The construction industry suffers an average of 150,000 accidents per year, and one in 10 construction workers sustain injury. OSHA regularly promotes new safety rules, and updates existing rules for the industry. It is expected that OSHA’s focus on the industry will accelerate. In 2021, the proposed congressional budget allocates an additional $12.7 million to hire more Compliance Safety and Health Officers. The expectation is that these employees will conduct an anticipated 500 additional safety inspections, and more than half will target the construction industry.
Here is a summary of the proposed rule changes:
Welding in Construction Confined Spaces
OSHA proposed an amendment to the Welding and Cutting Standard in construction to eliminate ambiguity regarding the definition of "confined space" as it applies to construction welding activities.
When OSHA published the final rule for Confined Spaces in Construction on May 4, 2015, a subpart was added that provided protections for employees who worked in confined construction spaces. This subpart replaced OSHA's training requirement for confined space work with a comprehensive standard. This standard also included a permit program to protect employees from exposure to many hazards associated with work in confined spaces, including atmospheric and physical hazards.
The proposed amendment aligns the Welding and Cutting Standard in construction with the confined spaces standard concerning the application of their respective requirements. Although the confined spaces standard explicitly includes welding activities, the welding standard does not include a definition of "confined space." This OSHA rule amendment eliminates any questions about the definition of confined space as it applies to welding activities in construction.
You can read more about the proposed rule changes here.
Drug Testing Program and Safety Incentives Rule
This is another example of eliminating ambiguity around a specific rule. In this case, OSHA clarified, through a memorandum to the field, that 29 CFR 1904.35(b)(1)(iv) does not prohibit post-incident drug testing or safety incentive programs.
You can read more about the proposed rule change here.
Personal Protective Equipment in Construction
OSHA recently issued an updated rule for testing the fit of respirators and provides two new protocols that employers may use. However, the rule does not require employers in general industries, shipyard employment, and construction, to change their current testing methods.
In October 2020, OSHA released an update regarding temporary enforcement guidance of tight-fitting powered air-purifying respirators (PAPRs) for COVID-19 protection. Essentially, OSHA allowed employers to use different classes of respirators that provide equal or greater protection compared to an N95 respirator. These include N99, N100, R95, R99, R100, P95, P99 and P100 respirators; National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)-approved respirators; or powered air-purifying respirators (either loose-fitting or tight-fitting).
You can read more about the proposed rule change here.
Amendments to the Cranes and Derricks in Construction Standard
OSHA proposed corrections and amendments to the final standard for cranes and derricks published in August 2010. The standard has many provisions designed to improve crane safety and reduce worker injuries and fatalities.
The proposed amendments include:
- Correcting references to power line voltage for direct current (DC) voltages and alternating current (AC) voltages.
- Broadening the exclusion for forklifts carrying loads under the forks from "winch or hook" to a "winch and boom.”
- Clarifying an exclusion for work activities by articulating cranes.
- Providing four definitions inadvertently omitted in the final standard.
- Replacing "minimum approach distance" with "minimum clearance distance" throughout to remove ambiguity.
- Clarifying the use of demarcated boundaries for work near power lines.
- Correcting an error permitting body belts to be used as a personal fall arrest system rather than a personal fall restraint system.
- Replacing the verb "must" with "may" used in error in several provisions.
- Correcting an error in a caption on standard hand signals.
- Resolving an issue of "NRTL-approved" safety equipment (e.g., proximity alarms and insulating devices) that is required by the final standard but is not yet available.
You can read more about the proposed rule change here.
Occupational Exposure to Crystalline Silica; Revisions to Table 1 in the Standard for Construction
OSHA published a final rule on Occupational Exposure to Respirable Crystalline Silica (81 FR 16286) on March 25, 2016, issuing two separate standards, one for construction and one for general industry and maritime.
The construction standard included Table 1: Specified Exposure Control Methods When Working with Materials Containing Crystalline Silica. This table matches common construction tasks with dust control methods that were shown to be effective. In some operations, respirators were also required. Employers who follow Table 1 correctly were not required to measure workers’ exposure to silica and are not subject to the permissible exposure limit.
OSHA now wants to examine the effectiveness of control measures for tasks and tools not currently listed in Table 1. Additionally, the agency wants to examine the effectiveness of dust control methods in limiting worker exposure to respirable crystalline silica when performing those operations to see if Table 1 should be expanded.
You can read more about the proposed rule change here.
Occupational Exposure to Beryllium and Beryllium Compounds in Construction and Shipyard Sectors
OSHA published its final rule for Occupational Exposure to Beryllium and Beryllium Compounds in the Federal Register (82 FR 2470) on January 9, 2017. OSHA is proposing a revision of its standards for occupational exposure to beryllium and beryllium compounds in the construction and shipyard industries.
The proposed changes are targeting three goals:
- To tailor the requirements of the construction and shipyard standards to the exposures in these industries, in light of partial overlap between the beryllium standards’ requirements and other OSHA standards.
- To align the shipyards and construction standards to the general industry standard, where appropriate.
- To clarify requirements for materials containing only trace amounts of beryllium.
You can read more about the proposed rule change here.
