Ketler: Many propane users feel one can detect propane by smell. But noses desensitize with exposure. Recent propane explosions and fires indicate that propane has the same risk as CNG and LNG.
BUSRide Maintenance spoke with a group of expert vendors in the bus maintenance field to discuss garage safety – critical safety equipment, underutilized philosophies and the state of shop safety in North American motorcoach and transit facilities.
Our Panelists: Joe Menhart, sales manager, BayNets Safety Nets Danielle Thomas, marketing manager, Fall Protection Systems Jeremy Rupp, marketing manager, Granite Industries Al Ketler, president, Rel-Tek What do you regard as the cardinal rule of bus maintenance shop safety? Joe Menhart: Safety awareness and safety training cannot be stressed enough as the cardinal rule of shop safety. Shortcuts are always a risk to oneself and to others. Accidents are typically the result of a coincidence of occurrences, none of which can be predicted or completely prevented. Danielle Thomas: Following OSHA standards and providing adequate fall protection are both extremely important when workers are operating at elevated surfaces 4 feet above the floor level. Jeremy Rupp: It’s paramount to ensure that when workers are operating at any level of height, they are properly protected from falling. Al Ketler: Install a gas detection system if alternative fuels are in use. Be sure to respond to alarms. Demand “automatic calibration” to minimize the costly labor of manual calibration. What area of shop safety typically goes unnoticed by most operators? Menhart: Other than the everyday procedures that get momentarily yet dangerously interrupted, it would have to be a cluttered walking working surface – or worse, an open pit fall hazard. Thomas: Roof top safety is often overlooked. There are almost always various pieces of rooftop equipment that are maintained on a regular basis. However, they are typically not visible and many times follow the “out of sight, out of mind scenario.” Usually a freestanding guardrail system will provide coverage for the majority of hazards on a low sloped roof. Another neglected area is the door opening while maintenance is taking place. This fall hazard is the exact reason why FPS created the Safety Gate. Rupp: Preventative safety measures. These measures can create a more secure feeling for employees to do their jobs. Improving the safety of a work environment can increase productivity and decrease potential of injury. This goes unnoticed by most operators because the job may still be getting done, but the employee could be experiencing higher levels of stress and working slower. 4
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From your perspective, what are the most critical pieces of safety equipment that many shops don’t posses? Menhart: From the point of view of BayNets, it would have to be fall protection nets over service pits. The shop that covers a pit with temporary boards for walking across, only to remove them later for pit access, has just created an unguarded and frequently unnoticed “floating” hazard. Thomas: The most critical piece of safety equipment missing in a shop is a portable fall protection system. These systems can be used throughout the shop and in outdoor areas. It is crucial to have designated fall protection bays. Another fall protection vulnerability is door openings during routine maintenance. Fall protection that is OSHA compliant to cover door openings provide the worker with hazard free security. Rupp: Secure and stable work platforms and guardrails. The bus scaffold work platforms designed by Granite provide a semi-stationary structure for bus maintenance. The designs are full of safety conscious features such as toe boards, locking gates, guardrails, stairs with railings, expanded metal floors, and locking casters. The work platforms can be a critical upgrade for any shop that is looking to reduce ladder liability and increase worker safety. Ketler: The latest NFPA 30A and NFPA-52 standards need to be studied and applied to your CNG/LNG/LPG facilities and operations. Factory training offers can save money and lives. In your experience, how would you rate overall shop safety in the motorcoach and transit bus industries? Menhart: From our point of view as a safety system provider, the bus and rail industries are better organized with safer shops and practices than consumer automotive oil and lube shops that are more frequently driven by violation compliance than by forward thinking. That may be hard talk, but bus and rail centers are just that good. Thomas: The transit industry is more advanced in terms of overall shop safety, but there are still cases of fatal falls every year that can be completely eliminated. Many transit bus facilities still do not have proper fall protection in place. Most of the repair and maintenance work on a bus is performed on the roof of the bus; therefore proper fall protection is necessary. The motorcoach industry, in contrast, does not have as many equipment repairs if any on the roof. However, there are still regular maintenance tasks that require a worker to be atop of the motor coaches, requiring the necessary fall protection. Rupp: They could use improvement. Most shops do their best to eliminate falls. The major issue is budget constraints. If the money is not available then the fall issue is solved in the most cost effective solution which is not always the best solution for productivity. Ketler: In transit, the major shops are excellent – clean, organized and visibly safe. Some smaller shops don’t invest enough in needed safety equipment. The motorcoach industry’s shops are generally good, but can use more technically-trained maintenance personnel. busridemaintenance.com