One of the most historic and long lasting industries is that of the construction industry. There are many surface level reasons as to why the construction industry has existed throughout the course of history and is still so strong today. Society has long been building and constructing buildings and improving upon them as the decades pass by. For those who invest their time and money, the construction business is one to make great profit from. Even though the construction industry is strong, there are draw backs and danger that can be found in the industry. Employee safety is one of the most important aspects of creating and sustaining a successful construction business. Material handling can be dangerous on a construction site, and that is why you should invest in protecting your employees. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration, or OHSA, has been created to regulate construction business within the construction industry to assure that there are guidelines and rules that companies must follow to protect the workers. Respect the danger of material handling and properly protect your employees by following these tips.
In order to provide proper safety for material handling, the OHSA has created the following guidelines. First and foremost you should understand that the OHSA has instilled a three step process in order to help prevent dangerous falls in an attempt to save lives. These three steps are as follows: plan, provide, and train. No matter what you do in terms of employee protection, make sure you follow those three steps. When you are testing fall arrest systems, the OSHA recommends a test weight of 300 pounds in order to properly test the fall arrest systems. That way, the employees involved in material handling are assured protection while working. The OSHA also requires that all fall protection is provided for material handling at heights of four feet in most general industry workplaces, five feet in shipyards, six feet in any site within the construction industry, and eight feet in long shoring operations. Workers involved in material handling who are above lower levels at six feet or more could be seriously injured or could die if they fall. The federal limits imposed by the OSHA have limited the fall and arrest distance to about six feet as well. If you want to truly have a successful construction and material handling business then you need to follow the Occupational Safety and Health Administration guidelines. If you run the risk of a serious injury or a fatal injury on your worksite, you could ruin your work reputation on top of having to deal with expensive lawsuits from a grieving family. Make sure you that you take care of your workers and the equipment that is needed to protect them while they are working.
The OSHA changes its policies as time goes on so make sure you are keeping up with the guidelines they have put into place and change over time. For instance, companies did not previously requite wire rope sings to have permanently fixed identification tags and labels placed on them since it was not required by the OSHA code 1910.184. However, this has changed with time and now companies involved in material handling are required to provide tags and labels. Some of these construction tools that are required for material handling vary. For instance, they can come in the form of wire rope slings, web slings, round slings, rigging hardware, and lifting gear. Give your employees a safe place to work and get the best equipment to keep your employees safe.
