New steel erection standard for iron workers
Iron workers in America should be safer under a new rule issued recently by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The new rule on steel erection, developed in concert with industry and union groups, is expected to prevent 30 fatalities and 1,142 injuries annually and save employers nearly $40 million a year.
High cost in death and injuries
The steel erection rule is the first OSHA safety standard developed under the Negotiated Rulemaking Act of 1990 and the agency’s Negotiated Rulemaking Policy. The rule was developed by members of the Steel Erection Negotiated Rulemaking Advisory Committee (SENRAC), representing employers and employees significantly affected by the standard. Every year, an average of 35 iron workers die during steel erection activities, and 2,300 more suffer lost workday injuries, OSHA reports.
The standard enhances protections provided to iron workers by addressing the hazards that have been identified as the major causes of injuries and fatalities in the steel erection industry. These are hazards associated with working under loads; hoisting, landing, and placing decking; column stability; double connections; landing and placing steel joints; and falls to lower levels.
The final rule protects all workers engaged in steel erection activities. It does not cover electric transmission towers, communications towers, broadcast towers, water towers, or tanks. SENRAC included representatives of the International Association of Bridge, Structural & Ornamental Iron Workers, United Steelworkers of America, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, International Union of Operating Engineers, AFL-CIO Building and Construction Trades Department, National Erectors Association, the Associated General Contractors of America, and the Associated Builders and Contractors.
Process began in 1994
SENRAC began negotiations on the revised steel erection standard in June 1994 and presented OSHA with its consensus proposed rule in July 1997. OSHA published a proposed final rule for public comment on Aug. 13, 1998, and held public hearings from Dec. 1-11, 1998. The final rule will become effective July 17, 2001.
These are some key provisions of the revised steel erection standard:
— Site Layout and Construction Sequence
- Requires certification of proper curing of concrete in footings, piers, etc. for steel columns.
- Requires controlling contractor to provide erector with a safe site layout including preplanning routes for hoisting loads.
— Site-Specific Erection Plan
- Requires preplanning of key erection elements, including coordination with controlling contractor before erection begins, in certain circumstances.
— Hoisting and Rigging
- Provides additional crane safety for steel erection.
- Minimizes employee exposure to overhead loads through preplanning and work practice requirements.
- Prescribes proper procedure for multiple lifts (christmas-treeing).
— Structural Steel Assembly
- Provides safer walking/working surfaces by eliminating tripping hazards and minimizes slips through new slip-resistance requirements.
- Provides specific work practices regarding safely landing deck bundles and promoting the prompt protection from fall hazards in interior openings.
— Column Anchorage
- Requires four anchor bolts per column along with other column stability requirements.
- Requires procedures for adequacy of anchor bolts that have been modified in the field.
— Beams and Columns
- Eliminates extremely dangerous collapse hazards associated with making double connections at columns.
— Open Web Steel Joists
- Requires minimizing collapse of lightweight steel joists by addressing need for erection bridging and method of attachment.
- Requires bridging terminus anchors with illustrations and drawings in a nonmandatory appendix.
- Adds new requirements to minimize collapse in placing loads on steel joists.
— Systems-Engineered Metal Buildings
- Requires minimizing collapses in the erection of these specialized structures, which account for a major portion of steel erection in this country.
— Falling Object Protection
- Provides performance provisions that address hazards of falling objects in steel erection.
— Fall Protection
- Includes controlled decking zone (CDZ) provisions to prevent decking fatalities.
- Deckers in a CDZ and connectors must be protected at heights greater than two stories or 30 feet. Connectors between 15 and 30 feet must wear fall arrest or restraint equipment and be able to be tied off or be provided another means of fall protection.
- Requires fall protection for all others engaged in steel erection at heights greater than 15 feet.
— Training
- Requires qualified person to train exposed workers in fall protection.
- Requires qualified person to train exposed workers engaged in special, high-risk activities.
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