Page 57 - Safety Memo

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decisions made, and all employees and supervisors are fully C. Elevating work platforms, such as vertical towers and scissor
trained to work safely. The benefits of effective, proactive safety lifts, are designed to raise and hold a work platform in a
programs include: substantially vertical axis. 3637, 3642
• Higher productivity and employee morale D. Industrial trucks, such as rough terrain forklifts, may be used to
elevate and position workers under specific conditions. 3657
• Higher quality of work and products produced
E. Elevators (construction) are required as follows:
• Fewer worker injuries
1. For structures or buildings 60 ft. or more above ground
• Lower compensation insurance cost and absenteeism level or 48 ft. below ground level. 1630(a)
• Lower employee turnover 2. At demolition sites of seven or more stories or 72 ft. or
more in height. 1735(r)
A written Injury and Illness Prevention Program (IIP Program)
should be the foundation for all of your other safety and health Note: Elevators must be inspected and tested in the
programs and is required for every workplace regulated under presence of a DOSH representative before use. A permit
Title 8 of the California Code of Regulations (T8 CCR). A summary from DOSH is required to operate. 1604.29(a)
of the basic elements of an IIP Program has been included in F. Personnel hoists may be used at special construction sites,
the Injury and Illness Prevention Program section of this guide. such as bridges and dams, if approved by a registered
Employers are also encouraged to use Cal/OSHA’s IIP Programs engineer. 1604.1(c)
eTool (www.dir.ca.gov/dosh/etools/09-031/index.htm) to develop
a specific IIP program tailored to their own workplaces. G. Ladders can be used to gain access to working surfaces
above and below ground level under certain conditions. 1675
Remember, the effectiveness of all your safety programs depend
on how well you actually implement and maintain them. You must H. Ramps and runways provide means of access for foot or
regularly review and update your programs in order to keep them vehicle traffic. 1623, 1624, 1625
effective. Employers and employees must also remember that the I. Stairways must be installed in buildings that have two or more
regulations in T8 CCR only set minimum requirements and they stories or are 24 ft. or more in height. 1629(a)(1)
should strive to exceed the standards at all times.
1. For buildings of two and three stories, at least one stairway
For safety and health related assistance, employers and is required. 1629(a)(4)
employees may contact the nearest Cal/OSHA Consultation 2. For buildings of more than three stories, two or more
Office listed in the back cover page of this guide. stairways are required. 1629(a)(4)
J. The following routes of access are prohibited:
Access 1. Endless belt-type manlifts. 1604.1(a)(3)
The employer must provide safe access to and from all work 2. Single-cleat more than 30 ft. or double-cleat ladders more
levels or surfaces. Regulated means of access are as follows: than 24 ft. long. 1629(c)
A. Stairways, ramps, or ladders must be provided at all points 3. Cleats nailed to studs. 1629(b)
where a break in elevation of 18 in. or more occurs in a 4. Rides on loads, hooks, slings, or concrete buckets of
frequently traveled passageway, entry, or exit. 1629(a)(3) derricks, hoists, or cranes. 1718(a), 1720(c)(3)
B. Aerial devices, such as cherry pickers and boom trucks, may
be vehicle-mounted or self-propelled and used to position
employees, tools, and materials. 3637, 3648

2 Cal/OSHA Pocket Guide for the Construction Industry | June 2015 Cal/OSHA Pocket Guide for the Construction Industry | June 2015 3