Contractors shall strive to maintain compliance with the USACE Safety Requirements Manual, EM 385-1-1. The focus for safety and health efforts is Saving Lives which includes the prevention of deaths, permanently disabling injuries, and major property loss. The goal is to assist subcontractors and workers in methods needed to save lives and to guide and train the workforce in working safely.

Basic Safety and Health Standards for Construction

A- The Sector Program Management Office (SPMO), contractors and subcontractors should form a team to assure safety on every job site and prevent serious accidents. All unsafe conditions must be reported and the hazard reduced before work may proceed.

B- All subcontractors with 40 or more workers on site shall have a designated, full-time safety and health representative. Subcontractors with less than 40 workers on site shall choose an individual for this position who may also have other duties. This individual will serve as the main point of contact for the Parsons Site Health and Safety Manager (SHSM). This individual will be responsible for:
Accident and injury reporting
Supplying Parsons SHSM with Safety Meeting attendance logs
Providing training documents, upon request
Attending safety meetings
Participation in periodic jobsite audits
Providing Parsons SHSM with safety updates

C-  Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) may not be available to every worker. Where the equipment required by the USACE Safety Manual, EM 385-1-1, cannot be provided in a timely manner, the contractor should develop methods that will provide a similar degree of safety (as accepted by SPMO) and not expose the workers to serious risk. The standards for all PPE are:
Footwear
Head Protection
Respirators
Eye Protection
Hearing Protection
Gloves
Clothing

D- Work Methods for Highly Hazardous Work. The following types of work and hazards are rec ognized as the leading cause of serious injuries and deaths in construction work. Each type of work has specific PPE and safety equipment that is needed to do the work and also specific procedures that should be followed every time the work is done. For each project, an Activity Hazard Analysis (AHA) should be completed and, when possible, compliance with more restrictive methods of the EM 385-1-1 should be achieved.
Workers should be trained on the following safety precautions, the nature of the hazards involved, and any additional work methods used before performing each type of work:
Excavations
The SHSO should be contacted for inspection of the work prior to digging. The SHSO will assist inany safety equipment or techniques that are required to avoid injury. They will also provide a safety check on the location to assure the there are no underground hazards at the site.
All excavations or unsafe areas should be marked with barricades or warning tape. These warnings should be maintained and visible until the area is restored to a safe condition. Before workers enter trenches, the walls shall be sloped according to the type of soil or shoring, trench boxes, or other structures will be used to protect workers from collapsing walls.
Soil removed from trenches should not be placed at the edge of the trench. It is to be placed back at least 1 meter from the edge. Vehicles and construction equipment should not be parked closer than 2 meters from the edge of an excavation.
Excavation walls should be inspected regularly during each day to check for cracks, bulges, large stones, sandy areas, and failure of the wall. If these conditions are found, nobody may enter the excavation until the damaged area is dug out or braced.
In areas that have restricted or possible contaminated air the area should be closely monitored using an atmospheric testing device.
Fall Hazards
When working above 2 meters from the ground or another level, all workers should be protected from falling. The SHSO will inspect prior to beginning work to be sure the work methods are safe. Inspection will include, but not limited to, ladders, scaffolds, and other elevated work areas.
Protection systems should be sturdy railings, walls, or other structures If there are no structures to protect workers, harnesses should be used along with lanyards. The lanyard should be attached to a strong anchor point. The anchor point should be strong enough to hold up 2200 kg.
Body belts should be used only for positioning to prevent a worker from falling over an edge or off a structure.
Harnesses should be used as fall protection (stopping a falling worker). The lanyard (rope) must bestrong enough to withstand the shock of stopping the worker’s weight. The rope should be as short as possible, to limit the shock force and should be strong enough to pick up the dead weight of an automobile. Lanyards should never allow a worker to fall more than 2 meters.
Electrical Work
Circuits, wires, and electrical devices should be tested with a volt meter and found to be de-energized before workers touch the energized parts.
Controls, switches, and other means for energizing the circuit or equipment shall be tagged “do not operate”. Temporary electrical systems must be grounded an d tested for good ground resistance before use.
Power tools must be protected from water and damage, and their cords must be insulated. Cords should be factor y installed or equivalent replacements. Bare wire electrical connections should not be used.
Extension cords should be in safe, good working order. Only manufactured extension cords are to be used. Plug and receptacle ends must be on all cords.
A lock and tag procedure must be used. Locks shall be used to restrict exposure to electrical hazards.
Mobile Construction Equipment
If equipment, particularly cranes, are damaged the repairs should be done then verified by the SSHO prior to being returned to service.
Nobody should ride outsid e the cab of construction equipment. Specifically, no riders should ride in loader buckets, bulldozer blades, on forklift forks, or suspended by a crane.
When workers are nearby, constru ction equipment should have a spotter to direct people away from the equipment. The spotter must be visible by the driver and positioned to monitor the area behind the equipment.
Construction equipment must operate a safe distance from electrical systems.
Cranes must be used according to the manufacturer. If no manufacturer data is available, a load chart should be develo ped by a qualified engineer.
Workers should stay out of the radius of the crane boom during a lift.
Lifting ropes should be inspected daily for breaks and failure of hardware and fittings. Nobody should ever ride the hook or load of a crane.
No person is allowed under a load. A tag line should be used to maneu ver the load. The equipment operator is responsible for the safe operation of the equipment.
Machinery
Rotating shafts, wheels, blades, and other hazardous parts should have guar ds to prevent workers from being injured. Fuel-powered machinery must not be operated indoors or near enclosed areas without using powered ventilation to prevent toxic CO build-up. Metal housings of el ectrically powered equipment must be grounded.
Confined Spaces
Notification of Project Management should be made prior to a danger ous entry. If not possible, then some visible means, such as flags or tags outside the entrance, shall be used so supervisors can see when workers are in the space.
When available, oxygen/flammable/toxic gas meters should be used for testing all dangerous entries. This equipment must be used to evaluate the air in all spaces known or suspected to have contained flammable or toxic chemicals or contain sewage, rotting vegetation or other organic matter.
Entrants, supervisors, and attendants for all dangerous confined spaces must be properly trained. For spaces not meeting the above criteria, mechanical ventilation fans should be used to clear the air in the space when meters are not available. Based on the air flow of the fan, it must exhaust the total volume of the space a minimum of seven times prior to entry.
All dangerous confined spaces on a project should have signs prohibiting unauthorized entry.
Prior to entry of a dangerous confined space all entrants should attach a strong rope around the waist or below the armpits that is strong and long enough to retriev e the worker in an emergency without others entering the confined space.
NO combustion engines shall be allowed in a confined space for any reason. NEVER ATTEMPT A RESCUE WITHOUT HELP. You may become a statistic.
Gas Cylinders
Pressurized gas cylinders, such as Oxygen and Acetylene/gas tanks should be u pright in a holding stand/cart or otherwise secured to prevent from bottles from falling. Cylinders shou ld not be laid over on the ground. Cylinders shall not be standing free. If the bottle is not in use the valve should be closed and capped. Oxygen and Acetylene/gas cylinders shall be stored with a solid fire retardant barrier separation or at least 10 meter distance of separation. A cigarette lighter shall never be use as an ignition source.

E. Child Labor Minors, under the age of 14, should not perform any of the above hazardous work. Additionally, these minors can not perform any hazardous work such as operating dangerous power tools (circular saws, jack hammers, lathes, etc), driving vehicles, be exterior assistants for vehicle operators or operating mobile construction equipment, explosives work, work at heights over 2 meters without standard
railings, electrical work, entering excavations, and work with toxic substances.
Ladder Safety
All ladders on the jobsite should be properly constructed, to include level feet, evenly spaced rungs, and of sturdy materials . No paint is allowed on wooden ladders. All ladders should be inspected daily, prior-to-use to ensure ladder remains in good condition. All ladders should be placed on solid, even surfaces when in use. The top of the ladder should reach at least 1 meter above the step-off point.
Scaffolds
At a minimum, all scaffolds should be set on solid and level surfaces. Scaffolds should be erected by a trained scaffold builder. Handrails and midrails should be installed on all scaffolds over one tier high. Decking of scaffolds should be complete and without holes or openings. Damaged decking shall not be used.
Housekeeping
All spoils material shall be removed from the jobsite as is possibly feasible. Special attention shall be given to maintaining wal kways, stairways, roadways, paths of access/egress, and work areas. Junk material shall be piled out of the se areas and removed as soon as possible. Throwing materials off buildings is prohibited.
Protruding nails shall be removed immediately.
Concrete Work (including Rebar)
All exposed rebar ends at or below grade lev el should be covered by wood or safety caps to prevent impalement. Proper PPE including eye, foot and hand protection should be used when pouring concrete.
Drinking Water
The subcontract employer shall ensure an adequate supply of potable drinking water is available to all employees at all ti mes. Water shall be made available in clean sealable containers and marked “DRINKINGWATER ONLY”. The containers should be emptied, cleaned and sanitized daily. Drinking water shall be separated from industrial water supplies. Frequency of water supply by the potable drinking water truck shall be monitored by the contractor Safety & Health Representative and adjusted accordingly. The potable drinking water truck shall not be used for any purpose other than supplying potable drinking water. If drinking water is not readily available, work shall be temporarily stopped. Work will remain stopped until an ample supply of drinking water is available.
Sanitation
Toilets should be provided for workers. No more than 30 employees per toilet. Toilets should be cleaned and sanitized daily. Hand washing stations with soap and water should be provided. Stations should be sanitized daily.
Emergency Procedure
Injured employees that require more than basic first aid will be transported to the nearest known medical facility or clinic for trea tment. If the employee is seriously injured the employee(s) will be transported by ambulance. At remote locations an ambulance or vehicle appropriately equipped to transport a patient on a stretcher will be on site at all times.