common construction safety questions

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## Part 12 General Safety Precautions ## Housekeeping 185 An employer must ensure that a work site is kept clean and free from materials or equipment that could cause workers to slip or trip. ## Lighting 186 (1) An employer must ensure that lighting at a work site is sufficient to enable work to be done safely. 186 (2) An employer must ensure that a light source above a working or walking surface is protected against damage. - 186 (3) An employer must ensure that there is emergency lighting at a work site if workers are in danger if the normal lighting system fails. - 186 (4) Emergency lighting must generate enough light so that workers can - (a) leave the work site safely, - (b) start the necessary emergency shut-down procedures, and - (c) restore normal lighting. ## Pallets and storage racks 187 (1) An employer must ensure that pallets used to transport or store materials or containers are loaded, moved, stacked, arranged and stored in a manner that does not create a danger to workers. - 187 (2) An employer must ensure that racks used to store materials or equipment - (a) are designed, constructed and maintained to support the load placed on them, and - (b) are placed on firm foundations that can support the load. - 187 (3) A worker must report any damage to a storage rack to an employer as quickly as practicable. - 187 (4) The employer and the workers at a work site must take all reasonable steps to prevent storage racks from being damaged to the extent that their integrity as structures is compromised. ## Placement of roofing materials - 187.1 (1) An employer must ensure that supplies and roofing materials stored on the roof of a residential building under construction are located not less than 2 metres from a roof edge. - 187.1 (2) An employer must ensure that the weight of supplies and roofing materials referred to in subsection (1) is uniformly distributed.

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## 29 CFR 1926 (OSHA) from falling by a guardrail system, safety net system, or personal fall arrest system. If a guardrail system is chosen to provide the fall protection, and a controlled access zone has already been established for leading edge work, the control line may be used in lieu of a guardrail along the edge that parallels the leading edge. - (3) Hoist areas. Each employee in a hoist area shall be protected from falling 6 feet (1.8 m) or more to lower levels by guardrail systems or personal fall arrest systems. If guardrail systems, [or chain, gate, or guardrail] or portions thereof, are removed to facilitate the hoisting operation (e.g., during landing of materials), and an employee must lean through the access opening or out over the edge of the access opening (to receive or guide equipment and materials, for example), that employee shall be protected from fall hazards by a personal fall arrest system. - (4) Holes. (i) Each employee on walking/working surfaces shall be protected from falling through holes (including skylights) more than 6 feet (1.8 m) above lower levels, by personal fall arrest systems, covers, or guardrail systems erected around such holes. - (ii) Each employee on a walking/working surface shall be protected from tripping in or stepping into or through holes (including skylights) by covers. - (iii) Each employee on a walking/working surface shall be protected from objects falling through holes (including skylights) by covers. - (5) Formwork and reinforcing steel. Each employee on the face of formwork or reinforcing steel shall be protected from falling 6 feet (1.8 m) or more to lower levels by personal fall arrest systems, safety net systems, or positioning device systems. - (6) Ramps, runways, and other walkways. Each employee on ramps, runways, and other walkways shall be protected from falling 6 feet (1.8 m) or more to lower levels by guardrail systems. - (7) Excavations. (i) Each employee at the edge of an excavation 6 feet (1.8 …

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## §1926.24 Fire protection and prevention. The employer shall be responsible for the development and maintenance of an effective fire protection and prevention program at the job site throughout all phases of the construction, repair, alteration, or demolition work. The employer shall ensure the availability of the fire protection and suppression equipment required by subpart F of this part. ## §1926.25 Housekeeping. - (a) During the course of construction, alteration, or repairs, form and scrap lumber with protruding nails, and all other debris, shall be kept cleared from work areas, passageways, and stairs, in and around buildings or other structures. - (b) Combustible scrap and debris shall be removed at regular intervals during the course of construction. Safe means shall be provided to facilitate such removal. - (c) Containers shall be provided for the collection and separation of waste, trash, oily and used rags, and other refuse. Containers used for garbage and other oily, flammable, or hazardous wastes, such as caustics, acids, harmful dusts, etc. shall be equipped with covers. Garbage and other waste shall be disposed of at frequent and regular intervals. ## §1926.26 Illumination. Construction areas, aisles, stairs, ramps, runways, corridors, offices, shops, and storage areas where work is in progress shall be lighted with either natural or artificial illumination. The minimum illumination requirements for work areas are contained in subpart D of this part. ## §1926.27 Sanitation. Health and sanitation requirements for drinking water are contained in subpart D of this part. ## §1926.28 Personal protective equipment. - (a) The employer is responsible for requiring the wearing of appropriate personal protective equipment in all operations where there is an exposure to hazardous conditions or where this part indicates the need for using such equipment to reduce the hazards to the employees. - (b) Regulations governing the use, selection, an…

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## Restraining hoses and piping - 188 (1) An employer must ensure that a hose or piping and its connections operating under pressure are restrained if workers could be injured by its movement if it fails or if it is disconnected. - 188 (2) Despite subsection (1), if a hose or piping and its connections operating at a working pressure of 2000 kilopascals or more cannot be restrained, in order to prevent a failure that could injure workers, an employer must ensure that the hose or piping and its connections are designed, installed, used, inspected and maintained - (a) in accordance with the manufacturer's specifications, or - (b) in accordance with specifications certified by a professional engineer. - 188 (3) Subsection (1) does not apply to properly maintained fire hoses used by competent workers. ## Securing equipment and materials - 189 If a worker may be injured if equipment or material is dislodged, moved, spilled or damaged, both the employer and the worker must take all reasonable steps to ensure the equipment or material is contained, restrained or protected to eliminate the potential danger. ## Skeleton structures - 190 (1) An employer must ensure that the erection drawings and procedures for a project that includes connecting the structural parts of a skeleton structure are prepared and certified by a professional engineer. - 190 (2) The erection drawings and procedures referred to in subsection (1) must - (a) show the sequence in which the structure is to be erected, - (b) show the horizontal and vertical placement of base structures and footings, and - (c) ensure that the structure is stable during assembly. - 190 (3) If the erection procedures referred to in subsection (1) must be changed because of site conditions or unanticipated loads on the skeleton structure, the employer must ensure that the changed, additional or alternative procedures are prepared and certified by a professional engineer before they are implemented. - 190 (4) An employer mus…