Residential construction safety professionals often use the four basic job site hazard subject areas as a means to get interest from the on-the-job employees; it works out very well as a training or instructional guide.
The big four are:
Falls from Elevated Heights:
- Subject areas include falls in general, ladders, floors and other openings on the walking/working surfaces (don’t forget skylight wells), and the need to have guardrails or other fall protection devices installed.
- We included the need for personal fall protection systems (PFAS) in these Tool Box Talks as discussion points. The various standards of when to wear PFAS will require some research on your part. However, you need to know that when a compliance officer sees someone working on a roof, they are required by statute to check out the situation to see if a worker is exposed to falling.
Being Struck By:
- This is a term used by industry safety and insurance personnel. Being struck by includes being hit by a hand or power tool. For example, when you accidentally hit your thumb with a hammer holding down a nail. You were struck by the hammer causing an injury.
- There are a lot of other more serious examples. One is using a nail gun and accidentally discharging a nail into a foot. Another example is an amputation of a hand or finger by a saw blade because the guard was removed.
- When we put together this booklet, we looked at specific subject areas to include in “being stuck by.” Because the accidents/incidents are so common, we decided to save paper and include the subjects in such areas as Tool Use and Care and Heavy Equipment subject areas.
Being caught between or under:
- This is also a term used by industry safety and insurance workers. The primary example is excavation crews. Like seeing someone working on a roof, compliance officers are required to stop and inspect when they see a hole in the ground. Be advised. A more common example of a worker being injured is during the raising of a framed wall. If the wall falls backwards, a worker is potentially exposed to being “caught between.” In this case, between the wall and the floor. Hips and legs have been broken by falling walls.
Electrical:
- This applies to all electrical hazards. One reason why electrical hazards are mentioned though out the tool box talks is because of the exposure all workers have to electrical hazards, the silent killer.
Think safe - work safe - live safe
Think safely in everything you do
Safety First
