OSHA construction compliance is a key element for maintaining a safe jobsite. According to OSHA, nearly 6.5 million people work at over 250,000 construction sites each day. With the inherently hazardous work, it's not surprising that the construction industry has a fatality rate that is higher than the national average among all other industries. To help reduce fatalities OSHA has developed a series of comprehensive standards. These standards are included in 29 CFR 1926, Safety and Health Regulations for Construction.
CFR 1926 includes 27 subparts, covering topics ranging from general safety to crane safety. The subparts are arranged in the following categories:
A ? General |
O ? Motor Vehicles, Mechanized Equipment, and Marine Operations |
B ? General Interpretations |
P ? Excavations |
C ? General Safety and Health Provisions |
Q ? Concrete and Masonry Construction |
D ? Occupational Health and Environmental Controls |
R ? Steel Erection |
E ? Personal Protective and Life Saving Equipment |
S ? Underground Construction, Caissons, Cofferdams, and Compressed Air |
F ? Fire Protection and Prevention |
T ? Demolition |
G ? Signs, Signal, and Barricades |
U ? Blasting and the Use of Explosives |
H ? Materials Handling, Storage, Use, and Disposal |
V ? Power Transmission and Distribution |
I ? Tools-Hand and Power |
W ? Rollover Protective Structures; Overhead Protection |
J ? Welding and Cutting |
X ? Ladders |
K ? Electrical |
Y ? Commercial Diving Operations |
L ? Scaffolds |
Z ? Toxic and Hazardous Substances |
M ? Fall Protection |
CC ? Cranes and Derricks in Construction |
N ? Helicopters, Hoists, Elevators, and Conveyors |
Looking at the topics covered by CFR 1926, maintaining a safe jobsite seems like an insurmountable task. However, starting with the most frequent construction safety issues will go a long ways toward maintaining a safe jobsite.
Part of improving safety includes understanding the most frequent hazards and training employees how to recognize, avoid, and even mitigate those hazards. This is the first line of defense when it comes to your workers' health and safety.
In construction, there are four major hazards that account for most fatalities, according to the Bureau of Labor (BLS). These hazards are commonly referred to as the "Fatal Four" and include falls, electrical hazards, falling objects, and crush hazards. These hazards can be encountered from numerous sources, some of which include:
Of these hazards, falls alone account for nearly 39% of construction fatalities. To improve construction safety and reduce falls, Duralabel' created an OSHA Fall Protection Guidelines and Standards Infographic to help educate workers about about fall hazards as well as the safety devices that can help you mitigate those hazards.
While understanding the most common safety issues you may face in construction is important, there are some additional steps that must be taken to maintain a safe jobsite, such as:
Learn how to create safety signs that meet OSHA requirements with Duralabel' Best Practice Guide to OSHA Safety Signs. This helpful guide breaks down all the requirements, from text size, to color and graphics-ensuring your safety signs are seen and compliant.
As a final note, make sure your construction site complies with all OSHA standards. To ensure you are meeting OSHA standards, it's important to understand the requirements in 1926, as well as other standards. For example, there may be cases where you encounter a hazard that is not covered by 1926. In these cases, the hazard may fall under the General Industry Standard (29 CFR 1910) or Section 5 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act, known as the General Duty Clause. The General Duty Clause provides an all-inclusive safety requirement that requires employers to mitigate or remove recognized hazards that have caused or may cause injury or death. While this is a lot to keep track of, once you are familiar with OSHA standards, you will be able to quickly identify most hazards by performing daily walk-around inspections of your site.