Category: Safety

Safe Work Practices are Key During Pressure Testing Operations – This Guide Has Them!

MCAA’s Guide to Pressure Testing Safety highlights the safe work practices that can help prevent worker injury during hydrostatic and pneumatic testing of steel and copper piping systems.

Your workers will learn about:

  • Hazards associated with pressure testing
  • Common injuries resulting from pressure testing
  • Seven causes of piping system failures during pressure test operations that can result in injury, and how to avoid them
  • Safe work practices for hydrostatic testing
  • Safe work practices for pneumatic testing

The guide also contains tools to help you with pre-test safety planning, including sample checklists for both hydrostatic and pneumatic testing. A sample pneumatic test permit is also included.

Download the guide

There’s More…

A safety training video on the topic of safe pressure testing is also available. Accompanying materials will assist you in highlighting key training points, documenting worker training and confirming that workers understand the training concepts.

Provide worker training

Download or play the video

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 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.

Need to Keep Your Workers Safe from Asbestos Hazards? This Video Can Help!

MCAA’s Asbestos Awareness for the Mechanical Trades Safety Training Video teaches your workers to protect themselves from the hazards involved in working around microscopic asbestos fibers.

Your workers will learn:

  • What asbestos is
  • Where asbestos can be found on the jobsite
  • What the health hazards of asbestos exposure are
  • How to identify potential asbestos hazards
  • How to protect themselves from asbestos hazards

Download or play the video in English

Download or play the video in Spanish

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 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.

Want to Keep Your Fitters and Plumbers Safe from Electrical Hazards? Show Them this Video!

MCAA’s Electrical Hazard Safety Training Video teaches your workers to recognize electrical hazards and perform their jobs safely.

Your workers will learn about:

  • The electrical concepts of path to ground and path of least resistance
  • The importance of keeping power tools and equipment in good working order
  • Ground fault circuit interruptors (GFCIs) and when they should be used
  • Hazardous work situations and how to handle them safely

Download or play the video in English

Download or play the video in Spanish

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 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.

Need an Electrical Safety in the Workplace Program to Comply with NFPA 70E – 2018? This Model Program is for You!

The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) recently revised its standard for electrical safety in the workplace. NFPA 70E – 2018 requires affected employers to establish a written program for electrical safety in the workplace. MCAA’s Model Electrical Safety in the Workplace Program can be quickly and easily tailored to meet your company’s specific electrical safety applications.

This updated model program and all MCAA/MSCA safety resources are  free to members as one of many benefits of membership.

If you have any questions about this publication, or NFPA 70E – 2018, please contact Pete Chaney at pchaney@mcaa.org or 301-990-2214.

Check Out MCAA’s New Model Lockout/Tagout Program for Electrical Safety (Based on NFPA 70E-2018)

Introducing MCAA’s newest safety resource… Model Lockout/Tagout Program for Electrical Safety. The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) recently revised its standard for electrical safety in the workplace. The most current version of the standard is NFPA 70E – 2018. This version imposes a new requirement concerning lockout/tagout of electrical energy sources. Affected employers must now establish a written lockout/tagout program specifically for electrical safety.  The new requirement is independent of the long-standing NFPA 70E requirement for a written electrical safety program.

The program is available electronically, and it can be quickly and easily tailored to meet your company’s specific applications. The new model program and all MCAA/MSCA safety resources are  free to members as one of many benefits of membership. If you have any questions about this publication, or NFPA 70E – 2018, please contact Pete Chaney at pchaney@mcaa.org or 301-990-2214.

Want to Teach Your Workers How to Safely Use Air-Purifying Respirators? This Video Can Help!

MCAA’s Respiratory Protection Safety Training Video will teach your workers to protect themselves from certain types and concentrations of airborne hazards using air-purifying respirators.

Your workers will learn about:

  • User responsibilities
  • Hazard assessments
  • Respirator selection
  • Medical evaluations
  • Fit testing
  • Proper respirator use
  • Cleaning and sanitizing
  • Maintenance
  • Change schedules
  • Storage

Download or play

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

And don’t forget this related resource

Create a customized model program

Download the Model Program

Want 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.

New MCAA Safety Bulletin Covers Key Changes to NFPA 70E (Electrical Safety in the Workplace)

The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) recently released its latest standard covering electrical safety in the workplace. The most current version of the standard, which is on a 3-year revision cycle, is NFPA 70E – 2018. MCAA has prepared a safety bulletin covering the key changes that affect mechanical service workers who are working on equipment pushing 480 volts or less. The bulletin highlights the key changes on the front page, and provides a side-by-side comparison of the key changes between the 2015 and 2018 versions of the standard on subsequent pages.

Safety Bulletin

Additional MCAA/MSCA safety resources to help your company address the key changes to NFPA 70E  for 2018 will be available later this month. The resources include:

  • A new model lockout/tagout program for electrical safety in the workplace (the revised standard requires a written electrical safety lockout/tagout program); and
  • A revised model program on Electrical Safety for Service (Based on NFPA 70E – 2018).

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

Webinar Offers the Latest in Tech Trends

For the third consecutive year, MCAA has sponsored the JBKnowledge Construction Technology Report, offering MCAA members salient insight on the technology habits of today’s contractors.  On Tuesday, January 30, James Benham, CEO of JBKnowledge will present a live webinar showcasing the reports findings and providing further insight to its data.

This webinar will be provided as a free benefit to MCAA member.  The report is already available for download in advance of the webinar.

Workplace Violence Prevention and Protection Safety Training Video & Materials Now Available

MCAA’s new worker safety training video, Workplace Violence Prevention and Protection, and its accompanying materials are now available to members. The video teaches viewers to identify warning signs and take appropriate action to prevent workplace violence. It also shows viewers how to protect themselves and others if they find themselves in an active workplace violence situation.

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.

Want to Teach Your Workers to Prevent Jobsite Fires? Check Out this Video!

MCAA’s Fire Safety Training Video will teach your workers to recognize common causes of jobsite fires and how to prevent them.

Your workers will learn about:

  • Health effects of smoke inhalation and burns
  • Common causes of jobsite fires
  • Proper fire prevention techniques
  • Safe fire response, including knowing when to fight the fire and when to get out and leave it to the professionals

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.

Want to Educate Your Workers About Workplace Distractions? This Video Can Help!

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

Your workers will learn about the four most common types of distractions:

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

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.

Need to Teach Workers About Hazard Communication? This Video Can Help!

MCAA’s Hazard Communication Safety Training Video will help your workers protect themselves from chemical hazards in the workplace.

Your workers will learn about:

  • The globally harmonized system for communicating chemical information
  • Hazard communication programs
  • Chemical container labels
  • Safety Data Sheets (SDSs)

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

Plus, give workers a quick jobsite reference

Download the GHS Pictograms and Hazards Poster

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.

Want to Prevent Falls from Ladders? Check Out this Video!

MCAA’s Ladder Safety Training Video can help you prevent falls by showing workers how to inspect, transport, set up and use ladders safely.

Your workers will learn about:

  • 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.

Is Your Company’s Fleet Safety Program as Effective as it Can Be?

This is a great time of year to evaluate your company’s fleet safety program. Doing so can help you ensure that the program is effectively protecting affected workers and that your company is benefiting from the most current safe work practices and technologies.

  • Sobering Facts:
  1. Motor Vehicle Fatalities Are the Leading Cause of Preventable Deaths
  2. They Continue to Increase – Up 14% since 2014
  • Minimum Fleet Safety Program Components
  1. Identifying All Company Drivers

-Workers Who Take Vehicles Home

-Subcontractors

-Driving Own Vehicles for Company Business

  1. Screening and Selecting Drivers Carefully

-Employment History

-Motor Vehicle Reports

-Drug/Alcohol Violation History

-National and Local Criminal Background Checks

-Pre-employment drug testing

-Pre-employment physical exams

-Pre-employment eyes exams

-Licenses/Certifications

  1. Driver Training

-All Applicable Training

  1. Monitoring Driving Behavior

-Real-Time Insight into Driving Habits

-Software Tools/Sensors/GPS, etc.

  1. Formal Vehicle Inspection Processes/Vehicle Maintenance

-At least monthly

  • Collision Avoidance Technologies
  1. Automatic Breaking
  2. Forward Collision Alert
  3. Lane Change Alert
  4. Cross Traffic Alert While in Reverse
  5. Rear Parking Assist (Provides Distance to Objects)
  6. Rear View Cameras
  • Real Time GPS Tracking
  1. Provides Extra Element of Safety

-Getting Help to Drivers ASAP by Always Knowing Exact Locations

  1. Reduces Fuel Costs

-Curbs Poor Driving Habits

-Automated Alerts to Non-Compliance

  1. Improves Productivity & Reduces Operating Costs

-More Accurate Calculations of Time spent Traveling

-Optimizes Driver Routes – Quickest Routes/Fewest Stops

  • Video and Drive Data Sensors for Predictive Analytics
  1. Internal and External Cameras Monitor Drivers’ Behaviors
  2. Sensors Record Erratic Driving
  3. Data Analysis Software Analyzes Driver Performance
  4. Fuel Management by Measuring Speed
  • Sensors
  1. Speeding
  2. Rolling Stops
  3. Texting/Distractions
  4. Drowsy Driving
  5. Lane Departures
  6. Rollover Stability
  7. Following Distance
  • Distracted Driving Prevention Technologies
  1. Can be set so phones won’t work if vehicle is in motion except for 911
  2. Can be set so phones won’t work unless hands free technology is detected

Long-time partner in safety CNA has provided MCAA with several informational bulletins on various fleet safety subjects. Visit the following links to view the bulletins.

  1. Sample Fleet Safety Program Guide
  2. Driver Selection
  3. Sample Cell Phone Use Policy
  4. Vehicle Personal Use
  5. Winter Driving
  6. Negligent Entrustment
  7. Crash Investigations

 

Need to Teach Your Service Techs to Work Safely Around RF Radiation? This Video Can Help!

MCAA’s Radio Frequency Radiation Exposure and Protection Safety Training Video will teach your mechanical service technicians how to identify sources of RF radiation and protect themselves from overexposure.

Your techs will learn about:

  • Potential rooftop RF exposures
  • The best safe work practices
  • Other protective measures for situations where standard safe work practices may not provide enough protection

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.

Revised Safety Manual for Mechanical Service Technicians Now Available in Print

MCAA recently released an electronic version of its newly revised MSCA Safety Manual for Mechanical Service Technicians. The manual, which includes substantive revisions to sections on CPR, choking, OSHA, arc flash and electrical shock protection, and refrigerants, and new sections on hexavalent chromium, manganese, noise, and zinc, is now available in print.

The extremely popular printed version is a pocket size manual on a durable, hard stock laminated paper. It’s also spiral bound to prevent binding damage.

The member price for printed copies has been substantially reduced. The new member pricing is $5.00 per manual, regardless of the number of manuals ordered. The non-member pricing is $20.00 per manual.

Download a PDF or Purchase Hard Copies

Does Your Company Do Construction Work or Have a Fab Shop?

Then you won’t want to miss these similar titles designed especially for construction and fabrication shop workers.

Safety Manual for Mechanical Construction Workers

Download a PDF or Purchase Hard Copies

Safety Manual for Mechanical Fabrication Shop Workers

Download a PDF or Purchase Hard Copies

Distracted Driving Prevention Resources

Distracted driving in the construction industry is a growing concern, especially for construction employers. Traffic fatalities increased by 6% in 2016, and 27% of crashes involve drivers talking and/or texting on cell phones. The risk of crashing  when engaged in visual-manual sub-tasks is three times that of non-distracted drivers. Fortunately, MCAA and it’s long-time partner in safety CNA have produced resources that will help you address the concern in your own companies. These resources include a recently revised CNA bulletin on Limiting Driver Distractions, MCAA’s Distracted Driving Reduction and Prevention Guide, MCAA’s Safety Bulletin on Distracted Driving, and MCAA’s worker safety training video on Workplace Distractions.

 

 

Safe Work Distance Finally Established for Service Work on Low-Slope Roofs

 

In the past, mechanical service technicians were required to have fall prevention or protection systems in place while servicing HVAC equipment on flat roofs, regardless of how far they were working from the roof’s edge. OSHA’s newly  revised walking-working surfaces rule now allows service technicians to perform their tasks without fall prevention or protection systems, but only under specified conditions.

LEARN MORE