Construction Project Safety Management Best Practices Handbook

332 Pages·2015·7.64 MB·English

Construction Project Safety-Management
Best-Practices Handbook

CONSTRUCTION PROJECT
SAFETY MANAGEMENT BEST
PRACTICES HANDBOOK
Sathyanarayanan Rajendran
and
Mandi Kime

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iii
Chapter 1 – Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1
Chapter 2 – Overview of the Construction Industry and Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3
Chapter 3 – Project Team Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Chapter 4 – Safety in Contracts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Chapter 5 – Pre-Bid and Pre-Construction Meetings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Chapter 6 – Project Safety Staffing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Chapter 7 – Designing for Construction Worker Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Chapter 8 – Use of Modern Technology in Construction Safety Management . . . . . 81
Chapter 9 – Project Safety Startup Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Chapter 10 – Construction Site Public Protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Chapter 11 – Construction Site Employee Wellness Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Chapter 12 – Development of Site Specific Safety Plan (SSSP) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Chapter 13 – Job Hazard Analysis & Pre-Task Planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
Chapter 14 – Safety Training . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
Chapter 15 – Workplace Substance Abuse Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
Chapter 16 – Accident Investigation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
Chapter 17 – Construction Site Emergency Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225
Chapter 18 – Employee Recognition Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
Chapter 19 – Return to Work Program Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243
Chapter 20 – Construction Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders (WMSDS) . . 261
Chapter 21 – Safety Inspections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271
Chapter 22 – Safety Performance Measurement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281
Chapter 23 – Construction Site Environmental Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291
Chapter 24 – Project Commissioning and Turnover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 311
Chapter 25 – Project Safety Records Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315
i

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Funding and support for this project have been provided by the State of Washington, Department of
Labor and Industries, Safety and Health Investment Projects (SHIP) grant (Grant No . 2013ZH00237) .
This project would not have been possible without the hard work and dedication of the project team .
 Safety and Health Investment Projects (SHIP), Department of Labor and Industries, State of
Washington
 Associated General Contractors of Washington (AGC of WA)
o Mandi Kime, Director of Safety; Coauthor and Grant Project Manager for AGC of WA
o Andrew Ledbetter, Safety Specialist
o Penny Schmitt, Administrative Support
 Central Washington University
o Dr . Sathyanarayanan (Sathy) Rajendran, Ph .D . CSP; Author and Grant Project Manager
for CWU
o Heather Harrell, Post-Award Manager, Grant Accounting
o Julie Guggino, Director, Research and Sponsored Programs
The project team would like to thank the construction safety subject matter experts for serving as
chapter peer reviewers . We acknowledge the input of the handbook development committee members
for their valuable input and guidance throughout the development of this handbook . This handbook
would not be possible without their contributions, insight, and advice . We wish to acknowledge the
support we received from the contractors who shared their best practices in the form of pictures,
forms, programs, and processes . We also express our sincere thanks to the safety and health manage-
ment and construction management students from Central Washington University who assisted with
the data collection .
Handbook Development Committee Members
• Drew Rosenfelt, LEED AP; PSF Mechanical, Inc .
• Jamie Stuart; Valley Electric Co .
• John L . Burdick, PCL Construction Services, Inc .
• Jon Andersen, CSP, CHST, CET; Centennial Contractors Enterprises, Inc .
• Mandi Kime; Associated General Contractors of Washington
• Mark Gauger; G .L .Y . Construction
• Pete Campbell; BNBuilders
iii
Peer Reviewers
• Cole Davis, NOVA Group Inc .
• Chris Grover, CSP, CRIS, RRE; CNA Insurance
• Donna Emmert, CPDM; Zurich Services Corporation
• Drew Rosenfelt, LEED AP; PSF Mechanical, Inc .
• Gavin Banks, Turner Construction Company
• Jamie Stuart; Valley Electric Co .
• Jerry Shupe, CSP; Hensel Phelps Construction Co .
• John Gambatese, Ph .D ., P .E ., Oregon State University
• John L . Burdick, PCL Construction Services, Inc .
• Jon Andersen, CSP, CHST, CET; Centennial Contractors Enterprises, Inc .
• Keith Dyer, CSP; Walsh Pacific
• Kerry Soileau; Ferguson Construction, Inc .
• Kimberley Gamble, CHST; Andersen Construction
• Mandi Kime; Associated General Contractors of Washington
• Mark Gauger; G .L .Y . Construction
• Melanie Preusser; Zurich Services Corporation
• Mike Andler, CRIS; Central Washington University
• Pete Campbell; BNBuilders
• Rick Zellen, CSP, ARM, CRIS, STS-C; Zurich Services Corporation

Construction Contractors
• Andersen Construction Co ., Inc .
• Andgar Corporation
• Balfour Beatty Construction
• BNBuilders
• Exxel Pacific Inc .
• G .L .Y . Construction
• Gary Merlino Construction Company
• Goodfellow Bros ., Inc .
• Guy F . Atkinson Construction, L .L .C .
• Hensel Phelps Construction Co .
• Hoffman Construction Company of Oregon
• Hudson Bay Insulation
• Korsmo Construction
• Lydig Construction
• Morley Builders
• NOVA Group Inc .
• PCL Construction Services, Inc .
• PSF Mechanical, Inc .
• Sellen Construction
• SNC-Lavalin
• Turner Construction Company
iv
1
INTRODUCTION
Construction worker safety and health continues to be an important concern for the Washington
construction industry . The industry has consistently experienced higher injury and illness rates
compared to other states . In fact, the 2011 WA construction total recordable case rate per 100 full-time
workers was the highest in the nation (8 .7) .1 Not only are construction injuries a significant cause of
humanitarian concern, but the high cost associated with these injuries and deaths is also a motivation
for an improved safety performance in the construction industry .
The “technical” causes of injuries and illnesses (e .g . falls) in construction have long been recognized,
and their persistence continues to frustrate construction safety and health practitioners . Improvement
in project safety management practices is needed to lower the level of risk and improve worker safety
and health performance . There is a great deal of knowledge of specific successful management practices,
from pioneering safe companies, which can be used to enhance construction safety and health of the
overall industry .
To prevent injuries, illnesses, and fatalities, many construction contractors have implemented successful
strategies (“best practices”), which are “above and beyond” regulatory compliance that have helped
them improve worker safety and health performance . Even though the construction industry shares
a common goal of creating an injury and incident free work environment on its jobsites, there is no
common medium to share these best practices that will benefit other contractors and the industry as a
whole . These best practices, if shared, can benefit the industry to fulfill its goals of creating an injury-
free work environment on construction sites . Instead of re-inventing the wheel, contractors, who are
interested in improving their safety performance, can implement proven best practices during different
project phases (e .g . Design or Construction) within their projects, thereby improving their project
safety and health performance .
1.1 PURPOSE
The purpose of the Construction Project Safety Management Best Practices Handbook is to provide
comprehensive coverage of best practices from contractors of all phases of a construction project
from project planning, design, project start-up, construction, commissioning, and closeout, in separate
chapters . The handbook also provides various templates of safety planning forms and checklists
(e .g . Pre-construction safety meeting checklist) . They can be easily replicated by medium or smaller
companies who otherwise cannot afford to create these tools from scratch . Each chapter has an
“additional resources” section at the end for those who wish to explore more deeply into the topic area .
The handbook’s scope is limited to safety management, administration, and programs in construction .
The handbook’s primary focus is on project safety administration/management programs .
1
BLS (2013) . State Occupational Injuries, Illnesses, and Fatalities, available at http://www .bls .gov/iif/oshstate .htm#WA (accessed 7 October 2013) .
1
1.2 SCOPE
The handbook is written to meet the needs of project owners, and small and medium-sized contractors
as a ready reference guide for project site safety management . It will also be helpful as a safety
management training manual for entry-level safety, and construction professionals . University and
college instructors can use this handbook as a construction safety management course textbook for
students who are pursuing safety management or construction management degrees .
1.3 REGULATORY JURISDICTION
All regulatory requirements referenced in this handbook are based on Washington Division of
Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) regulations . However, the handbook contains several safety
management best practices from various contractors in the form of safety forms, checklists, programs,
etc ., as exhibits in most chapters . These best practice tools are only included as an example, and the
readers should be aware that these contractors may reference safety regulations depending on their
regulatory jurisdictions . It is the reader’s responsibility to ensure that they adapt the best practices
provided in this handbook for their jurisdiction and comply with all applicable local, state, and federal
regulations affecting their workplace . In addition, please note the materials available in this handbook
are intended to provide general information about the subject matter covered . They are not meant
to provide legal advice . Readers should contact their attorney to obtain advice with respect to any
particular issue or problem .
2