In This Issue

Fall ProtectionPatrick Ryan

Page 1

Education and TrainingCalendar

Page 2

New Trainer in TucsonPage 3

Susan Harwood GrantPage 3

Fatal MistakesErnie Miller

Page 3

Extension CordsMark Norton

Page 4

http://www.ica.state.az.us Darin Perkins, Director Winter 2003

ADOSH ADVOCATEImproving Workplace Safety and Health

ADOSH ADVOCATEPublished quarterly by the ArizonaDivision of Occupational Safety andHealth for employers and employeesof Arizona. The information in thisnewsletter is provided as a serviceand should not be considered as theexclusive source of the requirementsof the standards. This document is inthe public domain & we encouragere-printing.

Contributing Staff: Patrick Ryan, ErnieMiller, Mark Norton

Kenneth P. Gaut: Design and Layoutken.gaut@osha.gov

Comments and suggestions are welcomeArizona Division of Occupational Safety and Health

800 West Washington Street 2675 East BroadwayRoad

Phoenix, AZ. 85007 Tucson, AZ. 85716

This is a summary of the requirementsfor construction, excluding residential(or residential-like) construction, scaf-folding and steel erection. Thoserequirements will be summarized infuture issues.

Construction Industry FallProtection Requirements:Unprotected sides and edges, 6 feet(1.8 m) or more above a lower level shallbe protected by the use of guardrailsystems, safety net systems, or person-al fall arrest systems.

Employees working at leading edges 6feet (1.8 m) or more above lower levelsmust be protected from falling byguardrail systems, safety net systems,or personal fall arrestsystems.

Exception: When theemployer can demon-strate that it is infea-sible or creates agreater hazard to usethese systems, theemployer shall developand implement a fallprotection plan meetingthe requirements of paragraph (k) of1926.502.

Each employee on a walking/workingsurface 6 feet (1.8 m) or more above alower level where leading edges areunder construction, but who is notengaged in the leading edge work, shallbe protected from falling by a guardrailsystem, safety net system, or personalfall arrest system. If a guardrail systemis chosen to provide the fall protection,and a controlled access zone has alreadybeen established for leading edge work,the control line may be used in lieu of aguardrail along the edge that parallelsthe leading edge.

Employees in hoist areas shall be pro-tected from falling 6 feet (1.8 m) ormore to lower levels by guardrail sys-

tems or personal fall arrest systems. Ifguardrail systems, [or chain, gate, orguardrail] or portions thereof, areremoved to facilitate the hoisting oper-ation (e.g., during landing of materials),and an employee must lean through theaccess opening or out over the edge ofthe access opening (to receive or guideequipment and materials, for example),that employee shall be protected fromfall hazards by a personal fall arrestsystem.

Holes (including skylights) more than 6feet (1.8 m) above lower levels, must becovered, or have a guardrail system, oremployees must utilize a personal fallarrest systems.

Employees on a walking/working sur-faces shall be protectedfrom tripping in or step-ping into or throughholes (including sky-lights) by covers.

Formwork and reinforc-ing steel: Each employeeon the face of formworkor reinforcing steel shallbe protected fromfalling 6 feet (1.8 m) or

more to lower levels by personal fallarrest systems, safety net systems, orpositioning device systems.

Ramps, runways, and other walkways:Each employee on ramps, runways, andother walkways shall be protected fromfalling 6 feet (1.8 m) or more to lowerlevels by guardrail systems.

Each employee at the edge of an exca-vation 6 feet (1.8 m) or more in depthshall be protected from falling byguardrail systems, fences, or barricadeswhen the excavations are not readilyseen because of plant growth or othervisual barrier.

Each employee at the edge of a well,pit, shaft, and similar excavation 6feet (1.8 m) or more in depth shall be

Fall Protection

walking/working surface on which theyare working, shall be protected fromfalling by a guardrail system, safety netsystem, or personal fall arrest system.

Roofing work on low-slope roofs, withunprotected sides and edges 6 feet (1.8m) or more above lower levels:Protection provided by guardrail sys-tems, safety net systems, personal fallarrest systems, or a combination ofwarning line system and guardrail sys-tem, warning line system and safety netsystem, or warning line system and per-sonal fall arrest system, or warning linesystem and safety monitoring system.On roofs 50-feet (15.25 m) or less inwidth the use of a safety monitoringsystem alone [i.e. without the warningline system] is permitted.

Steep roofs with unprotected sides andedges 6 feet (1.8 m) or more above lowerlevels: Protection provided by guardrail

systems with toeboards, safety net sys-tems, or personal fall arrest systems.

Precast concrete erection and relatedoperations such as grouting of precastconcrete members, 6 feet (1.8 m) ormore above lower levels: Protection pro-vided by guardrail systems, safety netsystems, or personal fall arrest systems,unless another provision in paragraph (b)of this section provides for an alterna-tive fall protection measure.

Exception: When the employer candemonstrate that it is infeasible or cre-ates a greater hazard to use these sys-tems, the employer shall develop andimplement a fall protection plan, whichmeets the requirements of paragraph (k)of 1926.502.

Wall openings where the outside bottomedge of the wall opening is 6 feet (1.8 m)or more above lower levels and the insidebottom edge of the wall opening is less

protected from falling by guardrail sys-tems, fences, barricades, or covers.

Each employee less than 6 feet (1.8 m)above dangerous equipment shall be pro-tected from falling into or onto the dan-gerous equipment by guardrail systemsor by equipment guards.

Each employee 6 feet (1.8 m) or moreabove dangerous equipment shall be pro-tected from fall hazards by guardrailsystems, personal fall arrest systems, orsafety net systems.

Each employee performing overhandbricklaying and related work 6 feet (1.8m) or more above lower levels, shall beprotected from falling by guardrail sys-tems, safety net systems, personal fallarrest systems, or shall work in a con-trolled access zone.

Each employee reaching more than 10inches (25 cm) below the level of the

January 8 Excavation Safety Awareness Tucson Glynn Condit 520-320-4229January 14 Electrical Hazard Awareness Tucson Glynn Condit 520-320-4229January 14 Forklift Train-the-Trainer Avondale Joe Gates 602-542-1641January 17 Lockout Tagout Tucson Glynn Condit 520-320-4229January 22 Asbestos Awareness Yuma Fernando Mendieta 602-542-1640January 23 Welding and Cutting Tucson Glynn Condit 520-320-4229January 23 Personal Protective Equipment Prescott Joe Gates 602-542-1641January 29 Forklift Train-the-Trainer Tucson Glynn Condit 520-320-4229January 30 OSHA Recordkeeping Phoenix Joe Gates 602-542-1641February 4 Welding and Cutting Payson Joe Gates 602-542-1641February 4 Scaffold Safety Tucson Glynn Condit 520-320-4229February 5 OSHA in the Medical Office Phoenix Fernando Mendieta 602-542-1640February 7 OSHA Recordkeeping Tucson Glynn Condit 520-320-4229February 12 Machine Guarding Tucson Glynn Condit 520-320-4229February 18 Fall Protection Tucson Glynn Condit 520-320-4229February 20 Respiratory Protection Avondale Fernando Mendieta 602-542-1640February 20 Walking/Working Surfaces Prescott Joe Gates 602-542-1641February 21 Back Injury Prevention Tucson Glynn Condit 520-320-4229February 25 Electrical, Lockout Tagout Tucson Glynn Condit 520-320-4229February 25 Excavation Safety Awareness Payson Joe Gates 602-542-1641February 26 Back Injury Prevention Yuma Fernando Mendieta 602-542-1640March 4 Welding and Cutting Prescott Valley Joe Gates 602-542-1641March 4 Laser Hazard Awareness Tucson Glynn Condit 520-320-4229March 11 Safety Management Tucson Glynn Condit 520-320-4229March 12 Confined Space Entry Phoenix Fernando Mendieta 602-542-1640March 14 Scaffold Safety Tucson Glynn Condit 520-320-4229March 19 Hand and Power Tools Tucson Glynn Condit 520-320-4229March 20 Hazard Communication Camp Verde Fernando Mendieta 602-542-1640March 25 Electrical Safety Tucson Glynn Condit 520-320-4229March 25 Excavation Safety Awareness Phoenix Joe Gates 602-542-1641March 27 Scaffold Safety Yuma Joe Gates 602-542-1641March 27 Concrete & Masonry Safety Yuma Joe Gates 602-542-1641March 28 Excavation Safety Awareness Tucson Glynn Condit 520-320-4229

ADOSH Education and Training Calendar

Date Course Location Trainer Phone

Trainers may also be contacted by e-mail at joe.gates@osha.gov, fernando.mendieta@osha.gov sue.oliva@osha.gov glynn.condit@osha.gov

Registration for each course begins no earlier than 30 days prior to the date of the course. Location address and time of course will be deter-mined at the time of registration. All ADOSH classes are free of charge and are subject to change or cancellation without notice.

Fatal MistakesIn an excavation that had stretchedabout two miles along a roadway, a nestof various sized conduits was beinginstalled to carry future electrical, dataand voice transmission cables to severalnew construction projects. The excava-tion was up to 8 deep, and was just wideenough to clear a 24” wide backhoebucket. The excavation was vertical onboth sides. The soil was sandy, alter-nating with patches of caliche, and con-tained scattered round rocks and cob-bles.

The crew foreman had elected not toorder shoring, shields or other protec-tive devices of any kind. He also hadforgotten his trench safety training,and had not done his own analysis of thestability of the soil. The field superin-tendent had also failed to perform thisevaluative analysis. No engineer hadbeen consulted to advise about excava-tion stability.

At the intersection of a proposed newroad intersecting the trench line atninety degrees, two of the conduit lineswere to branch off on the line of thenew road. The remaining four conduitswere to proceed along the original direc-tion. In a hurry to complete the work,the foreman misread the plans, runningfour conduits to the new line and twoalong the original line of travel. As aprecaution against possible damage, theconduit lines were buried in concreteslurry at all direction changes and

branches. This mistake was encased inhardened slurry when discovered.

The foreman, realizing he had made theerror, operated the backhoe and withrepeated blows from the bucket mouth,broke up the slurry encasement and theconduit buried in it. He then removedthe broken pieces from the excavationwith the backhoe. At a point whererepairs could be made, new conduit andelbows laid, and the branch re-buried inslurry, he stopped his operation and pre-pared to go to the pipe yard a few milesaway to obtain new pipe and fittings forthe replacement. He explained to histhree-man crew that the bottom of thetrench would have to be re-leveled, thebroken pipes cut off square and a newrack installed to support the conduit.He told them he was going to get newmaterials, and would return shortly.The crew jumped to the job. Two menwent down into the vertical sided trench.One cut off the broken pipes with a saw.The other used a shovel to level the bot-tom and spread soft dirt on the floor ofthe trench for a clean, level surface.The third man stayed on the top of thetrench, shoveling soft dirt down to theman on the bottom. The man on the topsaw a crack start to develop in the dirtat his feet and yelled to his fellow work-ers. Before he could finish his warning,the side of the trench caved in, hittingone man in the back and lower leg, knock-ing him out of the way, and burying thesecond man.

The foreman returned within seconds ofthe accident and found the man on toptrying to make a cell-phone call foremergency help and the man in thetrench who had been knocked awayfrantically trying to dig out the otherman. The emergency call was made. Theforeman and the man on the surfacejumped into the excavation and all threedug as fast as possible to uncover theburied man.

When emergency rescue crews arrived,they removed the three employees fromthe very hazardous, partially collapsedexcavation, explaining that there was nopossibility of a rescue since quite a bitof time had passed since the collapse.Eight hours later, emergency crewssafely retrieved the body of the buriedworker.

The vibration of the back-hoe breakingup the slurry, the exposure of the exca-vation side walls to the constant desertheat, the exposure of the excavation toconstant passing vehicle vibration, andthe poor supportive quality of the nativesoils all contributed to this tragedy.This entire excavation project was anaccident waiting to happen.Unfortunately, the accident occurredand an employee died.Dangerous excavations are all too com-mon throughout the state. Practicetrench safety and live!

Earnie Miller

than 39 inches (1.0 m) above the walk-ing/working surface, protection provid-ed by the use of a guardrail system, asafety net system, or a personal fallarrest system.

Walking/working surfaces not other-wise addressed: Walking/working sur-faces 6 feet (1.8 m) or more above lowerlevels shall have protection provided bya guardrail system, safety net system,or personal fall arrest system.

Patrick Ryan

Glynn Condit has assumed the trainingresponsibilities for Tucson and south-ern Arizona. Due to Mr. Condit s knowl-edge in many areas, as well as his previ-ous training experience, ADOSH isoffering training courses on topics notpreviously offered in the Tucson area.Please refer to the training calendarfor the schedule of classes for thecoming quarter.

Congratulations to GatewayCommunity College and theSouthwest Safety Training Alliancefor obtaining a Susan HarwoodGrant from Federal OSHA. The col-lege and the Alliance plan to worktogether to create the materialsnecessary to present the 16-hourstandardized safety and healthtraining in Spanish. Grant funds willbe used to translate materials andcreate an instructor s guide, over-heads, and Powerpoint presenta-tions.

New Trainer In TucsonSusan Harwood Grant

Don t ForgetThe Voluntary Protection Program (V.P.P.) Seminar is scheduled for January 28,2003 in Phoenix and again in June 2003 in Flagstaff. Topics discussed will includethe requirements to become a member, as well as the benefits for employersand employees. For more information please call Chuck Konitzer @ 602-542-1718 or Mark Nortan @ 520-320-4222. The best are VPP members!

ADOSH800 West WashingtonPhoenix, AZ. 85007

Occupational Fatalities Investigated by ADOSHJuly 1, 2002 through September 30, 2002

An employee wearing heat-protective clothing during a spin casting operation died as a result of hyperthermia.

An employee was struck and killed by a dump truck that was backing up.

An employee was struck and killed by a truck at a gravel operation.

An agricultural employee driving a front-end loader was killed when the loader rolled off of an embankment.

An employee was killed when he fell approximately 10 feet from a storage shelf.

An employee was crushed by a falling load of hay.

ADOSH recently received several ques-tions regarding the practice of pluggingone extension cord into another andwhether this practice constitutes a vio-lation of ADOSH standards. This issuesurfaced as a result of manufacturersplacing tags on cords that state, “Do notplug one extension cord into another.”The individual asking the question want-ed to know if this practice would be aviolation of 29 CFR 1926.405(g)(2)(iii),which states that “flexible cords shall

be used only in continuous lengths with-out splice or tap.”It is ADOSH s position that the act ofplugging one extension cord into anotherdoes amount to a tap and therefore,does not constitute a violation of theabove standard. To tap into an electri-cal extension cord would be to cut intothe cord, anywhere along it s length, andsplice, or wire another cord into it.If an employer were to connect two ormore extension cords together when

those cords contained a tag and state-ment prohibiting such use, the more like-ly violation would be that of failing tofollow the manufacturer s instructionsfor use (1926.403(b)(2)). However, evenin this situation, the mere act of con-necting the cords would not, in and ofitself, represent a violation. ADOSHwould still have to show the existence ofa hazard, such as an overloaded lengthof cord, or use beyond its rated capabil-ity. Mark Norton

Electrical Extension Cords