ACPA UNVEILS JOB SITE SAFETY CAMPAIGN AT WORLD OF CONCRETE

ACPA helped kick off World of Concrete 2023 with a day 1 press conference announcing a major safety campaign that brings heightened awareness of ASME B30.27, the safety standard for material placement systems (i.e., concrete pumps). The campaign highlights the responsibilities that are prescribed under the standard for each trade working with or around a concrete pump. The ultimate goal is to keep every person on a job site safe.

“We saw an industry need to ensure that everyone on the job site has a clear understanding of their responsibilities under ASME B30.27,” says ACPA executive director Christi Collins. “Using the tagline ‘Prevent. Protect. Partner!,’ our goal is to encourage partnering across all the trades. When we all work together to prevent accidents, we create a safer environment for everyone.”

Tom O’Malley of Brundage-Bone Concrete Pumping joined Collins at the press conference to provide an overview of how many trades are impacted on concrete pumping sites daily. He provided the following statistics:

• The ACPA estimates there are more than 10,000 truck-mounted and trailer-mounted concrete pumps working across U.S. job sites every day.
• More than 30,000 mixer drivers place concrete into the hopper of a concrete pump on a daily basis.
• More than 10,000 site supervisors and inspectors work around the back end of a concrete pump during these pours.
• An estimated 100,000 laborers and 100,000 finishers work in close proximity to a concrete pump every day.
• Other trades that work around concrete pumps include forklift operators, crane operators, carpenters, plumbers, post-tensioning installers and ironworkers.
• More than 300,000 construction workers work within 100 feet of a concrete pump daily. That is 2.4 million man-hours of exposure and risk every day.

The press conference was also attended by industry leaders who vocalized their support of the campaign, including Joe Whiteman, director of safety services for the American Society of Concrete Contractors (ASCC) and James R. Baty II, FACI, executive director of the Concrete Foundations Association (CFA).

“High pressure and tight schedules require increasing awareness of the standards and practices that help keep workers safe,” says Baty. “We’ve seen too many significant injuries on projects, even by safety-conscious contractors. The Concrete Foundations Association is proud to support this incredibly important job site safety campaign and spread the message about the B30.27 standard to anybody who owns, operates or works around concrete pumps.”

ONE-STOP WEBSITE: WEARESAFERTOGETHER.ORG

The cornerstone of the campaign is a new microsite — WeAreSafer-Together.org — that provides valuable information to all who work with or around concrete pump equipment. The website serves as an educational resource to familiarize all parties with the standard, and provides videos, downloadable flyers, job site responsibilities by trade, FAQs and more. It will be regularly updated to provide content and resources that will educate, encourage and empower those on job sites to do their part to keep everyone safe.

“By raising awareness and providing valuable resources, this campaign will help construction trades prevent accidents, protect their workers and partner together to heighten safety awareness for everyone on a job site,” says ACPA safety director Tabah Nez, who also spoke at the press conference. “We are most efficient when everyone is armed with knowledge and then gets involved in the planning process.”

WHAT IS ASME B30.27?

The B30.27 standard is intended to prevent or minimize injury to workers and otherwise provide for the protection of life, limb and property by prescribing safety requirements. The standard provides direction to manufacturers, owners, employers, users, and others concerned with or responsible for its application; and it guides governments and other regulatory bodies in the development, promulgation and enforcement of appropriate safety directives.

Christi Collins, ACPA executive director; Tabah Nez, ACPA safety director; and Tom O’Malley of Brundage-Bone Concrete Pumping helped unveil ACPA’s job site safety campaign during a press conference at the World of Concrete in Las Vegas.

Since its first publication in 2005, the standard has gone through several reviews (every five years), with revisions that include the addition of a competency requirement, the definition of “signalperson” and job site responsibilities. While the most recent version of the standard, published in 2020, includes some revisions and redesignations, there were no changes to the job site responsibilities established in the 2014 version.

BUILDING A COALITION OF INDUSTRY PARTNERS

The success of the campaign is dependent on the collaboration of many, says Collins. Throughout this year and beyond, the ACPA will continue to expand the campaign’s impact by inviting associations and organizations across all trades to join in and support this important effort. So far, ASCC, CFA and the Tilt-Up Concrete Association (TCA) have committed their support, as well as concrete contractors like California- based Joseph J. Albanese.

“Concrete placement plays an integral role in the day-to-day activities for concrete contractors. Many variables and degrees of responsibility are based on scope of work and parties involved,” says ASCC director of safety services Joseph Whiteman. “The ACPA job site safety awareness campaign helps communicate responsibilities to those who own, operate and work around concrete pumps. This campaign strives to ensure those involved are aware of the related hazards and understand their roles and responsibilities under the ASME B30.27 standard to ensure safe work conditions and practices are met.”

“Increasing awareness of the standards and practices that help keep workers safe is an ongoing part of our commitment to the future of this industry,” adds TCA executive director Mitch Bloomquist. “We will be an active partner to spread the message to anybody who owns, operates or works around concrete pumps — significant contributors to the growth of tilt-up construction.”

The ACPA is grateful for the industry leaders who have stepped up to champion this campaign, and we thank them for attending the World of Concrete press conference to publicly show their support. Together, we will raise awareness and help create a safer work environment for everyone.

Those interested in joining the campaign’s coalition of industry partners can contact ACPA at acpa[at]concretepumpers[dot]com, or by phone at (614) 531-5618. Coalition members are featured on the campaign website and will be provided promotional materials, such as equipment decals and hard hat/helmet stickers, as they become available to distribute to employees, members and/or project partners.

To learn more about the campaign and to review and download job site responsibilities by trade, visit WeAreSaferTogether.org, or scan the QR code on your phone.