OSHA 30 Construction key terms

Section 5(a)(1) of the OSH Act requires each employer to provide a workplace free from recognized hazards that are causing or likely to cause death or serious physical harm, even when no specific standard applies.

A person who, by training and experience, can recognize existing and predictable hazards in the surroundings and who has authority to take prompt corrective action to eliminate them.

A work-related injury or illness that requires medical treatment beyond first aid, days away from work, restricted duty, loss of consciousness, or results in death, and must be logged on the OSHA 300 form.

The four hazard categories responsible for most construction deaths - falls, struck-by, caught-in or caught-between, and electrocution - emphasized in OSHA outreach training because controlling them prevents the majority of fatalities.

Equipment and procedures such as guardrail systems, safety net systems, or personal fall arrest systems that prevent or arrest a fall from an elevated walking-working surface.

An assembly of anchor, connector, lanyard, deceleration device, and full-body harness that stops a worker's fall after it begins and holds the person upright while rescue is arranged.

A fixed, secure point for attaching lifelines, lanyards, or deceleration devices that is independent of the walking-working surface and can support at least 5,000 pounds per employee attached.

The unprotected advancing edge of a floor, roof, or deck under construction, where workers are exposed to falls and where guardrails, warning lines, or fall arrest must be used.

A work area where access is limited to certain trained employees, used together with a warning line system instead of conventional fall protection for particular leading-edge work such as precast concrete erection.

A fall protection alternative in which a competent person watches the work, warns employees of fall hazards, and keeps other workers out of the area; allowed only in limited situations.

An injury produced when a worker is hit by an object such as a falling tool, swinging load, flying fragment, or moving vehicle; prevented with exclusion zones, secured loads, and head protection.

The arc swept by the rotating superstructure or counterweight of a crane, excavator, or similar machine; barricading this area keeps workers from being struck or crushed.

A hazard where a worker is crushed, pinched, squeezed, or pulled into machinery or collapsing material, for example by unguarded rotating parts, cave-ins, or unblocked equipment.

Barriers and devices that keep hands, arms, and clothing away from moving machine parts such as gears, belts, and shafts, preventing caught-in injuries and amputations.

Any place where a body part could be caught between two parts moving together, or between a moving part and a fixed object, such as a truck bed, roller, or counterweight.

A procedure for shutting off, isolating, and locking energy sources before equipment is serviced, so unexpected startup or release of stored energy cannot injure workers.

Death caused by electric shock. On construction sites the leading causes are contact with overhead power lines, energized equipment, and faulty cords or missing grounding.

The clearance that workers and conductive equipment must maintain from exposed energized lines; for lines up to 50 kV, OSHA requires at least 10 feet unless the line is de-energized and grounded.

A device that senses small current leaks to ground and shuts off power within a fraction of a second, protecting workers who use temporary cords and receptacles on site.

A written program of scheduled tests and visual inspections of cord sets and cord- and plug-connected equipment that may be used instead of GFCIs to protect against ground faults.

Equipment such as hard hats, safety glasses, gloves, and respirators worn to shield the body from hazards; it is the last line of defense after engineering and work-practice controls.

Fluorescent and retroreflective clothing that makes a worker easier for equipment operators and drivers to see, required in roadway work zones and similar traffic settings.

The OSHA standard requiring chemical labels, safety data sheets, and employee training so workers know the hazards, safe handling, and protective measures for chemicals on site.

Dust produced by cutting, grinding, or drilling concrete, stone, and masonry; breathing it causes silicosis and lung cancer, so wet methods, ventilation, and respirators are required.

A fibrous mineral formerly used in insulation, floor tile, and roofing; disturbing it releases fibers that cause asbestosis and mesothelioma, so it must be identified and removed by trained workers before demolition.

The maximum legal airborne concentration of a hazardous substance averaged over a work shift; employers must keep employee exposures at or below this level.

A temporary elevated platform with its supporting structure used to work above ground; it must be designed for its loads, erected and inspected by qualified and competent persons, and fully planked.

A toprail, midrail, and toeboard installed along open sides and ends of a scaffold platform more than 10 feet above a lower level, keeping workers and materials from falling.

The rule that a portable ladder's base is set out one foot for every four feet of height to the support point, giving roughly a 75-degree angle that resists slipping.

A climbing technique in which a worker keeps two hands and one foot, or two feet and one hand, in contact with the ladder at all times to reduce fall risk.

Any man-made cut, cavity, trench, or depression in the earth's surface; protective systems are required at 5 feet deep unless a competent person finds stable rock.

Sloping, benching, shoring, or shielding used to prevent cave-ins and protect employees in excavations, required for trenches five feet deep or more and whenever a competent person identifies a hazard.

Sorting soil into stable rock or Type A, B, or C by strength and water content; weaker soils such as Type C require flatter slopes or stronger shoring.

Excavated material, equipment, and supplies must be kept at least two feet from the edge of an excavation to limit surcharge loads that can trigger a collapse.

A manufacturer's table listing a crane's lifting capacity at given boom lengths, radii, and configurations; the operator must stay within it, adjusted for actual site conditions.

Checking slings, shackles, hooks, and other rigging hardware for wear, cuts, and deformation before each lift, and removing damaged gear from service.

The sudden forceful backward or upward thrust of a saw or other power tool when the blade or bit binds, prevented by keeping guards in place and standing clear of the cut line.

Moving, lifting, and carrying loads by hand; using proper technique, keeping loads close to the body, and getting mechanical help prevents strains, sprains, and back injuries.