Category: Safety

Are Your Workers Properly Protecting Themselves from Skin Cancer? CNA’s New Bulletin Can Help

Skin cancer is a major concern in the mechanical construction and service industry. Every year, more than 5 million cases of skin cancer are treated nationwide. The vast majority of these cases are attributed to UV radiation from the sun.

Working in the sun without the proper protection substantially increases the risk of developing skin cancer. MCAA partner CNA recently produced an informative bulletin to help you help your workers protect themselves from skin cancer and overheating while working in the sun.

DOWNLOAD THE BULLETIN

Need to Create an Accident/Incident Investigation Program? This Model Program Makes It Easy!

Accident/incident investigation allows you to identify hazards and unsafe behaviors so that you can implement measures to prevent recurrence. MCAA’s Model Accident/Incident Investigation Program will help contractors to quickly and easily establish an effective investigation program.

The model program guides users through the process of:

  • Compiling the facts associated with the occurrence of an accident/incident
  • Determining the real cause or causes of the accident/incident and
  • Initiating appropriate action to prevent recurrence

Download

Want Even More Safety Resources?

MCAA has you covered, with a full range of resources to help you protect your workers from injury and comply with applicable safety regulations. Here’s where to find them:

On our Direct Links to MCAA & MSCA Safety Resources page, where they’re listed by category with links.

Go there now

In the Resource Center, where you can use the blue Refine Your Search bar to pinpoint exactly what you’re looking for.

Visit the Resource Center

Have questions or need personal assistance?

Contact MCAA’s Pete Chaney.

Preparing Your Workers for the Dog Days of Summer? MCAA and CNA Can Help

Now is the time to prepare your fitters, plumbers, and service techs for the looming dog days of summer. By providing them with the knowledge they’ll need to prevent heat stress related illnesses, you ensure their safety down the road.

Common heat stress related illnesses and their symptoms include:

  • Heat Stroke: The body loses its ability to sweat, and can’t control its temperature (HEAT STROKE IS A MEDICAL EMERGENCY)
  • Heat Exhaustion: The body sweats away too much water and salt
  • Heat Syncope: The body’s blood pressure becomes too low, resulting in dizziness or fainting and
  • Heat Cramps: The body experiences painful muscle spasms.

MCAA Safety Resources Provide Training Talks

MCAA’s safety resources are available for free as a benefit of membership. Be sure to check out:

MCAA’s full range of safety resources are available via our Direct Links to MCAA & MSCA Safety Resources page.

CNA Offers Guidance

Long-time MCAA partner in safety CNA offers guidance on the subject in one of its highly informative risk control bulletins.

Need to Teach Safe Practices for Scissors and Boom Lift Work? This Video Will Help!

Lifts are critical to the successful performance of mechanical contracting work, but injuries can occur when workers aren’t informed about how to use them properly or don’t follow safe work practices. MCAA’s safety training video on the subject, and the accompanying materials, will educate workers to avoid these injuries.

The video will help them understand:

  • The significance of aerial lift load capacities
  • How to properly inspect and function test lifts before use
  • What to do when there is a problem with a lift
  • The appropriate fall prevention and protection requirements for the two different types of lifts
  • Safe operating procedures

Download or play the video

There’s More…

Accompanying materials are also available to assist you in highlighting key training points, documenting worker training and confirming that workers understand the training concepts.

Highlight key training points

Download the Pocket Guide

Document worker training

Download the Documentation Sheet

Confirm that workers understand the training concepts

Download the Test

Download the Test Answer Key

Want Even More Safety Resources?

MCAA has you covered, with a full range of resources to help you protect your workers from injury and comply with applicable safety regulations. Here’s where to find them:

On our Direct Links to MCAA & MSCA Safety Resources page, where they’re listed by category with links.

Go there now

In the Resource Center, where you can use the blue Refine Your Search bar to pinpoint exactly what you’re looking for.

Visit the Resource Center

Have questions or need personal assistance?

Contact MCAA’s Pete Chaney.

Planning for Hurricane Season? MCAA Partner CNA Offers Guidance

Each year in the United States, June 1st through November 30th is considered hurricane season. The earliest in a year that a hurricane struck in the U.S. was June 9, 1966 when hurricane Alma slammed into Florida and Georgia affecting several other east coast states as well. The states most affected by hurricanes include Florida, Texas, Louisiana, North Carolina, South Carolina, Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, New York, and Virginia. However, eleven other other states have been hit by hurricanes, including California and Hawaii.

Because hurricanes can wreak havoc on mechanical construction and service businesses, you may want to consider planning ahead. Long-time MCAA partner in safety CNA offers guidance on the subject in one of its highly informative risk control bulletins.

BULLETIN

Congratulations On 20 Consecutive Years of Steadily Excelling Safety Performance

MCAA member safety performance has steadily excelled since the association kicked off its perpetual Safety Excellence Initiative in 1998. Among participants in the association’s annual Safety Statistics and Awards Program, the aggregate incidence rates for recordable injury cases, lost workday cases, and fatality cases dropped substantially between 1998 and 2018. MCAA congratulates you for 20 consecutive years of safety excellence and looks forward to helping you continue to achieve it over the next 20 years and beyond.

MCAA Member Aggregate Incidence Rates19982018
Recordable Cases Incidence Rate8.21.2
Lost Workday Cases Incidence Rate3.9.2
Fatality Cases Incidence Rate.60

View Aggregate Rates/Trends

Distracted Driving Accidents Continue to Rise – These Resources Help You Address the Issue Head-On

U.S. vehicle fatalities in 2018 exceeded 40,000, a 14% increase over the level just four years ago (2014). In 2017, the most recent year for which data on vehicle fatalities caused by distracted driving is available, there were 3,166 fatalities known to be caused by distracted driving. Distracted driving includes texting and cell phone use while driving, as well as other types of poor driving behaviors. MCAA resources can help you curb these behaviors.

Get Up to Speed Quickly

MCAA’s Distracted Driving Safety Bulletin will bring you up to speed quickly.

Download

Establish Rules of the Road

MCAA’s Distracted Driving Reduction and Prevention Guide will help you:

  • Establish a written policy to reduce or prevent distracted driving in your company
  • Train all affected drivers/workers
  • Learn about technologies to reduce or prevent distracted driving

Download

Provide Additional Worker Training

MCAA’s Workplace Distractions Safety Training Video will help your workers recognize and avoid the four most common industry-related workplace distractions:

  • Driving distractions
  • Electronic distractions
  • Environmental distractions
  • Personal distractions

Download or play the video

Accompanying materials are also available to assist you in highlighting key training points, documenting worker training and confirming that workers understand the training concepts:

Highlight Key Training Points

Download the Pocket Guide

Document Worker Training

Download the Documentation Sheet

Confirm that Workers Understand the Training Concepts

Download the Test

Download the Test Answer Key

Want Even More Safety Resources?

MCAA has you covered, with a full range of resources to help you protect your workers from injury and comply with applicable safety regulations. Here’s where to find them:

On our Direct Links to MCAA & MSCA Safety Resources page, where they’re listed by category with links.

Go there now

In the Resource Center, where you can use the blue Refine Your Search bar to pinpoint exactly what you’re looking for.

Visit the Resource Center

Have Questions or Need Personal Assistance?

Contact MCAA’s Pete Chaney.

Would it Help You to Know the Current Mechanical Industry Injury Trends?

Mechanical industry workers are much safer now than they were in the past. For example, the aggregate MCAA member incidence rate for recordable worker injuries fell over a 21 year period from 8.2 in 1998 to 1.2 in 2018, and the lost workday cases incidence rate fell from 3.9 in 1998 to 0.2 in 2018. However, there is still work to do, especially in the areas of manual handling of materials/physical stress, falls, and struck by object hazards. Recent data shared with us by long-time partner in safety CNA highlights where we need to focus our attention concerning mechanical industry injury frequency and severity. The data is specific to MCAA member firms insured by CNA.

Mechanical Industry WC Claims (Frequency)201620172018
Manual Handling/Physical Stress23%26%23%
Slip/Trip (Same level with or without a fall)15%13%15%
Struck By (Moving/flying object/liquid)21%17%19%
Sum of Incurred WC Claim Losses (Severity)201620172018
Falls from Elevation7%7%53%
Manual Handling/Physical Stress28%28%9%
Slip/Trip (Same level with or without a fall)18%17%13%
Struck By (Moving/flying object/liquid)18%14%9%

CNA Mechanical Industry Loss Trends

MCAA Safety Resources Will Help You Address These Areas…and More

If you’re ready to start addressing the areas that still need work, MCAA is here to help. Our website includes a full range of resources to help you protect your workers from injury and comply with applicable safety regulations. Here’s where to find them:

On our Direct Links to MCAA & MSCA Safety Resources page, where they’re listed by category with links.

Go there now

In the Resource Center, where you can use the blue Refine Your Search bar to pinpoint exactly what you’re looking for.

Visit the Resource Center

Have questions or need personal assistance?

Contact MCAA’s Pete Chaney.

Innovation on Display at Murray Company for the 2019 Fabrication Conference

At MCAA’s 2019 Fab Conference, Murray Company in Los Angeles, California opened its doors to over 225 contractors to learn fabrication, process and digital integration. Over three days, they helped move the industry forward by demonstrating their processes, technology and innovations. In addition to learning about the Murray approach to the fabrication process, attendees learned how pull planning and enhanced coordination can help drive schedule and increase productivity.

Give Construction Workers Quick Access to Safety Information

Do your mechanical construction workers need a quick reference to help them work safely? MCAA’s Safety Manual for Mechanical Construction Workers provides critical information on everything from aerial lift safety to preventing overexposure to zinc. Members can download the manual free as a benefit of membership, or purchase print copies for their workers who prefer them.

National Construction Safety Week Starts May 6. Want to Participate?

National Construction Safety Week is a celebration of safe work practices by national and global construction firms. The celebration takes place each spring to remind construction workers and supervisors how important workplace safety is every week of every year. This year’s celebration takes place May 6 – 10.

For National Construction Safety Week 2019, MCAA recommends that you highlight the topics listed below to help prevent some of the most common mechanical industry incidents that often result in injury. MCAA has substantive resources on each topic that are free to you as a benefit of membership.

  • Pressure Testing Safety
  • Fall Prevention and Protection
  • Ladder Safety
  • The Safe Manual Handling of Materials
  • Eye Injury Prevention

MCAA Safety Resources

Need More Ideas?

National Construction Safety Week Website

Put Safety at Fab Shop Workers’ Fingertips

Do your fab shop workers need a quick reference for working safely in the shop? MCAA’s Safety Manual for Mechanical Fabrication Shop Workers will provide them with critical information on everything from working safely with overhead and gantry cranes to preventing overexposure to manganese while performing hot work. Members can download the manual free as a benefit of membership, or purchase print copies for their workers who prefer them.

Protect Your Workers from Silica Hazards with this Guide

If workers inhale a large enough concentration of microscopic crystalline silica particles, it can lead to silicosis, lung cancer, and other health problems. MCAA’s Guide to Silica Safety provides mechanical construction employers with the information they need to help their workers:

  • Understand the potential hazards associated with overexposure to respirable crystalline silica
  • Identify the most common mechanical construction activities that can produce it
  • Identify common activities performed by other trades that can produce it
  • Implement the best available safe work practices to prevent overexposure
  • Comply with OSHA’s Respirable Crystalline Silica Standard

Download

Additional Silica Resources

Whether you’re looking for help developing a written silica exposure control plan, a summary of the OSHA standard or additional training materials, MCAA has you covered with these resources:

If you have questions about any of these resources or OSHA’s silica standard, please contact Pete Chaney at pchaney@mcaa.org or 301-990-2214.

Do You Have the Knowledge to Protect Workers Performing Hot Work in Confined Spaces?

MCAA recently added information to its safety bulletin and model program on confined spaces in construction to emphasize that even when employers are in compliance with OSHA’s confined spaces in construction standard, they are still required to comply with applicable parts of the agency’s welding and cutting standard. Welding, cutting and heating in confined spaces may generate hazards that are not adequately covered by OSHA’s Confined Spaces in Construction Standard (29 CFR 1926 Subpart AA).

Download the Safety Bulletin

Download the Model Program

If you have any questions, please contact Pete Chaney at 301-990-2214 or pchaney@mcaa.org.

Need Help with Ladder Safety? Check Out this Video!

In the mechanical industry more than 50% of falls from elevation are falls from ladders. Most of the time it’s because our workers are reaching out too far, or carrying tools or materials in their hands while climbing. However, there are many other reasons for falls from ladders and this video can help you train your workers to recognize and avoid all of them. MCAA’s Ladder Safety Training Video will show your fitters, plumbers, and service technicians how to properly inspect, transport, set up and use ladders safely.

The video emphasizes:

  • Common reasons for falls
  • The safe use of ladders, including stepladders and portable straight ladders
  • How new ladder technology has substantially improved ladder safety

Download or play the video

There’s More…

Accompanying materials are also available to assist you in highlighting key training points, documenting worker training and confirming that workers understand the training concepts:

Highlight key training points

Download the Pocket Guide

Document worker training

Download the Documentation Sheet

Confirm that workers understand the training concepts

Download the Test

Download the Test Answer Key

Want Even More Safety Resources?

MCAA has you covered, with a full range of resources to help you protect your workers from injury and comply with applicable safety regulations. Here’s where to find them:

On our Direct Links to MCAA & MSCA Safety Resources page, where they’re listed by category with links.

Go there now

In the Resource Center, where you can use the blue Refine Your Search bar to pinpoint exactly what you’re looking for.

Visit the Resource Center

Have questions or need personal assistance?

Contact MCAA’s Pete Chaney.

Five Member Firms Recognized for Safety Excellence at MCAA19

MCAA president Mike Brandt and CNA construction segment director Mark Wilke presented five MCAA/CNA Safety Excellence Awards at MCAA19 in Phoenix. The participating firms were judged on the quality of their safety programs, innovative safety initiatives, and overall safety performance in 2018. The awards were presented at the March 6, 2019 Awards of Excellence Breakfast in front of twelve hundred attendees. The award winners are:

  • Southwest Town Mechanical – Size Category 1 – Up to 100,000 Work Hours;
  • Armistead Mechanical, Inc. – Size Category 2 – 100,001 to 250,000 Work Hours;
  • Integrated Facility Services – Size Category 3 – 250,001 to 400,000 Work Hours;
  • University Mechanical Contractors – Size Category 4 – 400,001 to 1 Million Work Hours; and
  • J.F. Ahern Company – Size Category 5 – More Than 1 Million Work Hours.

MCAA congratulates all the winners for their remarkable achievements.

Looking for Distracted Driving Prevention Solutions? CNA Can Help!

MCAA’s long-time partner in safety CNA has extensive expertise in fleet and driver safety. The firm is sharing distracted driving prevention solutions with MCAA, including a guide on limiting driver distractions from cell phone use, and a bulletin introducing small business (bSafeMobile) and large business (FleetSafer) technology solutions for distracted driving prevention. Both solutions help reduce the number of vehicle accidents by eliminating a leading cause of crashes; driver distractions from the use of smart phones while driving.

Download the Guide

Learn More About the Technology Solutions

OSHA Modifies Recordkeeping Rule for Large Employers

OSHA recently published a final rule modifying its recordkeeping regulation that required employers with 250 or more employees to submit recordkeeping forms 300 (log of work-related injuries and illnesses), 301 (incident report form), and 300A (annual summary of work-related injuries and illnesses). The new rule eliminates the obligation for employers with 250 or more employees to submit their forms 300 and 301. However,  they will still be required to submit their 300A annual summary forms. Employers with fewer than 250 employees are already required to submit 300A summary forms annually. The new rule also requires covered employers to electronically submit their Employer Identification Number along with the 300A  annual summaries.  The deadline for electronic submissions of recordable injury/illness information from 2018 is March 2, 2019.

 

FINAL RULE