Hire and Rental News - February 2019

M A K I N G I N E F F I C I E N C I E S E X T I N C T www.makinex.com.au Jack Hammer Trolley Mixing Station Hose 2 Go Dual Pressure Washer Generators Products that get the job done safely and efficiently! Powered Hand Truck R Low pressure water, wet wiping or H class vacuums must be used. Dry sweeping methods must not be used. The cleaning must include areas where silica dust can settle, for example storerooms and yards. Isolation • Isolate processes and workers where RCS is generated or handled; • Provide physical barriers between different work processes and work areas. Substitution • Using materials with no or lower percentage crystalline silica content; • Using routers and water jet cutters instead of powered hand tools. Health monitoring Persons conducting a business or undertaking must provide health monitoring to workers when there is significant risk to a worker’s health because of exposure to a hazardous chemical such as respirable crystalline silica. Recent air monitoring by Workplace Health and Safety Queensland has shown that health monitoring is required in all Queensland stone bench top fabrication workplaces. Businesses must give Workplace Health and Safety Queensland a copy of the health monitoring report if: • the report indicates the worker has contracted a disease, injury or illness (any reduction in lung function is considered an injury); or • the report recommends you take remedial measures at the workplace. Respiratory protective equipment (RPE) Unless a workplace has undertaken air monitoring to demonstrate there is no residual risk from RCS, (which research shows is unlikely), an RPE program that complies with Australian Standard AS 1715 must be implemented. The program must include: • provision of suitable, comfortable RPE; • fit testing; • a maintenance and repair regime; • provision of information, training and guidance to workers. RPE must be reasonably comfortable for the wearer. Consider Workplace Health & Safety fact sheet Continued on p18... providing powered air purifying respirators because of the physical demands of the task and potential for a hot and humid work environment. Workers must wear the RPE whenever they are conducting dust generating processes. Rental companies can take action Options for rental yards include expanding their range of dust suppression and collection equipment, like Traxx Construction Products has done. In line with the call to significantly limit exposure to silica dust, control of slurry generated from any sawing, drilling or grinding activities, must now also be controlled, Traxx said. Traxx offers a Dustless Range [traxxcp.com.au/category/ surface-preparation] which includes the DustBull – a vacuum shroud used in dust containment while using gas powered saws for masonry work. When using a vacuum system of 260 CFM or more, the DustBull captures up to 90% of concrete dust generated while sawing. It fits most gas powered saws and complies with OSHA silica laws and EPA Regulations for point- of-origin dust containment. Rental companies can focus on identifying tasks that use or generate silica dust. For example, according to WorkSafe Queensland, pre-blended bagged cement and fibre cement sheeting will contain silica and during use airborne respiratory silica may be generated. Sometimes these products will have a label warning of silica content or it may not be identified at all. WorkSafe Queensland also identified other control measures apart from engineering controls that minimise the risk of exposure to generated dust, like, local exhaust ventilation, water suppression (wet cutting) or using tools with dust collection attachments, such as administrative controls. These might include good housekeeping policies, shift rotations and modifying cutting sequences; and also personal protective equipment including appropriate respiratory equipment (generally a minimum of a P2 efficiency half face respirator) and work clothing that does not collect dust. WorkSafe Queensland then warned more than one control will normally be required to adequately protect workers. HIRE AND RENTAL NEWS FEBRUARY 2019 P17 INDUSTRY IN FOCUS