Cal OSHA

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edward said:
the employer must provide enough water for every employee to be able to drink one quart of water, or four eight-ounce cups, per hour.
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ok, everyone. set a timer.
every fifteen minutes, all day long, go and get a glass of water.

if the employer can be fined for not providing the water, you can be
fined for not drinking it.

cheers!

note: bring a cup, not a glass. a cup must have a handle.
 
gadfly56 said:
If you were said employer, would you take the risk?
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Yes, it is nonsense that you would need to bring a ten gallon container when you have millions of gallons readily available via the on site supply. Now if there is something wrong with the supply or for some reason it is not available to the employees to use that is a different situation.

The basic idea behind OSHA is a good one. Implementing almost any OSHA rule though means forgetting what common sense means.
 
kwired said:
...Implementing almost any OSHA rule though means forgetting what common sense means.
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I hear this sentiment a lot. Usually when the actual text of a rule is cited, it ends up being more reasonable than people imagine.

Corporate safety departments are where many OSHA rules get bastardized into almost unworkable company requirements.
 
big john said:
I hear this sentiment a lot. Usually when the actual text of a rule is cited, it ends up being more reasonable than people imagine.

Corporate safety departments are where many OSHA rules get bastardized into almost unworkable company requirements.
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May very well be true, may also be third party involvement that complicates things - like an insurance company, other auditor, or local jurisdictions.
 
On hot/humid days, I can blow thru 2 gallons of water in 8 hours... along with half a dozen t shirts. I can tell you all that heat cramps are seriously awful and not something you want to get.

After that incident about 9 years ago, I instituted 'hot weather protocol': anytime ambient temp is 95*+, or heat index is 110+, there was a mandatory 10 minute break per hour. Along with ice water, I brought 24" fans. I paid employees for this time, and found that despite the breaks, work output remained good b/c guys werent dehydrated or exhausted.

Having potable water on site somewhere isnt quite the same as having icewater handy.
 
You can take a terry cloth headband (or wash towel) and run ice water over it (or soak it in it) and put it on your head.
Wring it out (or not) if you want to; it will still be very cool.
It feels good. :happyyes:
 
mgookin said:
You can take a terry cloth headband (or wash towel) and run ice water over it (or soak it in it) and put it on your head.
Wring it out (or not) if you want to; it will still be very cool.
It feels good. :happyyes:
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Or put it across the back of your neck.:)
One important thing about staying hydrated is to watch your electrolyte intake- you need water, but other stuff too. Keep the gatorade iced down too, and eat something before you start.
 
mgookin said:
You can take a terry cloth headband (or wash towel) and run ice water over it (or soak it in it) and put it on your head.
Wring it out (or not) if you want to; it will still be very cool.
It feels good. :happyyes:
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i learned somethng from the 'zonies, when i was working there...

a large natural sponge, cut to fit snugly in the hardhat, can be
topped off with water from the cooler, and while it drips and runs,
it helps a lot to keep the brain from cooking so bad... and the
water running down over you disappears pretty quickly when it's
115 degrees.

these are what i've got now in place of that....

http://www.blackicecooling.com/

if you can keep the carotid arteries cool, 25% of the body's blood
flow goes thru them. desert racers figured this out a long time ago.
you can go faster if you are cooler.
 
Fulthrotl said:
i learned somethng from the 'zonies, when i was working there...

a large natural sponge, cut to fit snugly in the hardhat, can be
topped off with water from the cooler, and while it drips and runs,
it helps a lot to keep the brain from cooking so bad... and the
water running down over you disappears pretty quickly when it's
115 degrees.

these are what i've got now in place of that....

http://www.blackicecooling.com/

if you can keep the carotid arteries cool, 25% of the body's blood
flow goes thru them. desert racers figured this out a long time ago.
you can go faster if you are cooler.
Click to expand...

Having, been born and raised in Maine, lived in Fairfield CA for 25 years and now residing in Florida, I can tell you that the problem with OSHA is the one size fits all approach. In Florida a dry sponge that is there to soak up your sweat would be more appropriate. Sweat doesn't evaporate here. In CA, you can be out in 105º heat and not feel like you sweat at all until you see the salt stains on your tee shirt at the end of the day. In Florida, you are covered with water at 90º. When I wear a ball cap, there is a steady drip from the brim, just from sweat. Contrast all of that with trying to drink three cups of water when it is 20º outside. The problem is that there are sleazy contractors out there along with clueless ones, and OSHA feels the need to offset that by setting onerous regulations.
 
Strathead said:
Having, been born and raised in Maine, lived in Fairfield CA for 25 years and now residing in Florida, I can tell you that the problem with OSHA is the one size fits all approach. In Florida a dry sponge that is there to soak up your sweat would be more appropriate. Sweat doesn't evaporate here. In CA, you can be out in 105º heat and not feel like you sweat at all until you see the salt stains on your tee shirt at the end of the day. In Florida, you are covered with water at 90º. When I wear a ball cap, there is a steady drip from the brim, just from sweat. Contrast all of that with trying to drink three cups of water when it is 20º outside. The problem is that there are sleazy contractors out there along with clueless ones, and OSHA feels the need to offset that by setting onerous regulations.
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In an attic in the south from May- early Sept, even early in the morning, you get drenched. The body's internal system of attempting to cool itself thru sweating then evaporation of sweat, doesn't work that well down here. Seen more than a few people get sick/complain of feeling ill because they didn't drink enough fluid and over did it.
And having to go the ER to get iv fluids to get electrolytes replaced doesn't seem to be a lot of fun for these guys.:happysad:
 
I hear Pedialyte is good to keep in the first aid kit for heat related stress. Better than Gatorade.
Pound two of them and you're much better off.

Florida is very humid, but we don't get the high temps they get in the desert. It rarely goes over 95 because by then we get a storm which cools it down.
In 30 years here I think I've seen 100 deg once in Florida whereas when I was up north I recall temps of 105-ish in Maryland.
What is more painful than heat and humidity is sun in Florida. Our low latitude (I'm at 26N) results in very direct sunlight.
The northern most point in Florida is farther south than the southernmost point in California (US/ Mexico border).
 
I am very surprised how many are complaining that providing something as easy as tap water is too demanding.

Try complying with fall protection rules on a roof. On confined space rules for a manhole.
 
iwire said:
I am very surprised how many are complaining that providing something as easy as tap water is too demanding.

Try complying with fall protection rules on a roof. On confined space rules for a manhole.
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I don't see this thread as complaining about providing tap water, it is the precision of the requirement, and the fact that needs are different in different areas that seems to be the focus of the discussion.
 
Well we used to have 38 different laws for toilets and all that resulted in was people having to flush a toilet 3 times to get the paper to go down and people smuggling toilets, not to mention a nightmare for manufacturing and distribution. Now that there's one standard we have something that works at least most of the time.

The 2 gallons seems reasonable. One gallon on a long hot day for a worker may not be enough.
The last thing we need is a differential equation in the law to figure out how much water per man is necessary based on temperature, humidity, sun exposure, wind, rain, ph of the workmen's blood, how strong his coffee was that morning, etc.
 
Someone that weighs 250 - 300 pounds is usually going to need more water then someone only weighing 125-150 pounds.

Regardless of your physical aspects, once you reach a certain point you go down pretty fast.

When I was in military, during hot weather we were always told if you don't have to pee very often, you are not drinking enough water, and when you do go if it is not fairly clear, it is also a sign you need to drink more water.
 
wtucker said:
Nope. The quoted paragraph isn't there. The closest language on that page says "The recommendation is that during warm or hot weather employees drink four 8-ounce glasses of water, or a total of one quart per hour..."

A recommendation isn't a requirement.
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You have to lead the horses to water, but you still can't make them drink:)
 
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