As 2015 came to a close, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) renewed its alliance with Independent Electrical Contractors Inc. (IEC) to ensure their partnership would last another five years. Together, the two organizations will focus on providing agency staff with 70E and arc-flash training as well as preventing worker exposures to electric shock and arc-flash hazards while on the job.

Through the alliance, the partners will also promote awareness of OSHA campaigns on preventing falls and heat illness and develop a culture of safety through outreach, particularly to small businesses and workers with limited- and non-English speaking skills.

The partnership, which was officially renewed on December 23, has already seen over a decade of success, developing fact sheets, toolbox talks and guidance documents on a variety of topics designed to protect contractors working near electrical hazards. Previous topics include updates to OSHA electrical standards, the hazards of working on or near energized electrical conductors and circuit parts, general safety guidance to help prevent fall-related injuries and safety considerations when using ladders. For a complete list of resources created through the alliance, click here.

"For more than a decade, OSHA and IEC have had a productive partnership developing resources to protect thousands of workers in the electrical industry," said Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Dr. David Michaels in a press release. "Our continued alliance will help ensure that employers and workers in this industry receive information and training that are essential to keeping their workplaces safe and healthful."

IEC is a national trade association for electrical and systems contractors. Founded in 1957, the association has 56 chapters nationwide that provide management, safety and worker developmental training each year to more than 3,000 contracting businesses, comprising more than 100,000 employees and electrician apprentices. As a member of the alliance program, IEC will not only help OSHA develop new resources for construction workers, but it will also emphasize the distribution of OSHA training materials across its reach in the industry.

To learn more about the latest OSHA requirements that could affect your worksites, contact Safety Advantage today.

This December, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) renewed its ongoing partnership with Independent Electrical Contractors Inc. (IEC), an alliance that will see the two groups work together to provide agency staff with 70E and arc-flash training, as well as prevent worker exposures to electric shock and arc-flash hazards.

In this post, we'll take a closer look at some of these hazards, stressing not only how to identify high-risk conditions but also ways contractors can protect themselves from dangerous arc flashes.

OSHA defines an arc flash as occurring when "a flashover of electric current leaves its intended path and travels through the air from one conductor to another, or to ground." In the resulting phenomenon, temperatures can spike to more than 35,000 degrees with a fatal burn radius of greater than 10 feet. Every year, 30,000 of these arcs are reported, resulting in 7,000 burn injuries. 

According to OSHA, several of the most common causes of arc flashes include:

• Dust,
• Dropping tools,
• Accidental contact between electrical components,
• Condensation,
• Material failure,
• Corrosion,
• and faulty installation.

Because some of these hazards can be difficult to prevent, it is crucial to educate employees on methods they can use to protect themselves in the event of a flash.

Typically, the severity of the injuries levied on workers caught in an arc flash depends on their proximity to the event. In an effort to limit injuries, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) has developed specific approach boundaries designed to protect employees while working on or near energized equipment. While the sizes of these boundaries vary depending on the type of equipment being used, familiarizing themselves with the concepts can help workers better understand the hazards. These zones include the:

• Flash Protection Boundary: The furthest established area from the energized equipment is known as the flash protection boundary. If an arc flash were to occur, employees could still be exposed to a second degree burn due to the heat of the flash, but the effects would be curable.
• Limited Approach: Shock hazards exist within the Limited Approach area, meaning that contractors must take extra precaution when working at this distance from an exposed live part.
• Restricted Approach: The Restricted Approach zone exists inside the Limited Approach area, where the risk of shock is elevated such that workers should very rarely find themselves in such close proximity to the energized equipment.
• Prohibited Approach: Finally, the Prohibited Approach boundary exists around the equipment at a distance where an employee presence would be considered the same as making direct contact with the live port.

In addition to educating contractors on the risks of working inside these boundaries, construction site safety managers should also take strides to protect workers with a site-specific safety plan designed electrical safety in mind. These should include recommending best practices, such as de-energizing circuits, as well as using insulation, guarding, barricades and ground fault circuit interrupters to prevent exposure.

For more tips on how to mitigate the risk of electrical hazard at your workplace, contact Safety Advantage today.

Since 2007, the U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has worked alongside the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and Roadway Work Zone Safety and Health Partners to protect workers in roadway construction zones from injuries, illnesses and fatalities. This month, the three agencies renewed their partnership for another five years.

Together, the groups promote a culture of safety in the roadway construction industry, especially among non- and limited-English speaking workers. Members collaborate to reduce some of the most common workplace incidents, especially run-over and back-over hazards, excessive noise, sprains and strains and illnesses related to silica exposure.

"Employees who work in highway construction work zones face serious dangers, not only from construction equipment but from motorists as well," said OSHA's Assistant Secretary of Labor Dr. David Michaels. "I am confident that the information and resources generated from this renewed alliance will prove beneficial in reducing worker injuries and fatalities."

More specifically, the alliance has developed case studies on worker fatalities in roadway work zones, produced an infographic on the causes of the fatalities and worked together to develop documents and training courses to prevent falls and other construction safety hazards.

Some of the partnership's previous findings include:

• More than half of all backovers involve a dump truck. 
• In one third of back-over fatalities, the back-up alarm was not functioning.
• One in 10 fatalities occurred when workers were flagging or performing traffic control duties, and only one in five of those killed were wearing high-visibility clothing.
• Five percent of roadside work site deaths were caused by falls, and one third of those killed failed to use fall protection despite working on bridges and overpasses.
• While nearly half (46 percent) of all roadway work zone fatalities were caused when a worker was struck by a vehicle, less than 2 percent were killed by a drunk driver.

To develop an accident prevention program for your roadside work site to both keep your contractors safe and ensure you are compliant with the latest OSHA regulations, contact Safety Advantage today.

On construction sites, repeated exposure to loud equipment can pose a serious threat to contractors’ hearing. To protect construction workers, OSHA recommends workplace noise levels be kept below 85 A-weighted decibels, a measure adjusted for how the ear senses sound. 

One way safety and health inspectors measure noise levels is by using a sound level meter, which can help them identify specific equipment that should be labeled with a hazardous noise sticker. To find the average noise employees are exposed to throughout the workday, contractors can use a noise dosimeter.

When these tools are not available, construction workers can simply use the two to three foot test. If workers have to raise their voices to be heard just an arm’s length away, they should assume the noise level is unsafe. 

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As temperatures drop and winds pick up this winter, contractors who work outside need to stay vigilant to protect themselves from cold stress.  

The three most common types of cold stress are hypothermia, frostbite and trench foot. While all three affect the body differently, they are all caused when a person’s body temperature drops as a result of extreme cold.

The best way contractors can protect themselves from biting wind and frigid temperatures is to dress in warm layers. Loose-fitting, moisture-wicking clothing is best, especially when paired with an insulated hat and gloves. To avoid developing cold stress during winter shifts, contractors must also stay hydrated by drinking warm, sweetened beverages.

For more safety tips like these, be sure to check back soon!

Last year, more than one in five workplace deaths in private industry occurred on construction sites, according to the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), putting construction atop the list of most dangerous industries.

One of the most crucial ways to protect workers from injury on the job is to equip them with adequate personal protective equipment (PPE), which can protect them from both routine risks and unexpected scenarios. To ensure your employees are adequately protected to face the hazards of their jobs, take a moment to review the following best practices for construction site PPE:

• Eye and face protection: Contractors must wear safety glasses or face shields any time their work could cause foreign objects to get into their eyes, such as during welding, cutting, grinding, nailing or when otherwise exposed to flying particles, harmful chemicals or electrical hazards. Workers should choose their specific eye and face protection based on the hazards they anticipate facing for each particular job.
• Foot protection: Construction workers should always wear work shoes or boots with slip-resistant and puncture-resistant soles. To prevent crushed toes when working near heavy equipment or falling objects, OSHA suggests wearing safety-toed footwear, such as steel-toed boots.
• Hand protection: Just as construction workers perform a wide variety of jobs, there are many different types of gloves designed specifically to provide the best protection for each activity. Contractors must be sure to wear the appropriate types of gloves for each job, such as heavy-duty rubber gloves for concrete work, welding gloves for welding and insulated gloves and sleeves when exposed to electrical hazards. To provide the best protection without burdening workers, gloves should fit snugly while still allowing for dexterity of the fingers.
• Head protection: Hard hats can help protect contractors from falling objects, bumps to the head from fixed objects and accidental head contact with electrical hazards. Before donning a hard hat, construction workers should thoroughly inspect them for dents, cracks or deterioration.

To further reduce your employees' risk of injury at work, consider working with Safety Advantage. Our construction site safety technicians can help you develop an accident prevention program that is up to OSHA compliance standards. To get started, contact Safety Advantage today!