Page 36 - Occupational Health & Safety, April 2017

FIRST AID TRAINING
‘Reasonably Accessible’:
OSHA’s Construction First Aid Standards
The OSHA standards relevant to the construction industry are 29 CFR 1926.23, first aid and medical attention, and 1926.50, medi- cal services and first aid. The first one of those simply says first aid services and provisions for medical care “shall be made available by the employer for every employee covered by these regulations.”
The second is more detailed, though its text is not much longer; it says employers are to ensure, before a project starts, that “prompt medical attention in case of serious injury” is available. If there is no infirmary, clinic, hospital, or physician “reasonably accessible in terms of time and distance to the worksite” for treating injured workers, the employer is to ensure that a trained person with valid certification of that training is available at the site to provide first aid.
As recently as January 2007, OSHA explained in a letter of interpretation what “reasonably accessible” means. OSHA inter- prets the term “near proximity” to mean that emergency care must be available within three to four minutes of the workplace in question, according to that letter. If there is no employee on site who is trained to provide first aid, emergency medical ser- vices must be available within 3-4 minutes to aid a worker who has suffered a fall, amputation, suffocation, or other serious ac- cident, it said.
This 1926.50 standard also covers first aid kit contents, which
are to be in individually sealed packages for each type of item and placed in a waterproof container, and they are to be checked by the employer before being sent out to each job and at least weekly to make sure that items that have been used are replaced.
It says either proper equipment shall be provided for transport- ing an injured person to a doctor or hospital, or there must be a communication system for contacting an ambulance service, and that there must be eyewash and shower equipment available for im- mediate emergency use to flush the eyes and body of workers who may be exposed to corrosive materials.
Emergency phone numbers should be posted prominently at the job site, as well.
First aid trainers note that immediate treatment of an injured or ill employee could save that person’s life, should he or she be expe- riencing a heart attack. Minutes count for injured or sick employ- ees—equally important, having trained first aid personnel ready and willing to respond will reassure other co-workers and make them feel safer themselves. Training helps to prevent safety issues as well as to manage events, should they occur.
Many organizations provide first aid and CPR training. CPR/ AED and first aid certifications are good for two years.
Fred Elliott is a freelance author in Austin, Texas, who writes frequently about occupational safety and health topics.
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30 Occupational Health & Safety | APRIL 2017
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