This month’s SPS Safety Focus is all about Confined Space. Workers in confined spaces can be at risk for injury or death from lack of oxygen, buildup of explosive or toxic gases, uncontrolled water, falling materials, and electrical hazards.
Treat all confined spaces as hazardous. Never enter a confined space:
Without proper training, which your employer is required to provide.
Before the air is tested for oxygen, flammable vapors, and toxic chemicals.
Before the structure has been checked to make sure it will not collapse.
Without a dependable way of communicating with a person outside of the space.
Without appropriate personal protective equipment provided by your employer, such as a self-contained breathing apparatus.
Confined Space Safety Tip: Do not re-enter the same confined space before checking for hazardous conditions.
Reminder – Confined spaces present unique conditions that can become life-threatening!
The Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority announced that the Dorchester Avenue Bridge in Boston is under construction.
The bridge, which is located between Von Hillern and Kemp streets, was built in 1925 and rehabilitated in 1975. The steel bridge carries vehicles, pedestrians and bicyclists over the Red Line, the Commuter Rail Old Colony Lines and the Cabot Yard maintenance tracks.
Photo courtesy of MBTA Customer and Employee Experience Department
It is being replaced to protect its structural integrity and ensure reliable service.
Work began on the project in the summer of 2022. The budget for the project is $47,125,079 and is provided by federal formula funds and some MBTA matching funds, according to Lisa Battison, a spokesperson of the MBTA.
The lead contractor on the project is SPS New England of Salisbury, Mass., and Select Demo Services of Salem, N.H., is the demolition contractor.
“Dorchester Avenue over the MBTA Red Line, Cabot Yard Spur and Old Colony Main Line consists of replacement of the existing three-span highway bridge with a new, two-span precast reinforced concrete deck panel slab and cast in place closure pours, sidewalks and barriers, on weathering steel multi-girder superstructure,” according to SPS New England. “A new pile supported abutment will be constructed behind the existing reinforced concrete rigid frame south abutment of the south span, using drilled and driven pipe piles and a reinforced cast-in-place concrete cap.
“A new pile supported pier will be constructed between the existing granite block south abutment of the north span and the reinforced concrete rigid frame north abutment of the middle span, using drilled and driven pipe piles and a reinforced cast-in-place concrete cap,” SPS added. “The existing granite block north abutment of the north span will be reused, and a new precast reinforced concrete cap will be placed on top to support the new superstructure.”
To relocate the existing utilities from the existing Dorchester Avenue bridge, a prefabricated temporary utility bridge will be erected on a reinforced concrete foundation supported by drilled micropiles. Work also includes the rehabilitation of an existing 300-ft. long bin wall by installing soil nails and a reinforced concrete face.
SPS recently completed high priority overhead concrete and pile repairs at the Bass River Bridge in Yarmouth. Tight access, tides, growing repairs, and an expedited repair schedule made this project a challenge for everyone involved. The project started in January and was completed a few days prior to the Fourth of July weekend. It took a huge effort from SPS Superintendents, Foreman, Labor, Operations, Marine Division and Project Management . Mark Rousseau (Site Superintendent) was supported by Joe Harvey, Joe Ford, Nick Terenzoni, Ben Terenzoni, Jimmy Zechello, John Desimone, Jason Williams, Jeremiah Connolly, Chris Pickford, and very determined crew. Congratulations to everyone who made this one a success.
This month’s SPS Safety Focus is all about Scaffolding. Scaffolding hazards continue to rank high on the list of the most frequently cited standards in the construction industry. Additionally, scaffold-related fatalities account for a significant number of fatalities in the construction workplace.
Workers building scaffolds risk serious injury from a variety of hazards.
In order to stay safe erecting, working on, and dismantling a scaffold, employees should take precautions which include the following…
In order to stay safe erecting, working on, and dismantling a scaffold, employees should take precautions which include the following…
The SPS-Walsh Joint Venture crews continue I-90 mainline Stage 1 bridge construction. Pier cofferdam construction in the Charles River has completed and crews have been moving forward with driven piles, tremie seal, concrete pile cap and lower column placements of Pier 2. This work has included 400 cubic yards of recently placed concrete for the Pier 2 bridge foundation elements.
Kudos to the crew for their hard work and dedication. It’s efforts like these that lay the foundation for not just structures, but also for strong teamwork and project success.
Shout out to Benevento Companies for delivering a quality product and Independent Concrete Pumping Corp. for their support in the placement operation.
On June 3, 2024, SPS New England attended the Mark H. Hasso Project Excellence and Scholarship Awards Program hosted by the Construction Management Association of America (CMAA) – New England Chapter.
At the event, the Joint Venture team of BOND Civil & Utility Construction / SPS New England received the award of Project of the Year for the L1332-C4 Terminal B-C Main Roadways Project at Boston Logan International Airport for the Massachusetts Port Authority. Members of the project team took time to present the project to peers during the event.
Thank you to our partners on the successful project, Bond Civil & Utility, Stantec, and Massachusetts Port Authority.
DYK: Two workers are killed every month in trench collapses. In trenching and excavation work, trench collapses, or cave-ins, pose the greatest risk to workers’ lives.
When done safely, trenching operations can reduce worker exposure to other potential hazards including falls, falling loads, hazardous atmospheres, and incidents involving mobile equipment.
In general, an excavation is any man-made cut, cavity, trench, or depression in an earth surface, formed by earth removal. A trench is an excavation that is made below the surface of the ground. In general, the depth is greater than the width, but the width of a trench (measured at the bottom) is not greater than 15 feet. Proper precautions should be taken to protect workers and the public from hazards created by trenching and excavation.
In trenches 5ft deep or greater, a protection system involves 3 S’s: Sloping, shoring and shielding – Sloping involves cutting back the trench wall at an angle inclined away from the excavation. – Shoring requires installing aluminum hydraulic or other types of supports to prevent soil movement and cave-ins. – Shielding protects workers by using trench boxes or other types of supports to prevent soil cave-ins.
The Belden G. Bly Drawbridge Project achieved a significant milestone yesterday. The Team performed a successful test opening of the new bridge at around 6:00pm.
Work began on this project in January of 2021. The bascule span erection work was restricted to occur during a USCG Saugus River channel closure between 2/1/24 and 5/15/24. The SPS Team, MassDOT and our Subcontractor partners worked tirelessly to achieve this milestone.
Congratulations to the entire Team.
Special thanks to Savanna Media for producing this video.
SPS celebrated Safety Week May 6th-10th by hosting events at various SPS job sites throughout the week, capping the celebrations off at the SPS Yard in Salisbury.
At SPS, every voice is valued and encouraged to speak up for safety.
Special thanks to the following vendors who joined us: Milwaukee Tool; Sales Solutions FallTech; GT Safety Products, Inc.; Lexie’s Burger Bus; Hilti; I&I Sling Inc.; LEAN Mass. Laborers Benefit Funds; PromoCentric; Saf-Gard Safety Shoe Company; Red Wing Shoes; STUDSON; United Rentals; TM Inspections; SafeSmart Access
Falls from one level to another are among the leading causes of severe injuries and deaths among workers in the United States. And to add insult to injury, no pun intended, many workers who were injured or killed were wearing a full body harness as part of a personal fall arrest system, but their full body harness was not properly worn or adjusted, and it failed to work.
You’ve got your full body harness on and properly adjusted, and you’ve attached the proper end of your lanyard to the back D-ring on your harness. The next step is to attach the other end of your lanyard to an anchor point. But selecting the wrong anchor point could have some painful, or even deadly, ramifications. That means you must put some serious thought put into what you hook off to with your lanyard.
Lanyards (or self-retracting lifelines) reduce the arresting forces on a worker during a fall. The standard lanyard length could vary. Follow these guidelines for safe use of lanyards…
Falls are a leading cause of construction injuries and fatalities. Workers can fall from ladders, scaffolds, vehicles, heavy equipment, aerial lifts, platforms, and roofs, and through holes or openings in floors or roofs. Guardrails can prevent a fall.
