Sites From Fire, Vandalism Vandalism
Construction-site fires are more common than you might think. In 2004, some 4,800 construction fires caused $35 million in damage, according to the US Fire Administration. The data are collected by local fire departments.
What’s more, arson is the cause of more than half of those fires. “A large majority of construction-site fires stem from vandalism,” says Jody Warner, CSP, CFPS, a senior risk control consultant with Cambridge Risk Control Services in Chicago. “Some of those fires occur accidentally, as when homeless people start a fire to stay warm, and some of them are caused maliciously.”
Risk management professionals have a concept called an “attractive nuisance,” which can be an open swimming pool or an unattended backhoe with the door unlocked. Children or vandals might want to play on the backhoe—or set fire to it.
“You must do what’s reasonable to protect the site—and to protect the trespasser—believe it or not,” says Warner, who gave a presentation on fire safety at the 16th Annual Construction Safety Conference and Exposition last year in Chicago. The industry standard of protection is a barrier fence around the site. The fence should carry large signs warning of danger.
Preventing Fires Excavating contractors often park their machines close to each other at the end of the shift, says Warner. If the machines are too close together, you have organized them for a fire that can spread from one machine to the next. A better idea: space them about 50 feet apart.
Limit the access to flammable and combustible liquids, Warner says. Place your small cans of fuel and combustibles under lock and key. “Keep your combustible and flammable materials separate from your equipment,” Warner says.
“Each construction machine should have a fire extinguisher with an ABC rating.”
An “A” rating means it will extinguish combustible materials; “B” means it works on combustible liquids and gases; and “C” means it works on energized electrical equipment. A 5- to 10-pound extinguisher is recommended. If you have a question about it, call the local fire department or fire extinguisher contractor.
Your people should be trained to use fire extinguishers. Insurance companies offer such training and love to get calls asking about it, Warner says. Two other sources: the local fire department or fire extinguisher contractor.
Maintain careful control over your hot work, such as welding or torch cutting. Sensitive flammable areas, such as hydraulic lines or fuel tanks, need to be shielded if you’re welding or torching near them. Hydraulic fluid has a flash point below 100°F and is combustible. However, if it’s spraying out through a leak, the atomized fluid forms an especially dangerous fire hazard due to its heated condition and the low surface area of the small atomized fluid particles.
“Those who do not plan, plan to fail,” says Warner. “If you prepare for these emergencies, the chances that they will happen are minimized.”
How OSHA Protects Whistle-blowers Did you know that OSHA protects whistle-blowers? Yes! Sometimes the system works!
In fact, a Brooklyn, NY, book wholesaler recently was ordered to offer reinstatement and pay more than $18,000 to an employee who was fired for filing a safety complaint with the US Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). An OSHA whistle-blower investigation found that Books for Less LLC had fired the employee on March 3, two days after an OSHA inspection that was prompted by the employee’s complaint. OSHA ordered the company to reinstate the worker. Labor Department attorneys then filed a complaint in the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York that resulted in a consent judgment signed July 19 by US District Judge Sandra L. Townes.
The judgment orders Books for Less LLC and Michael Shmuely, its owner and president, to offer to reinstate the employee to his former, or a substantially equivalent, position; pay $18,365 in back wages, health care benefits, and pre-judgment interest; and restore to the worker all employee benefits he would have earned had his employment not been interrupted.
The Occupational Safety and Health Act provides for a wide range of procedural rights for employees and representatives of employees. The act also recognizes that effective implementation and achievement of its goals depends on employee participation.
To help ensure that employees are free to participate in safety and health activities, Section 11(c) of the act prohibits any person from discharging or discriminating against any employee because the employee has exercised rights under the act. Such rights include complaining to OSHA and seeking an OSHA inspection, participating in an OSHA inspection, and participating or testifying in any proceeding related to an OSHA inspection.
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A person filing a complaint of discrimination will be required to show that he or she engaged in protected activity, the employer knew about that activity, the employer subjected him or her to an adverse employment action, and the protected activity contributed to the adverse action. Adverse employment action is generally defined as a material change in the terms or conditions of employment. Depending on the circumstances of the case, “discrimination” can include firing or laying off, blacklisting, demoting, denying overtime or promotion, denial of benefits, and more.
If you believe your employer has discriminated against you because you exercised your safety and health rights, contact your local OSHA office right away. Most discrimination complaints fall under the Occupational Safety and Health Act, which gives you only 30 days to report discrimination. You can telephone, fax, or mail your OSHA complaint.
Author's Bio: Daniel C. Brown is the owner of TechniComm, a communications business based in Des Plaines, IL.
March-April 2007
Sites From Fire, Vandalism Vandalism
Construction-site fires are more common than you might think. In 2004, some 4,800 construction fires caused $35 million in damage, according to the US Fire Administration. The data are collected by local fire departments.
What’s more, arson is the cause of more than half of those fires. “A large majority of construction-site fires stem from vandalism,” says Jody Warner, CSP, CFPS, a senior risk control consultant with Cambridge Risk Control Services in Chicago. “Some of those fires occur accidentally, as when homeless people start a fire to stay warm, and some of them are caused maliciously.”
Risk management professionals have a concept called an “attractive nuisance,” which can be an open swimming pool or an unattended backhoe with the door unlocked. Children or vandals might want to play on the backhoe—or set fire to it.
“You must do what’s reasonable to protect the site—and to protect the trespasser—believe it or not,” says Warner, who gave a presentation on fire safety at the 16th Annual Construction Safety Conference and Exposition last year in Chicago. The industry standard of protection is a barrier fence around the site. The fence should carry large signs warning of danger.
Preventing Fires Excavating contractors often park their machines close to each other at the end of the shift, says Warner. If the machines are too close together, you have organized them for a fire that can spread from one machine to the next. A better idea: space them about 50 feet apart.
Limit the access to flammable and combustible liquids, Warner says. Place your small cans of fuel and combustibles under lock and key. “Keep your combustible and flammable materials separate from your equipment,” Warner says.
“Each construction machine should have a fire extinguisher with an ABC rating.”
An “A” rating means it will extinguish combustible materials; “B” means it works on combustible liquids and gases; and “C” means it works on energized electrical equipment. A 5- to 10-pound extinguisher is recommended. If you have a question about it, call the local fire department or fire extinguisher contractor.
Your people should be trained to use fire extinguishers. Insurance companies offer such training and love to get calls asking about it, Warner says. Two other sources: the local fire department or fire extinguisher contractor.
Maintain careful control over your hot work, such as welding or torch cutting. Sensitive flammable areas, such as hydraulic lines or fuel tanks, need to be shielded if you’re welding or torching near them. Hydraulic fluid has a flash point below 100°F and is combustible. However, if it’s spraying out through a leak, the atomized fluid forms an especially dangerous fire hazard due to its heated condition and the low surface area of the small atomized fluid particles.
“Those who do not plan, plan to fail,” says Warner. “If you prepare for these emergencies, the chances that they will happen are minimized.”
How OSHA Protects Whistle-blowers Did you know that OSHA protects whistle-blowers? Yes! Sometimes the system works!
In fact, a Brooklyn, NY, book wholesaler recently was ordered to offer reinstatement and pay more than $18,000 to an employee who was fired for filing a safety complaint with the US Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). An OSHA whistle-blower investigation found that Books for Less LLC had fired the employee on March 3, two days after an OSHA inspection that was prompted by the employee’s complaint. OSHA ordered the company to reinstate the worker. Labor Department attorneys then filed a complaint in the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York that resulted in a consent judgment signed July 19 by US District Judge Sandra L. Townes.
The judgment orders Books for Less LLC and Michael Shmuely, its owner and president, to offer to reinstate the employee to his former, or a substantially equivalent, position; pay $18,365 in back wages, health care benefits, and pre-judgment interest; and restore to the worker all employee benefits he would have earned had his employment not been interrupted.
The Occupational Safety and Health Act provides for a wide range of procedural rights for employees and representatives of employees. The act also recognizes that effective implementation and achievement of its goals depends on employee participation.
To help ensure that employees are free to participate in safety and health activities, Section 11(c) of the act prohibits any person from discharging or discriminating against any employee because the employee has exercised rights under the act. Such rights include complaining to OSHA and seeking an OSHA inspection, participating in an OSHA inspection, and participating or testifying in any proceeding related to an OSHA inspection.
A person filing a complaint of discrimination will be required to show that he or she engaged in protected activity, the employer knew about that activity, the employer subjected him or her to an adverse employment action, and the protected activity contributed to the adverse action. Adverse employment action is generally defined as a material change in the terms or conditions of employment. Depending on the circumstances of the case, “discrimination” can include firing or laying off, blacklisting, demoting, denying overtime or promotion, denial of benefits, and more.
If you believe your employer has discriminated against you because you exercised your safety and health rights, contact your local OSHA office right away. Most discrimination complaints fall under the Occupational Safety and Health Act, which gives you only 30 days to report discrimination. You can telephone, fax, or mail your OSHA complaint.