Set the stage for safety

DooleyMack Constructors Inc. requires a strong commitment to safety on every project. It sends the message loud and clear at the Thrasher-Horne Center for the Arts jobsite.

by Clair V. Urbain

In theatre, it takes a loud, clear voice and impeccable diction to be understood on the stage. The audience appreciates it and the performance flows smoothly to completion.

That’s the same tack construction manager DooleyMack Constructors, Inc. is taking to get safe work practices across to subcontractors in building the Thrasher-Horne Center for the Arts in Orange Park, Florida. The 84,006 sq. ft. facility has a 1,750-seat multi-use theatre, two art galleries and a business and tourism center that is scheduled to open in May, 2004.

DooleyMack Constructors, Inc. is a general contractor based in Sarasota, Florida, and has completed projects throughout much of the United States, says Larry Guilbault, corporate safety director. It is managing $16 million of the $20 million in construction at the Thrasher-Horne Center for the Arts. “The company puts safe work practices as one of its core values. You can’t pour concrete cheap enough to make up for poor safety practices,” he says.

Fits and starts
The Thrasher-Horne Center had a rough beginning. Although DooleyMack is the construction manager, the first set of plans produced by the architect turned out to be less than 50 percent complete and didn’t account for any of the needs and requests of the mechanical engineers. One architectural firm and several months later, acceptable plans were secured and construction commenced, says John Waldo, project superintendent.

“The first set of plans raised some critical issues about the design. There were walls where mechanical contractors had to have access, and the mechanical room was half the size needed for the specified equipment. This job definitely had its quirks, but we worked together to get them worked out,” he says.

While the design process slowly wound up, DooleyMack began hiring subcontractors to complete the work. “Almost all of this job is completed by other crews. We had to make sure those crews lived up to our level of commitment to jobsite safety,” says Guilbault.

The call to safety at the project begins at the front gate. Dooley-Mack’s safety commitment and regulations are spelled out clearly on large signs that can’t be missed when entering the jobsite.

Nine simple rules outline this 27-year old company’s safety policy and they must be followed by DooleyMack employees and any of its subcontractors on the project, says Guilbault. “These rules are written in blood because they are the result of injuries and deaths of workers on construction sites.”

Run the site like a city
Guilbault makes an interesting analogy that every construction site is like a small city.

“Inside the gate is a city and the superintendent is the mayor and sheriff. The project manager is the city commissioner and the project coordinator is the clerk of court. The electrical supervisor is in charge of power. The plumbing supervisor is the water chief.

“But also like a town, every jobsite has a town thief, a town drunk and a town snitch. You will also find a town newspaper, but it’s not printed; it’s the grapevine.

“You can also see if it’s run like a business or run like the wild west just by looking at the site,” Guilbault says. “We set our standards for safety in our first meetings with subcontractors and continually reinforce the message throughout the job.”

Subcontractors must commit
Having a reasonable bid is only part of the contract review process for DooleyMack. With every bid agreement, it attaches a 15-page safety policy that must be initialed on every page by the subcontractor. The agreement spells out safety expectations and consequences of not meeting those expectations.

“As the general manager on the project, we must show that we have done our due diligence for safety. We don’t just monitor safety; we manage it. There is a difference: A monitor counts the sheep as they jump over the fence; a manager makes them go through the gate. We rely on subcontractors to obey and enforce our safety rules on our jobsites,” Guilbault says.

No worker is allowed on the jobsite until he or she has viewed DooleyMack’s safety orientation video. The 11.5-minute video covers required clothing and personal protective equipment, welding safety information, the required use of fall protection, scaffold and ladder use, the importance of good housekeeping, heavy equipment operation, crane use, MSDS availability, working around and in excavations and working with electricity. Due to the high number of Hispanic workers, it is available in English and Spanish.

Once workers have been through the safety orientation, they are given a “Safety Pays” sticker for their hard hats. “Every worker on the site must wear their hard hat that displays this sticker. That way we know if they are aware of our safety requirements,” says Waldo. More than 800 workers have gone through the orientation.

The DooleyMack commitment to safety doesn’t stop there. It reinforces safe working practices in many ways:

1. Mandatory dress code. Workers are required to wear a hard hat, shirt with at least a 4" sleeve, long pants and work boots or shoes at all times. “This helps present a more professional image. If you don’t set the standard, you’ll have workers in sleeveless or muscle shirts or no shirts at all,” Guilbault says.

2. Weekly planning meetings. All subcontractors are required to attend weekly planning meetings where job progress is discussed and safety hazards are identified and addressed.

3. Citations for infractions. Workers and subcontractors are cited by DooleyMack personnel if they are completing a job in an unsafe fashion. “The first citation on the jobsite gets attention because it sends a clear signal to all of the subcontractors that we are serious about this. As time goes on, it gets easier,” Waldo says.

4. Safety incentives. Workers who do not receive a citation between safety meetings are given tickets at the next safety meeting, which are drawn for prizes such as gift certificates, shirts or items from suppliers.

5. Consistent tag-out procedures. “We use a red tag to tag out items that are dangerous or not ready to use. Although our subs may have their own tag-out tag, we require them to use ours. We want the tag to be consistent across the site,” says Guilbault.

6. Purple hard hats for forgetful workers. Some workers consistently forget their hard hats, but instead of sending them home, Waldo issues a purple hard hat to them for the day. “There is quite a bit of peer pressure, and wearing a purple hard hat helps cure their forgetfulness,” Guilbault says.

7. Only electricians touch temporary power. “All temporary wiring must be installed by the electrical contractor and all subs must request power from the electrical contractor in writing. We check the temporary power supplies weekly and the inspector writes the date and his or her initials on the front of the box. It’s an accurate and handy way to show that inspections have taken place,” says Waldo.

8. Have an open door policy. “We encourage every worker and subcontractor to contact us if they have a safety concern. It’s the best way to assure they are as safe as possible on the jobsite,” Waldo says.

Results prove worth
The process works. With 80 percent of the job complete, there has been only one lost-time accident. “The worker had removed a railing to gain access and then stepped off the scaffold. Other than that, we have had a very safe jobsite,” Waldo says.

 

Safety by the numbers When it comes to safety, it can be a numbers game. That’s why DooleyMack Constructors, Inc. makes the following “cheat sheet” available to its employees and subcontractors as an aid to assure safe work practices are followed. Fall protection • In general, fall protection is required at 6’ or more in height. • A change in elevation 19" or more requires a ladder or stairs for access. • Fall anchorages must support at least 5,000 lbs. per person. • The top rail on a guardrail system must support 200 lbs. and be 42" +/- 3" high. • The midrail must support 150 lbs. and be installed midway between top rail and working surface. • The toe board must support 50 lbs. and be at least 3 1/2" (nominal) in height. • Wood guardrails require an upright support no more than 8' apart. • Wire rope guardrails must be flagged not more than every 6'. • Top edge of guardrails must not deflect to a height less than 39". • Stairs with four or more risers must have at least one handrail and a stair-rail system at each unprotected edge. • Place warning lines for roofing controlled access zones not less than 6' back from edge. • Use a double-cleated or two ladders when a ladder is the only means of access to an elevated area for 25 or more employees. • Ladder rungs must be spaced not less than 10" or more than 14" apart. • When portable ladders are used for access to an upper landing, the side rails must extend at least 36" above the landing or a grab-rail provided. • Extension or job ladders must be used at an angle equal to one-fourth the working length of the ladder. • Guardrails or fall protection is required when scaffolds are 10' tall or taller. • Scaffolds must be capable of supporting their own weight and at least four times the maximum intended load. • Scaffold suspension ropes must be capable of supporting at least six times the intended load. • Scaffold platforms must be at least 18" wide. • Ladder jack, roof bracket and pump jack scaffold platforms must be at least 12" wide and the front edge of scaffold platforms must not be more than 14" from the face of the work except: - Maximum distance from the face for outrigger scaffolds is 3". - The maximum distance for plastering and lathing scaffold platform from the face is 18". - Scaffold planks, unless secured, must extend at least 6" over end supports. - Scaffold planks must not extend more than 12" over end supports for platforms 10' or less in length. - Scaffold planks must not extend more than 18" over end supports for platforms more than 10' in length. • Where scaffold platforms are overlapped to create a long platform, the overlap must not be less than 12", unless they are nailed or otherwise secured. • When scaffold height reaches or exceeds four times the smallest base dimension, it must be secured to the structure or equipped with outriggers. • After securing scaffold at four times the smallest base dimension, additional ties are required at 26' vertically and 30' horizontally (for frames wider than 3'). • Bracing is required for masonry wall 8' in height unless it is adequately supported. • Limit employee access next to masonry walls where the height of the wall is greater than 4'. • Erection of horizontal steel beams requires two bolts per connection. • Column steel erection requires four bolts per connection. • Controlled decking zone must be 6' from leading edge (90' maximum width and depth) • No more than four floors of unfinished bolting or 48', whichever is less. • No more than 3,000 sq. ft. of unsecured decking. • Connector fall protection is required at heights greater than 30'. • Other than connectors, ironworkers must use fall protection at heights greater than 15'. Lifting and rigging • Remove wire rope chokers from service when number of broken wires exceeds 10 percent of the total number of wires in any length of eight diameters. • Remove running ropes on hoists or cranes when six or more broken wires in one lay or three in any one strand of one lay. • Remove standing ropes on hoists or cranes when there are three or more broken wires in one lay. • The minimum operating distance from power lines allowed is 10' (up to 50kV). Material storage and handling • An enclosed disposal chute is required when dropping materials 20' or more to the exterior. • Material should not be stored inside a building within 6' of any hoist way or within 10' of an exterior wall that does not extend above the top of the material. • Material should not to be stored within 10' of building edge. • Maximum acetylene gauge pressure is 15 psi. • Separate gas cylinders in storage by 20'- or 5'-high, one-half hour firewall. Electrical safety/fire prevention • No splices or nicks allowed in welding cables within 10' of the stinger. • Electrical cords in construction must be 14 gauge or larger (hard or extra-hard duty). • Repairs to electrical cords are not allowed unless they are 12 gauge or heavier. • Minimum working clearance around electrical equipment allowed is 3' deep x 30" wide. • In multi-story buildings, at least one fire extinguisher should be adjacent to the stairway. • A fire extinguisher is required for every 3,000 sq. ft. of building. • A fire extinguisher is required for every 100' of travel. Excavations/confined spaces • A ladder or other means of egress is required in 4' or deeper trenches or excavations. • Allow no more than 25' of travel to ladder/egress in trenches/excavations. • Excavations in unstable rock or soil must be sloped or shored if they are 5' or deeper. • Excavations more than 20' in depth require a professional engineer (P.E.). - Slope Type A soil 3/4 to 1 (53 degree angle) - Slope Type B soil 1 to 1 (45 degree angle) - Slope Type C soil 1 1/2 to 1 (34 degree angle) • At least one temporary toilet is required per 20 employees. • An oxygen-deficient atmosphere is less than 19.5 percent. • An oxygen-enriched environment is more than 23.5 percent.

Published in the May 2004 issue of Contractor Tools and Supplies magazine.

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