Safety Manual

[PTS]

Our Employee Safety Manual, what do you think

Here come the critics......

I decided that I would stick my neck out and prepare for the tomatoe throwing to begin. I put this safety manual together last winter and want to get it put into use. I have given a copy to my guys but with the company growing and the second business starting up. We are going to have to change our paperwork a little. Anyway if you are looking for a novel to read, check it out and put in your comments good and bad. I'll be open to them. Reallity is that I want it to be a CYA manual and one that also protects my staff.

Tell me what you think.


View attachment 30243

 

[PTS]

What do you think of our new logo. The man with a log at the top right. We used a general logo and modified him with a new head to make him unique. I think he turned out awesome. Fun, eye catching and you know it is us, cause he is showing up on everything.

 

[RedlineIt]

PTS,

I got as far as page 13, and I was making some pedantic notes regarding First Aid procedures, and then I read this under your Bucket Truck Operation procedures:


6. Do not drive the truck while someone is in the bucket unless instructed by the bucket operator.
7. Bucket operator needs to check with supervisor before moving bucket truck while in the bucket.


If this is in your bucket truck operation manual as provided by the manufacturer, then fine.

But I really, really don't think it is.

In fact, I think your bucket truck operation manual as provided by the manufacturer says something else entirely.

You could get yourself in a huge heap of trouble by writing procedures that contravene what the manufacturer provided.



Hope this helps.

RedlineIt

 

[dakota]

My patience for reading from a computer screen is somewhat limited - so I didn't read word for word. But what I did notice is that you used the word "should" in places where you ought to say "shall" or "must." The word "should" as OSHA and ANSI use it is more or less a recommendation whereas "shall" or "must" is, well...

 

[jmack]

safe

nice job, i would stick to what applies to our industry, you got stuff for scaffolds, office stuff, this document can be used to help your company when you need it most, lets hope it never happens but it could go behind closed doors for inspection by osha which in this case would be spelled with a t at the end. jumping from a bucket to dry land is this a shall or a should. in your policy you have trained and suggested that your employees jump from heights, I didnt see that in the video, as a written co. policy, that could go wrong for you down the road.

 

[PTS]

Thank you all for the comments.

I never really looked at the bucket truck that way. I was envisioning when the bucket is collapsed and ready to move if say you just need to back it up to reposition I, a lot of times don't get out of the bucket my guys will back the truck up and I will just sit tight. SO Thanks. I will need to clarify

I was advised that should is better than shall due to it meaning. It is a guideline and in our industry nothing is the same day after day. There are reasons to do things differently everyday. But following this kind of structure will keep one safe..... THOUGHTS????

 

[PTS]

JMACK where does it talk about jumping from bucket to land???? Don't recall that and couldn't find it.


I fixed the above suggestions. Thanks.

 

[jmack]

should vs shall

Thank you all for the comments.

I never really looked at the bucket truck that way. I was envisioning when the bucket is collapsed and ready to move if say you just need to back it up to reposition I, a lot of times don't get out of the bucket my guys will back the truck up and I will just sit tight. SO Thanks. I will need to clarify

I was advised that should is better than shall due to it meaning. It is a guideline and in our industry nothing is the same day after day. There are reasons to do things differently everyday. But following this kind of structure will keep one safe..... THOUGHTS????

should is a suggested shall is mandatory not open to debate

 

[jmack]

shall

should is a suggested shall is mandatory not open to debate

a shall requirement can be mirrored after the industry sandards Z-133.1 are you in the tcia group?

 

[Chucky]

Cool logo, for sure, PTS! Good job on the manual, and it’s obvious you spent a good deal of time and effort working on it. And I agree, in large part the purpose of an employee manual is to CYA.

I would do it a bit differently, myself, but that’s just me. I would have a company policy manual for office employees, and a separate one for field employees. The manuals for both would cover all the general employee practices and procedures that most company manuals typically cover. But the field employee manual would have tree care industry safety standards information appended.

While you have very specific guidelines in ladders, power tools, and office safety, your guidelines on chippers and climbing techniques are not comprehensive enough. Instead of writing your own safety guidelines for your field employees, why not just include within your employee manual for field employees the ANSI Z133.1 Standards and mandate that all employees must be familiar with them?

 

[jmack]

nice

Cool logo, for sure, PTS! Good job on the manual, and it’s obvious you spent a good deal of time and effort working on it. And I agree, in large part the purpose of an employee manual is to CYA.

I would do it a bit differently, myself, but that’s just me. I would have a company policy manual for office employees, and a separate one for field employees. The manuals for both would cover all the general employee practices and procedures that most company manuals typically cover. But the field employee manual would have tree care industry safety standards information appended.

While you have very specific guidelines in ladders, power tools, and office safety, your guidelines on chippers and climbing techniques are not comprehensive enough. Instead of writing your own safety guidelines for your field employees, why not just include within your employee manual for field employees the ANSI Z133.1 Standards and mandate that all employees must be familiar with them?

excellent plan and easy too.

 

[LightningLoader]

additions and wording

A couple of things that you may have missed:
Bucket truck - operate on firm level ground or pavement
Bucket truck - do not operate with untrained personell within __ft.
Motor Vehicle - Check Backup alarm?

This is really stupid picky stuff, but it's what alot of the major equipment manuals and videos do. You should define levels of hazard when you tell people not to do something: Danger, Caution, Warning. These words are standard defined, and correlate to the safety decals that will appear on yor vehicles.

DANGER:
Immediate hazzards which WILL result in severe personal injury or death.

WARNING:
Hazards or unsafe practices which COULD result in severe personal injury or death

CAUTION:
Hazards or unsafe practices which COULD result in minor personal injury or product or property damage.

I'll try to find a link to a manual so that you can see what I'm talking about. I think that your manual is off to a great start.

 

[LightningLoader]

Here is more specific wording...

Follow the reccomendations on all safety decals. The safety decals are used to show the consequence of human interaction with hazard in terms of:
1. the degree of severity (minor injury, sever injury, death)
2. the probability of severity (WILL result in, COULD result in)
The following definitions for identifying hazard levels are provided with their respective signal words.
DANGER
Immediate hazards which WILL result in severe personal injury or death.
WARNING
Hazards or unsafe practices which COULD result in severe personal injury or death
CAUTION
Hazards or unsafe practices which COULD result in minor personal injury or product or property damage.

Example:
CAUTION: Damaged or missing head and pedestal stops pose an unsafe condition by allowing the boom to swing too far resulting in damage to the cab and potential injury to the operator in the cab.



Some other verbage that you should thing about including in equipment section...

Anyone who will operate, service or work around the _____ should first read the owner’s manual provided with the _____ and any manuals or instructional materials provided by the truck manufacturer (in the case of truck mounted equipment). It is important that all workers understand the safety, operational, service, and repair requirements of the ______. Death or serious injury can result from improper use or maintenance of the ______.

As an owner or employer, it is your responsibility to know the specific requirements, governmental regulations, precautions, and work hazards that exist. You should make these known to all personnel working with the equipment or in the area. It is your responsibility to instruct the operator in the safe operation of the equipment and to provide the operator with properly maintained equipment.

It is the operator’s responsibility to operate the ______ with skill, good judgment and caution. Following recognized safety procedures helps to avoid accidents.

Keep children, visitors and untrained personnel away from the equipment.

Do not allow untrained personnel, even on a temporary basis, to operate this equipment. Operators must be trained by an experienced ________ operator who is familiar with all aspects of operation, safety, and maintenance of this equipment.

 

[eagle23]

Having read your requirements for aerial device opertation, I am posting some OSHA and ANSI regs you SHALL not SHOULD, need for you manual.

OSHA
1910.67 VEHICLE MOUNTED ELEVATING AND ROTATING WORK PLATFORMS
1910.266 LOGGING OPERATIONS
1910.268 TELECOMMUNICATIONS
1910.269 ELECTRICAL POWER GENERATION, TRANSMISSION, AND DISTRIBUTION
1910.333 SELECTION AND USE OF WORK PRATCTICES
1926.453 AERIAL LIFTS
1926.600 EQUIPMENT
1926.601 MOTOR VEHICLES
1926.952 MECHANICAL EQUIPMENT

ANSI
A92.2

In addition to these items anything the manufacturer requires for operation beyod the scope of OSHA and ANSI is REQUIRED!


For example, there are two places you talk about moving a truck with a person in the bucket. OK, ONLY IF THAT TRUCK WAS DESIGNED AND CERTIFIED BY THE MANUFACTURER AS A MOBILE WORK STATION/LIFT/PLATFORM, CAN YOU DO THIS! PEROID!

THE MANUFACTURER WILL ALOS SAY, SET AIR BRAKES, CHOCK WHEELS, AND EMPLOY OUT RIGGERS PRIOR TO OPERATING LIFT. SO, THIS MEANS YOU CAN NOT DRIVE A TRYCK THAT HAS OUTRIGGERS, UP OR DOWN WITH SOMEONE IN THE BUCKET.

BY PRINTING SOME OF YOUR ITEMS, YOU ARE CREATING MUCHO LIABILITY FOR YOURSELF, AND BELIEVE ME LAWYERS DON'T NEED ANY HELP!

 

[LightningLoader]

Being too helpful canbe bad for you

BY PRINTING SOME OF YOUR ITEMS, YOU ARE CREATING MUCHO LIABILITY FOR YOURSELF, AND BELIEVE ME LAWYERS DON'T NEED ANY HELP!

lawyers

Sad to say that you are probibly simultaneously adding and diminishing liability. You're stepping out on a limb and trying to help your guys be safer which will be recognized as commendable, but by doing this you are putting yourself at risk of incorrectly presenting safety issues.

My answer as a manufacturer would be that you are probibly better off leaving out the equipment rules unless they are in addition to (and do not contradict) the manufacturer's rules. You should to say something about equipment manuals being mandatory reading for everyone working around and/or repairing the equipment, and that these safety guidelines should be observed, and leave it at that. I don't see any problem with you transcribing the manufacturer's daily checkout list though (check tires, look for hydraulic leaks, check lights, etc.)