4ft-For trenches equal or deeper than 4 ft. established
means of access and egress must be established.
5ft- For trenches equal or deeper than 5ft cave in
protection must be implemented
20ft- For trenches equal or deeper than 20ft. protection must be designed by a registered physical engineer.
Access & Egress
Can consist of a straight ladder or ramp and must be always within 25ft of the trench occupants. Cave In Protection
Consists of sloping walls (34 ° angle), benching the walls, shielding with a trench box, or an engineered support system called shoring.
Soil Classifications
Soil classification must be determined prior to working in trenches and excavations by a competent person. Utilize SWA if there is any question with soil classification. Contact your supervisor with concerns.
Digging New Excavations
Before digging any new excavation by mechanical means, all utilities must be identified and marked according to 811 Call before you Dig Guidelines. Weather, project delays, etc can often alter the work schedule and render a digging permit invalid. Contact your Manager with Questions.
Hand digging
After the depth of underground utilities have been identified, hand digging/non mechanical digging (hydro-excavation) must occur within 2ft. of all
underground utilities.
Identifying Underground Utilities
Underground utility lines will be identified according to a universal color-coding system.
Other Safety Considerations
All spoil piles & equipment must be kept at a minimum 2ft from the edge of excavations to prevent the risk of potential cave ins.
Monitor for gases at different levels to gather an accurate reading before entering excavations.
Wear Hi-Viz Clothing while working around or near open excavations.
Machine/Equipment will not be used in rescue operations.
Water negatively affects the structural integrity of trenches, remove using a pump prior to entering.
If a trench is left unattended there must be barricades/notification systems installed to prevent bystanders from falling into the trench.
Visual trench inspections must be completed daily before entering any excavation and after rainstorms. Look for cracks in the soil, sluffs in the soil, weak spots etc. Do not enter any excavation that appears to have potential hazards.
For a long time we all knew how important it was to stay physically healthy. All too often we spend time worrying about taking our daily multi vitamins, exercising regularly, and having a healthy weight. Although these practices are a great step to dealing with physical health, we are still missing something.
Today, the increasing topic in the health sector is making sure we keep our minds healthy and having great MENTAL HEALTH.
Having a healthy brain and good mental health is imperative. If you don’t prioritize mental health now, I will not stop you from exiting this short passage. I will encourage you though to be open to a few of the topics we will cover. I want to talk about mental health and negative mental health prevention. We will how mental health gives benefits in relationships and stamina in the workplace.
If you have made it this far, I know you have the courage to continue.
What is Stress?
Stress is has been defined in many ways but for our purposes we can define stress as a physical or mental response to pressures or events. That being said, I think we can all relate to stress entering our lives when we have an important exam, job interview, deadline or day to day activity with our families. LIFE IS STRESSFUL! How much is stress really hurting us though? Let’s check it out on a biological level.
When you examine stress at the biological level, our body releases hormones which speed up breathing and heart rate and also increase your blood sugar levels. This happens because our body enters SURVIVAL MODE. At all cost, our body wants the bad stuff to stop and stress is a homeostatic way of keeping balance. Stress can be a good thing though. When we think about Stress versus Eustress (good stress) we are able to understand the flight versus fight complex. A good way to think about Eustress biologically would be a hunter who had to kill a lion to survive. As we overcome obstacles or lions, Eustress is a powerful tool.
When stress occurs, our body can temporarily adjust to the environment and triggers we are facing. However, it is natural for our body to fall back in to our comfort zone. Our comfort zone is the 99% daily lives we live in. This leads to something called “Burn Out”. Burn Out occurs when stress has weekend our bodies and we are physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually worn out. Has this ever happened to you before?
Looking at stress under the medical microscope, there is a ton of physiological damage that stress leads to. When we have too much bad stress, there are increases occurrences of heart attacks, pressure pains, cancer, digestive disorders and insomnia. If you have ever had an important midterm before, you know exactly what I am talking about. Stress produces chemical reactions in our bodies and leaves us with sleepless nights.
Stress Prevention
Because we want to STRESS work life balance, let’s look at dealing with stress in the workplace. You can deal with stress in the workplace by watching for warning signs.
Warning signs of stress:
Headaches
Dry Mouth
Chest Pains
Fatigue
Difficulty staying awake or sleeping
NOTE: If you are suffering from severe chest pain, please seek advanced medical attention. You could be experiencing a heart attack. If you think you are having a heart attack call 911.
Identifying that you are stressed is the first step to dealing with it. But the real question is, how do we keep the healthy mind in our busy work lives? There is not a simple answer but we do know what helps. People tend to deal with stress better when they exercise regularly, take breaks during work and also practice breathing techniques.
There are a few other stress prevention methods such as utilizing laughter as a combatant, building self confidence, managing time and most importantly, SPEAKING TO SOMEONE! Sometimes putting all of your stressors on the table helps, identify what is causing you stress and attack it. Seeking advanced therapy or counseling is a great idea, but you should always feel confident turning to a family member or trusted friend/peer.
So far we have identified that STRESS IS NORMAL and there are methods in dealing with stress. Let’s lastly look at positive thinking and having a healthy attitude.
The Healthy Attitude
Having a healthy attitude helps your mental health and can leave a large impact in the workplace. Have you ever met someone who really is never happy? We all have met this person. This person is the negative Nancy or Negative Nathan that seems to suck the energy out of the room the minute of entrance. How do you deal with a negative Nathan? Lead by example!
When you carry yourself in a positive manor you are decreasing your chances from stress taking the steering wheel of your life. People will begin to mirror your happiness or exclude themselves from being around you. If you practice positive thinking and the few steps below, you can help protect your mental health and the mental health of others:
Ways to practice a healthy mindset:
Understand that the weight of the world in fact is not on your shoulders
Motivate others and be an active listener
Get to work on time and be efficient
Have down time to be human (yes you have interests outside of your work life remember)
Have respect for yourself and have respect for others
Although these short tips might seem like common sense, sometimes we need a reminder. Thomas Edison once said “If we did all the things we are capable of, we would literally astound ourselves”. Edison may have said it best with that statement. To protect our mental health we need to do the things we are capable of.
Looking back at our middle school health classes now, anyone can understand the information you were learning is in fact 100% correct! You just have to be able to put that information to work and live the best life you can. Stress occurs in everyone’s lives but we CAN DEAL WITH IT.
Call To ACTION
Today, I challenge you to do the things you are capable of doing to protect your mental health.
Was this helpful? Leave a comment and connect with us on social media or you can visit our website at www.B42L.com
The buzz phrase “Safety is our company’s #1 priority” is overused, misunderstood, and frankly an admission that safety is only important until something else comes up.
The Problem With Priorities
Priorities are tasks, jobs, or things that are pertinent under specific circumstances, at given times. The problem with stating “Safety is our #1 priority” is, priorities change.
If not by the hour, priorities can change several times in any given day. To often when companies state “Safety is our #1 priority”, they end up falling short of that statement. Safety is often #1 priority until something else more important at that time.
As a result, a blind eye to safety is normally taken, and that is when incidents occur. As safety professionals we need to understand what outside pressures influence our behaviors.
These three outside pressures that are used as reasons why safety is sacrificed.
1. Costs
One major outside pressure most businesses operating with a safety department face is, cost to implement a program, policy, or procedure. When ideas are brought up, you can count on management asking, “What is it going to cost?”
This is a fair question. CEO’s need to make sure the business they are running is generating cash flow and covering its expenses or it will close its doors. As a safety professional, it is your job to quantify and present ideas in cost vs. benefit format. When you display data in a simplified format, management is more likely to be comfortable with the initiative you’d like to push. If the dollars make sense, most CEO’s will give the green light on your idea.
2. Time
Time is money. When time is not being allocated to accomplishing the job, it is elementary to understand profits are being flushed down the toilet. Not to mention overhead is typically the most expensive line item on a P&L sheet. However, according to the National Safety Council, the average cost of an occupational injury is $39,000. That’s a pretty penny to risk and choosing to work unsafe. See the full stat sheet below for NSC Injury Data. https://injuryfacts.nsc.org/work/costs/work-injury-costs/
Time pressure as an excuse why safety is sacrificed, is a true business failure, as it displays the actual values of the organization. Smart and well planned out work typically can take less time, than having to do work twice that was rushed. Spending time rewriting safety documents such as permits, and JSA’s are where real money is lost. Doing the job the safe way the first time, can save plenty of dollars.
As a safety professional, encourage your work force to take their time with safety related documents. Pencil whipping paperwork to just get it filled out defeats the purpose of the procedures.
3. Making the Customer Happy
The customer is normally always right.
Maintaining great relationships with customers is how businesses sustain long growth and innovation. Two critical factors when bidding work are costs, and safety performance of your company. Making the customer happy with safety performance can yield leniency with overall bid price. Although not guaranteed, some customers are more willing to pay more for a smoother, safer operation. The old saying is, “You pay for what you get”. Therefore, spending upfront dollars on a strong safety program is worth it in the long run. Your company could end up spending more dollars after an incident occurred. That being said, a safe project will make the customer happy.
In contrast, if a customer is encouraging your staff to make unsafe decisions, and pressuring them to take risks, those are customers I would not want my staff working for. Do not be afraid to fire your customers if they are putting your people at risk of injury.
Let’s face it, who picks up the bill when your employee gets hurt? Your company or the customer? Who really takes the loss if someone gets hurt. Vet your customers well and often.
Make Safety your Company’s #1 Value.
We just discussed what priorities are and how they change. So what about values?
What we know about values, is they don’t change. Values are consistent regardless of exterior motives, outside pressure, and they are how we view the world and how we operate. As a safety professional it is critical that you stress your company makes Safety it’s #1 Core Value. All operations of the organization must first address the elephant in the room, “Can we do the job safely”. You must get management commitment that safety will not be sacrificed at any cost. The risk vs. reward of possibly injuring one of your greatest assets (employees) to complete a high-risk operation for more dollars is not worth taking.
How to get this commitment?
Commitment issues? Yes, they exist for everyone. The easiest way to get management commitment to a new safety initiative or program is to provide solutions.
Reducing Friction
Operations is not going to be thrilled to hear that you can not complete a job or that the job is being delayed due to safety concerns. It should not be a matter of not completing the job/task. Rather the question you should ask is, “How do we complete the job safely while maintaining profits?”. By successfully answering this question both operations and safety departments prime objectives are accomplished.
Your company is full of problem solvers, and where there is a will, there is a way.
Here some great solutions to solve complex safety problems:
Collaborate with the field employees who will be involved in the task. They may have a commonsense answer to the question.
Ask management if they have ever been in a similar situation before and how the problem was addressed. There are often solutions that exist but are unknown. Call on former resources and see what is available.
Work with the customer. Communicate with the customer’s safety staff to see what they might recommend or, how similar experiences have been addressed. Speak with the intent you’d love to complete the job and find common ground. No one wants an incident to occur.
Research and comb through your network. Contact other safety professionals in groups you may be involved in. A great resource is the “groups” function on Linked In, and Facebook.
Embedding Values Into Your Company
As you speak about the company’s background/mission statement during new hire orientations, and business development meetings, speak to the commitment to safety. When safety is the #1 Value, customers will feel comfortable when you bid their work. The question of safety record will already be answered by the reputation your company has developed.
Walk The Walk
Finally, anyone can say Safety is there #1 Value, but when push comes to shove and there are outside pressures involved, you will be responsible for making the call on whether to take on a job that is potentially unsafe. It takes guts to shut down an unsafe activity, but by sticking to your values, your standards rise. Working safely becomes the new normal and your employees will feel better knowing they aren’t just a number.
Simply do not tolerate working unsafely under any circumstance. Reward your employees when Stop Work Authority is utilized effectively. See how to effectively utilize Stop Work Authority in the link below.
Embed Safety as your #1 Value on and off the job. Our priorities change all the time, but our values are consistent with how we live our lives and complete our work.
Did this article help? We hope this toolbox talk was informative, helpful and easy to relate to. Please visit safetytalkideas.com and B42L.com to learn more about safety talks and topics.
Have you ever had a bad coach? Think back to middle school or high school. That coach that constantly barked orders, never listened, and rarely if ever, showed you the proper way to do things left a bad image in your mind. Was that relationship beneficial for you? Most likely not.
As a Safety Professional one of your primary functions is coaching employees on safety practices and procedures. Let’s discuss what coaching is, the benefits of coaching, the proper way to coach, and how to avoid becoming your old high school football coach that you have etched in your mind every time you hear the word coach.
What is Coaching?
Coaching is the act of observing and engaging individuals regarding their actions and behaviors, in order to achieve a desired behavior. Remember, a good coach does not simply throw his starters into the game and wish them luck. It is YOUR job as a coach and safety professional to guide, teach, motivate, listen and directly express the overall end goal.
Why Coach?
Coaching is a type of positive reinforcement (giving praise to someone for taking a desired action). Positive reinforcement is statistically proven to produce a more engaged, and positive workforce. Changing behavior is one of the most challenging tasks a safety professional has. Coaching allows you to engage your workforce in a positive manner, and produces an open communication between field employees and management.
Benefits of Coaching Safety
Empowers individuals and encourages them to take responsibility.
Increases field team and management engagement.
Improves individual performance.
Helps identify both company and individual strengths and development opportunities.
Helps to motivate individuals.
How to Coach and Engage Your Field
Coaching itself is actually very simple but it’s not always easy to do. Personalities, time pressure, and relationships can all come in the way of coaching. Keep reading for the steps of how to coach.
Steps of Coaching
Let’s outline a good way to coach an employee:
Observe the action being performed.
When you see the opportunity for improvement, professionally engage the team member.
If the action or condition is unsafe, Stop the activity using Stop Work Authority if needed.
Explain what you observed in a positive, respectful, manner. Be objective and explain the facts. Avoid using accusatory phrases such as “ Why were you, (insert action)?!”
Try to utilize phrases such as, “Hello John, you have been doing a great job with your day to day tasks. I observed you performing (insert undesired action). Can you explain why you were doing it this way?” I was looking for some clarification on the proper way how to perform the task and could use some help”.
Listen to the individual’s feedback. Often times, hazards are simply overlooked or not identified, resulting in unforeseen unsafe acts.
After listening, thank them for their input. Next, provide the desired behavior using coaching. Explain the benefits of using the safe alternative. As example: “Sure it may take 5 extra minutes to perform that safety check, however that safety check could be the one thing that prevents an incident from occurring.”
Get confirmation from the employee that you have both agreed that the next time the task will be performed, it will be the safe way.
Observe the next time the individual performs the task if possible. Be sure the individual understands you are coaching and not throwing around orders.
Coaching requires willing participation by both parties; be sure the individual you are coaching is properly engaged and understands your intentions. Get to know your people, find commonalities, and utilize different approaches for each individual.
Overcoming Objections
Coaching rarely goes over as smoothly as we just illustrated. As a safety professional, you want to avoid the stigma of “It’s my way or the highway!” Here is a great way to think about this problem:
2+2=4
1+3= 4
Just because an employee is not doing it “your way”, does not mean it is necessarily wrong. (Unless there are specific Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) or a Policy/Regulation stating otherwise). Often times the best solutions come from the field. Listen to their feedback. The employee may actually teach you something and provide a safer solution than the current set of procedures.
Avoid Saying These Phrases
Delivery is important when providing coaching so avoid these phrases when you are coaching.
“It’s not me telling you this, its just our policy”.
You lose all credibility as a safety professional when you say this. Rather than rolling over to a bad policy, bring up the concern to management if there is a policy/procedure that is not successful and find a solution together.
“It’s o.k. just be careful”
Again, your credibility as a safety professional is shot. You may have saved some face and the field may like you for not enforcing the rules, but when someone gets hurt or something goes wrong, the blame is now pointed to you for making the call to not enforce the rules.
“What are you stupid?”
Pointing blame at someone for acting unsafe is not beneficial to anyone. Often the employee was simply unaware that what they were doing was unsafe. There is an old saying, “You don’t know, what you don’t know”. If the employee is experienced and in fact is aware the action is unsafe, simply explain the consequences of what could happen. Let them know you care about them enough to not let them put them self at risk. Explain that you both have a common goals of everyone going home safe to their family after work ends.
Providing Feedback
The final step of coaching is providing feedback. If you are not showing appreciation for the change in behavior, you can be certain that the employee will fall back in to their old habits. Giving praise can come in a few different forms such as:
Individual praise
Group recognition
Picking up lunch for the crew for following safety procedures
Hats and tee shirts also go a long way when giving praise
Hand writing a letter for recognition
Spotlighting the employee’s efforts at company meetings
etc
Not everyone responds to feedback the same way. Some people would prefer to not be recognized in a group setting, so let the person know how you would like to recognize them before doing so.
Final Thoughts:
Coaching is an ongoing process and it takes time to change behavior. When coaching safety in the workplace make sure to explain the facts, and potential outcomes of each action taken. Follow up with employees and acknowledge when a task is done correctly..
Did this article help? We hope this toolbox talk was informative, helpful and easy to relate to. Please visit B42L.com to learn more about Coaching Safety and other Safety Topics to improve your company’s safety culture.
While most of us learned our ABC’s in kindergarten, I am a firm believer in repetition and relearning as we grow. Relearning the alphabet for fall protection is something I learned early on as a safety professional.
So what exactly is the ABC’s of fall protection? The ABC’s of fall protection is a simple way to remember the components of fall protection and what to look for when inspecting fall protection before working from heights.
What are the ABC’s of fall protection? (Don’t worry, this alphabet only includes 3 letters.)
Anchorage Point
Body Harness
Connecting Device
(A)Anchorage Point
The anchorage point is the item you are tying off to. According to OSHA only approved anchorage points can be used to tie off to. This anchorage point must be able to support 5,000 lbs of force per employee. So, that piece of conduit hanging from the ceiling in your basement probably isn’t the best thing to tie off to if you need to change a light bulb. You can not tie off to handrails or mid rails! In man lifts for example, there are designated approved anchorage points that the manufacture will identify to the operator.
(B) Body Harness
Second for the Fall Protection ABC’s is Body Harness. All harnesses are different. When inspecting your harness there are some key things to look out for. Fit your harness for your body specifically. No sharing!
Inspect the webbing for rips, cuts, and tears
Look at the hardware of the harness for rust, burns or cracks
Verify the tag of the harness for the harness’s capacity.
Store your fall protection in a designated area away from all other tools and out of weather/direct sunlight. If your harness is damaged, immediately take it out of service and notify others to not use it. Make sure to fit your harness for your build and body frame. The D-Ring should be between your shoulder blades, chest strap right at the mid chest line, and leg straps should allow 2 fingers in-between, so it is not too loose or too tight.
(C)Connecting Device
The last letter of the Fall Protection ABC’s is C” for Connecting Device. There are typical 2 types of connecting devices
Lanyards
Self-retracting devices
When selecting a connecting device, you need to understand your working height. See the link below for the best way to select your connecting device.
Slips/Trips/Falls are the number 1 leading cause of fatalities, and injuries in both constructions, and in general industry. According to the National Safety Council, in 2016, 697 workers died from falling to another level. In addition, a whopping 48,000 workers were injured from falls, that required days off of work.
The OSHA standard for fall protection for construction is 6ft. For general industry, the standard says 4ft. In both construction, and in general industry, working from heights is a daily activity. Some examples of working from heights are:
Leaning edges such as stairwells
Rooftops
Working from ladders
Performing work from man lifts or scissor lifts
Open holes/trenches
Standing on top of tanks, vessels, or storage containers to work
Walking on or working from catwalks
What areas does your company work at?
Any time you are working from heights, remember the ABC’s of fall protection. All falls can be prevented. If you see another coworker working from heights unprotected, utilize Stop Work Authority, and correct the behavior. For tips on how to utilize Stop-Work Authority, see our separate blog post:
The easiest way to avoid a fall, is to prevent it from taking place. Below are some systematic approaches to preventing fall hazards.
Identify Fall Hazards
As you arrive to the job site, conduct a safety walk around and identify all areas where you are working from heights. Be sure to also identify other fall hazards such as wet/slippery surfaces, changes in elevation, and housekeeping issues such as loose extension cords, or building material. Discuss fall hazards on your JSA and make sure all crew members are aware of the areas they may be working in.
Eliminate
After you have identified all fall hazards try to eliminate the fall hazard. Examples of eliminating fall hazards include: installing guard rails around leaning edges, cleaning up spills, ensuring ladders are in good working order, covering open holes, and maintaining good housekeeping.
Fall Protection
Fall protection should be the last resort if fall hazards can not be removed from the workplace. Inspect all equipment and make sure all team members are trained on how to properly fit their harness. Calculate your working height, and select the appropriate connecting device. Pick your anchor point, and verify it is able to withstand 5,000 lbs. Want practice? Try the game Harness Hero available on the App Store and Google Play Store for FREE! This App walks you through different scenarios and shows you the outcomes of what a fall will look like after you select your fall protection. Below is a video showing how the Game works! Challenge yourself and try it out!
As a Recap
We understand the severity of fall hazards. We also understand how to eliminate fall hazards and how to mitigate them if the hazard can not be completely eliminated. The next time you are expected to work from heights say your fall protection ABC’st It could save you!
Did this article help? We hope this toolbox talk was informative, helpful and easy to relate to. Please visit B42L.com to learn more about strengthening your safety resume and other safety topics to improve your company’s safety culture.
