Section 1.0.0
The culture created when the whole company sees the value of a safe work environment.
Safety Culture
Short sections of rope or strap, one end of which is attached to a worker’s safety harness and the other to a strong anchor point above the work area.
Lanyards
Material such as earth removed while digging a trench or excavation.
Spoil
A line attached to a tool or object so a worker can pull it up after climbing a ladder or scaffold.
Handline
Devices that provide clean, filtered air for breathing, no matter what is in the surrounding air.
Respirators
A document that must accompany any hazardous substance. The SDS identifies the substance and gives the exposure limits, the physical and chemical characteristics, the kind of hazard it presents, precautions for safe handling and use, and specific control measures.
Safety Data Sheet (SDS)
Vertical barriers at floor level attached along exposed edges of a platform, runway, or ramp to prevent materials and people from falling.
Toeboards
A structure used to protect workers in trenches.
Shielding
According to the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), an unplanned event that results in personal injury and/or property damage.
Accident
Incidental grounding of a conducting electrical wire.
Per the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), an unplanned event that does not result in personal injury but may result in property damage or is worthy of recording.
Incident
The total weight of all people, equipment, tools, materials, and loads that a ladder can hold at one time.
Maximum Intended Load
A support system designed to prevent a trench or excavation cave-in.
Shoring
Work areas large enough for a person to work, but arranged in such a way that an employee must physically enter the space to perform work. Confined spaces have a limited or restricted means of entry and exit. They are not designed for continuous work. Tanks, vessels, silos, pits, vaults, and hoppers are examples of confined spaces. Also see permit-required confined space.
Confined Space
Capable of easily igniting and rapidly burning; used to describe a fuel with a flash point below 100°F (38°C).
Flammable
Equipment or clothing designed to prevent or reduce injuries.
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
Having pieces of material 2 inches (5 cm) thick or greater and 6 inches (15 cm) wide or greater used as flooring, decking, or scaffold decks.
Planked
A person who is responsible for directing a vehicle when the driver’s vision is blocked in any way.
Signaler
An agency of the US Department of Labor. Also refers to the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, a law that applies to more than 130 million workers and 7 million job sites in the United States.
OSHA
A narrow excavation made below the surface of the ground that is generally deeper than it is wide, with a maximum width of 15 feet (4.6 m).
Trench
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration standard that requires contractors to educate employees about hazardous chemicals on the job site and how to work with them safely.
Hazard Communication Standards (HAZCOM)
A rule stating that platforms or work surfaces with unprotected sides or edges that are 6 feet (≈2 m) or higher than the ground or level below it require fall protection.
Six-Foot Rule
Top-level, horizontal boards required on all open sides of scaffolds and platforms that are more than 14 inches (36 cm) from the face of the structure and more than 10 feet (3 m) above the ground.
Top Rails
Capable of easily igniting and rapidly burning; used to describe a fuel with a flash point at, or above, 100°F (38°C).
Combustible
Braces (metal or wood) placed diagonally from the bottom of one rail to the top of another rail that add support to a structure.
Cross-Bracing