How Do You Set Effective Safety Objectives for Road Maintenance Under OSHA 18000?

Dear Seniors, could anyone provide me with some points to formulate safety objectives for this year? My site involves general road maintenance, and our company adheres to OSHA's 18000.

Thanks & Regards,
Narasimhan.G.

The objectives are to be taken from Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment results. However, some of the common objectives that can be pursued are as follows:

1. Reduction in Accident Frequency rate from ---- to ----
2. Reduction in accident severity rate from ---- to ----
3. Reduction in noise from -- dBA to ---- (in case noise exposure is beyond acceptable levels)
4. Training for employees --- mandays per employee per year
5. Road safety training for communities --- number of training programs
6. Display of posters on defensive driving
7. Increase in employee participation (e.g., near-miss reporting, involvement in competitions, safety suggestions, etc.)

These are a few suggestions I can offer. You can also wait for input from other members.

Thanks & Regards,
Sudhir

Thank you for your reply. If possible, could you please assist me in forming a risk assessment for the general maintenance of road jobs?

Thank you & Regards,
Narasimhan

Dear Narasimhan,

Hazards in Road Maintenance

Generally, road maintenance would have the following hazards:

If the Roads are Asphalt Concrete:

1. Exposure to asphalt fumes
2. Handling hot asphalt concrete
3. Crash injuries while road rollers compress the concrete
4. Entry into confined spaces if there are underground tunnel crossings

If the Roads are Cement Concrete:

1. Breaking concrete - Exposure to noise
2. Hazards associated with cement mixing (different for automatic mixing and manual mixing)
3. Exposure to wet concrete for a longer time
4. Possibility of white finger problem while using vibrators, etc.

If you need any specific help, please elaborate on your working conditions, preferably with photographs.

Thanks & Regards,
Sudhir

Dear Mr. Nahasimha,

Just to build upon the above suggestions from our seniors, the objectives may include:

1. Reinforce HAZARD CONTROL measures on (plant operation, side road work, tar placing, etc.).
2. Establish PROCEDURES for bridge repairs.
3. Consolidate EMERGENCY RESPONSE PLAN for roadside emergencies.
4. Reduce accident risk associated with TRANSPORTATION of materials and VEHICLE MOVEMENTS on plants.
5. Design and implement a capacity-building program to (specific details).
6. Conduct task-based RISK ANALYSIS for key tasks (name them) in plant operation.
7. Consolidate NETWORKING between contractors, clients, and other players in the industry.

Regards and best of luck,
Ajay
Mauritius

The objective of Mr. Sudhir is highly relevant. Crash injuries occur when road rollers compress the concrete. We recently experienced a fatal accident where one worker died under a roller.

Regards, Ajay