Safety – NECA-IBEW Electrical Training Center

Oregon Health Authority Mask Use Directive & OR-OSHA’s COVID-19 Rule

November 4, 2020/in Safety /by Barry Moreland

Since March 23, 2020, a series of Executive Orders have come forth from the Oregon Governor’s Office intended to reduce exposures to the Coronavirus which, in some cases, meant the temporary closing of certain businesses. As we entered into re-opening phases, the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) began releasing additional, mandatory, directives for social distancing, occupant capacity reductions, increased sanitation procedures and use of face coverings for very specific business types, of which construction was NOT one.

Oregon OSHA was identified as the enforcing agency for compliance with Executive Orders and OHA directives and began drafting their own COVID-19 emergency rule which would apply to all workplaces in Oregon, including construction. This rule was to be adopted on 10/21/20 and, as written, would provide employers flexibility to identify which Coronavirus exposure control procedures would best fit their work environments.

On 10/19/20, OHA released additional requirements for wearing of face masks, face coverings or face shields applicable for nearly every business type in Oregon. These new requirements are effective immediately and are more stringent than what OR-OSHA’s draft emergency rule language specified. So, what does this all really mean?

1 – With very few exceptions, face coverings and face masks are now required at all times when working inside of a building, or on a construction site, either open to the public or private, and outside when closer than 6 feet of another person.

From the OHA directive:

Masks, face coverings or face shields are required at all times for employees, contractors and volunteers in public and private workplaces, including hallways, bathrooms, classrooms, elevators, lobbies, break rooms, meeting rooms and other common and shared spaces, unless employees, contractors or volunteers are at a private, individual workspace not shared with other people.

2 – Face coverings and face masks good – face shields bad / not recommended:

Use of a face shield alone should only be done on very limited basis. Wearing a face shield alone without a mask or face covering increases the potential for transmission of viruses to those in the same room as the individual without the mask or face covering.

3 – Manage who comes into your place of business and enforce mask requirements:

Require employees, contractors, volunteers, students, customers and visitors to wear a mask, face covering or face shield, except as follows:
- Employees, contractors and volunteers: Masks, face coverings or face shields are strongly recommended in all indoor work spaces, but not required when at or in a location where the employee, contractor or volunteer does not have a job that requires interacting with the public or with other employees, such as a large warehouse and at least six (6) feet of distance can be maintained between other people. When six (6) feet of distance cannot be maintained, such as in a restroom or break room, masks, face coverings or face shields are required.

4 – Provide masks and post signs:

Provide masks, face coverings or face shields for employees.
Post clear signs about the mask, face covering or face shield requirements.

OR-OSHA is in the process of revising their emergency rule to reflect these new requirements and have indicated an adoption as early as 11/02/20. There are a number of additional requirements within this rule that I will report on once it is finalized. Contact me if you have any questions.

OSHA’s Heat Related Illness Emphasis Program and Face Mask Use

June 26, 2020/in Safety /by Barry Moreland

Every July, my safety article is crafted to remind our members of the health hazards we face when working in hot environments, basic protocols to identify and react to heat exhaustion, or heat stroke, and documentation necessary to comply with OSHA’s regulations.

Exposure to heat can lead to headaches, cramps, dizziness, fatigue, nausea or vomiting, and even seizures or death. From 2012 to 2018, a total of 42 people received benefits through Oregon’s workers’ compensation system for heat-related illnesses (HRI).

Following Federal OSHA’s initial HRI campaign, WA-DOSH adopted specific regulations and OR-OSHA established a new emphasis program, both in which enforcement officers, as part of every inspection, will assess employers efforts to prevent heat-related illnesses.

Introduce COVID-19 exposure controls to the workplace, and now your contractor’s HRI prevention program will have to take into account the impact of wearing face coverings, masks and, in certain situations, face shields to potential overheating of workers.

While the daily use of these types of barriers is a something new for us, standard prevention steps remain the same. These include:

Perform the heaviest, most labor-intensive work during the coolest part of the day.
Use the buddy system to monitor each other’s response to working in the heat.
Drink plenty of cool water.
Wear light, loose-fitting, and breathable clothing.
Take frequent short breaks in cool, shaded areas – allow your body to cool down.
Avoid eating large meals before working in hot environments.
Avoid caffeinated drinks, especially energy drinks, as these make the body lose water and increase the risk of heat illnesses.

To help those suffering from heat exhaustion:

Move them to a cool, shaded area. Do not leave them alone.
Loosen and remove heavy clothing.
Provide cool water to drink if they are not feeling sick to their stomach.
Try to cool them by fanning them.
Cool the skin with a spray mist of cold water or a wet cloth.
If they do not feel better in a few minutes, call 911 for emergency help.

Employers can also calculate the heat index for their worksite with the federal OSHA Heat Stress App for mobile phones to assist in planning of daily work and prevention strategies.

NECA Safety Professionals Work Collectively to Combat Coronavirus

May 14, 2020/in Safety /by Barry Moreland

Health-related concerns about exposure to common construction products like silica, lead and asbestos are well documented. Employers have the ability to easily identify these materials and establish work practices that reduce risk. Very specific regulations from EPA, HUD and OSHA can be followed to protect workers, occupants and the public from harm.

With Coronavirus, our employers and workforce are dealing with a new health hazard in which we do not have the ability to immediately identify known exposure. Measurable and standardized safe work practices have yet to be identified. The volume of frequently changing information from federal, state and local safety and governing agencies is almost overwhelming to keep up with.

To better manage this pandemic situation, Safety Professionals from nearly 20, Oregon Columbia NECA – IBEW 48 contractors joined forces to network and collectively establish COVID – 19 based policies, procedures and best practices to help keep our workforce healthy and maintain project productivity as best as possible. This workgroup also had participation from Los Angeles and Puget Sound NECA Safety Directors to better identify specific requirements to work in outlying areas from Portland.

Key topics the group focused on include;

Training of workforce – what resources exist from CDC, OSHA and NECA and how to best apply them

OSHA concerns – application of general duty clause, illness recordability / reportability and employee complaint response plans

Documentation issues – written exposure control plans, project access pre-screening surveys, use of permit system for work that requires 2 or more people within 6 feet, social distancing and sanitation procedures and notification of known virus exposure in the workplace

PPE / OPE – Sourcing of very limited personal protective equipment and sanitation supplies, clarifying use of covered face masks – mandatory or voluntary, options to minimize fogging of safety glasses caused by face mask use, face shields used as additional barriers for work within 6 feet of each other, application of misters and sprayers for disinfecting and sanitating of tools and equipment

Mental health – strategies to help improve morale and reduce stress, use of safety meetings and NECA’s Stand Down to promote a positive end result for implementing work practices that will more quickly bring an end to this construction disruption

This group continues to meet weekly using an online platform and will focus on improving our current working conditions to the extent possible. They represent safety leadership not only for their direct employers, but for our industry as a whole.

Reducing Risk of Coronavirus in the Workplace

March 24, 2020/in Safety /by Barry Moreland

As with any workplace hazard, employers should assess overall risk level based upon anticipated exposure range and the degree of injury or illness severity. In the case of the COVID-19 pandemic, we are forced to navigate unfamiliar territory complicated by the absence of formal safety standards, such as OSHA or ANSI, to specifically direct employer compliance actions.

The WHO, CDC, OSHA and NECA all provide excellent Coronavirus specific resources to educate employers and our workforce on what this new virus is, how it can affect our health, and most importantly, precautions we can take to reduce potential exposures in all settings of life.

While under specific State mandated orders, certain business types have been forced to close to limit spread of the virus, it appears that many of our construction projects will continue to remain open, at least for now. Whether we have multiple crews working on a large-scale project, or just a few workers on a small service job, the strategies to protect our workforce, and prevent the spread of the virus, are fairly universal.

These include;

Infectious disease policy development – contractors should establish and document the specific actions each business unit – office, pre-fab, service, construction site etc. – will follow moving forward. Key elements the policy should contain are employee illness response protocol, suspected exposure reporting, means to limit group activities, sanitation procedures and PPE use. OSHA has just released an employer guide #3990 which can help in this process.

Employee training and education – Effective employee training on policy requirements and employer / client expectations is crucial for work practice uniformity. The training should be documented and repeated as necessary when noncompliant actions are observed in the workplace, or new procedures are introduced. NECA produced a good Coronavirus toolbox talk that can also be used in your overall training efforts.

Hand washing and overall general hygiene – This cannot be overemphasized with your teams. Construction projects can be dirty and have historically struggled with providing employees suitable toilet and hand washing facilities. As such, frequent hand washing with preferably soap and water, or a sufficient supply of hand sanitizer when soap and water is not available, is critical. Toilets must be cleaned and sanitized more often, including all commonly touched surfaces such as toilet seats and door handles. Sharing of hand and power tools, including arc and shock rated PPE, should be eliminated and when necessary, thoroughly cleaned between uses. Employees should use tissues or their sleeved arm when sneezing and focus on not touching their face.

Group meetings, crew size and social distancing – Work related activities such as stretch-and-flex, safety meetings, gathering for lunch and breaks are now considered high risk and must be managed accordingly. Current recommendations limit work groups to preferably 10 people or less AND only when the setting allows for social distancing from each other of at least 6 feet. This makes it nearly impossible for 2 workers to be in the same scissor lift, service truck, vault etc. Additionally, employers are directed to maximize work from home protocols for office workers and social distancing for those employees who must remain in the office. If the social distancing option is used, a designated persons(s) should be identified to audit group sizing and effectiveness of minimum spacing protocols.

PPE use – If your company policy or site-specific requirements do not already mandate donning of safety gloves and glasses, you should implement those actions now. The CDC is currently NOT recommending that healthy people wear respiratory protection such as N95 or half face masks. If employees choose to voluntarily wear such PPE, keep in mind that OSHA requires that they be provided with Appendix D I would also recommend documenting such activity.

As we continue to respond to this rapidly changing event, you are likely to encounter additional site-specific protocols such as pre-screening workers before being allowed onto the job site. The EEOC has recently recognized this activity as acceptable in light of the virus reaching pandemic status.

If you need more information or I can provide assistance in any manner, please contact me.

Barry Moreland

bmoreland@nietc.org

503.501.5066

Justifiable Energized Electrical Work and Use of Additional Qualified Persons – JWs / Apps

March 23, 2020/in Safety /by Barry Moreland

For many years, the Oregon – Columbia NECA / IBEW L.U. 48 Commercial / Industrial Agreement, under section 10.04, required two Journeymen when working on ALL energized circuits and equipment operating at, or above, 440V AC and / or 250V DC.

At the time this language was agreed upon, safety standards such as the NFPA 70E, The Standard for Electrical Safety in the Workplace, and arc flash calculation methods such as IEEE – 1584 did not exist.

Today, we have a number of ways to better predict and assess risks related to working on, or near, exposed energized electrical circuits and equipment. Additionally, new safety design features such as shock protection barriers, arc blast venting, remote switching and overcurrent protective devices with maintenance mode settings used to lower arc flash and blast intensities can be used to reduce overall risk.

When the OSHA / NFPA 70E defined justifiable energized work to be performed has an increased level of risk, employers must also determine when additional personnel are necessary to accomplish the work and to have a first aid / CPR trained person ready to respond in the event of an incident.

Recently adopted CBA language no longer uses the voltage level as the only determining factor when additional personnel are required. Employers must conduct a thorough assessment of the work tasks and procedures, the condition of the electrical equipment, maintenance considerations, shock and arc exposure levels and the qualifications of those performing the particular tasks.

The new language reads as follows:

All justifiable energized electrical work shall be planned out following NFPA 70E procedures to analyze electrical hazards and determine when conditions warrant additional personnel to assist with the electrical tasks or to provide first aid / CPR duties.

While seemingly clear, confusion in the field as to when at least 2 qualified persons are necessary for energized work is apparent. Both JWs and apprentices can be used for first aid / CPR response when protected from the electrical hazards however, apprentices are limited to maximum exposures of 250V AC or less only after completing their first full year of apprenticeship AND when working within arms-length of a qualified JW.

Contact me if you have any questions about these risk assessments and application of the CBA language.

Thank you.

Contractor Injury Reporting Requirements

August 27, 2019/in Safety /by Barry Moreland

An often overlooked contractor safety resource is the NECA – IBEW Joint Safety Committee. Similar to employer’s internal safety committees, this group of contractor and labor representatives meet bi-monthly to identify workplace safety concerns and recommend corrective action plans.

Language found in the Commercial CBA directs this committee to “develop and recommend safe work rules that are equal to or greater than the Standards of Construction as established by OSHA.”

To adequately perform this duty, the committee relies upon near miss, incident and injury reports from the field. When these events happen, it is understandable that those involved are sensitive to privacy issues.

To be clear, the committee is NOT interested in:

The name of the contractor or the employees involved,
The age or gender of the employees involved,
Who appears to be at fault for the event, or,
The outcome of any related OSHA inspection.

New CBA language adopted last fall, now directs employers to report all work related, recordable injuries to the Joint Safety Committee within 30 days of occurrence. Work related fatalities shall be reported within 24 hours. To facilitate reporting, a new ONLINE FORM has been added to the NIETC website. Clicking on the Safety tab will reveal the link to the form.

While mandatory reporting is only required for recordable level injuries, please consider also sharing incidents that fall outside of recordable criteria. This information can help identify trends where training, supervision, policy and procedural improvements can be made.

For example, check out the minutes from the where there are a number of reported shocks and electrical near misses that stem from misuse of meters and lack of proper lock out / tag out execution. These reports can be used in your internal communications with employees on what is happening in our industry and why a “test before touch” protocol is so important.

Contact me if you have any questions about the new reporting requirements or Joint Safety Committee activities.

Non-Contact Voltage Detector Limitations

May 31, 2019/in Safety /by Barry Moreland

Perhaps better known as “tick tracers” or “proximity sensors,” non-contact voltage detectors have become a popular tool used to identify the presence of AC voltage on live conductors and circuit parts. These inexpensive devices are easy to use and can provide qualified electrical workers with information necessary to assess circuit conditions for basic on / off status only. They should NOT be the only instrument used for determining if a circuit is safe to touch during LOTO procedures.

For example, we recently had an incident involving an existing MC cable that was too long and needed to be cut back a few feet to be installed into a 277 V lighting J-box. The conductors were visible at the blunt cut end of the cable and when the employee placed their tick tracer at the end to check if it was safe to cut, the instrument did not light up or beep. Assuming the MC was de-energized, they began to cut off the excess cable and now own a pair of pliers with a large hole in the cutting jaws. Fortunately, the CB tripped and no injuries occurred.

Why did that happen? The answer is found right in the instructions (which everyone reads right?) that come with non-contact voltage detectors.

I recently reviewed the operating instructions from 5 of the leading manufactures of these devices. Very clearly, they informed the user that:

The tester will NOT detect voltage if the wire is shielded, the operator is not grounded or is otherwise isolated from an effective earth ground, if sheathed NM cable is saturated, or the voltage is DC.

The tester MAY NOT detect voltage if the user is not holding the tester, the user is insulated with a glove or other material, the wire is partially buried or in a grounded metal conduit, the tester is at a distance from the voltage source, or if the field created by the voltage source is being blocked or interfered with.

The most interesting information found in the instructions was to never assume a no voltage indication means that the circuit is de-energized.

The convenience of use of these detectors has also caused electrical workers to sometimes be complacent about the consequences of a false negative voltage test. I have heard a number of electricians also refer to these devices as widow makers.

I recommend that you share this information with your crews and remind them that all meters have unique operating characteristics. They must be inspected before use and always follow the live-dead-live testing procedures, along with effective LOTO measures, before making direct contact with electrical equipment.