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Tool Box Talks |
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Look
Out—Above and Below The government, recognizing the
severity of the problem, has set standards under the OSHA act for
occupational head protection. Other
standards for head protection have been set under the construction safety
act, longshoring safety act, and NIOSH.
It is imperative that every person on the job wear a hard hat at all
times. Let’s look at the problem of how
to prevent falling objects. First, is
the work being done overhead? How can
accidents be prevented? Here are some
basic precautions to be followed: • Warn those below that you’re about to begin
an overhead job by signs, barricades, and good communications. • Don’t carry tools or materials up a
ladder. Use a hand winch line,
containers, or buckets lifted by a line. • Before raising tools or materials with a
hand line or a winch line, make absolutely sure they are securely fastened so
they won’t slip out. • When you pile materials on scaffolds, make
sure scaffolding and platforms are provided with toe boards so objects don’t
fall off. • Never throw materials or tools. • Make sure the load being lifted by hand
line or scaffold is balanced and that no one is under the load being lifted. • Keep tools and materials away from the
edges of platforms and ladders and off railings or window sills. • Don’t stick tools in your pockets because,
when you bend over or reach, they may fall out. • Practice good housekeeping on the overhead
job and keep tools and materials that are not in use picked up and stored
properly. • If the nature of the overhead job involves
the danger of falling objects, have the area below cleared, and post the
necessary warning signs. Rope off the
area. It is equally important that
personnel on the ground be aware of overhead work and obey the signs and
barricades. Another problem is poor stacking
in warehouses, yards, trucks, or at the job site. All materials should be piled on a flat base and at a
reasonable height. It is best to
crosstie and cover the materials for extra protection and safety. Not all falling objects come from
great heights. Probably the most
common falling object from a small height is one that a worker is just
picking up. The worker doesn’t
anticipate the heaviness of the object; the object slips and strikes the
worker’s legs or feet. Another common instance of an
object’s falling and causing injury is when two workers are carrying a piece
of pipe or some other long, heavy object.
Signals are poor, and one worker drops his end of the load. You guessed it; the feet come in for
punishment! Another example: Someone stands a piece of steel or pipe
against a wall and walks away. When
you approach, the object slips and falls.
This can strike any part of the body. Such injuries are preventable if
we wear our hard hats and safety shoes, if we use proper lifting and handling
procedures, if proper signals and teamwork are used on a two-man job, and if
tools and materials that are not in use are stored in the proper place. Whether your work takes you
overhead or keeps you below, you can eliminate falling objects as a source of
danger by following these rules at all times. Whatever goes up, sooner or later,
has to come down. let’s make sure it
comes down safely. |