chapter 7 building&facilities

8/2/2019 Chapter 7 Building&Facilities

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Building and Facilities

Chapter 7


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Introduction

Hazards and applicable safety standards should beconsidered during building design stage.

Safety standards for building are usually called codes. Building codes apply to the construction of new building or

to their modification.

Building codes change constantly, and most buildings inexistence do not meet the latest codes.

Some standards are vague and generally worded.

Industries have undertaken a large number of retrofit

programs to update their buildings and facilities to satisfystandards.

Most frequent categories of workers injuries and fatality arisefrom improper building design, lack of guardrails, andproblems with exist.


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Introduction (cont.)

Examples of deficiencies:

Equipment is designed and built without sufficient

thought about access to clean, maintain, repair, or

replace light bulbs.

Some workers work in locations where they could

be unable to escape in event of fire.

Aisle widths are often set up without clearancebetween moving machinery and personnel.


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Walking and Working Surfaces

Many accidents occur on floors (slips and

falls).

Walking and working surfaces include: floors,

mezzanines, balconies, platforms, catwalks,

scaffolds, ramps, docks, stairways and ladders.


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Guarding Open Floors and Platforms

Every open-sided floor or platform 4 ft or more aboveadjacent floor or ground level shall be guarded by astandard railings on all open sides (except for entrances toa ramp, stairway, of fixed ladder).

Reasons behinds this, railings are used to protect against

falling, not jumping, in case of unexpected events (3rd

leading cause of work-related fatalities according to theNational Safety Council).

The railing should be provided with a toeboordwheneverbeneath the open sides:

Persons can pass, There is a moving machinery, or

Falling materials could create a hazards to an equipment.

A surpassing number of fatalities result from falls at heightof only 8 feet.


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Standard railings


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Floor and Aisles Maintenance of floor and aisles is an important matter

Floor and aisles must be kept clean, orderly, and in asanitary condition

Some OSHA citations: Piles of debars presented tripping hazards to workers.

Accumulation of grain dust in grain elevator represented hazardto cleanup personnel as well as serious exposure to hazard.

Piles of sawdust in woodworking shop.

Leaking oil on the floor of a work area.

Excessive materials in excessive quantities or scrap materials

in excess of days accumulation. Water on the floor ( slopes and floor drainage systems to

alleviate the problem of wet process)

Floor should be kept clean and dry


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Clean and orderly aisles (courtesy: Pratt & Whitney).


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Organized tool trays (courtesy: Pratt & Whitney).


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Floor and Aisles (Cont.)

Floor may represent trip hazards (protruding nails,splinters, holes, or loose boards)

Uneven floors can result in serious injuries

Aisles must be kept clear of hazardous obstructions andappropriately masked.

Sufficient safe clearance shall be allowed (sufficient widthto permit the free movement of employers).

Marking plates for floor loads and adherence to floor-load limits ( Data base for weights and locations and

computerized system for monitoring and reportingviolation)

The use of mechanical handling equipment (forklifts)magnifies floor problems.


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Stairways

Safety codes necessitate that if the stairways have 4 or morerisers, standard railing or handrail must be used, and theymust be kept clear of obstructions.

Standard railing is a vertical barrier erected along the exposedside of stairways to prevent falls.

Standard handrail is a single bar or pipe supported onbrackets from a wall to furnish a handhold in case of tripping.

Long flights of strain should be avoided by the use of landingsor platforms.

Main purpose of the stairway landing is to shorten the

distance of falls, not to give the climber a chance to rest(supplement purpose).

To be effective landings must be no less than the width of thestairway and a min of 30 inches in length measured in thedirection of travel.


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Ladders Ladders should be neither too strong nor too weak.

How the ladders are usedand maintainedis an important issue.

Defective ladders should be marked Dangerous, do not use, and they should be either

repaired or destroyed (saw in half).

Metal ladders conduct electricity (electrocution). Rubber feet are good precaution.

It is unsafe to ascend or descend a ladder with the climber facing away from the ladder.

Portable ladders are not designed to be used as platforms or scaffolds (very weak).

When accessing a roof, the ladder needs to extend at least 3 ft above the upper point of

support.

Never place a ladder on box, barrel, or unstable base to obtain additional height.

Never splice short ladders together to make longer ones.

Proper slant for a ladder is 4 feet vertical to 1 foot horizontal.

To prevent ladder slipping or tipping:

Tie its top.

Use the structure of wall/building to limit its movement.

Use nonslip bases (sometimes does not work on oily, metallic, or concrete slippery surfaces ).


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Fixed ladders For fixed ladders, the emphasis is design and construction.

Designer should follow the detailed standard specifications.

Long unbroken lengths of fixed ladders are dangerous and should be interrupted every

30 feet.


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Example of ladder safety device system(a rail and a trolley attached to the climbers belt)


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Dockboards

A dockboard (bridge plate) provides a temporarysurface over which loads can be transportedduring the loading or unloading of a cargo

vehicle. Main safety hazards with the use of dockboards is

that they may shift while in use or the surfacesconnected by the dockboard can shift (movement

of the cargo vehicle itself). Dockboard should be strong enough to carry the

load.


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Exits (doors to outside/means of scrape)

Exits (means of egress) should include thefollowing:

The ways of exit access:

Every point in the building should have a continuousand unobstructed way to a public way.

The exit itself:

Exit must be kept unlocked (automatic-alarm-

sounding emergency exit doors) and clear(obstruction-free).

The way the exist discharge.


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Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

The law mandated that employers make reasonableaccommodation for handicapped employees ratherthan deny them employment.

This means mandatory changes to walking and workingsurfaces, exits, drinking water fountain levels, restrooms, and other facilities.

Typically, the safety and health manager is in charge forchecking compliance with ADA standards.

Recently, handicapped personal (working as expertconsultants) visit facilities in their wheelchairs and tourthe building to check compliance for handicappedaccess.


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Illumination

Lighting or lack of it, can be a safety hazard.

Every exit sign should be suitably illuminated

by reliable light source (internally, extremely,or naturally)

Recommended illumination for all workplacescan be found in Tables 7.1 and 7.2.


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Miscellaneous FacilitiesMaintenance Platforms:

Rather than working from suspended scaffolds, Many modern buildings have built-in, safe suspension systems (powered platforms) for exterior window cleaning andother exterior maintenance.

Attention should be directed to how these platforms are being usedandmaintained, not how they are made.

Typical problems are missing guardrails, missing toeboards, missing side mesh, and

inadequate inspections or record of inspections. The equipment should have load-rating plates on the platforms, max breakingstrength for wire rope used.

Worker need to wear safety belts attached to lifelines attached to the buildingstructure or to the working platform.

Public utilities workers often use platforms that are vehicle mounted.

Hazards associated with this type are; contact with high-voltage power lines(safety distance must be maintained: 10-foot distance for 40-kilovolt line and/orproximity warning devices), the possibility of unexpected contact with an objectthat might strike and sweep the worker off the platform, and sitting on the edge ofthe basket.

Majority of accidents arise from improper use of the equipment rather than fromequipment failure or design.


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Miscellaneous Facilities (cont.)

Elevators: New elevators should be inspected and

periodically thereafter.

Construction permits and operatingpermits (from authorized agency).

Licensing procedures for elevatorinspections.

Manlifts are much cheaper andefficient but more hazardous (gettingin and getting off)

Manlift: a continuouslymoving belt on which workersmay ride both up and down.

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