Construction Safety

Basic Training in Civil Rigging Needed

INTRODUCTION No one wants to be the family member who gets that call at the end of the day saying, “I’m sorry, but there was an accident on the job today, and your loved one was injured.”

It happens far too often.

Whether on construction sites or civil jobs where workers are engaged in load lifting, there is a need for basic training in civil rigging.

“There are way too many workers out there who are inadequately trained to complete the tasks they are assigned, so they’re taking unnecessary risks with their lives every day,” says Ralf Notheis, manager of Bigfoot Crane’s training academy, who wants to make good training in civil rigging more available to more people.

Notheis’ concern for safety is shared by many others, from company owner and managers to safety officers and countless workers.

THE SAFETY OF WORKERS “It starts with the workers themselves,” explains Notheis. “Everyone who does any kind of mechanized lifting, using equipment like excavators or backhoes to move loads into place.”

Rigging, of course, refers to the process of securing a load so that it can be elevated and moved by some lifting device. It also refers to the equipment used to do that, such as slings, hooks and shackles. The rigger, then, is the person who is trained to calculate weight, centre of gravity, and sling configuration so that they can ensure that materials are effectively and safely moved.

“When the job is done right,” says Nothei, “everyone is safer, whether it’s the workers themselves or the public around them.”

Even if workers are told that they have the right to refuse unsafe work, many don’t know what exactly is unsafe about the work they are doing. So they continue to put themselves and others at risk. They are simply unaware of the hazards.

The right training empowers workers with knowledge so that they can be confident on the job. With adequate training, they can perform their work with the kind of self-assurance and professionalism that is required in a high-risk environment.

THE RESPONSIBILITY OF MANAGERS Effective civil rigging training not only prevents accidents and ensures safety for workers, but it also alleviates the legal and corporate pressures of carelessness on the part of managers and owners.

“Accidents cost lives—that’s the biggest thing we want to avoid,” says Notheis. “But the mistakes that untrained workers make also cost companies and cities huge amounts of money in lost time and wasted revenue.”

Whether it’s safety risks, damage risks, legal liabilities, or loss of work, the cost of accidents is enormous. If a mishap takes away a worker’s life or livelihood, the cost skyrockets. Even if a worker quits their job, conservative estimates state that the loss will cost the company upwards of $33,000.

As well, Notheis emphasizes that untrained and unqualified managers can be a major liability to construction companies and city work crews. “This training is for supervisors and foremen as well as workers,” he said. “Everyone needs to be aware of the risks involved in the work. They all need to understand the value of training.”

CONCLUSION According to Notheis, the need for basic training in civil rigging is obvious in the industry. Courses need to be made available for more cities and companies across the province and across the country.

“For everyone involved, there’s huge value for better training,” says Notheis. “Everyone sleeps better at night when they know the job has been done right.”

Responding to COVID

BY BILL BLACK

The construction industry focuses on safety first and then we build. The safety professionals that work across the industry are dedicated, well trained and are experienced in continually assessing the risks and implementing protocols for universal application and for site specific scenarios. We therefore had the inherent skillsets and aptitude to respond quickly to the COVID challenge.

There are three realities that bore significantly on this challenge as far as construction is concerned. We sometimes overlook these in the industry because they are just “the norm”:

1. Our industry is inherently dangerous. We work at heights, we operate dangerous equipment and tools, we hoist loads several stories in the air and we do all this, and much more outdoors, at the mercy of mother nature, ground conditions and other natural and man-made hazards.

2. We also build something we have never seen before every day and often do so in circumstances that are working against us.

3. If projects are to maintain schedules these matters have to be dealt with quickly, decisively and it all occurs real-time.

Despite these daunting realities we succeed time and time again.

Against such a backdrop, COVID was another safety concern, hazard assessment and a project challenge that had to be tackled head-on without delaying progress.

When the global pandemic hit, the Calgary Construction Association (CCA) immediately reached out to a number of local industry leaders and a group of more than 25 local construction leaders assembled via Zoom to discuss the overall situation as an industry. There were senior leadership and business owners on the call that spanned a range of large to smaller sized organizations including general contractors, trades and suppliers.

The overall pressing question was: “How do we keep our people safe and allow them to keep working on the sites and how do we mobilize on an industry scale?”

In an unprecedented show of collaboration, information and resources were shared and CCA consolidated the content in one document for industry-wide release. Version 1.0 of the Pandemic Planning Document was published via the Alberta Construction Association (ACA) and it was shared across the province.

The leadership calls continued several times a week so that industry could share what was being learned from daily experience on sites and compare notes. As the protocols continued to evolve based on these events, the material continued to be shared by each company and the Pandemic Planning Document was updated continually eventually reaching Version 4.0.

Subsequent addendums were also added dealing with back to office recommendations and other developments over the course of the pandemic.

Originally intended as a local and then provincial “open source” response, the document spread nationally and was utilized by many different groups locally and across Canada who were all dealing with the same challenge.

• Calls from B.C. and PEI, among others, showed that the document was making a difference for many. • CCA also collaborated with BILD and

NAIOP who were also seeking to respond on a broad scale within their membership and BOMA also shared the document with their members

• The document was also featured in local conversations with the City of Calgary, with Alberta OH&S and other provincial groups with one city official commenting that, “The construction industry should be teaching others how to respond to

COVID.” and, “The construction industry may just be the safest place to work during a pandemic.”

Of course, enforcement is key and we cannot relax or take our foot off the pedal for a second. This is an ever-present risk, as are all the others, and the industry has continued to ensure that these measures are in place and being maintain consistently.

There have been no known cases of site-based transmission in Alberta to date but we are far from out of the woods.

As the fourth wave moves through Alberta, more and more public and private owners and construction firms of all sizes are introducing their own vaccination policies etc for sites and for employees, and we will likely see this practice continue in the months ahead.

Many offices have remained open with reduced staff and COVID measures in place throughout the crisis and many organizations have found that they have been able to function well and continue to support their sites and their businesses well despite the increase in remote work. The spirit of collaboration has continued through Zoom and other such platforms and, despite some conference call fatigue, many have learned new ways to be highly effective and some habits will likely be forever changed.

The COVID industry leaders calls are still occurring regularly and with the example of collaboration experienced to date and the commitment shown on an industry scale, there is little doubt that the leadership taken right from the start will be able to respond to any further matters that arise and continue to make safety the priority it should be for all in the industry.

As construction seeks to fulfil its natural role as a major engine for economic growth in Alberta post-COVID and beyond, the lessons learned through this crisis have made us stronger than ever before and form a strong foundation for the future.

Supporting the Trades During the Opioid Crisis

New resources to support employers and employees on workplace safety and substance use

People working in the trades and construction are being disproportionately affected by the opioid overdose crisis. Repetitive stress injuries and chronic pain can lead to workers managing their pain with opioids and other substances, whether prescribed or not. This can increase their risk of experiencing the harms of substance use.

To support employers in these sectors, the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction partnered with Health Canada to produce an online toolkit of resources to help people in these professions. Substance Use and the Workplace: Supporting Employers and Employees in the Trades is a collection of tools to give you the information you need to help workers and support workplace health and safety.

Employers across Canada can find ready-touse resources from more than 30 organizations to reduce risks related to substances and substance use disorders. The toolkit also provides guidance to assist their employees who may be experiencing the harms of substance use.

The toolkit includes posters, videos, podcasts and more to: • Educate employers and employees about substances and their effects; • Minimize substance use risks and harms; • Address harmful employee substance use through policy and practices; • Provide information on the harmful effects of stigma and substance use; • Find services and supports; and • Access information about organizations that can help.

The toolkit is designed to help with many different types of substance use, including alcohol, cannabis and opioids. However, we recognize that construction workers and those working in jobs with many physical demands may experience injury or chronic pain at a higher rate. Without proper guidance, those who use opioids or other substances to manage this pain may be at an increased risk of experiencing harms.

In addition to the construction, trades and transportation industries being heavily affected by the opioid overdose crisis, there are significantly higher rates of opioid-related deaths among men than women. As well, men are less likely to reach out for help with health issues. The stigma of substance use can make seeking help even more difficult.

Having accessible resources, such as those provided in this toolkit, available to employers and employees is a key step in reducing the harms of substance use.

Download the toolkit at: CCSA.ca/workplace-safety