Safety In Building Construction | by The Travelers Insurance Company
This is by no means a complete treatise on the subject of safety in building construction. Many of the most dangerous operations are covered, however, and if all of the suggestions that we give are carried out, the number of accidents will certainly be reduced to a small fraction of the number that now occur. We have attempted to make our recommendations comply in every respect with existing building codes.
| Title | Safety In Building Construction |
| Author | The Travelers Insurance Company Hartford, Connecticut |
| Publisher | The Travelers Insurance Company Hartford, Connecticut |
| Year | 1916 |
| Copyright | 1916, The Travelers Insurance Company Hartford, Connecticut |
| Amazon | Safety In Building Construction |
Preface- So far as we are aware, the edition of Safety in Building Construction that was published by The Travelers Insurance Company in 1916 was the first book to be issued in which accident prevention in c...
- I. Demolition Work. 1. In General
- In many cases it is necessary to remove existing buildings before any actual construction work can be done. The wrecking of a building appears to the casual observer to be a simple and easy task, but ...
- 6. Fence Guards And Sidewalk Sheds
- Before the wrecking operations begin, protection against falling objects must be provided for persons who pass by buildings that are to be demolished, when such buildings stand close to a street or to...
- 9. Removing Walls In Sections
- Sections of wall should never be loosened and allowed to fall as single masses upon the floors of buildings that are being demolished, because the shock transmitted to the floor may cause it to give w...
- 12. The Safe Handling Of Welding And Cutting Equipment
- Special precautions are necessary in connection with cylinders or tanks containing compressed oxygen and acetylene gas, if accidents are to be avoided; and all other equipment used for welding and cut...
- II. Excavation Work. 14. General Suggestions
- The work of preparing the foundations for a building is too important to be fully discussed in this book; but there are certain suggestions with regard to excavating which may properly be included, an...
- 15. Steam Shovels
- The steam shovel is a prolific source of serious accidents. Many of these result from the breaking of the ropes or cables. When a cable gives way, the engineer is likely to be struck by the loose, fly...
- III. Protection For The Public. 16. Sidewalk Sheds And Bridges
- Sidewalk sheds have been described in paragraph 6, to which the reader is referred. Sidewalk bridges are similar in construction, except that they have no roofs, and are sometimes used when the excava...
- IV. Hoisting. 23. Location And Protection Of Hoisting Engines
- It is often necessary, at least during the early stages of building construction, to locate the hoisting engines in the public highway. This must necessarily result in obstructing traffic to some exte...
- 26. Electric Motors
- Electric motors are rapidly supplanting steam engines for hoisting work in many localities, and their use is particularly desirable in congested districts where the smoke, cinders, and steam from the ...
- 28. Protection Of Signal Cords
- It is extremely important to guard the cords used for signaling to the hoisting engineer, in such a manner that nothing can accidentally strike them and cause the gong to ring. It is often possible to...
- 30. Material Hoists
- All material-hoist openings should preferably be tightly inclosed throughout their entire length, and the entrances to them at each floor should be protected by vertical-lift gates of ample height, wh...
- 31. Hoisting Towers
- Under some conditions it is not practicable to install material hoists inside the building, and at some convenient point adjacent to the building a separate, tower-like structure is erected, in which ...
- 33. Slings
- These form an important part of the hoisting equipment in building construction and every precaution should be taken to see that they are kept in first-class condition. Wire cables, chains, and manila...
- Slings. Continued
- The accompanying short table shows the way in which the stress changes in two-part slings, for various inclinations of the ends to the horizontal. The use of the table will be evident, from what has b...
- V. Derricks. 34. Types
- The derricks that are most commonly used in building construction are of the stiff-leg, guy, and breast or house types. Some of these types are subject to slight modifications, and they may then be kn...
- 36. Guy Derricks
- Derricks of this type are used in nearly all of the operations of building construction, and they are made both of timber and of latticed steel. All the guys should be of plow-steel wire of ample stre...
- 37. Breast Or House Derricks
- In building construction, derricks of this type are principally used for setting stone. They are usually operated by hand, and as a rule are not equipped with brakes. Mechanical brakes can easily be p...
- VI. Scaffolds. 39. Introductory
- Only a few general suggestions with regard to scaffolds can be given in this place, because many different types are used, and there is so much to be said about them that an entire volume would be req...
- 41. Suspended Scaffolds
- The suspended scaffold, as used in construction work and in making repairs and alterations about buildings, consists essentially of a platform that is hung from overhead supports (or thrust-outs) by...
- 42. Outrigger Scaffolds
- In scaffolds of this kind the characteristic and essential feature is the support of the platform by outwardly-projecting beams (called thrust-outs, outriggers, jibs, cantilevers, bearers, a...
- 45. Painters' Scaffolds
- The light, swinging scaffolds that are used for painting should preferably be secured to the building at all times, so that they cannot swing materially in any direction. They should always have guard...
- VII. Ladders, Stairways, And Runways. 47. Ladders
- As fast as the work progresses, safe means should be provided to give access to all points in the building. For this purpose numerous ladders are necessary, and as too little attention is given, in ge...
- 48. Stairways
- The stairways should be installed as rapidly as the progress of the work will permit, - temporary stairways being installed in preference to ladders, whenever practicable. Stairway openings should be ...
- VIII. Steelworkers. 50 Erecting Gangs
- The work of erecting the steel framework of a large building is extremely hazardous, and there is little that can be done to safeguard the men in some of the operations. Dependence must mainly be plac...
- IX. Mixing And Pouring Concrete. 57. In General
- There are a number of different ways of mixing and pouring concrete, and the method employed in any particular case depends largely upon the size and character of the job. The simplest way, of course,...
- 60. Storing And Handling Sand And Stone
- The methods of handling concrete just described are those commonly employed on operations of comparatively small size, where the concrete work can be finished in the course of a few days, or, at most,...
- 61. Concrete Towers And Distributing Chutes
- With both the skip and the bin arrangements, just described, the method of delivering the mixed concrete to the forms is the same. A tower is erected in which a bucket travels, - the bucket being ...
- X. General Precautions. 63. Covering Floors
- All openings in the floors should be either planked over, or substantially guarded with fences or with rails and toe-boards; and the unauthorized removal of planks that have been laid down to cover up...
- 64. The Nail Hazard
- It is often extremely difficult to impress upon the men the importance of guarding against injuries from projecting nails; and yet it is probable that in building construction more accidents result fr...
- 67. Explosives
- Explosives are frequently used in preparing foundations for buildings. It is also necessary, at* times, to do more or less blasting in connection with demolition operations, although this should be av...
- 68. Life Lines And Safety Belts
- Many serious accidents might be averted if the men were required to wear safety belts secured to stout life lines whenever it is practicable to do so. Under certain conditions, for example during the ...
- 70. First-Aid And Hospitals
- Provide the necessary equipment (including stretchers) for giving first-aid treatment in case of accident. On every construction job a first-aid cabinet should be kept in some convenient and accessibl...
- 72. Miscellaneous
- Provide adequate artificial light wherever necessary, throughout the building, and especially in passageways and on stairways. Incandescent electric lamps that burn continuously throughout the working...
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