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07/01/2007
OSHA Relations Committee Update
What Do Your Work Shirts Say?
Most companies require their employees to wear their company shirts on the job. What do your shirts say? Metallica, Vikings, Green Bay Packers, Bud Light, Corona, PiRod, Andrew, Harley Davidson, Tessco, Nascar, Berkley, the list goes on and on. What they should say is…I proudly work for “XYZ” Company. The shirts have more than one purpose. Not just for advertising the company you work for, but according to the PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) per OSHA requirements, protective clothing must be worn as a precautionary measure against scratches, bites, sunburn etc.
One day as I was traveling I noticed a tower crew working on a local radio tower. As I got closer to the tower hands I observed one of the crew members was not wearing a shirt, had his pants hanging down way below his waist showing his boxers. He was wearing sneakers instead of work boots, and wore no hard hat. The other crewmember was wearing sandals, no hard hat and also no shirt. The site was heavily wooded with weeds and branches that could cause potential serious scratches or cuts, and a swamp heavily populated with mosquitoes. It made the crew look very unprofessional and lazy.
I happened to know the company they worked for. I called their project manager and I was informed that this situation was no big deal, that they were just tensioning and aligning the tower structure.
This would not have made a very good impression to potential clients for tower work by this company and if an OSHA representative were to happen to come on the site, the crew could have been in violation of OSHA safety requirements.
According to 1910.132 (a): Protective equipment, including personal protective equipment for eyes, face, head, and extremities, protective clothing, respiratory devices, and protective shields and barriers, shall be provided, used, and maintained in a sanitary and reliable condition whenever it is necessary by reason of hazards of processes or environment, chemical hazards, radiological hazards, or mechanical irritants encountered in the manner capable of causing injury or impairment in the function of any part of the body through absorption, inhalation or physical contact.
According to 1910.132 (d) (1): The employer shall assess the workplace to determine if hazards are present, or are likely to be present, which necessitate the use of personal protective equipment (PPE). If such hazards are present, or likely to be present, the employer shall select, and have each affected employee use the types of PPE that will protect the affected employee from the hazards identified in the hazard assessment.
Company work shirts in the construction industry should promote safety. I know our shirts say “Safety First” even if it does not directly say it on the shirt. Our employees wear their shirts with pride and safety in mind each and every time they are on a site. As an owner of a tower company it is mandatory for our crewmembers to follow all personal protective equipment rules.
Shirts on, safety first!
Barbara Houdek is a member of the NATE OSHA Relations Committee. She is the CEO of Trillium Development, Inc. in Sartell, Minnesota. She can be reached at 320-267-3544 or trillium@cloudnet.com
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