You Can't Fix Stupid

No matter how hard we try, "you just can't fix stupid!"

Public Hearing on the Proposed Crane and Derrick Standard

You may have already heard, but OSHA has announced the scheduling of an informal public hearing on the proposed cranes and derricks standard published late last year. (Click Here for hearing details). Although I don't have a comment on the proposed standard, I do have one on the hearing date and the date by which you must notify OSHA of your intent to present testimony.

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!

The Bacon Explosion

I know that some of you are thinking that Safety is the only thing that I do. You would be wrong! I have several hobbies, but they all pale before my love of eating. Yes, eating! If it isn't green, if its meat, if it's batter-dipped-and-deep-fried, it's for me!

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?

Here's one for you, Roat Osha means "food for a king." No kidding! I ran across a story this morning from Minneapolis about a Thai restaurant in Minneapolis named "Roat Osha." The story continues"with its new high-ceilinged, glass-and-stone building and tasteful display of Thai artifacts, Roat Osha is as attractive as Tum Rup, though the vibe seems more subdued. A few exterior eyesores encroach on the space—the patio looks out on a gas-station parking lot... ."

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

Not that Manhattan! Manhattan, Kansas. On Monday, according to WIBW TV in Kansas, "a man in his twenties was working at a new house construction site setting a plumbing line in a trench when the trench collapsed. It's not clear what went wrong at this time. Authorities say he was alone in the trench at the time. "

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.

Fall Protection Training Videos

Looking for an "attention getting" ladder safety video - click here.

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

It's almost time! Don't forget to post the summary page of your OSHA Log from February 1st through April 30th.

Crane and Derrick Hearing Announced by OSHA

Yesterday, OSHA announced that it will hold a public hearing on the "Crane and Derricks In Construction" proposal. To read more, click here.

MSHA: Contractors to blame for death

The Daily Herald in Utah reports that "he U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration blamed two contractors Friday for a fatal accident at a copper tailings pond belonging to Kennecott Utah Copper Corp." Click here to read the entire article.

12 Bold Safety Claims & Predictions for 2009

SafetyBriefs has revealed their safety predictions for 2009, as follows:

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

If you're reading this, you're doing so on a computer connected to the internet. So, this article from the New York Times about a new monster worm should be of interest. According the the Times, "A new digital plague has hit the Internet, infecting millions of personal and business computers in what seems to be the first step of a multistage attack. The world’s leading computer security experts do not yet know who programmed the infection, or what the next stage will be."

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

I know that this one doesn't have anything to do with occupational safety, but it's just too good to keep to myself. I ran across an article from a newspaper in Lagos, Nigeria that reported that a car thief had "transformed himself into a goat." No kidding!

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

The News-Press reported that an electrician had an accident yesterday in a City of Cape Coral Park. It seems that he was working on a hot line when he received a shock that made him fall and hit his head. I guess since the City of Cape Coral doesn't have a safety director anymore, the electrician figured lockout/tagout procedures weren't necessary.

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?

OSHA Interpretations

Yesterday, OSHA published two letters of interpretation that you may find of interest.

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

The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is proposing $119,000 in penalties against WDG Construction Inc. for seven safety violations that exposed their employees to possible injury or death at two of its construction sites.

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.

Changes for Workers Compensation and Union Laws

Webwire reported yesterday that "...changes to OSHA will mean more regulation and larger fines for companies providing hazardous conditions or trying to under-report or hide workplace injuries. The Charlotte Observer reported that inspections to poultry plants, an industry exposed to repetitive motion injuries, have dropped to their lowest levels in fifteen years. They further reported that OSHA staff has declined by 25% since 1980. New York times reported a recent crane collapse in New York that killed 6 workers, investigators found that the crew used only half the number of protective nylon strings that were needed to hold up a steel brace that connected the crane to the tower. All of the above statistics present a scary picture about workplace safety."

To read more, click here.

Scaffolding Collapse in Overland Park, Kansas

KCTV5 in Kansas reported that OSHA officials investigated a scaffolding collapse that injured six people. "One of the workers was trapped for nearly a half-hour," 3 had broken bones and three more only minor injuries. For more, click here.

OSHA Recommends Fines in July Crane Collapse

Reuters in Houston reported yesterday that OSHA "recommended $71,500 in fined against an industrial crane operating company for an accident that killed four workers in July at a Houston refinery." According to Reuters, OSHA's investigation concluded that the crane collapsed "when its boom reached an unsafe angle." The report goes on to say that the crane operator was "inadequately trained." To read the entire article, click here.

White House Review Touches Cranes, Diacetyl, Confined Space Rules

OHS reports that "Putting the long-awaited OSHA negotiated rule for safe operation of cranes and derricks into effect apparently will take longer than expected. Ditto for the agency's pending confined spaces in construction rule and the promised regulation, now at OMB, that would require workers to be protected from diacetyl exposure. A memo issued Tuesday (1/20/09) by Rahm Emanuel, President Obama's chief of staff, told heads of executive agencies and departments that regulations not yet published should be held for review by the president's appointees, and they should consider a 60-day extension of the effective date for published regulations not yet in effect."

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

The Bakersfield Californian reported that on January 6th, a construction worker fell 15 feet into an open trench. Apparently, he slipped while walking along the edge of the 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.

OSHA Letter May Help Respirator Manufacuturers

According to an article in OH&S, "OSHA may have given respirator manufacturers an important assist with a letter dated Jan. 9 that was addressed to Daniel K. Shipp, president of the International Safety Equipment Association. Posted by OSHA on Jan. 14 among a batch of letters of interpretation, this one was signed by Acting OSHA Assistant Secretary Thomas Stohler. ISEA specifically asked on May 19, 2008, for OSHA to take a position on whether the OSHAct and OSHA regulations preempt state court tort law claims, and Stohler answered yes. The question is whether his letter influences state judges to reject hundreds of thousands of state court claims, more than 325,000 asbestos and silica claims filed since 2000 against respirator manufacturers, according to ISEA. Shipp's letter requesting the opinion said MSA, Moldex-Metric, North, and Sperian Protection experienced a 500 percent increase in silica claims between 2002 and 2004."

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.

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

Cost of Safety = Economic Advantages

An opinion piece in Associated Construction Publications, published a couple of days ago, expresses very well what construction safety professionals have been saying all along - The Cost of Safety Pays Big Dividends. In this market "downturn" one of the first areas many contractors look to trim is their safety budgets. This often means "the safety guy goes." We have all experienced this in our careers or have heard of it happening to one of our colleagues.

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!

Ex-OSHA Inspector Raises Red Flag About Agency Procedures

KHOU television in Houston reported that "nowhere in the nation do more workers die on-the-job than in Texas. Reports indicate that there have been 527 fatalities in one year. That is up 8%. The findings showed that the construction industry had the most fatalities and falls are the leading cause for those deaths."

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

According to the Syracuse Post-Standard, a worker "was trying to attach a water line to what is called a spindle machine about 9:30 a.m. when he lost his footing, was pulled into the machine and was crushed, Geddes Police Chief Victor Gillette said." The worker "was pronounced dead on arrival at University Hospital."

Click here for the whole story.

OSHA Comments on Written Safety Programs - Print vs. Electronic

Yesterday, OSHA issued a number of interpretations letters. One in particular, struck me as progressive and foward thinking!

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.

OSHA Revises it's Field Operations Manual

A revised Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Field Operations Manual now provides OSHA Compliance Officers with a single source of updated information and guidance to more effectively protect employees from occupational injuries, illnesses, and fatalities.

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!

NOTW for 1/9/09

We get to start off the new year with a photo highlighting fall hazards, ladder safety and PPE all in one.

These three guys are working on a balcony on the 3^rd 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

Did you catch Letterman last night? Well if you didn't, below are his "Top 10 Barack Obama Plans to Fix the Economy:"

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'!

Near Misses?

Enjoy this video clip - Near Misses?

Chance
by titounetsan

OSHA Reflects on "Another Successful Enforcement Year"

According to an article in BLR, "OSHA says data released last month indicate it continued to exceed enforcement goals during fiscal year 2008 (FY 2008). The agency claims its emphasis on identifying and eliminating serious safety and health hazards "has resulted in an unprecedented 80 percent of all violations issued being in the most serious categories."

"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

Did you update your entry in your OSHA 300 Log?

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.

Rigger in Crane Collapse Pleads Not Guilty to Manslaughter

According to the New York Times on Monday, "When William Rapetti, a rigging contractor, arrived at a high-rise construction site on East 51st Street to raise a crane last March, the construction manager offered him a set of fresh slings for the job, prosecutors say. Mr. Rapetti refused the slings, a decision that led to a devastating accident that killed seven people, Robert M. Morgenthau, the Manhattan district attorney, said on Monday."

"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

Three contractors are bidding to fix a broken fence at the Governor's Mansion in Springfield, Illinois; One from Chicago, another from Tennessee , & a third from Kentucky .

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 ! ! !

Manslaughter Charges Expected in Crane Collapse

Yesterday, the New York Times reported that "Manhattan prosecutors are expected to announce manslaughter charges on Monday [today] against the rigger who was overseeing the raising of a tower crane on the East Side last year when it collapsed, killing seven, according to people briefed on the case."

"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.

Arrived in Irving

When I left Marshall, Texas (just west of Shreveport, Louisiana) this morning, it was about 66 degrees. When I arrived in Irving, it was 34 degrees and very windy. ITS BLOODY COLD HERE!
I had to don a pair of socks!

Arrived in Texas

I left the Pensacola area early on Saturday morning and traveled through Alabama in the fog the whole way!

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.

Halfway

Well, I'm about halfway to Dallas. The first day on the road was pretty uneventful. I stopped for a couple of hours in Gainesville and spent some time with my son. We had lunch at Chili's - the Mushroom/Jack Fajitas were great.

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."

Last Entry before leaving for Dallas

The car is packed (except for my computer) and I'm ready to hit the road tomorrow morning. Before I start out though, I thought I'd leave you one of the 2008 Darwin Award Entries.

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.