From the March 2023 Meeting of the AGC San Diego Safety Committee.
Updated: Apr 5
The most recent monthly meeting of the AGC San Diego Safety Committee, which I am a member of and attend regularly, had robust attendance despite the day’s heavy rain — a testament to the importance of the topics discussed. The harms of Fentanyl, mental health challenges, and increasing numbers of amputations on job sites are at top-of-mind for many AGC members, and the Committee’s agenda tackled these and many other pressing issues.
OSHA 300A log. The March 1st deadline for submitting the OSHA log has been complicated by troubles with the OSHA website. Luke Brown of Lusardi Construction had several insightful ideas about it.
Mental Health Awareness. Mental health has been a regular topic of discussion at the committee meetings. Jessica Beyer of Sundt, who has been leading an effort at the committee dovetailing her leadership on this issue at Sundt Corporation provided updates on this issue.
§1711 Reinforcing Steel and Post-Tensioning in Concrete Construction: Attendees also discussed Cal/OSHA standard §1711. In summary, the standard, as it is now, prohibits the use of reinforcing steel as a brace. However, Sundt and other AGC members knew that the use of reinforcing steel as an internal brace should be viewed as a best practice for better worker safety and should not be against the law. When this came to the AGC Safety Committee’s attention in early 2020, the committee took on the mission to petition Cal/OSHA for the modification of the standard. During the paperwork thicket of COVID, the progress on the petition at Cal/OSHA stalled until the end of 2022. Last month, Reese Fortin of Sundt submitted additional information to Cal/OSHA, including a proposed rewrite of the standard based on input gathered from San Diego AGC members, the safety director, and from leaders at Sundt. At this time, a Cal/OSHA Senior Safety Engineer in the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board (OSHSB) is reviewing the proposal and information provided.
The Fentanyl Crisis: At the Safety Committee’s January meeting, guest speaker Kelly McKay, the Diversion Outreach Coordinator for the San Diego Drug Enforcement Administration, gave an insightful presentation titled “The Fentanyl Crisis in San Diego,” which covered the origins of the Fentanyl crisis, overdose prevention as well as what can be done during an overdose. Attendees continue to share how valuable the presentation was and offer personal stories about how close-to-home the crisis hits. The members are urged to reach out to Kelly McKay to better understand the magnitude of this crisis and to get some insights that can save lives.
Members Incidents, Inspection, Good Catches & Best Practices
One of the most valuable aspects of Safety Committee meetings is the 30 minutes when the floor is opened for the attendees to discuss safety incidents and OSHA inspections, and to share best practices with each other. During the March meetings, one of the important issues brought up and discussed widely was what some members saw as the growing incidents of accidents among carpenters that have sometimes resulted in the amputation of fingers, generally as a consequence of insufficient training on saw machinery.
Guest Speaker: “Trenching and Excavation Safety” by Greg Shreenan of Trench Shoring
During each meeting, the committee invites a subject-matter expert to give a presentation on an important construction safety-related topic. In our March meeting, Greg Shreenan of Trench Shoring gave an insightful presentation on trench and excavation safety.
Mark Your Calendar: Next Committee Meeting April 5, 2023
The next meeting of the San Diego AGC Safety Committee is on April 5, 2023 (7 AM at AGCSD headquarter in Lakeside). We are expecting Aston Ling of Cal/OSHA Consultation as our guest spear. Besides the guest speaker, we expect to have an insightful discussion as we always do at the committee meeting.
If you are an AGC SD member, we urge you to have the safety leaders in our organization join the committee and attend its meetings. The AGCSD Safety Committee meets once a month, at 7 AM, on the first Wednesday of each month.