FACILITIES MANAGEMENT SAFETY MANUAL

WESTERN CAROLINA UNIVERSITY

Steve Flury

Safety & Risk Management Director

(828) 227-7443

Facilities Management Safety Manual

  1. Administrative Responsibilities
  • Policy
  • Supervisor
  • Employee
  • Safety Committee
  1. General Safety Standards
  • Fire Prevention
  • Ladders, Scaffolds and Automatic Lifts
  • Work in the Street
  • Shoring of Excavations
  • Fall Protection for Highwork
  • Noise
  • Electrical Safety Awareness
  • Materials Handling and Forklift
  • Compressed Gases
  • Steam Cleaner
  • Transporting Workers In State Vehicles
  1. Electric Distribution Safety Standards
  • Overhead and Underground Line Maintenance Safety Program
  • Bucket Truck
  • Line Truck
  • Care and use of Hotsticks
  • Care and use of Rubber Gloves
  • PCV Leaks
  • Line Clearance Tree Trimming
  1. Grounds Work Safety Standards
  • Transporting Workers in State Vehicles
  • Blocking Roads or Parking Lots
  • Power Equipment and Tools
  • Trash Pick-Up
  • Gasoline/Pesticides Use
  • Excess Pesticide Disposal Procedure
  • Tree Trimming
  1. Vehicle Mechanics Safety Standards
  • Changing Brake Shoes
  • Tube Type Truck and Bus Tires
  • Used Oil Filters
  1. Mechanical Trades and Electricians Safety Standards
  • Confined Space
  • Lockout
  • Electrical Safety
  • Welding and Cutting
  • Laboratory Equipment Repairs
  • Overhead Work – Ramsey Center
  • Work on Sewer Drains
  • Refrigerant Gases
  • Overhead Work – Reid Gym, Music/English
  • Changing Football Lights
  1. Carpenters and Painters Safety Standards
  • Composite Type Fire Doors
  • Wood Working Machines
  • Adhesive/Coatings/Waterproofing
  • Replacing Glass Panels – Ramsey Center
  • Lead Base Paint
  • Resilient Floor Tile
  • Sandblaster
  • Canvas Removal – Pressbox
  1. Housekeeping Safety Standards
  • Handling Chemicals
  • Asbestos
  • Bloodborne Pathogens
  • Trash Pick-Up
  • Wet Floor Signs and Mats
  • Electrical Safety
  • Changing Lights
  • Moving Materials
  • Laboratories

SECTION 1 – ADMINISTRATIVE RESPONSIBILITIES

Policy

The effectiveness of the safety program depends on cooperation and understanding among supervision, employees and the safety committee. It is recognized that the workplace cannot always be made risk free. Unexpected things will happen. However, through planning and supervision we can identify most safety hazards associated with jobs and eliminate those that are controllable.

Facilities Management workers will not take unnecessary risks. Generally a risk is unnecessary if it is commonly known in the trade, identified in safety literature or can otherwise be reasonably anticipated by supervision and there is a feasible means to control it even if it cost more, takes more time or makes the job more complex.

The safety responsibilities of each key participant is summarized below:

Supervisors

  1. Identify the safety and health risks involved in performing jobs within your shop(s). This includes body strains from over exertion as well as accidents, fires and health hazards. If these risks are controllable by means of work methods, safety equipment etc. then they are unnecessary and there is no need to take them. Use the Job Safety Review Check List to make sure all areas are covered.
  1. Assure that safety equipment is readily available and operable before sending workers to do a job.
  1. Provide on the job training in hazards, safety rules, etc.
  1. Enforce safety rules.
  1. Promptly report and investigate all accidents within your shop(s). You are responsible for knowing what happened, why it happened and how to prevent it from happening again.

Employee

  1. Follow safety rules at all times
  1. Notify your supervisor of unsafe conditions
  1. Report all accidents to your supervisor

Safety Committee

  1. Each shop will meet once a month to discuss safety issues and to receive training in a specific area. The Safety Officer will coordinate at these meetings.
  1. Recommendations resulting from these meetings will be forwarded to the Director by the Safety Officer.

Job Safety Review

(Post at Job Site or Attach to Work Order)

  1. WORK DESCRIPTION: ______
  1. WORK SETTING:

_____ 1.STREET – WEAR YELLOW VESTS, USE FLAGMEN, USE TRAFFIC SIGNS

_____ 2. OUTSIDE/WET FLOOR – WATCH FOR HEAT/COLD STRESS, USE GFIC

_____ 3.HIGH WORK, OPEN SIDE – USE LIFELINE, INSPECT LADDERS

_____ 4.IN EXCAVATION – FOLLOW SHORING RULES

_____ 5.CONFINED SPACE – PRE ENTRY CHECK REQUIRED

_____ 6.OTHER ______

  1. MATERIALS:

_____ 1.FLAMMABLES – USE FIRE WATCH, VENTILATE SOLVENT FUMES

_____ 2.ASBESTOS – DO NOT DISTURB

_____ 3.REFRIGERANT GAS – VENTILATION REQUIRED

_____ 4.CORROSIVES – AVOID CONTACT, USE GLOVES AND EYE PROTECTION

_____ 5.TOXIC – AVOID CONTACT AND BREATHING FUMES

_____ 6.OTHER ______

  1. PHYSICAL HAZARDS:

_____ 1.FLYING PARTICLES – EYE PROTECTION NEEDED

_____ 2.WELDING FUMES – USE VENTILATION AND FIRE WATCH

_____ 3.MOVING HEAVY OBJECTS – USE LIFTING EQUIPMENT, TWO PEOPLE

_____ 4.ELECTRICAL – LOCKOUT, MAINTAIN EQUIPMENT AND CORDS

_____ 5.MOVING PARTS – USE GUARDS

_____ 6.OTHER ______

SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS: ______

SECTION 2 –GENERAL SAFETY STANDARDS

Fire Prevention

The University Safety and Health Program Manual contains policies on life (#11) fire extinguishers (#12), flammable liquids (#14) and departmental storage in mechanical rooms (#20). In addition to these policies, the following standards are specific to Facilities Management:

  1. Mechanical rooms, Housekeeping closets, workshops and all other areas assigned to the Facilities Management shall be kept free and clear of unnecessary storage, deposits or accumulations of combustible waste and rubbish of any kind.
  1. Oily rags shall be stored in a metal can with a lid and removed for cleaning or discarded daily.
  1. Smoking and other open flames are prohibited around LP gas, oxygen and acetylene cylinders, flammable liquids, chlorine and combustible dusts.
  1. Fire protection features in building such as fire walls, wired glass, fire doors, fire alarms, dampers, sprinklers, egress hardware, electrical in hazardous locations etc. must be maintained during maintenance and renovation work. For example, holes must be sealed in fire walls, wired glass must be replaced with wired glass, sprinklers must be replaced with exact replacements etc. The Safety Officer must be contacted whenever maintenance will affect fire protection in a building.

Ladders, Scaffolds and Automatic Lifts

  1. Ladders must be inspected by the shop foreman at least monthly. Ladders found to be defective shall be marked "defective”, removed from service and discarded in the rear yard of the Facilities Management. Examples of defective ladders are those with bent rungs, spreaders or side rails, missing or loose rungs or rivets, cracked wood etc.

Non-conductive ladders must be used when working on electrical equipment.

  1. Manufactured tubular scaffolds must be erected in accordance with the manufacturer instructions. Guardrails must be in place and except for mobile scaffolds; anchorage must be in place. All loads carrying timber members must be scaffold grade.
  1. Mobile and other freestanding scaffolds are limited to a 4 to 1 height to base dimension. The wheels must have locks and the scaffold must not be moved with employees on the scaffold. Guardrails must be in place. Other “job made” scaffolds require prior approval of the Safety Officer.
  1. The safety procedures listed below are to be followed by employees using the upright lift, Genie lift, Spider scaffold and similar equipment.
  1. Each employee responsible for set up of lift equipment or scaffolds shall first read the operating instructions and safety rules provided by the manufacturer for the equipment. These are available from the Safety Officer.
  1. All instructions and safety rules in the manual shall be followed.
  1. Lift equipment and scaffolds shall be inspected in accordance with the manufacturer’s manual prior to using the equipment. Equipment with missing, damaged or worn parts shall not be used.
  1. For man-lifts, outriggers are always required to be in place.
  1. For the up-right lift, the guardrails are to be raised while the lift is in horizontal position.
  1. Man-lifts are not to be moved while the lift is elevated.
  1. All employees on suspension scaffolds are required to wear safety harnesses anchored to the building structure.
  1. Unauthorized personnel shall barricade the area directly below suspension scaffolds to prevent entry.
  1. The “Sky Genie” Variable Descent System consist of lifelines, body harness, anchor attachment, and ascending unit. The system is intended to be used solely as a safety lifeline for work on scaffolds, the edge of roofs, etc. are not to be used to lift or lower equipment or workers.

Every employee who uses the descent system must first read the instructions provided and then follow the instructions to the letter.

Work in the Streets

All employees who work in or along the side of a street must wear orange vests. Vests worn at night shall be reflective.

A safe work zone must be designated and set up using flagmen, warning signs and orange cones on all projects, which require blocking off traffic lanes. (See the Safety Officer for details)

Shoring of Excavations

All excavations in excess of five feet deep require shoring, sloping or benching with horizontal levels.

The shoring, sloping or benching plan depends on the depth of the excavation and the type of soil.

The exact shoring plan for each excavation will be developed by the Plant Engineer (Assistant Director of Facilities Management) and the Safety Officer.

This plan must be followed exactly before employees are allowed to enter the excavation. No employee will enter an excavation at any time without the plan safeguards in place.

The Safety Officer will inspect all excavations daily to assure the excavations safeguards are being followed.

Fall Protection for High Work

Safety lifelines and body harness are required for all work on sloped roofs, within 6’ of the edge of open sided flat roofs, other elevated open sided areas where a fall hazard exist, and in trimming trees. Lifelines must be ¾” manila or equal secured above the work to a structure capable of supporting a minimum dead weight of 5400 lbs. lanyards should be used with lifelines to provide a fall no greater than 6 feet.

Noise

Hearing protectors are required when using the chipper, leaf blower, chain saw, sandblaster and tractor. Protectors are also recommended when using woodworking machines for more than 2 hours. The Steam Plant and grounds workers come under the noise audiogram program. These tests are administered by the Speech and Hearing Center.

Electrical Safety Awareness

The severity of electric shock is determined by the amount of current flow through the victim.

Experimental and field data from authoritative sources indicate that, in general, an alternating current of 100 milliamperes (100 mA) at commercial frequency of 60 cycles per second (60 Hz) may be fatal if it passes through the vital organs. Similarly, it is estimated that a current of 16 mA is the average current at which an individual can still release him from an object held by the hand. Such current flow can easily be received on contact with low-voltage sources of the ordinary lighting or power circuit.

Death or injury be electric shock may result from the following effects of current on the body:

  • Contraction of the chest muscles, which interfere with breathing
  • Temporary paralysis of the nerve center
  • Interference with normal rhythm of the heart, causing ventricular fibrillation.
  • Suspension of heart action by muscular contraction (on contact with heavy current)
  • Hemorrhages and destruction of tissues nerves, and muscles.

In general, the longer the current flows through the body, the more serious may be the result.

  1. As a rule electrical equipment and circuits 50V or greater should be de-energized before maintenance is performed directly on the equipment or circuits or if the work would expose the employee to unguarded live electrical parts.
  1. Worn, damaged and spliced cords and plugs are the most frequent worker’s electrical hazard at the Facilities Management. All damaged cords must be repaired by the electrical shop or replaced.
  1. Extension cords must match the load they are connected too.
  1. GFCI must be used on all outdoor and wet applications.

Note: GFCI does provide protection against line to line electrical contact. GCFI operator in a fraction of a second at 5 milliamps. You may still receive a quick electrical shock with enough force to throw you from a ladder.

Materials Handling and Forklift

Employees shall not be put at risk of body strains unnecessarily. Shop supervisors shall assure that all jobs meet the following rules:

  1. Lifting equipment (handtrucks, cylinder trucks, etc.) will be utilized whenever possible.
  1. Adequate personnel will be assigned to the job dependent upon the weight and size of material. In general, materials weighing more than 50 lb. will require two employees.
  1. Repetitive lifting and twisting will be designed out of the job as much as possible.
  1. Frequently used material and heavy large material will be stored in a location that does not require reaching over something, standing on a ladder or stool to get to, bending to the floor, reaching under something, etc.
  1. Loose objects must be contained while being moved.
  1. The route for carrying material should be as short as possible, avoiding steps, slopes and slippery surfaces if possible.
  1. Employees must be made aware of unavoidable tripping hazards.
  1. Employees should lift by bending their knees so that leg muscles are used.
  1. Only employees who have been trained shall operate the forklift. All rules in the manufacturer’s manual shall be followed.
  1. Wheel chocks shall be used when unloading trucks at the warehouse.
  1. A truck with flashing lights shall always follow the forklift enroute to locations on campus, a safe speed shall always be followed. The forklift shall not be used outdoors in wet weather.
  1. Chemicals shall be stored and handled in accordance with policy #28 in the Safety and Health Program Manual.

Compressed Gases

The use of compressed gases on campus will be in accordance with recommendations published by the Compressed Gas Association.

The following rules summarize a few of the basic guidelines for the use and storage of compressed gas:

  1. Compressed gases on campus will be in accordance with recommendations published by the Compressed Gas Association.

The following rules summarize a few of the basic guidelines for the use and storage of compressed gases:

  • Wall mounted or bench mounted gas cylinder brackets
  • Chains or belts anchored to walls or benches
  • Free standing dollies or carts designed for gas cylinders and equipped with safety chains or belts
  1. A cylinder must have the valve protection cover in place except when in use.
  1. The pressure regulator must be removed and valve protection cover replaced before moving cylinders even if the cylinders are secured to a dolly or hand truck, e.g., acetylene and oxygen cylinders used for cutting, brazing, etc., may not be transported with regulators attached to the cylinders.
  1. Smoking is not permitted in the area where flammable gases (acetylene, propane) are used or stored.
  1. Gas cylinders must be used in an upright position and clamped securely at all times. Due to the extreme hazards created by using certain cylinders in a horizontal position (e.g., acetylene, gases stored as a liquid), approval must be obtained from the Health and Safety Office for use of cylinders in any position other than vertical, with the valve up.
  1. Appropriate dollies or hand trucks must be used to move cylinders weighing more than 50 pounds. Movement by spinning, sliding, rolling, etc., is prohibited. For movement within shops and laboratories, cylinders weighing less than 50 pounds may be carried if desired.
  1. All oxygen valves, gauges, regulators, pipes and fittings must be scrupulously free of oil, grease, graphite, or any other oxidizable substance. Such pipes, gauges, fittings, etc., must at no time be exposed to come to an elevated temperature due to proximity to welding operations, burners, or other heat sources. Although oxygen is quite safe under normal temperatures and pressures, elevated temperatures and/or pressures, or contamination, may result in the rapid and violent oxidation of normally non-reactive materials. For example, a regulator used on oil-pumped nitrogen could produce a serious explosion if subsequently used for oxygen, due to the oil residue.

Steam Cleaner

  1. Employees who use the steam cleaner must first be trained and authorized by the steam plant supervisor.
  1. The steam plant operator will maintain a current list of personnel and will turn the steam on for authorized personnel.
  1. Hearing protectors, goggles and cuffed gloves are required to be worn. Two workers are required to be present during the cleaning process.
  1. Before leaving the steam cleaner area, employees will clean the area, roll up the hose and turn in the protective equipment.

Transporting Workers in State Vehicles

The driver and each passenger must have a seat and wear seat belts, if available. No one is allowed to sit on the edge or rail of the pick-up truck or stand up while the vehicle is in motion. Passengers may ride inside the pick-up bed or the back of a van for short distances on campus not to exceed 25 miles per hour.

Drivers/passengers in vehicles, which do not exceed 25 miles per hour and make frequent stops, do not have to wear seat belts.

SECTION 3 –ELECTRICAL DISTRIBUTION SAFETY STANDARDS

Overhead and Underground line Maintenance Safety Procedures

  1. These procedures do not apply to construction of power lines.
  1. Assignment of Crew:
  1. Electric distribution work requires two or more employees who are trained and qualified as power line workers, except a single qualified power line employee or electrician may perform the following: (non power line workers cannot work high voltage)
  • Routine switching of circuits
  • Work performed with live line tools if the employee is at a safe distance while on the ground.
  • Minimum emergency repair required safeguarding the public.

All entry into manholes, work from the aerial bucket near energized lines and climbing requires two employees.