Blind to the obvious

You may have 20/20 vision, but not taking heed to dangers on jobsite can blindside you with devastating results.

This blindness may be due to inexperience, inadequate training, laziness or familiarity. Only training and every worker taking an “eyes wide-open” attitude can minimize these dangers to life, limb and property.

“Beginner” blindness
“Studies show that 42 percent of construction fatalities occur in the first 90 days of workers’ employment,” says Curt Childress with St. Paul Fire and Marine Insurance Company Safety Academy. “The learning curve on how to survive on a jobsite is steep.”

One tragic example: In the midwest, a newlywed was on his first week as a laborer on a pipe-laying job. The excavator was working in tight quarters. No one warned him about how the excavator’s counterweight swung wide and fast. The newlywed took a short-cut behind the machine just as it swung. He was crushed, leaving his new bride a widow before she sent thank-you cards for wedding gifts.

“It goes beyond teaching new workers how to do their job tasks safely. You’ve got to teach them overall jobsite safety,” he says.

Another example: Old hands know to stay clear of the non-scaffolded side of the masonry walls under erection. OSHA also requires a marked, limited-access area equal to the height of the wall plus 4' until wind bracing is erected on the backside of the wall or the wall is tied in with bar joists or roofing elements.

But to a new hire looking for a shady place to sit and eat lunch, that nice, clear area behind the new wall looks very inviting; until a gust of wind topples the wall on top of him, spoiling his meal and ending his life.

Or how about a new hire who is told to clean up a jobsite? He sees a piece of plywood lying on the deck and scoops it up and as he tucks it under his arm, it blocks his view and he steps into a hole the plywood covered.

“That’s why OSHA requires that any hole covering must be nailed in place and labeled “HOLE,” says Childress. “It sounds like a no-brainer, but we have insurance claims on that sort of injury all the time.”

New hires often get nasty jobs that require the use of dust masks or respirators.

“If the worker is spraying or cleaning some sort of ‘methyl-ethyl-ugly’ chemical that requires the use of a respirator, but he has a beard or goatee that prevents the respirator from sealing properly, he is blind to the danger if no one points it out to him,” says Childress. “He could die even though he was wearing the proper safety equipment.”

Safety vision is everyone’s job
Everyone on a jobsite is potentially responsible for the safety of all workers. When Childress puts on safety seminars, he dangles a pair of shiny Smith and Wesson stainless-steel handcuffs before his audience.

“If you know you are violating safety standards, and if your disregard for safety gets someone hurt or killed and OSHA investigates and finds you at fault, you could be wearing these on your way to trial for manslaughter,” he says.

“Veteran” blind spots
Veteran workers too often bypass safety features because they no longer fear equipment. That can get them into trouble.

“For my money, one of the most vicious tools on a jobsite is a power nailer,” says Childress. “I’ve seen where a worker customizes the safety switch because he thinks he knows what he is doing. Then he ends up shooting himself in the thigh or calf while carrying the power nailer up a ladder.”

Unprepared for emergencies
“Fire is one of the biggest and most expensive hazards on a jobsite,” says Childress. “A small accident can cause a big fire. During the drought in Florida last May, a forklift snagged a power line and it fell on dry grass. By the time the fire was out, four city blocks burned to the ground with losses over $60 million.”

Although the fire was caused by the operator snagging the line. the disaster could have been averted if a fire extinguisher had been mounted on the forklift, per OSHA and insurance company guidelines.

“Any time you do something that has the potential to start a fire, you should also have the potential to put out a fire,” says Childress. “Fire extinguishers are cheap when compared with the cost of a fire.”

Blinded by safety
Safety equipment, when used improperly, can cause blind spots. After years of enduring butt-ugly safety glasses, the construction industry has been finally blessed with safety glasses that offer protection and look good. So good, that many workers now wear tinted safety glasses all day.

That could be a safety problem. When workers move from bright sunshine into a shaded work area, they increase their chances for an accident.

“They could either trip or fall down a stairwell because the tinted lenses were too dark for inside work. Or, they prop the tinted safety glasses on their forehead so they can see while they’re inside,” says Childress. Unless you’re in a trade where you’re outside all the time, I’m not sure tinted safety glasses are the best idea.”

Crews not immune; just lucky
“I can always tell if a small construction company hasn’t had their first serious injury or work-related fatality . . . they’re still in business,” he says. “A death on the job will kill the company as well as the employee.”

“There’s no excuse for a small construction company not to give their employees safety training,” he continues. “The Associated Building Contractors, the Home Builders Association, the Association of General Contractors offer safety training for small companies. Any company that doesn’t provide adequate safety training and equipment and enforce safe practices on the jobsite is putting up a sign that says, ‘Sue me, please’.”

Published in the March/April 2001 issue of Contractor Tools and Supplies magazine.

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