The American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) announced the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) has approved two new standards and one update to an existing standard designed to enhance safety in the construction industry. The two new standards are the ANSI/ASSE A10.1-2011 Pre-Project and Pre-Task Safety and Health Planning for Construction and Demolition Operations, which ABC helped develop, and the ANSI/ASSE A10.26-2011 Emergency Procedures for Construction and Demolition Sites.
According to the Associated Builders & Contractor’s Newsline, the new A10.1-2011 standard establishes the elements and activities for pre-project and pre-task safety and health planning for construction. Its primary purpose is to assist construction owners, project constructors and contractors in making pre-project and pre-task safety and health planning a standard part of their planning processes and to assist owners in establishing a process for evaluating project constructor candidate safety and health performance and planning practices.
The new A10.26 standard applies to those emergency procedures involving: fires, collapses, hazardous spills and other emergencies that can endanger workers; emergency rescue of injured or ill workers or other persons, or of injured workers unable to rescue themselves; on-site provision of first aid and emergency medical care; evacuation and transportation of injured or ill workers to appropriate emergency medical facilities; pre-planning and coordination of emergency plan with emergency medical facilities; and training on emergency procedures/plans for workers and other groups. It also provides guidelines for the development of emergency procedures for construction sites.
In addition, the ANSI/ASSE A10.33-2011 standard, Safety and Health Program Requirements for Multi-Employer Projects, received an update. The A10.33-2011 standard sets up the minimum elements and activities of a program that defines the duties and responsibilities of construction employers working on a project where multiple employers are or will be engaged in the common undertaking to complete a construction project. This standard is a basis for use as a minimum safety and health guideline for a program to provide a safe and healthy work environment and to accomplish cost-effective construction.
These standards are part of a series of safety standards that have been formulated by the A10 Accredited Standards Committee on Safety Requirements for Construction and Demolition operations, of which ABC is a voting member. The A10 standards serve as a guide to contractors, labor, and equipment manufacturers.