Facilities Safety
The Environmental Health and Safety Office provides campus Facilities Maintenance workers with Occupational Safety and Health standards for guidance, support, and resources to conduct their work duties in a safe environment.
Environmental Health and Safety periodically performs inspections and audits to identify hazards and improvements to safety measures within the workplace.
If the identification of hazardous building material is required, please request an assessment or service by submitting a service requisition through Facilities Management.
Forklifts
Many departments on campus use heavy equipment like forklifts. It is imperative that all persons who use forklifts be trained properly on their use.
Before using any forklift, be sure you have been properly trained, you have read your operators manual and follow the instructions. Be sure you read the forklift label to see how heavy of a load it can carry – and stay within that range. Be sure you follow all the manufacturer’s and Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s inspection processes.
- There is a mast tilt control to move the load forward and backwards, (never killed a load while moving).
- There is a nameplate that lists the maximum weight you may carry— read it!
- The fuel tank may be non-electric for your full forklift may be powered by gasoline, diesel, fuel, propane, or electricity(batteries).
- Your forklift should have an overhead guard to protect you from falling objects, and from being crushed if the forklift tipped over.
- Other parts of the forklift are the mast, the backrest, lift chains, lift carriage, and forks.
Learn more about Forklift Safety.
Excavation and Trenching
Excavation accidents are a major cause of construction deaths. All the trenches are excavations, but not all excavations are trenches. An excavation is any man-made cut trench or depression in an earth surface that is formed by earth removal. A trench is a narrow excavation in relation to its length below the surface ofI the ground. The depth is greater than the width, but the width of a trench is not greater than 15 feet. Excavation work is dangerous because conditions at the site are never constant. An overnight rain can create seepage and vibrations which can cause stress cracks in the walls. Changing conditions in soil stability increase the potential of cave-ins.
Spoil piles, materials and parked equipment or vehicles too close to the edge of an excavator excavation can collapse excavation walls. Downward pressure of the stockpiled soil can create bottom, heaving, resulting in a bulge at the bottom of the excavation. The bulge can cause the walls to collapse. If soil is piled too close to the edge, it can fall or roll back into the excavation and trap or bury workers.
Underground seepage can weaken the base of an excavation. Vibrations from equipment, operating near the edge of an excavation increases the risk of a caveman.
Shoveling loose soil from the bottom of an unshored trench can collapse a side wall. Without a stable base the walls have a little support, and may begin to crumble or slide and can lead to a rapid came in.
Without an escape ramp, stairway or ladder, and a protective shield system, you can be quickly trapped in a cave in. Soil is heavy wing more than 100 pounds per cubic foot a cubic yards of soil 3‘ x 3‘ x 3‘ may weigh more than 2700 pounds. Suffocation can occur in three minutes or less, even if you were only trapped up to your waist.
Proper work procedures and site safety begin with the following: prevention begins with evaluation, assessment, and planning. The evaluation of the conditions by a competent person helped determine the systems that will be used to protect workers. OSHA recognizes the following four types of soil: stable rock, TYPE A which is cohesive soil, such as clay, silty, clay, sandy clay, clay, loam, and sandy clay, loam, TYPE B: non-cohesive soil, such as angular, gravel, silt, silt, loam, sandy loam, silty, clay, loam, and sandy clay loam. TYPE C: granular soil, including gravel, sand, loamy, sand, submerged soil, soil, from which water is freely, seeping, and unstable submerged rock.
A designated confident person must perform various test at the excavation site to classify soil results of at least one manual and one visual test. After the soil has been classified, a competent person can select the proper excavation and trenching protective systems.
Additionally, there may be a cleanup operation or emergency response operations resulting from the release of hazardous substances. Be Asmus, fear and excavations greater than 4 feet must be tested before workers are permitted to enter. Employers must provide adequate precautions, including regulatory, protection, and ventilation. Workers must be protected by ensuring sloping, benching system, or the use of a trench shield or trench box.
Benching is a method of excavation in which the sides of the excavation are cut away to form a series of horizontal levels or steps, usually with vertical or near-vertical surfaces between levels. A trench shield or trench box is a structure placed within the excavation work area that is able to withstand forces imposed on it by a cave-in. This would protect workers within the structure. A trench shield or trench box is a structure placed within the excavation work area that is able to withstand forces imposed on it by a caveman. This would protect workers within the structure. before beginning any exclamations, a competent person must determine the estimated location of sewer, telephone, electrical cable, gas, oil, waterlines, and other installations that may be encountered during digging.
The worker must protect, support, shut down, and remove utilities, or other installations to ensure the safety of the workers.
Other safety measures include fall protection: walkways must be erected for workers who need to cross the excavation site. If the walkway is 6 feet or more above the lower level guard rails must be installed. Also, exposure to falling low workers are not permitted underneath load handles by lifting or digging equipment.
Plan before you dig. Know how to spot potential danger.
Rescue operations. Know your company's emergency rescue procedures.
