday reported that "A man working on a billboard plunged to his death Friday after accidentally receiving an electrical shock, New Orleans authorities said.
About noon, Guy Willmon, 30, climbed a ladder attached to a 30-foot-high billboard near the corner of Tulane Avenue and South Rendon Street, hauling a metal object over his shoulder, said officer Garry Flot, an NOPD spokesman.
When Willmon reached the top, the object touched an electrical wire, and Willmon received a shock, Flot said.
Willmon, a native of Fort Worth, Texas, was thrown from the ladder. He fell to the ground about three stories below and died, said John Gagliano, the coroner's chief investigator.
An autopsy later revealed that Willmon died from injuries he sustained in the fall, not from the electric current, Gagliano said.
Flot said it wasn't known what kind of work Willmon was doing. The name of the company he was working for wasn't available Sunday."
It seems that, no matter how often safety guys warn workers of the hazards associated with overhead electrical lines, our warnings are all too often ignored. The significant part of this story is that, although the electrical line contact caused the accident, the fall killed the worker!
Friday, January 9, 2009
NOTW for 1/9/09
These three guys are working on a balcony on the 3rd floor. They completely ignored the “Fall Protection Required Beyond this Point” sign posted on the secured door to the balcony. Yes, the sign was in both English and Spanish! One guy is not wearing the required hard hat – this was a hard hat required job, but even minimum OSHA requirements dictate head protection when workers are engaged above you. One guy doesn’t care that standing on the top step of the step ladder is not safe, he even goes further by also standing on the bracing on the other side of the ladder. All three of these guys are clearly working above 6’ and in danger of falling at least 20’. And, it looks like they had already done the same thing on the balcony to the left – or were about to do so.
When asked to safely leave the area and don fall protection gear before returning, they didn’t seem to understand why. Were they properly trained by their employer, or was this simply a case of employee misconduct?
Letterman's Top 10 for 1/8/09
1o. Encourage Tourists to throw spare change in the Grand Canyon
9. End our dependence on foreign owls
8. Sell New Mexico to Mexico
7. Put a little of that bailout money on the Ravens plus 3 at Tennessee. Come on! It's a mortal lock!
6. Rent out the moon for weddings and Bar Mitzvahs
5. Lotto our way out of this son-of-a-bitch
4. Appear on "Deal or No Deal" and hope to choose the right briefcase
3. Bail out the adult film industry -- not sure how it helps, but it can't hurt
2. Release O.J. from prison, have him steal America's money from China
1. Stop talkin' and start Obama-natin'!
Thursday, January 8, 2009
OSHA Reflects on "Another Successful Enforcement Year"
"Nationwide, the agency logged 87,687 violations of standards and regulations, with 67,052 of these cited as serious. The proportion of violations classified as endangering employees was at the highest level ever during FY 2008, according to OSHA. In a press release the agency adds: "This administration made more criminal referrals for wrongdoing under the Occupational Safety and Health Act than any previous one." During FY 2008 OSHA conducted almost 39,000 inspections, surpassing its goal for the year by 2.4 percent."
The interesting part is the proliferation of criminal referrals. As safety guys, we need to stress this fact to our field personnel when they don't take safety as seriously as they should.
Man Dies Two Weeks After Twin Spans Crane Accident
According to an article in today's New Orleans press, "A crane operator who fell into Lake Pontchartrain at the twin spans construction site two weeks ago has died, becoming the second worker on the project to die after an accident."
"Tilden Billiot, 65, of Westwego died late Tuesday, two weeks after the Dec. 23 crane accident sent him plunging 30 feet into the water, said Robert S. Boh, president of Boh Bros. Construction Co. The company is the lead contractor on the project to replace the Interstate 10 bridges between Slidell and New Orleans, which were damaged by Hurricane Katrina."
Click Here to read the rest of the story.Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Rigger in Crane Collapse Pleads Not Guilty to Manslaughter
"Instead, Mr. Rapetti used four of his own slings, one of them badly worn, Mr. Morgenthau said. When one of the slings, used to stabilize the 22-story crane, snapped, a six-ton metal collar that had supported the crane fell from the 18th floor, destroying two other collars below as it slid down, the district attorney said. Eventually, the crane toppled from 51st Street onto 50th Street, gravely damaging several buildings."
"Mr. Rapetti, 48, of Massapequa Park, N.Y., and his company, Rapetti Rigging Services, were charged in an indictment unsealed on Monday with manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, assault and reckless endangerment."
The information provided by the NY Times in yesterday's article is worth reading! It outlines some of the alleged violations that led to the accident. Click Here to Read the rest of the story in the NY Times.
This is how it's done in Illinois
They all go with the governor to examine the fence. The Tennessee contractor takes out a tape measure and does some measuring, then works some figures with a pencil. "Well", he says, "I figure the job will run about $900: $400 for materials, $400 for my crew and $100 profit for me."
The Kentucky contractor also does some measuring and figuring, then says, 'I can do this job for $700: $300 for materials, $300 for my crew and $100 profit for me.'
The Chicago contractor doesn't measure or figure, but leans over to the governor and whispers, '$2,700.' Incredulous, the governor whispers back, 'You didn't even measure like the other guys! How did you come up with such a high figure?'
The Chicago contractor whispers back, '$1000 for me, $1000 for you, and we hire that guy from Kentucky to fix the fence.'
'Done!' replies the governor.
And that my friends, is how it all works in Illinois politics ! ! !
Monday, January 5, 2009
Manslaughter Charges Expected in Crane Collapse
"The rigger, William Rapetti, has also been charged with criminally negligent homicide, reckless endangerment and second-degree assault in the spectacular disaster, in which the 22-story crane plunged across East 51st Street, piercing one building and tearing terraces off another, the people said. The accident, on March 15, played out across a two-block swath of the Turtle Bay neighborhood, leaving two dozen people injured and the streets strewn with rubble."
If you think that you can just ignore jobsite safety without significant consequences, think again. Not only do you have to live with the knowledge that your actions (or inaction) resulted in the injury or death of a fellow worker, probably loss of your job, and inability to ever get another job doing what you love to do, you may also end up in jail! Click here to read the whole story in the NY Times.
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Arrived in Irving
I had to don a pair of socks!
Arrived in Texas
I entered Mississippi at about 8:30 am (CST)
I took no photos the rest of the trip because it was foggy, rained, or there simply was nothing to photograph. Most of the way through Louisiana (I-49) was about like traveling on I-10 between Tallahassee and Pensacola.
Anyway, I made Texas and checked into a hotel just before half-time on the Atlanta-Arizona game. I proceeded to fall asleep and woke up just in time to see the overtime portion of the Colts/Chargers game. I guess I was tired.
I've got about a 3 hour lope into Dallas today and start my "new job" on Monday morning.
Saturday, January 3, 2009
Halfway
And, just so you don't think that I've let my safety side slide (that's tough to say, isn't it?), when leaving my son's apartment, a maintenance man repairing a basketball hoop had to be reminded to stay off the top step of his step ladder. I don't think he was happy about the reminder!
The first night was spent a few miles east of Pensacola and as soon as I take advantage of the free breakfast, I'll be "on the road again."
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Last Entry before leaving for Dallas
A Texas contract worker was hired to install reinforcement bars on a communications tower near Camp Bullis. He was wielding power tools high above the ground, when two other workers saw him lean back and fall 225 feet to his death. Turns out, the man had loosened the bolts on the bar to which he was attached. The police called it a "tragic accident." He did, however, remove himself from the gene pool, qualifying him for entry in the Darwin Awards.