Slips, trips, and falls are among the most threatening hazards that construction workers can face. According to the statistics, about 15 percent of all work-related deaths are from these kinds of incidents. Slips, trips, and falls are expensive to employers as well, costing about $11 billion annually. You need to make sure you know how to prevent a workplace slip, trip, or fall as a construction worker. Here is a closer look.

The 2013 Liberty Mutual Workplace Safety Index reported that falls resulting from slips or trips were the second leading reason for workplace fatalities and injuries. These incidents are just right behind motor vehicle accidents. Slips, trips, and falls are a leading cause of emergency room visits.

Here are some things to keep watch for:

• Loose rugs or mats
• Walking surfaces that are not level
• Poor lighting
• Obstructed views
• Wires and cables that are not covered
• Clutter
• Preventing falls and slips

There are several things that you can do to prevent workplace slips, trips, and falls.

• Clean up as you go, and don’t leave things lying around
• Wear slip-resistant shoes
• Use extra care on uneven surfaces
• Use caution on wet surfaces
• Clean up spills
• Mop or sweep up debris
• Clear walkways
• Cover cables and wires
• Make sure the area is well lit
• Check for fall hazards
• Salt highly traveled areas during winter months
• Clean your work area at the end of the shift
• Be attentive to where you are walking

Operators:

Industrial rigging, as well as dismantling operations, necessitate the use of at least one, if not many, pieces of heavy equipment, such as cranes, forklifts, aerial lifts, and other similar equipment. It’s not easy to operate heavy machinery. If your workers aren’t properly educated, it can cause a slew of issues for your task and company. This is why accredited safety training for heavy machinery operators is so critical before beginning the job.

Many heavy machinery operator schools provide training and skills that allow applicants to become certified by one or more nationally-recognized professional associations. Heavy machinery operators are not required to be licensed or accredited in all states. In addition, not all forms of equipment need licensing or certification to work in those areas that do. So, what is the significance of professional certification?

Some states do not mandate the licensing and/or certification of heavy equipment operators.

While not all states mandate heavy machinery operators to be licensed or certified, many do. Although precise criteria differ by jurisdiction, many states recognize technical association certification as either a prerequisite for licensing or as appropriate enough on its own to run some heavy machinery within their boundaries.

Training for Heavy Equipment

Heavy equipment operator courses provide instruction in a range of equipment styles, enabling participants to broaden their versatility and experience on the job, which is appealing to employers. The following are some examples of machinery that students can practice to operate:

• Backhoes
• Rough Terrain Forklifts
• Road Graders
• Excavators
• Inspection and maintenance of equipment
• Dump Truck
• Bulldozers

Pay and Benefits:

A high school degree or GED is usually all that is needed to be accepted into a heavy machinery operator training program. Graduate students of the program discover that their salary as a heavy machinery operator much exceeds their former regular paycheck life.

National averages and real earnings can differ depending on the job and position. Many operators with the complexity and range of experience and skills learned from a heavy machinery operator training program, on the other hand, would discover themselves attracting higher demand and earn higher salaries than their rivals.

Additionally, certain companies will reimburse their employees for heavy machinery schools’ job education and training programs. Aside from the decent pay and benefits, the job is demanding and provides the satisfaction of seeing the tangible effects of one’s labor.

Safety:

If an accident occurs on the construction site as a result of insufficient preparation, it may greatly increase the project’s total expense. Mishaps may cause machinery to break down, necessitating the procurement of repair parts or, in the worst-case scenario, a completely new piece of equipment. Operators who have received rigorous instruction know how to prevent these mishaps and properly find Used Heavy Equip for Sale. They also learn how to best maintain the machinery so that it can be kept up and running on a daily basis with minimal maintenance.

OSHA Fines

OSHA can fine employers, and those fines can add up quickly. If employees aren’t properly trained, or if there are PPE violations, OSHA can issue a citation for each employee violation. While not every case will warrant a per-employee citation, those fines and citations can be issued as the agency sees fit.

If your company doesn’t always have all its employees wearing their PPE, it can mean serious financial problems. As an example, the rule was enacted because a company hired 11 undocumented workers from Mexico. These employees were put to work handling asbestos, but they weren’t provided respirators.

At that time, before the regulation was enacted, OSHA wanted to enact 11 different citations, but the court consolidated it into one single citation. With the new rule, 11 citations would be 11 times the cost of one citation.

Ensuring Employees Are Properly Trained

As an employer, you are responsible for making sure your employees have undergone popular training and have access to the required PPE. The violation could be financially devastating to your business, and it could cost you significantly in the long run because you could lose employees who have already been trained to do the job.

The cost of paying the OSHA fines and then hiring and retraining new employees can set your operation back significantly, so it isn’t worth the risk. You should make sure your employees have all the proper certifications and training so they will know how to handle their job duties and the proper safety protocol and procedures required for the job.

Proper Training

At Associated Training Services, we offer all the necessary certifications and training programs to ensure your employees understand the processes and know the requirements. Call us today to learn about the different training programs.

Trenching and excavation are among the most dangerous jobs, according to the United States Department of Labor. OSHA’s definition of excavation is any trench, cavity, depression, or cut that is man-made on the surface of the earth made by the removal of dirt. OSHA defines a trench as an underground excavation that has greater depth than width but isn’t any wider than 14-and-a-half feet. Important trench safety.

The Dangers of Working With Trenches

The greatest risk of working with trenches is cave-ins. When there is a cave-in, it is much more likely to lead to fatalities or serious injuries than other excavation accidents. Other hazards associated with trenches include falls and loads falling off as well as accidents that involve mobile equipment and its operation. Every year there are dozens of fatalities and hundreds of injuries from trench collapses.

Protecting Workers Around Trenches

No worker should enter a trench that isn’t protected. Trenches that are 5 feet deep or deeper must have a protective system unless it is made completely of stable rock. If a trench is 20 feet deep or more requires a protective system that is designed by a registered professional engineer or based on tabulated data that has been prepared or approved by an engineer.

Protective Systems

Different kinds of protective systems are used for trenches. Cutting back the trench wall at an angle that is inclined away from the excavation, sloping is an effective protective system. Another option would be shoring, which requires installing aluminum hydraulic or other supports to keep soil from moving and causing cave-ins. Workers are shielded using trench boxes or other supports to help prevent cave-ins. Designing a protective system for a trench can be complicated because multiple factors must be considered including the cut depth, the soil’s water content, soil classification, changes because of the climate or the weather, the materials that are going to be used inside the trench, and other activity within the vicinity.

Regular Inspections

OSHA standards require daily inspection of trenches by a competent individual who can identify any existing hazards, predict hazards, or determine if working conditions are hazardous, unsanitary or dangerous to the workers. This competent individual must be authorized to take corrective actions to either control or eliminate the hazards.

While accidents happen in all job roles, more construction workers are injured or killed on the job than those in other professions. According to the Laborers’ Health and Safety Fund of North America, the number of construction deaths on the job in the construction industry increased in 2016 based on Bureau of Labor Statistics data. There were 5,190 fatal on-the-job injuries in the U.S. in 2016, according to the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries. That figure was a 7 percent increase over 2015. Of those deaths, 970 of them were in the construction industry.

• When the figures were looked at more closely, the most common workplace accident that led to death was transportation accidents, which accounted for 40 percent of the fatalities. More workers were killed in transportation accidents than in any other work-related incident.
• The second most common fatal event was violence that was caused by other people and/or animals.
• Another shocking figure involved overdoses on the job. On-the-job overdoses increased 32 percent from 2015 totals. Fatalities that were tied to overdoses have continued to increase by at least 25 percent per year since 2012.

One of every five workplace death happens in the construction industry. When that is broken down, about 80 construction workers die every month in a workplace accident. When construction accidents were reviewed more closely, the leading cause of death for construction workers is falling. Of the construction workplace fatalities, 379 people died in falls during 2016, which was an increase from 348 in 2015.

While many construction workers interact with tools and heavy equipment on a daily basis, about one-fourth of the laborers killed in the construction industry were killed because of unintentional contact with machinery or equipment, such as cranes, grading machinery, backhoes, front-end loaders, forklifts, and aerial lifts. There were fewer transportation-related deaths in the construction industry, but there were more trench deaths – with the number climbing to 37 in 2016 from the previous year’s 26 deaths.

Construction Worker Dies After Falling Down Shaft in Florida

According to Miami news stations, a construction worker died after falling down an elevator shaft while working on a building in Hallandale Beach, Florida. According to the news reports, the worker was working inside a large building being constructed in the vicinity of Southeast Third Avenue in Hallandale Beach on Friday, May 3, 2019, when he fell down the elevator shaft. This is why ATS teaches safety training.

According to the authorities who responded to the accident scene, the construction worker was helping build an addition for the building when he fell to his death. Police reports indicate that the fall was at least 10 stories. Hallandale Beach Fire and Rescue got help from the Broward County Sheriff’s Fire Rescue in recovering the body of the construction worker.

Crane Collapse in Seattle

On April 27, 2019, a construction crane that had been working on an office building for Google in Seattle, Washington, collapsed onto Mercer Street below. Four people were killed, and four others were injured. Many experts believe that the pins or bolts were prematurely loosened or removed from the crane and that made the crane’s vertical mast more vulnerable to the wind pressure that day, allowing the crane to topple. Many experts say the crane collapse was because of human error during the disassembling process.

In this case, it is believed that the workers prematurely removed the pins that secured sections of the mast to one another, and that caused the crane to topple. While sometimes workers remove the pins prematurely, that practice doesn’t coincide with the instructions of the manufacturer for the crane disassembly process. There is an investigation into the incident, and five companies that played a role in the construction project are being reviewed.

The Importance of Safety at Construction Sites

Construction workers must adhere to safety training guidelines when working on construction sites. Many workers are injured on the job every year, and often, these injuries can be avoided when the proper safety gear is used, and the proper protocol are followed.

Riggers are some of the most important people on the heavy equipment or construction site. Their job is to ensure safety and to maneuver equipment using ropes, chains, and hoists from one location or position to another. A rigger may be called to pull a bulldozer out of a ditch or a crane out of a body of water after falling off a dock.

Riggers must pass a training class and receive certification. They must pass a test to meet OSHA standards and demonstrate they understand common safety standards.

Another responsibility of riggers on the heavy equipment job site is to perform maintenance on equipment. If a grader or loader stalls while performing tasks on the spot and the crew cannot fix the problem at their skill level, a rigger may be called to repair the equipment on the spot rather than tow the heavy equipment back to the maintenance shop. If the rigger cannot fix the problem on the spot, then towing may be used as a last resort.

The rigging professional on the job site must understand how weight shifts on specific types of terrains and under certain weather conditions. He must be familiar with the strengths and weaknesses of the various types of heavy equipment.

Riggers must also be experts in the use of ropes, chains, hoists, slings, hooks, swivels, shackles, block and tackle, and other lifting and heavy equipment moving machines. She must understand which types of leverage provides the best support for any type of situation. A rigger is a valuable member of any heavy equipment team.

Learn how you can become a rigger today.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is one of the most powerful U.S federal agencies, charged with inspecting businesses and ensuring that the workforce is a safe place to work. Richard Nixon signed the OSH Act into law in 1970. Since then, work-related deaths and injuries have been reduced by nearly 65 percent. Learn more on Obtaining OSHA training and qualifications.

One of the important functions of OSHA is to approve training programs like ATS’s Rigging and Signalperson qualification and certification courses.

The most important certification you can have in the heavy equipment industry is certification in safety.

We at ATS feel that safety is a top priority on the job site because if workers can’t be protected from accidents and unsafe working conditions, then it will be difficult to fill important and essential jobs. Employers will find it harder to keep well-qualified personnel on the machinery they need to complete important work.

The nation’s roads and bridges are built and maintained by heavy equipment operators. If working conditions are not safe, how long will it be before the national infrastructure crumbles?

OSHA fulfills a very important function. That’s why we’re proud to offer OSHA-compliant training that teaches the best and safest practices on the job site. We wouldn’t have it any other way.

Safety starts NOW! Heavy equipment safety is now one of the most important issues in any workplace. So much so that special regulations are in place that are designed to force employers into ensuring that workplaces are safe. As a heavy equipment operator, you have an important role in this area. However, that safety starts with you personally, before you even start your heavy equipment’s engine.

As a heavy equipment operator, you will be required to follow certain regulations. Some of these regulations will be determined by the actual workplace. For example, on many construction sites, the general rule for all employees may be steel capped boots, work gloves, hard hats, and ear and eye protection – if you don’t comply you could be suspended and sent home until you are ‘work safe’. Continue to ignore the regulations and you will lose your job. On some sites there is a zero tolerance – you’ll lose your job immediately if you have blatantly ignored the regulations.

Other sites may be a little more relaxed, however, the more protection you have, the safer you are going to be. Remember, problems such as ear damage could take decades to show through, and by then it’s too late as the damage is permanent. It’s not just the safety equipment required. There are other safety issues that you need to learn to the point they become a habit. The ‘three points of contact’ rule is a good example. When boarding and leaving your heavy equipment, three points of contact (two feet and a hand, or two hands and a foot) will help to ensure you don’t slip and fall.

Some regulations may seem silly or pointless, however, they have been put in place for a reason, and that reason is to protect you. Other regulations are in place to ensure you don’t harm others or do damage to property. Follow the rules and you will help to ensure a safe workplace, or at least a safe workplace when it comes to your actions. One of the focuses of heavy equipment operator training is safety – not just because it’s a requirement but because it could prevent your, or someone else’s, death.

For heavy equipment operators, safety on all work sites should be the first priority. After all, there is a lot happening at any given moment, and most of the action involves heavy, dangerous pieces of equipment. Heavy equipment alone is dangerous to the operator and others on the work site, but there are often unseen dangers on a construction site. Power lines are often found near construction sites, and sometimes even high voltage lines which can be a serious danger to a heavy equipment operator.

In some instances, these lines can be buried under the ground, yet in other areas they will be over head supported by poles. Both of these situations can be dangerous for a heavy equipment operator . The underground power lines can be easily hit by a backhoe or excavator. To prevent this, the power company should be contacted to mark the ground where the lines are buried. Even after the lines are marked, extreme caution must be used when digging in the area.

Overhead power lines can also be a danger to operators. They can be easily forgotten as they are out of sight. The main two pieces of heavy equipment that are susceptible to these overhead wires are the crane and, believe it or not, the dump truck. The dump truck operator can actually hit a power line when lifting the load up to dump it. To prevent accidents related to the overhead power lines, preferably, the power can be shut down to the area. If this is not possible, enough warning signage must be used to ensure operators are constantly aware of the lines and where they are located.

There are many dangers on a work site, power lines may be one of the most dangerous due to the voltage they may carry. The proper procedures and precautions must be taken at all times when working near them. Safety around these dangerous power lines must be every worker’s main priority on the work site at all times.