Gribbins Insulation

Gribbins Insulation

Pinch Points Toolbox Talk

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A pinch point is any point at which it is possible for a person or part of a person’s body to be caught between a stationary object and moving object or between moving parts or objects.  A pinch point not only can cause injury to a limb or body part, but can cause a person to become trapped or pinched between an object.  Some examples of a pinch point that everyone can probably relate to are shutting your finger or hand in a door, lifting/setting down materials, or hooking up a trailer.

Common injuries on a jobsite are a result of hands and fingers crushed-by type incidents.  Some minor type of injuries cause blisters or contusions to the hands, fingers and arms.  The more complex and serious injuries can cause amputations or even death.  Pinch points are not always obvious, but paying attention to where your hands are and knowing what hazards to look for can eliminate a pinch point injury.

Common reason of injuries from pinch points include:

  • Not keeping your eyes on the task at hand or not paying attention.
  • Working or walking in areas with mobile equipment and fixed structures.
  • Using tools for purposes other than their intended use.
  • Placing body parts into moving equipment or machinery.
  • Improper handling of materials or suspended loads.
  • Defective equipment or not using guards.
  • Loose clothing, hair or jewelry getting caught in rotating parts or equipment.

Ways to Avoid Injury:

  • Verify all guards are in place and effective.
  • Avoid shortcuts
  • Communication with other workers.
  • Identify all potential pinch points before starting work.
  • Always make sure mobile equipment operators know you are in the area. Never put yourself in a position between mobile equipment and a stationary object.
  • When performing lockout tagout verify the equipment is deenergized before starting work.
  • Stay alert and keep your eyes on the task you are performing.
  • Pay attention to placement of non-dominant hand while performing work.
  • Review operating manuals and work procedures before starting work, these may identify potential pinch points.
  • Heavy duty gloves may help protect against certain types of pinch points.

Benzene Awareness

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Health Effects

Benzene poses the most serious long-term threat. Exposure over time, to even low levels of Benzene can cause leukemia, blood changes and aplastic anemia. Benzene is a cancer-causing agent in humans. All contact should be reduced to the lowest possible level.  Skin contact may also cause overexposure.

Benzene is one of the most hazardous of all petroleum products because of its adverse health hazards and high flammability.

The following adverse health effects are important to remember when there may be a potential exposure to Benzene:

  1. Acute: At high concentrations (1000 PPM) Benzene has an acute effect on the central nervous systems causing headaches, dizziness, drowsiness, unconsciousness, and possible death. Acute exposure can also cause breathlessness, irritability, and giddiness.
  2. Chronic: Benzene has the chronic exposure effect on bone marrow (aplastic anemia leukemia). Chronic exposure can also cause convulsions, liver damage, heart damage, blood diseases (aplastic anemia), and cancer (leukemia). These symptoms can take months or years to surface and can develop without physical or visible indications.
  3. Repeated skin contact leads to irritant contact dermatitis (rash); as with any petroleum solvent (which Benzene is also classified as), it will leach the natural oils out of the skin. Direct contact with the skin can cause erythema and/or blistering.
  4. Benzene is irritating to eyes and mucous membranes
  5. Flammable/dangerous fire risk: benzene has a very low flash point making it dangerous to have any open flame, spark or source of ignition when vapors are present. Explosive limits in air 1.5 to 8% by volume: benzene is highly flammable at low levels of vapor quantity in air. 

CHARACTERISTICS

Benzene is a colorless to light-yellow liquid with a pleasant sweet odor. Benzene is a flammable liquid that can accumulate static electricity. Benzene vapors are heavier that air and may travel to a source of ignition and flash back. The vapors are readily dispersed by wind movement and/or air currents. Liquid benzene tends to float on water and may travel to a source of ignition and spread fire. Benzene is highly reactive with no oxidizing materials.

Formula (C6H6)   CAS No.: 71-43-2

TRAINING

All employees will be provided awareness training in this program in order to be familiar with the potential hazards and proper safe work procedures to follow if exposed to this health hazard.

Stop Work

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Every employee has the authority to stop work when an unsafe condition or act could result in an undesirable event or when the health, safety and environmental risk is not clearly established or understood. Employees will not be reprimanded for issuing a Stop Work. Examples of Stop Work include, but not limited to: 

  • Unsafe Conditions
  • Significant Near Miss
  • Emergency Situations
  • Chand in Conditions
  • Employees/Environment at Risk
  • Unsafe Actions or Behaviors
  • Incident Occurs
  • Alarms
  • Changes in scope of work
  • Equipment not fully working properly or malfunctioning

If an employee does not feel comfortable, feels as though it is not the right thing to do, or is not properly trained to perform that task, the employee has the right to Stop work.  Management, safety and foreman will support the decision of the employee performing the Stop Work.  Work will not continue until a plan is in place in order to properly and safely perform that task.  See below the six steps to follow in the event of a stop work:

  1. Stop Work
  2. Notify Supervisor or Safety
  3. Investigate the event
  4. Correct- Elimination, Engineering control, Administrative Controls, or Personal Protective Equipment
  5. Resume work
  6. Follow-up

Stop Work authority may be issued by any employee no matter who directs you to perform the work or complete the work.  Whether that be the supervisor, journeyman, client/customer, contractor or any other individual that may or may not work for the company.

Management, safety and foreman will support the decision of the employee performing the Stop Work.  Work will not continue until a plan is in place in order to properly and safely perform that task.   

Silica Awareness

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What is Silica Dust and Where is it Found?

Crystalline silica is an important industrial material found abundantly in the earth’s crust. Quartz, the most common form of silica, is a component of sand, stone, rock, concrete, brick, block, and mortar. Materials containing quartz are found in a wide variety of workplaces. Common industries and operation where crystalline silica is found include: construction, glass products, concrete products, foundries, cut stone products, fire-proofing, abrasive blasting, and many more. Occupational exposure to respirable crystalline silica occurs when cutting, sawing, drilling or abrading occurs on materials that contain crystalline silica such as crushing of concrete, sweeping, mixing, or pouring of materials. When controls are not in place during any of these operations, they could release large amounts of crystalline silica, which has very fine particles that can travel deep into your lungs.

Health Effects and Illnesses Caused by Silica Dust

Breathing in these very small (“respirable”) crystalline silica particles, can cause multiple diseases, including silicosis, an incurable lung disease that leads to disability and death. Respirable crystalline silica also causes lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and kidney disease. Exposure to respirable crystalline silica is related to the development of autoimmune disorders and cardiovascular impairment. These occupational diseases are life-altering and debilitating disorders that annually affect thousands of workers across the United States

How do we protect ourselves from Crystalline Silica?

The most recent ruling by OSHA requires employers to protect workers from exposure to Silica with their standard 1926.1153. The standard provides flexible alternatives, which OSHA expects will be especially useful for small employers. Employers can either use the control methods laid out in Table 1 of the construction standard, or they can measure workers’ exposure to silica and independently decide which dust controls work best to limit exposures to the PEL in their workplaces.

Regardless of which exposure control method is used, all construction employers covered by the standard are required to:

• Establish and implement a written exposure control plan that identifies tasks that involve exposure and methods used to protect workers, including procedures to restrict access to work areas where high exposures may occur.
• Restrict housekeeping practices that expose workers to silica where feasible alternatives are available.
• Offer medical exams-including chest X-rays and lung function tests-every three years for workers who are required by the standard to wear a respirator for 30 or more days per year.
• Train workers on work operations that result in silica exposure and ways to limit exposure.
• Keep records of exposure measurements, objective data, and medical exams.

Some Simpler ways to make this happen are:

• Eliminate the source of the dust whether that is through engineering controls or a change in work processes.
• Use collection or vacuum systems to collect dust at the point of operation.
• Use wet methods when cutting or breaking any concrete or similar materials.
• Use water as a means of suppression for the dust on roadways or in work areas.
• Use proper respirators when engineering controls are not enough to protect you.

 

Incident Reporting

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Incidents can be minor, major or SEVERE, but we still consider these to all be incidents.  They also need to be investigated in order to identify the “WHO”, “WHAT”, “WHEN”, “WHY”, and “HOW”.  Timely and efficient reporting is critical regardless of the severity of the incident.  Even if one does not need medical attention, it is just as important to report these incidents.

Accidents in many times begin and develop from atypical occasions or tasks.  With this being said they sometimes provide little information about the possibility of a future incident.  In contrast, the greater and higher frequency of incidents, the more information they give of human error, process failures, site evaluations, and procedure weaknesses.  The documentation of these issues helps determine the root causes, which will help the likelihood of us repeating failures.

Nothing is learned from an unreported incident.  As many of us can attests, many incidents come within inches from being a life altering injury, which should make reporting them more serious.  When an incident goes unreported, the preventative measures or controls go uncorrected.  This means that if it happens again, it could cause tomorrow’s life altering injury or fatality.

Why is incident reporting necessary?

  • Process, so a situation can be corrected
  • Prompt medical attention
  • Documenting to track patterns
  • Reporting minor incidents, to hopefully reduce cost of a major incident
  • Creates a stronger safety culture
  • Encourages improvement
  • Informing management of problems
  • Preventing more sever incidents
  • Incident reports to prevent law suits
  • Feedback from incidents, encouraging employee involvement
  • Awareness of threats, other hazards
  • Inspires urgency

Immediate action may be needed, depending on the severity of the incident or even the existing hazard that caused the incident.  In certain situations, we may have to activate the emergency procedure in order to take immediate action, such as fire alarms or EMTs.

 

Incident Reporting

by

Incidents can be minor, major or SEVERE, but we still consider these to all be incidents. They also need to be investigated in order to identify the “WHO”, “WHAT”, “WHEN”, “WHY”, and “HOW”. Timely and efficient reporting is critical regardless of the severity of the incident. Even if one does not need medical attention, it is just as important to report these incidents.

Accidents in many times begin and develop from atypical occasions or tasks. With this being said they sometimes provide little information about the possibility of a future incident. In contrast, the greater and higher frequency of incidents, the more information they give of human error, process failures, site evaluations, and procedure weaknesses. The documentation of these issues helps determine the root causes, which will help the likelihood of us repeating failures.

Nothing is learned from an unreported incident. As many of us can attests, many incidents come within inches from being a life altering injury, which should make reporting them more serious. When an incident goes unreported, the preventative measures or controls go uncorrected. This means that if it happens again, it could cause tomorrow’s life altering injury or fatality.

Why is incident reporting necessary?

  • Process, so a situation can be corrected
  • Informing management of problems
  • Prompt medical attention
  • Preventing more sever incidents
  • Documenting to track patterns
  • Incident reports to prevent lawsuits
  • Reporting minor incidents, to hopefully reduce cost of a major incident
  • Feedback from incidents, encouraging employee involvement
  • Creates a stronger safety culture
  • Awareness of threats, other hazards
  • Encourages improvement
  • Inspires urgency

Immediate action may be needed, depending on the severity of the incident or even the existing hazard that caused the incident. In certain situations, we may have to activate the emergency procedure in order to take immediate action, such as fire alarms or EMTs.

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