CORSA & CCAOSC Loss Control Manager
In Scioto County, I saw an example of how to make a tool for a specific job and how to do it correctly. Clyde S. Willis, the Scioto County Engineer took me on a tour of his facilities. He pointed out that prior to the Public Employees Risk Reduction Program (PERRP), which follows OSHA standards, the county had not been overly concerned about OSHA compliance. They poured bridge beams in the garage and removed the beans from the building with two fork trucks. However, the fork truck had to be small because of space limitations in the building, and as a result, it was frequently overloaded with some of the beams that the county had poured. However, once Ohio counties became subject to PERRP and OSHA Rules, the processes of pouring the beams in the building came to a halt. The Rules prohibited the use of overloaded equipment.
Several alternatives were considered, including raising the height of the present building, constructing a new building, finding another location to build the beams, and contracting the work out to a local contractor. Willis did want to continue to pour the beams "in-house". The project began as a result of a safety hazard being detected. Although the previous process was economical and popular with the employees, it was discontinued. Safety was the top priority and safety was engineered into the job. Safety is also engineered into the job of snow and ice removal. There are some things that flat-landers up north take for granted. Plowing or de-icing a couple of miles of roads is generally not noteworthy. However, in hilly Scioto County, ice and snow removal can be anything but routine. Moving a truck forward up a snow or ice covered hill can be treacherous. The Scioto County Engineer's office discovered that the solution is to back the truck up the hill, spreading the salt and sand mixture behind the truck, and run the wheels on the mixture. When you reach the top of the hill, you come back down the side of the hill already sanded, and then proceed to the other side of the hill and repeat the process. The County Engineer has a difficult job of reducing the potential for accidents that could result in injury to both the public and to employees. The Scioto County Engineer will tell you that designing safety into the job not only helps prevent accidents, but also saves the county money!
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The first priority was to design safety into the job and also be in compliance with PERRP and OSHA Rules. As a result, his office decided to eliminate the use of the forklift, and instead install wheels and a hydraulic system on the lifting beam. Most of the necessary equipment was already in the garage. Willis, along with the bridge supervisor and the mechanical supervisor, developed the blue prints, and the staff eventually assembled the fixture. A professional engineer was hired to certify the beam capacity and to perform a load test. The fixture has successfully been used now for two years.