We all live in a world of numbers. Numbers surround our life, our family, our work, and our time. We wake up to a set alarm. We check our bank account. The doctor gives us a report on test results. We love the scoreboard at a football game.
Numbers are everywhere.
In the world of workplace safety what are some numbers that we need to be aware of?
Let’s review some numbers that govern our workplace!
OSHA Safety Topics – A Review of Important Safety Numbers
Two
This is the rule for open holes in a construction walking working surface.
Hole means a gap or void 2 inches (5.1 cm) or more in its least dimension, in a floor, roof, or other walking/working surface. This one takes a minute to understand. How can a hole with a diameter of 2 inches create a hazard exposure? Can you trip? Maybe. How about an open hole on the third floor of a building under construction and a worker drops 6-inch crescent wrench through the open hole and hits another worker below. Ouch!
Nineteen
This rule applies to construction walking working surfaces.
A stairway or ladder shall be provided at all personnel points of access where there is a break in elevation of 19 inches (48 cm) or more, and no ramp, runway, sloped embankment, or personnel hoist is provided. Personnel hoist? Really.
Two
This rule applies to all excavations and trenches.
Employees shall be protected from excavated or other materials or equipment that could pose a hazard by falling or rolling into excavations. Protection shall be provided by placing and keeping such materials or equipment at least 2 feet (.61 m) from the edge of excavations, or by the use of retaining devices that are sufficient to prevent materials or equipment from falling or rolling into excavations, or by a combination of both if necessary.
What is a spoil pile? Spoil piles are excavated materials consisting of topsoil or subsoils that have been removed and temporarily stored during the construction activity. This distance requirement ensures that loose rock or soil from the temporary spoil will not fall on employees in the trench.
Three
This rule applies to all extension ladders in the workplace.
When portable ladders are used for access to an upper landing surface, the ladder side rails shall extend at least 3 feet (.9 m) above the upper landing surface to which the ladder is used to gain access; or, when such an extension is not possible because of the ladder’s length, then the ladder shall be secured at its top to a rigid support that will not deflect, and a grasping device, such as a grabrail, shall be provided to assist employees in mounting and dismounting the ladder.
By the way, this one of the top ten most violated OSHA standards in construction.
Four & Twenty-five
This is the rule for means of egress and access from trench excavations.
A stairway, ladder, ramp or other safe means of egress shall be located in trench excavations that are 4 feet (1.22 m) or more in depth so as to require no more than 25 feet (7.62 m) of lateral travel for employees. This requirement is also violated on a repeated basis.
Four, Nineteen point five, & Twenty-one
Where oxygen deficiency (atmospheres containing less than 19.5 percent oxygen) or a hazardous atmosphere exists or could reasonably be expected to exist, such as in excavations in landfill areas or excavations in areas where hazardous substances are stored nearby, the aพนัน บอลtmospheres in the excavation shall be tested before employees enter excavations greater than 4 feet (1.22 m) in depth.
Some toxic gases and vapors are heavier than air and could settle in the bottom of a trench excavation and pose an airborne contaminant hazard. Safe oxygen levels are around 21%.
Five & Two-thousand Five-hundred
This is the rule on protecting workers in a trench excavation.
Each employee in an excavation shall be protected from cave-ins by an adequate protective system except when excavations are made entirely in stable rock; or excavations are less than 5 feet (1.52m) in depth and examination of the ground by a competent person provides no indication of a potential cave-in.
A trench excavation protective system is defined means a method of protecting employees from cave-ins, from material that could fall or roll from an excavation face or into an excavation, or from the collapse of adjacent structures. Protective systems include support systems, sloping and benching systems, shield systems, and other systems that provide the necessary protection.
Just a note: a cubic yard of soil weighs, on average, 2500 lbs.
Let’s look at some OSHA fall hazard requirements. Fall hazards take the award for the most confusing OSHA numbers.
Six, Four, Fifteen, Thirty, & Ten
This is the rule for working next to unprotected sides and edges.
Each employee on a walking/working surface (horizontal and vertical surface) with an unprotected side or edge which is 6 feet (1.8 m) or more above a lower level shall be protected from falling by the use of guardrail systems, safety net systems, or personal fall arrest systems. This is a construction requirement.
How about these:
This is the rule for working on unprotected sides and edges in general industry.
The employer must ensure that each employee on a walking-working surface with an unprotected side or edge that is 4 feet (1.2 m) or more above a lower level is protected from falling.
There are two fall protection requirements when erecting steel.
Each employee engaged in a steel erection activity who is on a walking/working surface with an unprotected side or edge more than 15 feet (4.6 m) above a lower level shall be protected from fall hazards by guardrail systems, safety net systems, personal fall arrest systems, positioning device systems or fall restraint systems.
Each worker who is a steel beam connector shall be protected from fall hazards of more than two stories or 30 feet (9.1 m) above a lower level.
The one that trips up most safety professionals is the fall protection requirements for scaffolds.
Each employee on a scaffold more than 10 feet (3.1 m) above a lower level shall be protected from falling to that lower level.
And finally, the reporting numbers.
Eight & Twenty-four
This is OSHA’s reporting rule for serious outcomes at a jobsite or any other private business.
Within eight (8) hours after the death of any employee as a result of a work-related incident, you must report the fatality to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), U.S. Department of Labor.
Within twenty-four (24) hours after the in-patient hospitalization of one or more employees or an employee’s amputation or an employee’s loss of an eye, as a result of a work-related incident, you must report the in-patient hospitalization, amputation, or loss of an eye to OSHA.
This was just a small sample of the numbers located in the OSHA regulations.