We held our first field safety committee meeting of 2020 this past Wednesday. Your new field safety committee members are:
Oliverio Anaya - representing drywall hangers & framers
Mark Gulbrandsen - representing acoustic carpenters
Jose Plascencia - representing drywall finishers
Rick Rizzi - representing painters
Chris Rojas - representing drivers & warehouse
James Thomas - representing carpenters & framers
We had some good discussion on safety and one of the items that came out of this meeting was - when is a debris chute required when dumping scrap out of a structure?
The following are the OSHA regulations on this subject matter.
So, with that being said, materials cannot be dumped or dropped down to ground level out of a structure, building, etc., from a height greater than 20 feet without the use of an OSHA compliant debris chute.
Also, if you are dumping scrap out of a structure from below 20 feet, you still need to ensure that there are no people below that could be struck by the scrap. You should caution tape off the area on the ground surrounding the dumpster that the scrap is being dumped into to warn others to stay clear of the area. You also need to take into account the wind conditions.
Lastly, don't forget about your personal fall protection if you are the employee that is dumping the material. You would need to be protected from falling out of the structure by an OSHA compliant guardrail or you would need to be appropriately using fall arrest equipment such as a safety harness & retractable lanyard and you need to be tied-off/secured to a 5,000 lb anchorage point that is part of the structure.
Should you have any questions on this subject, please contact our Safety Director, Peter Graham.
As far as your 2020 field safety committee; please use them as a resource. The field safety committee meets 6 times a year and the goal of the field safety committee is to help ensure you have a safe career so that you can go home to your loved ones. If you have a safety matter, an idea for safety improvement or something related to safety that you are needing help with, you should contact our Safety Director, your Superintendent, one of our Safety Advocates, or seek out one of our field safety committee members so we can have a round-table discussion on your safety matter so we can develop a plan to get it resolved.
Have a Safe Day!
