Chip Macdonald

The cranes being driven out of the assembly plants at Grove, Manitowoc, Link Belt, Krupp and Liebherr, are not your grandfather's or even your father's models.

In this article I will try to bust the eight myths about slide guards for roof workers.

A bullet-list of our problems in today's building field could fill a New York City phone book.

The predominance of skylight fatal falls occur on roofs where there was no permanent guarding device initially installed by the property owner and where there is no provision in subsequent repair contracts to install either permanent or temporary OSHA-compliant protective devices.

Whenever a tradesman is confronted with either a roof deck bristling with antenna arrays or a single radio mast he should contact his employer or supervisor immediately.

Despite the increased use of solvent-free products and materials in today's roofing industry, the prevalence of solvent-induced neuropathy among roofers is still startling.

OSHA is about to compile its first revision to the General Industry's fall protection standard (29 CFR, Part 1910) since its initial conception in 1971.

There has been a recent increase in research papers, medical studies and trade-related accident investigations concerning a physical phenomenon known as "suspension trauma."

I've heard it said that once a second employer arrives on site, with just one employee, the accident risk factor for everyone on site just went up by as much as 40 percent.

With your site safety audits completed, or at least started (see Roofing Contractor, October 2003), you should determine your preferred method of organizing a written corporate Safety and Health Program.