Bucket truck safety

Bucket trucks provide aerial access to hard to reach locations, but they also cause accidents that result in 26 fatalities per year, according to the Bureau of Labor. Deaths occur from falls after lifts are struck by vehicles, cranes or crane loads, when a lift suddenly jerks, or from electrocutions when overhead power lines contact the bucket.

Bucket truck operators must be trained to use them properly and comply with the OSHA standard for aerial lifts (1926.453). Worker training should include:

* pre-start walk around inspection – before traveling to the worksite, perform a visual inspection of the vehicle and its lift system as outlined in the operator’s manual
* work clothes and PPE – operators may be required to wear hard hats, steel toed shoes, eye protection and electrical gloves and should inspect fall arrest equipment for wear and tear
* pre-planning – preplan the route of travel to avoid overhead obstructions
* on the job – park the truck on level ground, install wheel chocks, never exceed the rated lift capacity, watch the overhead and bottom line, never sit on the edge of the bucket and keep feet firmly on bucket floor
* prevent tip-overs – don’t drive with the lift platform elevated; don’t exceed vertical or horizontal reach limits
* electricity in the air – maintain safe distances from overhead power lines

OSHA announces Targeted Inspection Plan for 2006

OSHA announced last week that its 2006 site-specific targeting program will focus on approximately 4,250 high-hazard worksites that will receive comprehensive inspections over the coming year.

The list of worksites comes from injury and illness data drawn from a survey of 80,000 employers in 2005.

The employers on this year’s list reported 12 or more injuries or illnesses resulting in days away from work for every 100 workers. Employers with slightly lower rates (between 7 and 12 injuries) will be placed on a secondary list for possible inspection.

OSHA will randomly select about 175 workplaces that reported low injury and illness rates to review the actual degree of compliance with OSHA requirements.

“Our targeted inspection program maximizes the effectiveness of our inspection resources to those workplaces with the highest safety and health hazards,” said OSHA administrator Edwin G. Foulke, Jr. “This program gives us the opportunity to focus our enforcement efforts where it will have the most benefit for workers and employers.”