Clear the ice before you carry a load
Cold stress 5 min 29 CFR 1926.25
Why it matters
Ice hides under a little snow, and a board with nails in that path turns a slip into a worse injury. 1926.25 says work areas stay clear of scrap, debris, and other hazards underfoot. We use that rule to clear ice, salt or sand the walk, and get nailed boards out of the path.
The talk
The walk from the gate to the hoist is ice with a little snow on top. Someone laid a short board over a puddle yesterday. The nails still stick up. You pick up a stack of studs that blocks your view of your boots. The first steps feel fine. Then a foot shoots out. You go down with the studs, or you find the nails on the way down. A slick walk with scrap in it hurts people before the real task even starts. The path is part of the job this morning, not a detail we save for later.
1926.25 says work areas are kept clear of scrap, debris, and other hazards underfoot. The rule does not list the word ice. We still use it here, because ice is a hazard under your boots, and scrap on ice is worse. Clear the ice on the walking paths. Salt or sand those paths so the next person has grip. Do not leave boards with nails in a slick walkway. A nailed board on ice is two ways to get hurt at once. Walk with short steps so your weight stays over your feet. Do not carry a load so big you cannot see the ice. If you cannot see the ground in front of your boots, the load is too big for this path. Set it down and move it in smaller pieces, or get a second person.
Before we haul material today, walk the paths we will use. Scrape the ice. Put salt or sand on the walking path. Pick up boards with nails and get them out of the slick walkway. Do not shove them to the edge where a boot still finds them. If you have to cross a spot that is still slick, take short steps and keep a hand free. Do not stack the load up past your eyes. If the path is not scraped and treated yet, we do not start the carry. Tell the foreman if we are out of salt or sand. Clearing the path is part of the work, not something we do after the first person falls.
Key points
- 1926.25 keeps work areas clear of scrap, debris, and other hazards underfoot.
- The rule does not list the word ice. We still clear ice as a hazard underfoot.
- Salt or sand the walking paths after you clear the ice.
- Do not leave boards with nails in a slick walkway.
- Walk with short steps on what is still slick.
- Do not carry a load so big you cannot see the ice.
- If the path is not treated, do not start the carry.
Do this
- Clear ice off the walking paths we will use.
- Salt or sand those paths.
- Get boards with nails out of the slick walk.
- Take short steps on what is still slick.
- Keep the load small enough that you can see the ice.
Do not do this
- Do not leave ice untreated on a path the crew will walk.
- Do not leave a board with nails in a slick walkway.
- Do not carry a load that blocks your view of the ground.
- Do not take long steps on ice.
- Do not start the carry before the path is scraped and treated.
Talk about it
- Which paths will we walk with material today, and who salts or sands them?
- Where are boards with nails sitting in the walk?
- What are we carrying, and can the person see the ice in front of their boots?
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