There is little doubt that the way workplace safety managers throughout the construction industry do their jobs has been forever altered by technology in recent years. The proliferation of tablets such as the iPad and smartphones such as the iPhone or the wide variety of devices using Google’s Android operating system, combined with major advances in cloud computing, have allowed them to manage workplace safety information in ways that were unimaginable just a few years ago.

Construction companies are increasingly turning to cloud-based documentation and away from paper. By keeping documents in the cloud, supervisors in the field can load various types of data, notes and take photos of work using their mobile devices, and instantly send it to the “cloud,” to make it immediately accessible to everyone with an Internet connection.

According to the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety, having ready access to safety records is an important issue, particularly for construction companies who operate a number of different sites. By storing documents and data in the cloud, everyone has access to such information as inspection records whenever they need them.

While there are some advantages to paper systems, such as those times when inspectors request documents with original signatures, such documents can always be scanned and accessed anywhere with a cloud-based service.

But there are many advantages to a cloud-based system. If a worker shows up at a jobsite, supervisors can immediately find out whether or not they have the correct training to operate a particular piece of machinery, by searching the worker’s name. With a paper-based system, they’d have to flip through pages, or rely on someone to fax the information to them. If they wanted to see which workers at a jobsite have taken a particular training course, an electronic system can pull all of the records together into a report.

Another advantage to electronic storage, especially in the construction industry, is that everyone always has access to a pristine copy of everything. There’s no spilling coffee on an original, or watching a thunderstorm wipe out hundreds of pages of paper records. Also, most reputable cloud storage companies provide backups for electronic records, so there’s little fear of loss.

People are constantly moving around to different jobsites. Rather than carrying boxes of documents from site to site, managers can carry a tablet or smartphone and have access to every relevant document in the company, in searchable form. It is this convenience that demonstrates why more and more construction companies are giving up on paper records, and storing everything on the cloud.

Regulators with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) have proposed $130,200 in penalties to Texas oil and gas drilling company Ringo Drilling in the wake of a June accident in which a worker was electrocuted.

According to OSHA, the 25-year-old worker, Servando Salinas Cervantes, died while performing repair work on an oil drilling rig.  After an investigation, OSHA safety inspectors found that the company failed to train workers on electrical equipment hazards, failed to provide guardrails to keep workers from falling into holes more than four feet deep near a well, and did not ensure stepladders were used properly. In another serious violation, inspectors found that the company did not properly guard electrical junction boxes.

Among other penalties against the company included three repeat violations for failing to provide worker protection from platform falls, not inspecting electrical cords and failing to ensure proper strain relief for electrical cables. The company was cited for similar violations in 2008 and again last year.

Ringo Drilling has 15 days to contest the findings with OSHA.

It’s that time of year again, when the snow starts falling, and we have to learn once again how to share the road with snowplows.

Snowplow drivers have a thankless job. They work long hours during the most horrible weather imaginable, just to keep the roads as safe as possible. But all motorists have a role in keeping roads safe, as well. Here are some tips for driving during the winter, to help snowplow drivers help you:

• Before you head out, check weather conditions, so you know what to expect.  Give yourself extra time to get to your destination.
• Make sure your vehicle’s windows are clear of snow, ice and frost before you head out.
• Make sure your headlights and tail lights are in proper working order.
• If there is ice and snow, take it slow. Most posted speed limit signs are for clear, dry conditions, and may become hazardous when roads are slick. Most winter accidents are caused by driving too fast for conditions.
• Stay well behind working snowplows. Make sure you can see the driver’s mirrors, because that means it’s more likely he can see you.
• If you’re impatient and tempted to pass a snowplow, remember; the road where you are behind the snowplow is probably in better condition than the road in front of it.
• If you decide to pass the snowplow, anyway, be extra careful, because the snowplow can create a cloud of snow that could obscure your vision.
• When driving on plowed snowy roads, try to stay in the wheel ruts made by the cars ahead of you. Often, the grip in the rut is nearly as good as on a road that’s merely wet.
• Avoid black ice by slowing down and steering smoothly. If you hit an ice patch, anyway, stay calm and slow down carefully. Don’t overreact by slamming your brakes or turning the steering wheel too sharply.
• Look both ways when approaching any intersection, even if you have the right of way, just in case other drivers can’t stop.

Remember; during difficult snow and ice conditions, it takes everyone working together to keep everyone safe.

While it seems to make sense that seatbelts would make all drivers safe in a crash, a Saskatoon Court of Queen’s Bench judge recently ruled that buckling up may actually be more dangerous for transit bus drivers.

In an October 20 decision, Justice Grant Currie overturned Saskatoon bus driver Dean Christianson’s traffic court conviction for failing to wear his seatbelt. In his ruling, the judge said, “His experiences, and those of others that had come to his attention in the course of working in his industry, gave him reason to believe that his safety may be compromised by wearing a seatbelt.”

Christianson’s argument was based on his belief that, if his bus passengers assaulted him, being strapped into his seat would make him less able to defend himself. In his initial traffic court trial, Christianson cited violence against bus drivers as a “growing, nationwide epidemic.” He noted that he had been threatened by three people riding on the bus at the time he was pulled over.

“As someone who has been spit on, I discovered that you do not know who is going to grab your steering wheel while you’re driving or sucker punch you, or stab you, or spit on you. You have no idea who it’s coming from,” he said. “Some of the drivers have been sucker punched while they are driving and took repetitive blows while trying to get their seatbelt off so they can defend themselves.”

Under Saskatchewan’s Traffic Safety Act, a bus driver is not required to wear a seatbelt if they have reason to believe it may put them at risk of injury. While the Crown argued that the exemption applies only when there was a specific risk of injury, Justice Currie disagreed, and ruled that the regulation could also be applied to any driver who “may be continuously exposed to a compromise of his or her safety on a random basis.”

Since 2008, it is Saskatoon civic policy that all public employees wear a seat belt whenever they’re behind the wheel of a city vehicle, although the transit union is hoping this ruling will help change that policy. For the time being, until  the policy is changed, however, the union will continue to instruct drivers to wear seatbelts while on the job. However, if the city disciplines a driver for not wearing a seatbelt, the union will take the matter to arbitration.

According to a new report from the Construction Sector Council (CSC), over the next nine years Canada’s construction industry will need about 320,000 new workers to meet demand for new construction and to replace retirements and losses due to injury and death.

The finding comes from the CSC’s national forecast of labour supply and demand from 2011-2019. The report suggests that Canada’s slowing population growth, combined with its rising demand for large construction, will create a challenge for the construction industry to find enough skilled workers to meet demand. According to the forecast, 163,000 first-time entrants to the workforce will provide about half of needed workers, but that will leave the industry to recruit the other 157,000 workers, or about 17,000 new workers a year.

Industry leaders have said they are prepared for the challenge, however, as they step up recruiting from non-traditional labour sources, including youth, women, Aboriginal people and foreign workers. They have put a lot of effort into programs that focus on recruitment, apprenticeship and training, certification, pan-Canadian standards and foreign credential recognition.

While demographic patterns are slowing growth by limiting the available workforce and restricting housing starts, the forecast predicts declining employment in residential construction in most provinces, with steady growth in renovations and repairs. However, large resource projects are planned by government and industry, in order to meet both domestic and international demands, and those projects will require large numbers of workers.

Each year, the CSC consults with industry leaders, government groups and educational institutions releases nine-year labour forecasts, and releases new nine-year national and regional scenario-based forecasts. The reports are available online at www.csc-ca.org. Forecast data is also available at www.constructionforecasts.ca.

A Quebec crane operator working at a construction site in downtown Montreal was sent to hospital when the crane she was operating tipped on its side, trapping her inside.

The worker, an employee of Pétrifond Fondation, was apparently performing piledriving with a foundation beam on a slope at the time of the accident. Montreal firefighters arrived at the scene about five minutes later and extricated the worker within an hour. She was then placed on a Kendrick Extrication Device, which braces the head, neck and torso in a neutral position to help prevent further injury, and was immediately transported to hospital.

Quebec’s workplace safety board, the Commission de la santé et de la sécurité du travail (CSST) is investigating. They plan to look at factors such as the work method, whether or not the equipment was used properly, if the worker received adequate training, if she was aware of occupational health and safety dangers and if she was properly supervised.

CSST initially shut down the site, a 450-unit condominium development project overseen by general contractor Développements Immobiliers Séville, but reopened it several days later after the employer provided a safe work procedure for the stabilization and removal of the crane. The crane was then successfully removed, and the CSST is performing a mechanical examination of the machine.

CSST notes that a routine inspection of the site about a month before the accident found no Occupational Health and Safety issues, but that a stop-work order was issued at another site involving Pétrifond Fondation because workers were working too close to electrical lines.

British Columbia and Alberta are both gearing up programs designed to encourage drivers to be aware of, and careful around, workers who toil along the side of the road.

In British Columbia, a pilot project campaign called “Cone Zone,” was launched on June 14 by a group of more than a dozen organizations, including the BC Construction Safety Alliance, the BC Flagging Association, Ministry of Transportation and WorkSafeBC. “Cone Zone” will try to expand its focus beyond construction workers, by also encouraging drivers to keep an eye out for anyone who works roadside, including landscapers, traffic control workers, tow truck drivers, utility workers, emergency personnel and others.

The campaign includes both radio and print media, and will ask drivers to reduce speed, avoiding distraction while driving, and develop greater respect for the roadside as a workplace. The messages will also provide safe driving tips in a “cone zone,” including careful planning of routes, allowing extra travel time, staying below posted speed limits, especially those in work zones, putting away cell phones or other electronic devices, and getting to know work zone signs.

More information about the campaign can be found at www.worksafebc.com or www.BCAATSF.ca.

In Alberta, the Partners in Road Construction Safety (PIRCS) and the provincial government have again teamed up to remind motorists to be patient and drive safely through road construction sites this season, through their campaign, which features the slogan, “Don’t RIP Through Construction Zones” slogan. Their campaign suggests that accidents in these zones are avoidable, if drivers are slowing down and paying close attention to warning signs and flag people.

The Alberta government has been working for years to try to reduce the number of accidents in work zones, yet 2008 saw the highest numbers of accidents and fatalities in construction zones ever, with 1072 accidents resulting in 229 injuries and killing seven. The numbers seem to be going in the right direction, however. In 2009, there were 952 accidents in such work zones, resulting in 187 injuries and killing three. PIRCS hopes their efforts will reduce the numbers even further.

The PIRCS website, located at http://www.dont-rip.ca/, features road construction locations and safety tips. They have spent nearly $3 million for radio and television advertising, billboards, and signage in construction zones since 2003.

Toronto packaging manufacturer Electro-Pack Inc. was fined $50,000 for a violation of the Occupational Health and Safety Act after a worker was injured.

The incident that led to the fine occurred on December 5, 2009, when a worker was using a machine that forms plastic using heat and a press. The worker discovered the machine was jammed and attempted to remove the jam by reaching inside. The machine cycled while the worker’s hand was still inside, and the hand was seriously injured.

Electro-Pack Inc. pleaded guilty to failing to ensure that the machine was equipped with a guard or other device to prevent access to the moving part.

The fine was imposed by Justice of the Peace Lynette Stethem, who also imposed the mandatory 25% victim fine surcharge, as required by the Provincial Offences Act. The surcharge is credited to a special provincial government fund to assist victims of crime.

The owners of a metal coating and painting plant located in Macon, Georgia, Aerospace Defense Coatings of Georgia, has been hit with at least $168,000 in state and federal penalties for serious and in some cases “willful neglect” of worker safety, in addition to violations of hazardous waste storage and air pollution laws.

United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) inspectors found that, according to safety records, the company exposed employees to as much as 50 times the legal limit of chromium without informing them.

The OSHA citations were issued last November and many were required to be corrected by January of this year, but the agency is still not satisfied that working conditions at the plant are safe. The facility uses hexavalent chromium in its plating operation, and its use can cause respiratory damage and lung cancer, skin rashes and chrome ulcers, depending on the type and level of exposure.

According to an OSHA news release, the agency inspected the plant in May 2010 after they received a complaint concerning a lack of personal protective equipment and mishandling, storing and disposing of chemicals.

That inspection found a number of serious problems. For example, workers were not provided with a place to eat, drink or wash without chromium residues. Wipe tests of a lunch bag, refrigerator and water fountain found chromium dust on the surfaces. The company had also failed to provide any protective clothing in a number of cases, and those respirators and other protective clothing that were provided were found to be inadequate or not stored so as to prevent contamination. Inspectors also concluded that workers were not receiving adequate training, and were unable to recognize the hazards or symptoms of chromium exposure.

After the inspection, OSHA found willful violations related to respirator protection, chromium overexposure, personal protective equipment and failure to perform periodic monitoring of chromium exposure. Willful violations are those committed intentionally or with “plain indifference to worker safety and health.” They also cited a number of serious violations, included failing to post test results that showed illegally high chromium exposure for employees, failing to provide a changing area to prevent cross contamination, failing to have a medical surveillance program to protect employees, and not training employees to respond to hazardous waste emergencies. A serious citation is issued when there is substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result from a hazard about which the employer knew or should have known.

Because the company had violated OSHA rules previously, in 2005 and 2008, they were cited for eight repeat violations related to hazardous waste, emergency response preparation, employee training, providing personal protective equipment for acids, and respirator training and storage.

OSHA originally proposed a $300,000 fine for 19 health violations it called serious, repeated or willful. That total was reduced in exchange for the company’s agreeing not to fight the penalties in court.

Steve’s Oilfield Services (Edson) Ltd, an Alberta company was recently convicted for failing to comply with an order made under Section 41.1 of the Occupational Health and Safety Act, and was assessed an additional $10,000 last week for failing to pay a fine.

The company was fined originally based on an incident that took place in Grande Prairie on October 22, 2003, in which a worker sustained serious injuries after being run over by a bobcat that he was exiting, according to information from Alberta Employment and Immigration (AEI).The original creative sentence was $90,000.

During the court hearing in Stony Plain, provincial court judge John Higgerty said, “The question before me to answer is, has the defendant corporation, on the balance of probabilities, shown due diligence in attempting to comply with the court order? I find the defendant corporation has not.” He noted that while the company is having financial difficulties, they have made it a priority to pay other creditors, and “there has been an element of choice I find in paying nothing” since a $5,000 payment made in January of 2008, leaving most of the balance outstanding.

Since receiving the fine, the company has ceased operation and even closed its bank account last year. The judge, however, says that doesn’t take them off the hook for the penalty. He said, “the message does need to go out to other corporate defendants that it is not a free ride.”

Alberta justice officials note that this is the first time in Alberta that an additional penalty has been imposed on a company for not meeting its creative sentencing obligations. They note that, of the more than $5.7 million in oh&s creative sentence penalties assessed since 2005, 97% have been paid, including those assessed on companies in bankruptcy.

Alberta Justice will take over the collection of the unpaid fines, because they have the ability to take advantage of a number of measures as they see fit, including asset seizures and the freezing of bank accounts.