Construction Safety is perhaps the most important thing to any Construction Company or Organization, and if it’s not, then it absolutely should be. There are different organizations worldwide that have forced companies to make safety a priority, and they have been very successful in doing that. Construction safety involves any safety procedure that is related to the construction industry or construction sites. Everybody involved in the construction of a project is always required to go through a safety briefing and is almost always required to go through safety classes that cover dangers of construction work as a whole, and more specifically dangers that pertain to that specific job site. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 21.1% of all private industry deaths occur in construction, ad construction ranks fourth amongst the deadliest professions, with the second most fatal industries. These staggering statistics are the main reason why many worldwide organizations have stepped in to try mitigate risk and lower the number of incidences occurring throughout the industry. Not only construction safety vital to the personnel involved in the work on a job site, but it is also vitally important to keep the public safe from any hazards. Protecting the public is probably one of the biggest concerns for a contractor that is focused on safety. Part of protecting the public is also ensuring that the product being built is up to standard and is safe structure when it is turned over to the owner. One of the main organizations that has stepped in to eliminate injuries and death is Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). OSHA is responsible for putting in place many strict regulations and guidelines that contractors must follow. According to OSHA guidelines, if a contractor fails to comply with OSHA regulations, that specific contractor could face heavy consequences, potentially lose their license. Many contractors complain that they make things difficult to work with because of the strict regulations and guidelines; however, they have made a significant impact in reduction of incidences compared to when safety was not a large factor in the industry. OSHA as an organization acts as a first line of defense, however, the last line of defense the Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). PPE (shown in Figure 2) is equipment worn to minimize exposure to hazards that cause serious workplace injuries or illnesses. PPE can include gloves, safety glasses, reinforced work boots, hard hats, ear protection, respirators, protective clothing, and many other protective devices (Jones, 2020). According with OSHA requirements and ANSI Z89.1 standards, all construction projects should war hard hats to protect from falling and flying objects. Also, vests, T-shirts, long sleeve shits, sweatshirts or jackets, and hard sole work shoes are good practice of protection. OSHA CRF 1926.52 and under construction operation 85 dB and above, individuals must wear hearing protection. Safety glasses to be worn in all construction areas 100% of all time. For grinding, chipping, handling chemicals, and drilling, face shield plus safety glasses must be worn. Over the years, with the advancement of technology, PPE has developed and made getting work done a lot safer for workers. No matter how god, or high quality the PPE is, it is still the last line of defense, and all incidences can be prevented through good knowledge and preparation beforehand, rather than relying on protective equipment after incident occurs. Construction safety today is leaps and bounds ahead of where it was decades ago and is evident from statistics that support this. However, like the construction process, there are always ways to improve construction safety, which is by far the most important thing on any job site. With this being said, construction safety will always be a concern, and will always continue to try and be improved.
(Click on the photo to enlarge)
Figure 2. Personal Protective Equipment. This figure is a courtesy of Minnesota Local Road Research Board.
Confined Space in Construction
Confined spaces is one of the safety issues OSHA emphasis on it. The Administration and Advance Notice Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) had the first meeting on March 25th 1980 on confined spaces in construction, which consisted of 31 questions and 75 comments that initiated the confined space in construction rights movement. According to OSHA, there are three criteria to consider in order to identify if the space is confined or not.
- 1- The space is large enough and is configured so the entire body of an employee can enter
- 2- The space has limited or restricted means for entry or exit.
- 3- The space is not designed for continuous employee occupancy
According to the Department of Labor, OSHA breakdown confined spaces into four categories: Standards, Compliance Assistance Materials, Federal Register Notice, Case Studies.
Standards Category: for a confined space to be categorized under the Standards category, an employer must follow the guideline below.
- 1- Identify all of your spaces
- 2- Determine which confined spaces are permit-required confined space and which are not.
- Employer must evaluate all confined spaces regales of whether or not employees will enter them
- Documentation of the evaluation is not required.
The flow chart that is developed by Department of Labor, OSHA shown in Figure 3 facilitates for employers the process of identifying the permit requirement and right procedure.
Compliance Assistance Materials: below steps much be followed to identify the second category of the confined spaces.
- 1- Is 911 your confined space plan?
- 2- Temporary enforcement policy of residential construction work in confined spaces
- 3- Protecting construction workers in confined spaces: small entity compliance guide
- 4- Asphyxiation in sewer manhole
- 5- Frequently asked questions
- 6- Temporary enforcement policy for construction work in confined spaces
- 7- Confined spaces in construction: pits
- 8- Confined spaces in construction: sewer systems
- 9- Permit-Required confined spaces in general industry
(click on the chart to enlarge)
Figure 3. Permit-Required Confined Space Decision Flow Chart developed by Department of Labor, OSHA.
Federal Register Notice: confined spaces in construction-proposal rule: 72 FR 67351-67425 (November 28, 2007).
- 1- First determine whether there is a confined space at a job site
- 2- If there is, employer would determine if there are existing or potential hazards in the space
- 3- If there are hazards, employer then would classify the space according to the physical and atmospheric hazards found in it.
- Isolated-Hazard Confined Space
- Controlled-Atmosphere Confined Space
- Permit-Required Confined Space
- Continuous System Permit-Required Confined Space
Case Studies: confined spaces in construction case studies analyze the following concepts.
- Reasons for the intervention h. Sewer
- The site i. Lift Stations/ Digesters
- Code requirements j. Septic Values
- The incident k. Utility Tunnels
- Inspection activity L. Pipelines
- Carbon dioxide m. Tanks
Oxygen deficient atmosphere n. Air Handlers