www.asse.org JUNE 2011 ProfessionalSafety 63

PS: Describe your professional back-ground and your position as director of engineering and administration for Mid-west Steel Inc.William: I am responsible for safety compliance, estimating, engineering, quality compliance and overall administration. I have more than 40 years’ safety experience and hold a B.S. in Civil Engi-neering from Michigan State University.

PS: What is your role on the A10.13 stan-dard subcommittee for steel erection?William: As chair, I lead the A10.13 subcom-mittee’s efforts to develop a revised standard periodically to keep it current with the latest technological advancements and safety strategies. I submit the efforts to the full A10 committee for ballot and work through all negative ballots for fi-nal publication of the standard. I also obtain input from the committee on any interpretation issues and report it to the A10 committee secretary.

PS: What SH&E hazards can workers en-counter during the handling and disman-tling of structural steel?William: Erecting structural steel creates many safety issues. Fall protection is the biggest chal-lenge, but there are many ways to get hurt. Site conditions also present major challenges as only stable ground conditions can support equipment and steel members set on the ground until they can be raised into the air. Electrical wires in the erection area also can be a hazard if they cannot be shut down.

PS: On average, how many of the occupa-tional injuries that occur in the construc-tion industry each year are related to working with structural steel? What types of injuries are most common?William: No real reliable data exist on the num-ber of injuries or fatalities in steel erection, and any available data are many years old. In 2001, OSHA estimated that 35 ironworkers are killed each year and that another 2,300 suffered lost workday injuries.

Since that time, I hope we are doing a much better job, but I always question any published data due to a poor data collection system. Falls generally cause the most severe injuries fol-lowed by caught-in-between-type injuries, such as getting limbs caught in between man-baskets and steel, and beams rolling over due to unstable

ground conditions. Strains are also an issue, as iron work is similar to an athletic endeavor where one must push or pull to get something in place when the ironworker’s body is in a difficult position. Eyes and hands are a concern when one pounds on something and it slips or breaks. Walking and working surfaces cause their share of injuries (e.g., slips or strained knees, backs), especially during inclement weather conditions, such as rain or snow.

PS: The A10.13 standard, Safety Require-ments for Steel Erection, was recently re-vised. What new changes does the revised standard include?William: Most of the changes were related to best safety practices, such as defining equipment used in steel erection, emphasizing better precon-struction planning and elimination of concrete and anchor rod problems that result in severe in-juries, use of both the English and metric systems, adding more decking requirements, such as wind tacking, and upgrading the language to reflect current safety terms and ideas.

PS: What challenges did the A10.13 sub-committee encounter during the revision process and how did it resolve them?William: Part of the subcommittee wanted to allow specially trained steel connectors to ride the “headache ball” under very limited and controlled circumstances. We finally got the subcommittee to go along with it but then did not sell this to the full committee.

The headache ball is a round ball of steel located just above the hook on a crane. Ironworkers often stand on it, allowing the crane operator to raise them to the steel in the air. It was outlawed because there were no rules and sometimes several work-ers would climb on the ball, which creates a dangerous situation.

Riding the “headache ball” is allowed in Michi-gan, again under some very limited and controlled

Safety Requirements for Steel Erection

Standards Insider

William H. Treharne

William H. Treharne, P.E., is director of engineering and administration for Midwest Steel Inc. and chair of the A10.13 stan-dard subcommittee for steel erection. Throughout his career, William has held the positions of structural engineer, chief engineer, erection manager, general manager (fabrication division), general manager (construction division), chief estima-tor and vice president of operations. He also has experience in structural steel erection, steel and aluminum mill building, design and build projects, structural alterations to industrial plants, bridge erection and repairs, material handling system installation, including extensive experience in crane runway repairs and alterations and automated storage and retrieval system rack building design and build projects. He holds a B.S. in Civil Engineering from Michigan State University.

HotlinksAISC American Institute of Steel Construction www.aisc.org

ANSI American National Standards Institute www.a.org

Ironworkers International Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental and Reinforcing Iron Workerswww.ironworkers.org

MW Steel Inc. Midwest Steel Inc. www.midweststeel.com

64 ProfessionalSafety JUNE 2011 www.asse.org

circumstances. It is a safe procedure when used properly and will prevent injuries and fatalities. But this is a consensus document, and other people prevailed.

PS: What do you consider to be the most impor-tant revision made to the A10.13 standard and why?William: The emphasis on preplanning or building safety into the construction of steel structures will result in safer jobs and jobsites. This leads to having the equipment on the job when it is needed, and it leads to training and communicating to people on the specific task they perform at that time.

PS: How will the A10.13 subcom-mittee work to have the revised standard recognized by govern-ment agencies? William: This task is way above the

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subcommittee, as the subcommittee concentrates on the technical aspects of the standard. The full A10 committee relies on the secretariat’s expertise to

market and sell the standard. This stan-dard covers much more than OSHA Subpart R on Steel Erection.

PS: How can the revised A10.13 standard best be incorporated into construction SH&E practic-es? At what point in a construc-tion project should the A10.13 standard be used?

William: The A10.13 standard is written and developed for companies and craftspeople so that they may erect steel structures and metal deck in a safe

and effective manner. When used, it can prevent injuries and fatalities. Effective, safe erection methods must be planned. All equipment and personnel safety protection systems should be issued and used properly by trained and skilled craftspeople with safe behaviors.

PS: What are your long-term expectations for the

revised A10.13 standard?William: The industry continues to improve with better equipment and safety systems and the craftspeople are getting better trained and educated (at least in the union sector, with which I am familiar), so I see a continuously evolving standard that reflects current safety thinking and new technology.

Standards Insider

The craftspeople are getting bet-ter trained and educated, so I see a continuously evolving standard

that reflects current safety thinking and new technology.