§ 39.22. Yard and internal housekeeping.
(a) Clear travelways. All roadways, walkways, aisles, or other foot, crane, or vehicular travelways should be clearly marked or otherwise well defined. They should be kept in good repair and free from all debris and obstacles. All walkways above the level of the ground shall be equipped with railings and toeboards in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 47, Subchapter G (relating to railings, toeboards, open-sided floors, platforms, and runways). All aisles, emergency exits, and other passageways should be kept clear of tools or material of any kind.
(b) Slipping hazards. Puddles or drippings of oil, grease, water, or other liquids should be rendered harmless by mopping up and strewing sand or sawdust on the floor until the floor is dry. Oil-soaked sawdust should be disposed of promptly to prevent spontaneous ignition. Drippings on floors should be prevented by eliminating the cause or by placing drip pans in position until the cause is eliminated.
(c) Falling tools. Workmen working at elevated levels should not strew their tools about carelessly. Tools should be carried in tool belts or kept in tool boxes when not in actual use. The practice of throwing tools from one level to another should be discouraged. They should be raised or lowered with light ropes or passed from hand to hand. The practice of working above unsheltered workmen should be actively discouraged at all times. Tools or material should never be piled or leaned against anything.
(d) Piling of materials. Materials should be piled as follows:
(1) General. All material needing to be piled should be carefully piled to prevent falling. When piling material near travelways, special care should be exercised to eliminate any possible hazard from piles being knocked over. Piles should not extend into travelways.
(2) Light. Piles of material should not interfere with the adequate distribution of natural or artificial light, but should comply with Chapter 27 (relating to lighting).
(3) Height and extent. Material should not be piled to a height which would render the pile unstable or which would interfere with the operation of a sprinkler system. Piles should not be placed so close to equipment as to hinder operators in the proper operation of their machines or expose them to hazard from slides or falls of material.
(4) Binding. Wherever possible the stability of piles should be increased by piling alternate layers crosswise or, in the case of long piles, by criss-crossing at the ends or using binder strips.
(5) Round objects. Piles of barrels, rolls of paper, pipe or other cylindrical material should be carefully blocked at the center and at both ends to prevent spreading.
(6) Bags. In piling heavy bagged material the first four end bags of each pile should be cross-tied and a step-back of one bag should be made at every fifth bag in height. All bags in the outer tiers should have the mouths facing the center of the pile so that if any bags break open at the neck the pile will sag toward the center. In unpiling, the piles should be kept at an approximately even height and the necessary step-back maintained.
(7) Retaining walls. Walls or partitions should not be used to brace piled materials unless of sufficient known strength to withstand the pressure.
(8) Piles of loose materials. Substantial retaining walls or partitions should be provided for the storage of loose coal, sand, gravel, stone, or similar materials in restricted areas, and wherever possible, such loose materials and scrap should be kept in storage bins.
(9) Sides and undermining. Persons working about banks and piles of coal, sand, gravel, stone, or similar materials should avoid undermining to start slides and insure that no person is in danger from any slides of material. All overhanging ledges should be knocked down as soon as formed, especially in winter when the upper crusts are likely to become frozen.
(10) Loading vehicles. Material piled on vehicles for transportation should be limited to an amount which constitutes a safe load based on the distance it is to be transported, the type of equipment used, and the character of the surface over which it is to be transported. Material should be so piled and secured that it cannot be jarred loose by ordinary vibration. The load should not project to an extent which renders it liable to catch on buildings or projecting piles or which would cause the load to topple over. Highway motor vehicles should have all load projections which extend beyond the body of the vehicle in the front or the rear, conspicuously marked by a piece of red material in daylight and a red light at night attached at the farthest points of projection in front and rear. The combined overall length, width, height, and weight of motor vehicles and loads should conform to the 75 Pa.C.S. (relating to Vehicle Code).
(11) Elevators and loaded trucks. When loaded trucks are moved on or off an elevator, the elevator should be brought level with the floor and plates should be used to bridge the space between the elevator and the floor if such space creates a tipping hazard.
(e) Clear travelways and work places. Loose-board material and other objects or materials should not be permitted to remain strewn haphazardly on the floor or ground in places where persons have to walk or work, but should be piled up neatly. No loose material of any description should be permitted to remain unsecured in an overhead position.
(f) Nails. Nails should conform to the following:
(1) Loose nails should not be permitted to remain strewn on any floor, scaffold, working platform or other place where persons walk.
(2) All upturned or protruding nails should be withdrawn or clinched into the wood.
(3) After the head of a barrel is removed, all exposed or protruding nails around the top should be withdrawn.
(4) Pointless nails should be used for core room and foundry work.
(g) Sharp edged scrap. All objects with sharp edges, such as scraps of glass, tin, sheet metal, and the like, should not be thrown into waste baskets or other containers ordinarily used for other debris, but should be placed in separate containers. Neither should such material be permitted to remain on floors except during operations normally resulting in its creation. In such cases, containers should be provided to catch such waste material as it drops from machines or benches and the floors should be frequently cleaned up each day to prevent accumulations.
(h) Cleaning up debris. All rags, waste paper, bits of broken lumber, excelsior, packing materials and other inflammable debris should be cleaned up daily from under workbenches, behind machines, and all other spaces, and be kept in suitably covered containers.
(i) Gummed or caked surfaces. Surfaces which become gummed or caked with accumulated dirt, paint, grease or other material creating a slipping hazard, should be scraped or otherwise kept clean. Snow and ice should be promptly removed from all walkways and work places. Icicles hanging over walkways and work places should be knocked down.
(j) Dust elimination. Dry sweeping in workrooms should be permitted only where there is no dust hazard or where the nature of the work performed precludes the use of other methods; otherwise, all floors should be sprinkled with water before sweeping. The use of disinfecting solutions in the water is also recommended. The practice of using damp sawdust or other wetted materials is acceptable in lieu of sprinkling water, especially around electric equipment where the use of water might create a hazard.
(k) Spitting. In order to prevent the spread of infection, the practice of spitting on the floor, on piles of material, in waste products, in corners, or in reservoirs of machine cutting oils or compounds should not be permitted. All machine-cutting oils or compounds should be frequently sterilized by boiling or by the addition of a germ-killing solution. Persons subject to sores or susceptible to skin irritations, should not operate a machine using cutting oils or compounds.
(l) Refuse containers. Covered refuse cans or boxes should be provided at convenient points and workmen required to deposit all refuse in such cans or boxes. Such cans or boxes should be emptied frequently enough to prevent overflow or the creation of obnoxious odors. Separate containers equipped with gravity closing lids should be provided for oily waste. Oily waste should be burned only by an authorized person equipped with a long handled tool or shovel for handling such waste.
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