Jackhammers

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Jackhammers
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What Is A Jackhammer?

• A jackhammer is a portable percussive drill
  powered by compressed air. It is used to drill
  rock and break up pavement.

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Injuries
Hearing Loss
Other
Muscular Skeletal Injury
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Injuries

• The number of injuries reported are minimal
  due to the number of actual injuries incurred by
  jackhammer operators.

• This is due to the long term effects on the
  operator that go unnoticed for years.

• Muscular skeletal and hearing injuries are
  by far the most prevalent yet workers dont tend
  to follow simple precautions due to the fact that
  these injuries are not life threatening.

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Lost Time Injuries

• There are very few lost time injuries due
  to jackhammer misuse.
• Most recordable injuries occur from
  striking underground utility lines, overexertion,
  or foundation collapse.
• These injuries are often very serious and
  life threatening.

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OSHA

• OSHA Subpart D
• Occupational Noise Exposure- Protection against
  the effects of noise exposure shall be provided
  when the sound levels exceed those shown in Table
  D-2.
• Jackhammers produce noise in excess of 120
  decibels which is well above the minimum for ear
  protection.

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OSHA

• OSHA Subpart E
• Eye and Face Protection- Employees shall be
  provided with eye and face protection equipment
  when machines or operations present potential eye
  or face injury from physical, chemical, or
  radiation agents (physical in our case).
• Table E-1 for recommendations

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OSHA

• OSHA Subpart K
• Maintenance of Equipment- The employer shall
  ensure that all wiring components and utilization
  equipment in hazardous locations are maintained
  in a dust-tight, dust-ignition-proof, or
  explosion-proof condition, as appropriate. There
  shall be no other impairments to a tight
  condition.

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OSHA

• OSHA Subpart P
• Specific Excavation Requirements- The
  estimated location of utility installations, such
  as sewer, telephone, fuel, electric, water lines,
  or any other underground installations that
  reasonably may be expected to be encountered
  during excavation work, shall be determined prior
  to opening an excavation.

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Safety Precautions
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Muscular Skeletal Injuries
Vibrations incurred over a long period of time
can lead to blood circulation failures. These
failures can lead to White Finger or even Carpal
Tunnel Syndrome
Injuries go unreported to the length of time it
takes to develop these injuries. Some workers
blame these injuries on age while with simple
PPE, these injuries could have bee avoided.
Personal Protective Equipment- where adequate
hand protection (gloves)
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Overexertion
Fatigue from heavy labor is common and can be
very dangerous. Fatigue which leads to
overexertion can cause a worker to overheat, lose
concentration, or practice unsafe work
habits. Safety Precaution- drink an adequate
amount of fluids and take breaks as necessary to
maintain safe working conditions
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Hearing Loss
Ear Damage Will Occur if a Worker Does Not Wear
Protection!
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Underground Utilities
It is imperative to know what is beneath of the
area being jack hammered. Contact with electric
or gas lines can be lethal.
CALL BEFORE YOU DIG!!!
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Structural Failure
Great attention must be paid to structural
members in order to avoid compromising the
structural integrity of what is being jack
hammered.
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Call Before You Dig
An employee of a contracting Company was
operating an air operated jackhammer and while
breaking concrete the bit of the Jackhammer
struck a 4160 volt high voltage line and the
employee was fatally electrocuted. A second
employee was shocked when he was trying to lift
his partner(the deceased) from a hole, and was
hospitalized.
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Be Aware of Structural Integrity
An employee and a coworker were using jackhammers
to demolish the concrete roof on which they were
standing. While demolishing the slab, they
neither stood on planks nor were tied-off. After
the coworker had left the roof to go to the
restroom, the slab gave way and employee 1 fell.
He crashed through the flooring of approximately
five other levels before landing on a steel plate
at the fourth floor. Employee 1 died.
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Protect Yourself
Where Personal Protective Equipment to save your
ears from noise and body from the vibration of a
jackhammer.
THE END