 In
the chaos of a construction site accident, it’s too late
to begin crafting a rescue or emergency response plan. But federal
regulations are largely silent when it comes to needed specifics.
Although some privately led efforts are under way, contractors
and owners could face a jobsite emergency they are not prepared
to handle.
"People think it’s never
going to happen, so they don’t want to spend the time
and money on preparedness," says Michael McCann, safety
director for the Center to Protect Workers Rights, an affiliate
of the AFL-CIO’s Building and Construction Trades Dept.
The federal government does not
set specific rescue standards for construction or for general
industry. The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration
oversees a general construction safety standard and separate
rules aimed at specific practices such as steel erection or
crane operation.
Those sector rules have rescue
components, but there is no single standard specific to rescue.
Some in the industry have sought more detail, such as what
defines "prompt rescue" in the fall protection rules.
But OSHA is not likely to provide answers any time soon. The
Bush administration advocates less regulation and more voluntary
programs.
In lieu of federal rules, industry
ex-ecutives have come together under the leadership of the
American National Standards Institute to draft two new independent
subparts to the existing ANSI A10 Safety Requirements for
Construction and Demolition Operations. The A10 accredited
standards committee dates back to 1944 and now consists of
66 representatives from trade groups, corporations, consultants
and government entities. There are more than 40 individual
standards under A10.
On the drawing board for the last
two years is A10.26, which addresses emergency procedures,
including rescues, for construction sites. Another proposed
standard being drafted, A10.45, will set minimum criteria
for disaster response preparedness during construction and
demolition operations.
Neither standard, once each works
its way through the lengthy approval and accreditation process,
will be all encompassing or specific. "Emergency procedures
are actually pretty complicated to develop because you have
so many contingencies you have to plan for," says McCann,
chairman of the A10.26 subcommittee. Normal evacuation routes
may not be available during a disaster and familiarity with
local resources is critical. Sometimes the nearest hospital
may not have a needed burn unit, McCann says.
"It is probably impossible
to write a regulation that deals with every foreseeable emergency
or catastrophe," says Matt Burkart, a past chairman of
the full A10 committee and president of Aegis Corp., Southampton,
Pa. Instead, there should be requirements to simply have an
emergency preparedness plan in place and guidelines for what
it should entail, he says. "It involves more than calling
911," Burkart maintains.
Emergency plans must be adaptable
for the site, says McCann. "Most contractors don’t
have the expertise to develop these on their own." The
ANSI guidelines will help shape issues such as the proper
number of persons trained in first aid who should be on a
site for every 100 workers.
With heightened concerns about
liability, many owners are becoming proactive, requiring general
contractors to keep an incident log. "Owners are one
of the biggest driving forces in safety in construction,"
says McCann.
Any plan should also include
a point person who works with local responders. When a trench
caves in, one of the first actions required under OSHA’s
trench standard is to shore up the trench to halt further
collapse. Most trench rescues are handled by the local fire
department, whose experts are usually trained in shoring,
says H. Berrien Zettler, deputy director of OSHA’s Directorate
of Construction. "We believe that our standards are reasonably
adequate to address the kinds of situations that rescuers
are likely to run into," he adds.
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