Safety Tips by Cotney
Four Important Tips to Reduce Struck-by Hazards in Roofing
By Travis McConnell, Cotney Construction Law. Struck-by injuries are produced by forcible contact or impact between an injured person and an object or piece of equipment, such as an automobile. Unfortunately, struck-by incidents are very common, extremely dangerous, and result in as many as 70 worker fatalities each year. The following ...
Six Important Tips for Maintaining Ladder Safety While Roofing
Ladders are present on virtually every jobsite and provide employees with convenient options to access upper levels. Unfortunately, the hazard of falling can pose significant risks to employees using ladders. Additionally, because non-compliant ladder use is highly visible, it is one of OSHA’s most frequent reasons for issuing citations. To protect employees, ...
Five Key Tips for Effective Hazard Communication (HazCom)
OSHA requires that the identities and hazards of chemicals be available to workers in the workplace. In fact, HazCom was the second-most commonly cited standard by OSHA in 2019. The following tips will help roofers comply with OSHA’s regulations and keep employees informed: Written HazCom programs are required by law. Each ...
Four Key Topics Roofers Should Address in their Safety Manuals
Manuals should clearly define training, monitoring, disciplinary consequences and safety requirements. 1. Plans for Conducting Safety Training While sometimes overlooked, corporate safety and health programs (“safety manuals”) should include plans for how employees will be trained regarding safety. These plans should cover, for example: (1) who will be responsible for conducting ...
5 Key Safety Tips for Employee Eye and Face Protection
According to OSHA, eye and face protection violations were within the top 10 most frequently cited hazards in 2019. This ranking is not surprising, given these violations are easily observable during inspection, from close and afar. However, eye and safety protection measures are also a very serious concern for employee safety. ...
5 Tips for Working Safely in the Summer Heat
Summer is peak roofing season. How are you staying safe and cool? 1) Appreciate the risks. The official start of Summer – and with it, ferocious heat – was on June 20th. Construction workers, especially roofers, are uniquely susceptible to heat-related injuries due to the nature of the trade. Excessive heat ...
3 Safety Tips for Working with Scaffolding
Building, Access and Guardrail Requirements 1. Training and ‘Qualified Person’ Requirements Under OSHA regulation, scaffolds must be designed by a “qualified person” and must be constructed and loaded in accordance with that design. Therefore, contractors must ensure that only properly trained workers build, modify, or move scaffolds, and that the qualified ...
As the Construction Industry Returns to Work, What Now?
By Richard V. Blystone, Cotney Construction Law. Guidance for employers in the construction industry to keep workers protected and help prevent infection. You may have furloughed workers, laid them off, terminated them or otherwise reduced your workforce, in response to the pandemic. As restrictions are lifted, and things slowly return to a ...
