Spider Introduces Spider Systems Group

Spider, a division of SafeWorks LLC, introduces Spider Systems Group, the dedicated team of experts designed to provide access and fall protection solutions for the most complicated, mission-critical projects.

The Systems Group works in concert with the extensive Spider branch network to meet the unique needs and challenges of large industrial and commercial project work. It is resourced to deliver the response time, site support, project management, safety code expertise and innovative solutions that the most critical energy, infrastructure and landmark project teams demand.

“The veterans that comprise the Systems Group are some of Spider’s finest – dedicated, knowledgeable, innovative experts who have a track record of successfully managing the most demanding access challenges from start to finish,” says John Sotiroff, VP of Spider Sales and Distribution. “With over 65 years of industry knowledge along with the combined experience of these veterans, the Spider Systems Group is the partner to trust when the work is on the critical path.”

To learn more about this new offering, visit www.spiderstaging.com/PDF%20Files/Cut%20Sheets/General/SPIDER_BROCHURE_APRIL_2013_FINAL2_Web.pdf. To reach the Spider Systems Group, call 877-774-3370.

Bilco Releases Architectural Products Catalog

The Bilco Co. has released its 2012 Architectural Products Catalog, detailing the company’s line of roof hatches, automatic fire vents, floor, vault and sidewalk doors and safety products for the commercial markets. 

The Architectural Products Catalog features information on Bilco’s new fall protection grating system, which provides a permanent means of fall protection for the company’s line of floor access doors. The system meets OSHA standard 29 CFR 1910.23 requirements and is available as a factory installed option or in retrofit kits for field installation.

Bilco’s new fall protection system is constructed of light-weight aluminum grating with type 316 stainless steel hardware for corrosion resistance. The grating panel is supplied with a safety yellow powder coat finish, making it more durable, attractive, and extremely scratch-resistant. The system also features an automatic hold-open device that secures each panel in the full 90-degree position, maximizing the door’s usable access area.

The catalog is available free by calling 800-366-6530 or emailing commercial@bilco.com. 

OSHA Fines Four Contractors for Exposing Workers to Falls, Other Hazards

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited four New Jersey contractors working on a 20-story building in Jersey City for exposing workers to fall hazards, following a December 2011 inspection during which inspectors observed employees working on the fourth floor without personal fall protection or fall protection systems. Altura Concrete Inc. and Nathil Corp., both of Hasbrouck Heights, and White Diamonds Properties LLC and Blade Contracting Inc., both of Jersey City, face total proposed fines of $463,350.

Altura Concrete Inc. and Nathil Corp., the concrete contractors for the foundation and superstructure of the building, directed 75 employees on site. The two companies have been cited for five willful violations ‒ including four instance-by-instance (that is, egregious) violations ‒ for failing to protect workers from fall hazards created by open sides and edges on the fourth, sixth, seventh, eighth, 10th and 13th floors, as well as protect workers from fall hazards created by the misuse of self-supporting stepladders. A willful violation is one committed with intentional knowing or voluntary disregard for the law’s requirements, or with plain indifference to worker safety and health. The citations carry $315,000 in penalties.

The companies also have received citations for nine serious violations, including failing to provide personal protective equipment, provide a cap for an acetylene tank in storage, store cylinders in an upright position, separate oxygen and acetylene tanks, provide fall protection for workers installing ribs, provide protection from protruding rebar, maintain shoring/reshoring plans on-site, provide railings on stairs, protect workers from fall hazards created by open holes, secure the cover over a floor hole and mark the floor hole cover. The citations carry $40,500 in penalties. A serious violation occurs when there is substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result from a hazard about which the employer knew or should have known.

One other-than-serious violation has been cited for failing to record an injury on the OSHA 300 log. The citation carries a $900 penalty. An other-than-serious violation is one that has a direct relationship to job safety and health, but probably would not cause death or serious physical harm.

General contractor White Diamonds Properties, with seven employees on-site, has been issued citations for two willful violations involving failing to protect workers from fall hazards, as well as citations for five serious violations related to improper storage of compressed gas cylinders, unprotected rebar and failing to have drawings for shoring/reshoring on site. The citations carry $95,400 in penalties.

Masonry contractor Blade Contracting, with 21 employees on site, has been cited with three serious violations for failing to protect workers from fall hazards, properly use a scaffold and inspect scaffold components for defects. The citations carry $11,550 in penalties.

Citations for Altura Concrete Inc. and Nathil Corp. can be viewed at: http://www.osha.gov/ooc/citations/AlturaConcreteIncNathilCorporation_316089861_0601_12.pdf;

White Diamonds Properties LLC at http://www.osha.gov/ooc/citations/WhiteDiamondsPropertiesLLC_316089853_0601_12.pdf; and Blade Contracting Inc. at http://www.osha.gov/ooc/citations/BladeContractingInc316229608_0601_12.pdf.

The companies have 15 business days from receipt of the citations to comply, request an informal conference with the OSHA area director, or contest the citations and proposed penalties before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

Kilian Joins Industrial Scientific Corp.

Industrial Scientific Corp. has hired Larry Kilian as the senior director of Americas, Australia & New Zealand sales. Kilian assumes overall responsibility for Industrial Scientific’s sales functions in the Americas, Australia and New Zealand.

Kilian brings more than 30 years of experience in industrial safety and has held various positions across sales, marketing and product management. He most recently served as the VP of sales at Dräger Safety. In this role, he was responsible for sales and customer service teams in the United States. Other positions previously held by Kilian include general manager and managing director at Sorbent Products Co. International; director of sales and marketing communications of the Fall Protection Division at Dalloz Safety; and VP and general manager of the Supply Division at Safety Supply Canada, now Acklands-Grainger.

“We are extremely excited to have Larry join the company and confident in his ability to lead the Americas, Australia and New Zealand sales teams to continue the growth of iNet, Industrial Scientfic’s Gas Detection as a Service solution,” says Kevin Miller, VP, global sales, services and marketing. “His depth of industry knowledge and experience is a great addition to Industrial Scientific as we work aggressively toward eliminating death on the job in this century.”

Safer Rescue Systems With ASSE Fall Protection Standard

The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) has approved two American Society of Safety Engineers’ (ASSE) standards addressing fall protection — the new ANSI/ASSE Z359.14-2012, Safety Requirements for Self-Retracting Devices for Personal Fall Arrest and Rescue Systems, and the revised ANSI/ASSE Z359.4-2012, Safety Requirements for Assisted-Rescue and Self-Rescue Systems, Subsystems and Components. The standards are part of the Z359 Fall Protection Code.

The new Z359.14 standard establishes requirements for the performance, design, qualification testing, markings and instructions, inspections, maintenance and storage, and removal from service of self-retracting devices, including self-retracting lanyards, self-retracting lanyards with integral rescue capability, and self-retracting lanyards with leading-edge capability (SRL-LE’s). It also establishes requirements for self-retracting devices intended for use in personal fall arrest or rescue systems for authorized persons within the capacity range of 130 to 310 pounds (59 to 141 kg).

In a recent interview, ASSE member Tom Wolner, VP of engineering for Capital Safety and chair of the Z359.4 and Z359.14 subcommittees, discussed how the new standard will change rescue procedures.

“The new Z359.14 standard on self-retracting devices addresses several types of these retractable lanyards and additionally classifies them according to performance. Type A devices, for example, are capable of arresting a fall in less than two feet which is very important in situations where fall clearance is limited. And for the first time, this standard addresses self-retracting devices that may be exposed to a sharp edge in a fall situation. Special testing is included to evaluate and qualify these. Other important additions include expanded requirements for user information and guidelines on inspection expectations depending on the severity of use.”

As for the revised Z359.4 standard Wolner notes, “The major focus is to emphasize the need for preplanning each potential rescue scenario with the expectation that employers and equipment users will use the code to develop effective rescue procedures. This preplanning process includes analysis of rescue needs, equipment selection, training and periodic evaluation of training effectiveness. The equipment types and performance requirements included in the code were specifically geared toward preplanned rescue events to support this approach.”

The revised Z359.4 standard establishes requirements for the performance, design, marking, qualification, instruction, training, use, maintenance, and removal from service of connectors, harnesses, lanyards, anchorage connectors, winches/hoists, descent control devices, rope tackle blocks, and self-retracting lanyards with integral rescue capability comprising rescue systems utilized in pre-planned self-rescue and assisted-rescue applications for one to two persons.

Modified Guidance on AWP Fall Protection

OSHA has rescinded its January 2009 letter of interpretation #20070823-7896 on the use of shock-absorbing lanyards in aerial work platforms (AWPs). The 2009 letter of interpretation had created uncertainty in the industry by suggesting that a manufacturer’s requirement for a minimum anchorage point elevation of 18.5 feet would prevent the use of a fall protection system (six-foot lanyard with shock absorber, full-body harness) in an aerial lift. This question was put previously to OSHA, due to concerns that at times the distance between the platform and the ground would be less than 18.5 feet.

The International Powered Access Federation (IPAF) continues to stand behind its 2007 technical guidance H1, which provides clear and simple recommendations for personal fall protection (PFP) in AWPs. Technical guidance H1 is available in the “Publications” section of www.ipaf.org.

OSHA Says Builders Need Safety Knowledge

Fall protection standards are tightening for home builders nationwide, and Minnesota is enforcing greater compliance before the national deadline. According to a top safety publishing executive, the key to meeting these tight compliance deadlines lies in a firm commitment to safety training.

"The new fall-protection compliance deadlines set by both OSHA and the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry are extremely tight," says Benjamin Mangan, president of MANCOMM, a national safety and compliance publishing company. "Busy residential building contractors may find these deadlines daunting, but as with most business initiatives, knowledge is power. The first step to meeting these compliance objectives lies in training workers immediately so that everyone is on the same page. When it comes to safety, everyone has to see eye-to-eye. Teamwork is absolutely essential."

Compliance Deadlines

On June 9, 2011, OSHA announced a three-month phase-in period to allow residential construction employers to come into compliance with regulation 29 CFR 1926.501(b)(13), requiring home builders to provide residential construction workers with fall protection. Nationally, the phase-in period runs June 16 to Sept. 15, 2011. Home builders have been following an old OSHA directive, STD 03-00-001, and during the phase-in period, OSHA will not issue citations, but will instead issue hazard alert letters to employers, informing them of methods they can use to update their compliance.

Sept. 15 may seem like a tight deadline, but in Minnesota, the deadline already has been passed. The Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry stepped up the deadline in their state, stating that "Effective June 16, 2011, employers must follow 29 CFR 1926.501(b)(13), which states each employee engaged in residential construction activities six feet (1.8 m) or more above lower levels shall be protected by a guardrail system, safety net system or personal fall-arrest system unless another provision in paragraph (b) of this section provides for an alternate fall-protection measure."

A Strict But Necessary Measure

Mangan notes that, while these deadlines may seem strict, the resulting greater level of compliance is well worth the extra effort. "Inadequate fall protection in the workplace only leads to heavy OSHA fines – and worse, employee injuries and deaths," Mangan says.

The U.S. Department of Labor lists falls as one of the leading causes of traumatic occupational death, accounting for 8 percent of all workplace trauma fatalities. Figures from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reveal that more than one-third of the 645 work-related fatal falls in 2009 involved falls from roofs or ladders. According to OSHA, any time a worker is at a height of four feet or more, the worker is at risk and needs to be protected. Generally, fall protection must be provided at four feet in general industry, five feet in the maritime industry and six feet in construction. Regardless of the distance, fall protection must be provided when working over dangerous equipment and machinery.

To help companies stay compliant with OSHA and protect workers from fall-related accidents, MANCOMM has released Fall Protection: Complete OSHA Regulations, an updated version of a book they first published in 2006. Mangan noted that OSHA named Fall Protection as No. 2 on their list of the top 10 violated OSHA standards in 2010, with 6,771 violations.

“When the book was first released in 2006, Fall Protection was No. 2 on the list with 5,746 violations," he says. "It dropped to No. 3 in 2007 – and it is clear that greater vigilance is needed to make this chronic occupational hazard leave the list altogether. The current fall-protection compliance directives will help to reduce the number of fall-related injuries and deaths substantially."

Mangan adds that MANCOMM also has released a fall protection training guide, Subpart M: Fall Protection (1926.500), which can be used to instruct construction industry trainees. To learn more, visit Mancomm.com/Fall-Protection.aspx.

Fall Protection Directive Upheld

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit rejected a challenge by the National Roofing Contractors Association to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s December 2010 directive on the use of fall protection in residential construction. The directive withdrew an earlier one that allowed certain residential construction employers to bypass some fall protection requirements.

Data from the department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that an average of 40 workers are killed each year as a result of falls from residential roofs. One-third of those deaths represent Latino workers, who often lack sufficient access to safety information and protections. Latino workers comprise more than one-third of all construction employees.

OSHA’s new directive, Standard 03-11-002, rescinded the Interim Fall Protection Compliance Guidelines for Residential Construction, Standard 03-00-001. Prior to the issuance of this new directive, Standard 03-00-001 allowed employers engaged in certain residential construction activities to use specified alternative methods of fall protection rather than the conventional fall protection required by the residential construction fall protection standard. With the issuance of the new directive, all residential construction employers must comply with 29 Code of Federal Regulations 1926.501(b)(13). Where residential builders can demonstrate that traditional fall protection is not feasible, 29 CFR 1926.501(b)(13) still allows for alternative means of providing protection.

The case was litigated by Lauren Goodman and Heather Phillips from the Division of Occupational Safety and Health in the department’s Office of the Solicitor.

Construction and roofing companies have until June 16 to comply with the new directive. OSHA has developed training and compliance assistance materials for small employers and will host a webinar for parties interested in learning more about complying with the standard. To view the directive and for more information, visit http://www.osha.gov/doc/residential_fall_protection.html.