Category: Safety

It’s National Work Zone Awareness Week. What many fail to recognize is the vast majority of people killed in work zone crashes are motorists and their passengers. In 2021, 778 drivers and their passengers died in work zones (based on NHTSA FARS data), making it all the more important for drivers to slow down and stay focused while approaching and passing through a roadway work zone.

Wednesday, April 17, 2024 is Go Orange Day. Go Orange Day provides an opportunity to unite in wearing orange to show support for the men and women who work tirelessly to keep our roads safe.

It’s no surprise that distracted driving is dangerous, but did you know it claimed 3,308 lives in 2022? NHTSA leads the national effort to save lives by preventing this dangerous behavior. Get the facts, get involved, and help us keep America’s roads safe.

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.

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

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.

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…

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!

his month’s SPS Safety Focus is all about Hand and Power Tools. Employees who use hand and power tools have the potential to be exposed to various hazards including falling, flying, abrasive, and splashing objects, or to harmful dusts, fumes, mists, vapors, or gases.

Five basic safety rules can help prevent hazards associated with the use of hand and power tools…

Hazards of hand and power tool use can include the following, and more. Using engineering and administrative controls, as well as appropriate personal protective equipment we can take steps towards eliminating or controlling tool-related hazards.

It’s OK to ask for help. September is Recovery Month and a good time to make sure you have the support you need to recover. Explore your support options at samhsa.gov/find-support/health-care-or-support.

Feeling connected to others can help anyone on their path to recovery. This Recovery Month, check out inspiring stories of hope and recovery: 988lifeline.org/stories/

Relationships and social networks lead to friendship, love, hope, and support. Recovery can be a more manageable journey with the support of others. samhsa.gov/find-support

This month’s SPS Safety Focus is all about Fire Prevention. Have you inspected your fire extinguishers lately? Are they fully charged, strategically located, accessible and ready for use? Or, are they laden with dust, obscurely hidden in some corner, affording a false sense of security?

The following is a brief resume of the classification of fires, and the recommended extinguisher to be used on each…

Fire at a construction site can endanger the lives of workers and others who happen to be on the site. A fire during construction can also result in severe structural damage, and destruction of machinery, equipment, or materials, and untimely delay in project completion.

 

The fire tetrahedron consists of four elements that must be present for the occurrence of fire. The four elements are oxygen, heat, fuel, and a chemical chain reaction. If you remove any of the essential elements, the fire will be extinguished.