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What do I need when working with concrete

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Published by SALUS

When working with concrete, several safety measures and equipment requirements should be considered. Here's a breakdown:

1. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE):

  • If applying a cement, sand, and water mixture through a pneumatic hose, ensure you wear protective head and face equipment [1].

2. Equipment Safety:

  • Concrete Mixers: If using concrete mixers with a loading skip of one cubic yard or larger, ensure they are equipped with a mechanical device to clear materials from the skip and have guardrails on each side of the skip [1].
  • Power Concrete Trowels: Manually guided, powered, and rotating concrete troweling machines must have a control switch that automatically shuts off power when the operator's hands are removed from the handles [1].
  • Concrete Buggies: Ensure concrete buggy handles do not extend beyond the wheels on either side [1].
  • Concrete Buckets: Buckets with hydraulic or pneumatic gates should have positive safety latches to prevent accidental dumping [2]. Buckets should also be designed to prevent concrete from getting stuck on the top and sides [2].
  • Concrete Pumping Systems: Use pipe supports designed for 100% overload [2]. Compressed air hoses should have fail-safe joint connectors to prevent separation when pressurized [2].
  • Lockout/Tagout: Before maintenance or repair on equipment like compressors, mixers, screens, or pumps, ensure all hazardous energy sources are locked out and tagged with a "Do Not Start" tag [2].
  • Masonry Saws: These saws should have a semicircular enclosure over the blade and a method for retaining blade fragments [2].
  • Bull floats: If bull float handles might contact energized electrical conductors, they must be nonconductive or insulated [2].

3. General Safety Practices:

  • Falling Objects: Never work under concrete buckets while they are being lifted or lowered [1]. Route elevated concrete buckets to minimize the number of employees exposed to the risk of falling buckets [1].
  • Tremies: Secure sections of tremies and similar concrete conveyances with wire rope or equivalent materials, in addition to regular couplings [2].
  • Construction Loads: Ensure that no construction loads are placed on a concrete structure unless a qualified person has determined that the structure can support the loads [3].
  • Reinforcing Steel: Protect against impalement hazards by guarding all protruding reinforcing steel onto and into which employees could fall [3].
  • Post-Tensioning Operations: Limit access to the post-tensioning area during tensioning operations with signs and barriers. Only essential employees should be behind the jack during tensioning [3].
  • Riding Concrete Buckets: Do not allow employees to ride concrete buckets [3].
  • Working Under Loads: Working under loads is prohibited [3].

4. Formwork and Shoring:

  • Design drawings for formwork and shoring should be available on-site [4] and include specific details such as component identification, material specifications, design loads, and erection instructions [4].
  • Formwork and shoring must be capable of withstanding all applied loads without exceeding allowable working loads or causing instability [4].
  • Before pouring concrete, formwork and shoring must be inspected and authorized in writing by an engineer or competent person [5].
  • Formwork and shoring should not be removed until the concrete is strong enough to support itself and any applied loads, or unless the concrete is adequately reshored [5].

5. Other Considerations:

  • Underground Utilities: Before trenching or drilling, identify and avoid underground utility lines [6].
  • Bracing and Supports: Ensure proper bracing and support for walls and columns to prevent collapse [7].
  • High Visibility: Wear high-visibility safety apparel if exposed to vehicular traffic [8].
  • Pre-pour Inspection: Before pouring concrete, inspect the formwork and shoring [5].
  • Barriers: Use concrete barriers or equivalent protection when construction is on a highway or bridge where vehicular traffic may endanger employees [8].

By adhering to these guidelines, you can significantly reduce the risk of accidents and injuries when working with concrete.

8 source record(s)

Sources used for this answer

[1] Kobelco SK235SR-2, SK235SRLC-2 Operation Manual

Page 43

Open source document

Source excerpt

## R. WORKING AROUND UNDER GROUND UTILITY LINES During operation it is likely that you will be working around or near buried utility lines which may include, but are not limited to: - -Electrical Power Line - -Gas Line - -Water Line - -Communication Line: Telephone or Cable Television Before begining any trenching, drilling or other construction work it is your responsibility to be aware of all such utility lines buried in the area of your project and to avoid them. ALWAYS have all local utility companies mark the location of their lines. Check with local authorities for laws, regulations and/or strict penalties requiring you to locate and avoid existing utilities. ## S. RESTRICTED WORK AREAS In work sites with limited height and swing / traveling areas such as tunnels, bridges, around electrical power lines, other utilities, or inside structures. Use extreme caution on work sites with limited height and swing/traveling areas such as tunnels, bridges, around electrical power lines, other utilities or inside structure. Keep the machine and its attachment a safe distance to prevent injury, death or damage on equipment or structure. Use a flagman to guide the operators. ## T. DO NOT WORK UNDER PRECIPICE / OVERHANG Do not dig under the precipice. It may cause falling rocks or loosening of the precipice resulting in injury, death or machine damage. <!-- image --> <!-- image --> <!-- image --> 

[2] General Regulation (N.B. Reg. 91-191)

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- 94.1 (7) An employer shall ensure, before concrete is poured, - (a) that the formwork and shoring are inspected by an engineer, or a competent person designated by the employer, and - (b) that the engineer, or the competent person desig -nated by the employer, as the case may be, authorizes the pour in writing. - 94.1 (8) An employer shall ensure that the written au -thorization referred to in paragraph (7)(b) - (a) is kept on the project site, and - (b) is made available to an officer on request. - 94.1 (9) An employer shall ensure that the formwork and shoring are not removed unless - (a) the concrete is strong enough to support itself and any loads that may be applied to it, or - (b) the concrete is adequately reshored. - 94.1 (10) Where concrete is reshored under para -graph (9)(b), subsections (2), (3), (4), (5) and (6) apply, with the necessary modifications, to the reshoring. - 94.1 (11) Subsections (2), (3), (4), (5), (6), (7), (8), (9) and (10) do not apply where formwork and shoring are used no more than 3 m above the ground level. - 94.1 (12) Where formwork and shoring are used no more than 3 m above the ground level, an employer shall ensure that the formwork and shoring are erected, sup -ported and braced so that they are capable of withstand -ing all loads and forces likely to be applied to them. - 94.1 (7) L'employeur doit s'assurer, avant que ne soit versĂ© le bĂ©ton, - a) que le coffrage et les Ă©tançons sont inspectĂ©s par un ingĂ©nieur, ou par la personne compĂ©tente dĂ©signĂ©e par l'employeur, et - b) que l'ingĂ©nieur, ou la personne compĂ©tente dĂ©si -gnĂ©e par l'employeur, selon le cas, en autorise le ver -sement par Ă©crit. - 94.1 (8) L'employeur doit s'assurer que l'autorisation Ă©crite visĂ©e Ă  l'alinĂ©a (7)b) - a) se trouve sur les lieux du chantier, et - b) est mise Ă  la disposition d'un agent, sur demande. - 94.1 (9) L'employeur doit s'assurer que le coffrage et les Ă©tançons ne soient enlevĂ©s que si - a) le 


[3] Rules for the Administration of the Oregon Safe Employment Act (Construction, Division 3, OSHA Oregon)

Page 767

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Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Division Oregon Administrative Rules <!-- image --> Division 3 - (e) Concrete pumping systems. - (1) Concrete pumping systems using discharge pipes shall be provided with pipe supports designed for 100 percent overload. - (2) Compressed air hoses used on concrete pumping system shall be provided with positive fail-safe joint connectors to prevent separation of sections when pressurized. - (f) Concrete buckets. - (1) Concrete buckets equipped with hydraulic or pneumatic gates shall have positive safety latches or similar safety devices installed to prevent premature or accidental dumping. - (2) Concrete buckets shall be designed to prevent concrete from hanging up on top and the sides. - (g) Tremies. Sections of tremies and similar concrete conveyances shall be secured with wire rope (or equivalent materials) in addition to the regular couplings or connections. - (h) Bull floats. Bull float handles, used where they might contact energized electrical conductors, shall be constructed of nonconductive material or insulated with a nonconductive sheath whose electrical and mechanical characteristics provide the equivalent protection of a handle constructed of nonconductive material. - (i) Masonry saws. - (1) Masonry saws shall be guarded with a semicircular enclosure over the blade. - (2) A method for retaining blade fragments shall be incorporated in the design of the semicircular enclosure. - (j) Lockout/Tagout Procedures. - (1) No employee shall be permitted to perform maintenance or repair activity on equipment (such as compressors, mixers, screens or pumps used for concrete and masonry construction activities) where the inadvertent operation of the equipment could occur and cause injury, unless all potentially hazardous energy sources have been locked out and tagged. - (2) Tags shall read Do Not Start or similar language to indicate that the equipment is not to be operated.

[4] General Regulation (N.B. Reg. 91-191)

Page 103

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Source excerpt

- 91 (2) An employer shall provide high visibility safety apparel that meets the requirements of CSA standard Z96-15 (R2020), High-visibility safety apparel or a standard offering equivalent or better protection to any employee who is exposed to a risk of injury from vehic -ular traffic, powered mobile equipment, industrial lift trucks or mobile cranes, and the employee shall wear the apparel. - 91 (3) An employer shall provide and all signalers shall use reflectorized paddles to control the flow of traffic. 2024-38 ## Construction on highway or bridge - 92 (1) Where construction is being carried out on a highway or bridge and an employee's safety may be en -dangered by vehicular traffic, an employer shall ensure that - (a) concrete barriers or material offering equivalent protection is erected at both ends of the construction and as a divider between the traffic and the work area of the highway or bridge, and - (b) appropriate lane control devices and flashing lights or flares are used. - 92 (2) Paragraph (1)(a) does not apply where the high -way or bridge is being paved. ## Material along excavation or trench and vehicular traffic - 93 (1) Where material is piled along the sides of any excavation or trench and interferes with the flow of ve -hicular traffic, an employer shall ensure that the material is adequately illuminated by warning lights or reflective materials. - 93 (2) Where work is being carried out and interferes with the flow of vehicular traffic, an employer shall en -sure that adequate warning signs are posted in both di -rections as indicated in the following table and at any in -tersection between the warning sign and the work area: Posted speed (km/hr) Distance of Warning Sign from Work Area (m) - 91 (2) L'employeur fournit des vĂȘtements de sĂ©curitĂ© Ă  haute visibilitĂ© qui satisfont aux exigences que prĂ©voit la norme Z96-15 (C2020) de la CSA, intitulĂ©e VĂȘtements de sĂ©curitĂ© Ă  haute visibi


[5] Rules for the Administration of the Oregon Safe Employment Act (Construction, Division 3, OSHA Oregon)

Page 765

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Source excerpt

Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Division Oregon Administrative Rules Division 3 Running bond (half bond) is a bond pattern in which block are placed half way over units directly below creating a staggered look. - Safe location is an area at a jobsite that employees can take refuge in order to avoid hazardous conditions. - Stack bond is a bond pattern in which blocks are stacked directly over each other (not lapped longitudinally) creating continuous joints both vertically and horizontally. - Straight coil loop insert is a wall insert that loops around the structural rebar and is suitable for the attachment of braces in a structural masonry wall. Minimum size of a coil loop insert is 3/4 inch. Structural rebar is rebar that extends full length or height and can be spliced per required lap. Stat. Auth.: ORS 654.025(2) and 656.726(4). Stats. Implemented: ORS 654.001 through 654.295. Hist: OR-OSHA Admin. Order 1-2003, f.1/30/03, ef. 4/30/03. ## 1926.701 General Requirements - (a) Construction loads. No construction loads shall be placed on a concrete structure or portion of a concrete structure unless the employer determines, based on information received from a person who is qualified in structural design, that the structure or portion of the structure is capable of supporting the loads. - (b) Reinforcing steel. All protruding reinforcing steel, onto and into which employees could fall, shall be guarded to eliminate the hazard of impalement. - (c) Post-tensioning operations. - (1) No employee (except those essential to the post-tensioning operations) shall be permitted to be behind the jack during tensioning operations. - (2) Signs and barriers shall be erected to limit employee access to the posttensioning area during tensioning operations. - (d) Riding concrete buckets. No employee shall be permitted to ride concrete buckets. - (e) Working under loads.

[6] Rules for the Administration of the Oregon Safe Employment Act (Construction, Division 3, OSHA Oregon)

Page 766

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Source excerpt

<!-- image --> Division 3 AO 1-2003 Oregon Administrative Rules Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Division - (1) No employee shall be permitted to work under concrete buckets while buckets are being elevated or lowered into position. - (2) To the extent practical, elevated concrete buckets shall be routed so that no employee, or the fewest number of employees, are exposed to the hazards associated with falling concrete buckets. - (f) Personal protective equipment. No employee shall be permitted to apply a cement, sand, and water mixture through a pneumatic hose unless the employee is wearing protective head and face equipment. [53 FR [redacted postal code], June 16, 1988, as amended at 59 FR [redacted postal code], Aug. 9, 1994] Stat. Auth.: ORS 654.025(2) and 656.726(3). Hist: APD Admin. Order 8-1989, f. 7/7/89, ef. 7/7/89. OR-OSHA Admin. Order 6-1991, f. 3/18/91, ef. 4/15/91. OR-OSHA Admin. Order 6-1995, f. 4/18/95, ef. 6/1/95. ## 1926.702 Requirements for Equipment and Tools - (a) Bulk cement storage. - (1) Bulk storage bins, containers, and silos shall be equipped with the following: - (i) Conical or tapered bottoms; and - (ii) Mechanical or pneumatic means of starting the flow of material. - (2) No employee shall be permitted to enter storage facilities unless the ejection system has been shut down, locked out, and tagged to indicate that the ejection system is not to be operated. - (b) Concrete mixers. Concrete mixers with one cubic yard (.8 m 3 ) or larger loading skips shall be equipped with the following: - (1) A mechanical device to clear the skip of materials; and - (2) Guardrails installed on each side of the skip. - (c) Power concrete trowels. Powered and rotating type concrete troweling machines that are manually guided shall be equipped with a control switch that will automatically shut off the power whenever the hands of the operator are removed from the equipment handles. - (d) Concrete buggies. Concrete buggy handles shall not extend b


[7] General Regulation (N.B. Reg. 91-191)

Page 105

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Source excerpt

- (a) identify the components, if manufactured form -work and shoring are used, - (b) show the size, grade and specifications of mate -rials to be used, if the formwork and shoring are to be constructed on the project site, - (c) show the design loads for the formwork and shoring and detail the bracing and external ties re -quired to adequately support the design loads, - (d) show the attachment points for rigging and hoisting, if the formwork and shoring are to be moved as a unit, - (e) set out the erection instructions specified by the manufacturer or the engineer, - (f) indicate the method, the sequence and the rate of pouring concrete, and - (g) bear the signature and seal of the engineer. - 94.1 (4) An employer shall ensure that the design drawings referred to in subsection (2) - (a) are kept on the project site, and - (b) are made available to an officer on request. - 94.1 (4.1) If an object protruding from concrete or any other surface may endanger an employee, the protrusion shall be removed, cut off at the surface or otherwise pro -tected as soon as the circumstances permit. - 94.1 (5) An employer shall ensure that the formwork and shoring are erected, supported and braced so that they are capable of withstanding all loads and forces likely to be applied to them - (a) without exceeding the allowable working loads established for any component of the structure, and - (b) without causing uplifting, sliding, overturning or lateral displacement of the system. - 94.1 (6) The allowable working loads referred to in paragraph (5)(a) shall be established by an engineer in accordance with good engineering practice. - a) identifient les composantes d'un coffrage et des Ă©tançons prĂ©fabriquĂ©s, - b) identifient les dimensions, la qualitĂ© et les parti -cularitĂ©s des matĂ©riaux utilisĂ©s lorsque le coffrage et les Ă©tançons sont assemblĂ©s sur le chantier, - c) indiquent les charges de calcul devant ĂȘt


[8] Occupational Safety General Regulations (N.S. Reg. 44/99)

Page 86

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## Bracing and supports - 154 (1) An employer at a project shall ensure that - (a) work is completed on any component designed to support or give added support to a part of the project before proceeding with any work that adds to the load on that part; - (b) a free standing wall of brick, concrete blocks or similar materials greater than 2 m in height is braced from both sides until the wall is attached to a rigid structure and the mortar has set adequately; - (c) a free standing wall or structure designed to support roof components or any load is braced in an adequate manner to prevent collapse of the wall or structure; and - (d) a column is erected in an adequate manner to prevent collapse of the column and, where further support is required to ensure that the column does not collapse, braced in an adequate manner. - (2) An employer at a project shall use bracing or shoring for support beneath floor levels where concrete is being poured. - (3 ) An employer at a project shall - (a) ensure that bracing or shoring is designed by an engineer and is erected, maintained and dismantled in accordance with the engineer's certified specifications; or - (b) retain the bracing or shoring at all floor levels beneath the floor where concrete is being poured until the removal of the bracing or shoring is authorized in writing by an engineer. - (4) An employer shall ensure that any bracing or shoring referred to in this Section complies with the latest version of CSA standard CSA S.269.1, 'Falsework for Construction Purposes.' Subsection 154(4) amended: O.I.C. 2013-65, N.S. Reg. 53/2013. - (5) An employer shall ensure that footings for shoring and bracing are designed to support the maximum load likely to be imposed, without excessive settlement or deformation. ## By-stander safety \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_

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