OSHA Compliance Survival Kit For the Construction Industry

Every employer has a responsibility to make sure all employees have a safe and stable work environment. These employees should have access to safety equipment and information at anytime they are on the jobsite. These employees should be able to go to their superiors with fears or concerns about safety without fear of termination or retaliation. In order to accommodate employees in such a fashion, we have compiled a short and condensed version of what an employer of the construction industry should have documented and in place for emergencies or for an OSHA inspection.

Management Commitment to Safety and Health

Employers and managers should lead by example. If your employee sees a superior taking safety seriously, they will too! Assign Safety and Health Responsibilities to employees. If you involve and rotate employee responsibilities, everyone will feel important and compliant. Give the assigned employees to correct minor issues. When a subordinate is give a little more power than their position requires, they are more likely to do what it takes to keep earning your trust and respect.

Assure your employees that they may voice their concerns regarding safety without any repercussions. These employees are the front line guys and they often see the danger in a position before a manager does. Listen to what they have to say and respect their position on safety. Most state laws protect whistleblowers, so check your states regulations. Inform employees of any hazards that you are aware of. Again, it is the employer’s responsibility to safeguard their employees, so keep the lines of communication open. If you are sharing a worksite with other companies or their employees, it is your responsibility to communicate any known hazards to them. Share a safe workplace. Post the OSHA state or Federal poster where all can see it. Employees have a right to know the law.

Hazard Identification and Determination

Carefully evaluate all operations, procedures, facilities, and equipment to identify hazards to employees and others. Monitor exposure levels of noise, air quality, heat, electricity, silica or dust, and moisture. Set aside time to do routine inspections. If you create a habit of safety awareness, you will create a timeless good habit. If you have an accident, conduct an investigation. The best way to prevent history from repeating itself it to identify and address the factors that caused the accident to begin with.

Do a PPE assessment. For every position within construction, evaluate the potential dangers associated with that assignment, then create a list of personal protection equipment that should be worn while performing these tasks. Determine if it goes beyond simple protection and what precautions should be taken. Document all of your findings.

Hazard Elimination and Control

Inspect and ensure all machines and tools are in proper working order with relevant standards. Develop positive practices with workplace safety and health so that it becomes second nature. Housekeeping is a must. Jobsites should be free of debris and cleaned up daily to ensure the safety of others.

Emergency Response Planning

Develop emergency response plans for your jobsite. If you are in an industry where your jobsite changes frequently, you still need to have a response plan. These do not have to elaborate, but clear enough to communicate what needs to be done in case of an emergency. Have an emergency route to evacuate injured employees. If your jobsite is in a new development area that the emergency response team may not have access too, have in a convenient location that is easily accessible by all employees. Use established landmarks and turn by turn directions. Have a list of all the jobsite emergency contact information including any pre-existing medical conditions and allergies that emergency personnel may need to know.

Training

Employers should train employees to recognize hazards and unsafe working conditions and how to avoid them. Employers need to provide training on safe work practices, safe operation of machinery, and equipment, and how to recognize when things are not safe. Access ladders, stairways, confined space, and enclosed space entry hazards are all subjects that need to be trained and documented.

Recordkeeping

You must record and post injuries and fatalities. This is otherwise known as the 300-log. Maintain medical records and exposure records for all employees and past employees. You must maintain all appropriate documents and tags for abatement purposes. If you do not have these items, it could mean hefty fines.

Mesothelioma Prevention and Precaution

In my earlier article pertaining to “mesothelioma and asbestos side effects”, I have briefly discussed on the possible side effects common folks maybe faced with should they have any form of furniture or asset fittings within their occupied premise (both at home as well as your workplace) that are made essentially from materials comprising of asbestos components or elements.

It was highlighted that workers engaged in certain industries or trade handling or working with asbestos materials should be adequately protected. Specifically, what level of protection as well as precaution should be undertaken?

First off, let’s look at the work environment you are currently at: Is it adequately ventilated either through natural ventilation (as in a workplace with generous amount of window openings) or mechanical ventilation (as in is your workplace air-conditioned or provided with other means of positive pressure ventilation)? Are your work stations well spaced out? Is the machinery used by each staff well spaced out as well?

Your work environment needs to be properly assessed as it will further determine the level of personal protection you’ll need to provide for your staff or self provided (depending whether you’re working in a large organization or whether you’re self employed). A work environment which has work stations located too close to one another, is in a stuffy and hot room, or situated in a humid country will affect how asbestos particles when released into the environment will propagate.

As far as possible, a well balanced form of workplace ventilation should be practiced. While air-conditioning the whole workplace maybe costly in the long run and thus not feasible in terms of monthly electrical bills, this form of balance can be maintained with suitable window openings properly planned out with your contractor or space planner. Going further, the choice of lighting also plays a part in the influencing the room temperature. Too many lights that are not well spaced out? Well, you get the picture.

The rate of release of asbestos particles is not only dependent on the environmental temperature, but is also dependent on the level of work being exercised upon. By this, we’re referring to the rate of production of such asbestos components (such as gypsum board manufacturing, etc.). While it may not be a wise business decision to slow down the rate of production in the name of workplace safety and health (then again, it depends on who and where you’re working for), the provision of suitable personal protective equipment (or PPE) shall come into play.

At the minimal level, a proper individually-fitted N95 level face mask along with goggles should be provided for the upper chest level, followed by proper safety shoes along with industrial-grade work gloves for the limbs. The rest of the body should be covered in a proper overall. With all this in place, you’ll now start to understand why your workplace needs to be properly ventilated, not just to minimize the spread of asbestos particles, but also for the sake of personal work comfort which will also influence an individual’s work concentration level when operating a machinery or cutting tool.

And at the end of each day before leaving your workplace, ensure that all the PPE listed above is properly stored in a well ventilated designated storage room and your overalls are sent for washing. Needless to say, it would be strongly advisable that you and your staff take a shower before heading out as well.