The railing pictured here is installed at the Continential terminal at Newark New Jersey's International Airport. The modular safety railing was installed around edge of the curb, keeping people away from the space where the bus pulls into the terminal. This application shows that safety railing is not simply for rooftops and elevated surfaces. Safety railing also helps to demarcate a safe walking area and keep pedestrians safe from moving vehicles.
Modular railing made with Kee Klamp fittins was a great solution for this project because it allowed the installation to take place without the necessity of dangerous welding equipment. Getting explosive equipment into secure areas like airports is increasingly difficult. Kee Klamp railing provides a better alternative, providing a railing that is structural, durable and weld free. Find our more about Kee Klamp railing: Industrial & OSHA Guardrail.
Heat waves and extensive exposure to the sun can be dangerous. People are not necessarily aware of the dangers of heat because the symptoms can "sneak up on you". Heat stroke is a life threatening condition that can cause death or extensive damage to your internal organs.
I was personally told a story of a bicycler who was riding in an event. He was getting hot and wanted to stop and told his friends to go on. When he didn't show up, his friends went back from him and found him collapsed. He now has permanent organ damage. All this simply because he did not drink enough fluids and ignored the symptoms of heat stroke.
To avoid head related injuries the Red Cross has put together a Heat Wave Safety Checklist. Going over this information at a toolbox talk would certainly help workers to stay safe in the hot weather.
Heat Wave Safety Checklist (via lifehacker)
If you are ever driving through a residential construction project take note on how much fall protection equipment is being used. Yes, there might be a safety bucket lying in a corner in case OSHA shows up, but generally it is not used. OSHA recently released a new directive that calls all residential builders to come into compliance to a new guideline within three months.
My understanding of this new guideline is that residential fall protection is now considered feasible for the residential roofing industry. What this means is that OSHA is not going to listen to excuses about fall protection not being feasible for residential construction. It seems as if the kinds of fall protection equipment available have made OSHA think, “now there is no excuse”. In the past you might have been able to say, “there’s no way to keep those people safe.” Now that kind of excuse will be ignored and the organization will simply be fined.
Why the Change
My belief is that OSHA is simply updating their policies to be consistent with the kinds of equipment that are now readily available to all builders. 10 years ago people may have been able to say that there was not any equipment to protect people who were working on a residential rooftop. Today that is not the case. Today there is a proliferation of fall protection products that are designed to help people who are working in the residential building industry.
One of the constant complaints of builders is that fall protection encumbers their work and makes them uncomfortable (try as we may, the argument that death isn't comfortable seems to fall on deaf ears). One of the best products that I have seen answers a common complaint and keeps workers safe, the HUGS guardrail system. The HUGS system attaches underneath the eve of a residential or commercial frame roof building. The bracket attaches and detaches easily and provides perimeter guardrail protection around the edge of a roof.
Another readily available solution is a system that uses anchors and retractables. A system like swivel skyhook allows workers a complete range of motion without having to work with ropes and trip hazards lying around on the roof.
This is Simple.. Don't Complicate the Issue
The simple reality is that for about a thousand dollars a worker you can outfit someone with the proper fall protection to keep them safe while working on a residential rooftop. When you consider the cost of losing a friend, a brother, a father, that seems cheap! No excuses! When it comes to residential fall protection it is time to work safe!
