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Pre-Task Planning and MEWP Safety | Dallas, Texas

An employee was fatally crushed between aerial lift and construction equipment. OSHA investigated the incident.

Proper job-site Pre-Task Planning and coordination of workers and equipment to identify hazards and mitigate those hazards utilizing the Hierarchy of Controls is a daily requirement.  Pre-Task Planning is also essential whenever job site conditions or hazards change. It is also vitally important that employees operating Mobile Elevated Work Platform (MEWP) equipment receive the proper basic machine- and equipment-specific training on the MEWP they will be operating. In areas where other equipment is being operated in proximity to pedestrians or with limited working space, cones, spotters and other warning devices must be deployed to warn others of MEWP dangers, swing radius hazards of equipment, or of any other hazards that may be present. 

According to OSHA, 5,333 workers died on the job in 2019 (3.5 per 100,000 full-time equivalent workers) ā€” on average, more than 100 a week or about 15 deaths every day. About 20% (1,061) of worker fatalities in private industry in calendar year 2019 were in construction ā€“ accounting for one in five worker deaths for the year. The average cost of a workplace fatality is $1,200,000 according to the National Safety Council.

For injuries, the statistics do not get much better. In 2019, the National Safety Council calculated the average cost of a workplace injury at $42,000 each, this represents an overall non-fatal injury cost to employers of around $171 billion. This number represents over 2,800,000 non-fatal workplace injuries.

Top 10 most frequently cited OSHA standards violated in FY 2020

  1. Fall Protection, construction
  2. Hazard Communication Standard, general industry 
  3. Respiratory Protection
  4. Scaffolding, general requirements, construction.
  5. Ladders, construction
  6. Control of Hazardous Energy (lockout/tagout), general industry 
  7. Powered Industrial Trucks, general industry 
  8. Fall Protectionā€“Training Requirements 
  9. Eye and Face Protection 
  10. Machinery and Machine Guarding, general requirements 

If your company has had a serious on-the-job injury or fatality, contact Propel Consulting for help in dealing with any OSHA investigations.  More importantly, place a focus on preventing future reoccurrence by retaining us to assist you with your Pre-Task Planning and MEWP safety policy development, and with safety inspections, risk management, and legal consulting.

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