Employee Safety

Safety Flash – Confined Space

By Geoffrey McPherson

As the snow melts the flowers begin to bloom. This also offers the opportunity to perform maintenance and repairs that could not be accomplished during the winter. WYDOT employees will soon begin to enter confined spaces to perform maintenance and repairs. This means that employees must be trained in the requirements of OSHA 1910.146 for confined space and WYDOT’s policy before going into confined spaces.

Did you know that PP 19-10, Confined Space Operations Policy, was updated and published last year? Employee Safety also created a Confined Space Identification and Hazard Evaluation (CSHIE) Permit Package to assist in properly assessing all potential confined spaces. The new policy and the CSHIE helps WYDOT meet the requirements of OSHA 1910.146 and are located on the Employee Safety Intranet page. Employee Safety has scheduled in-person Confined Space training over the next few months for each district and the headquarters. You can access the training schedule on the Employee Safety Intranet page to see when the training is coming to your area.

What is a confined space?

“Confined space” means a space that: • Is large enough and so configured that an employee can bodily enter and perform assigned work; • Has limited or restricted means for entry or exit (for example, tanks, vessels, silos, storage bins, hoppers, vaults, and pits are spaces that may have limited means of entry.); and • Is not designed for continuous employee occupancy for maintenance and repair.

Employees can safely work in a confined space if procedures are in place to protect the employee. What can occur when an employer does not have procedures in place for confined space work nor are the employees trained?

An employer pleaded guilty March 15 to one federal criminal charge for willfully violating an OSHA rule, leading to an employee’s death. Dana Container, the parent company to Dana Railcare, was charged in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania for its involvement in the death of an employee in a confined space.

The company faces a criminal fine up to $500,000 and up to five years of probation. OSHA investigated the May 2019 incident and found the employee asphyxiated while cleaning crude oil from the inside of the tank car. Inspectors cited the company for willful and serious violations for failing to protect employees from hazards associated with permit-required confined space entry and inadequate respiratory protection procedures. The citation resulted in a $551,226 fine.

This was completely preventable. The employee wouldn’t have lost their life if proper procedures were in place and training received. n

Employees at a confined space training in May 2019, prior to the mask wearing mandate, at WYDOT Headquarters.

Correction

In the March 2021 Interchange, an incorrect diagram was printed in the Employee Safety article.

The Work Zone subcommittee draft of the 45 mph work zone speed reduction diagram was used instead of the adopted diagram. The correct diagram for Typical Speed Reduction on Interstate or Divided Multilane can be found on the intranet in the Traffic Program manual section. n

WYDOT employees work together to find lost dog

By Aimee Inama A sneeze was all it took to save Zoey’s life.

As soon as Donna Juma heard the noise, she immediately thought of the lost little brown and black Chihuahua mix dog. Several WYDOT employees at headquarters in Cheyenne had been looking for the dog for days after owner Billy Russell asked for help in locating his lost pup.

“I was heading out to my car to grab something and I heard a sneeze,” said Juma, who works as a Fuel Tax auditor at WYDOT. “I had Zoey on my mind since we had been looking for her for days. I went to where I heard the noise and I found Zoey.”

The dog had fallen into one of the deep window wells at WYDOT and Juma found her uninjured.

“I think God was looking out for Zoey,” Juma said. “She was in an area that had a vent that probably kept her warm. We think the vent kept her warm during those cold evenings.”

Zoey’s adventure started after Billy drove from Casper to Cheyenne on Friday, Feb. 5 to conduct routine business at WYDOT’s Motor Vehicle Services.

Billy decided to bring Zoey and her dog brother, Burt, along for company.

After Billy got done at Motor Vehicle Services, he decided to let Zoey and Burt out so they could stretch their legs first before making the trek back to Casper.

“He let the dogs out to run on the grass for a bit,” said Kitty Russell, Billy’s wife. “They had their halters on and they had their leashes on but he let them run on the grass for a bit. I think Zoey might have seen a bird and ran off.”

A heartbroken Billy immediately asked WYDOT employees for help in finding Zoey. Burt had stayed close by and was with Billy.

Soon, employees from Fuel Tax, Highway Safety, Geology and Emergency Communications began searching for Zoey.

However, they couldn’t find the lost dog.

“We were all out looking for Zoey,” said Holly Daniels, office support specialist for Geology. “We looked everywhere including the window wells but didn’t see anything.”

Billy told his wife that he was going to stay the night in Cheyenne so he could continue looking for Zoey.

Lori Chesnut, a records and data management analyst with Highway Safety, came out over that weekend several times to look for Zoey.

“I kept walking the property but I couldn’t find her,” Chesnut said. “We were all so worried about her and wanted to do whatever we could to find her.”

The Russells created a flyer that had Zoey’s picture on it along with their contact information. Chesnut’s husband printed out the flyers and employees posted them around WYDOT. Chesnut also told the Russells about the website lostmydoggie.com so they could get the information about Zoey out to as many people as possible.

Zoey snuggled on a coat waiting for her family to pick her up.

Photo: WYDOT The deep window well in front of the Planning building that Zoey was rescued from.

The WYDOT employees involved in looking for Zoey also ended up losing a lot of weight but we’ve been giving her a lot of contacted Susan Elliott, executive assistant to Director K. Luke TLC.” Reiner and Executive Staff, who sent a DOT-All email to employ- Although the weather was cold when Zoey was lost, temperaees about the lost dog. tures dipped even colder the next few days.

“This was truly a group effort in trying to locate Zoey,” Dan- “We found her on a Friday and then that weekend temperaiels said. “All of us did what we could to find tures dipped below zero,” Chesnut said. “I her.” don’t know if she would have survived if she

When Juma found her, the employees was still lost.” continued to work together. The commitment to helping others is

The window well was too deep for them seen throughout WYDOT as employees go to get down to her, so Mike Kurz, WYDOT above and beyond on a daily basis. Emergency Communications, went to get a During a snowstorm in February, Bill ladder. Then, coworker Troy Berg found one Knighton, a highway maintenance technilarge enough to get down into the window cian in District 1, helped a motorist get his well. dog.

“We don’t know how long she was down Knighton and another plow driver came there,” Daniels said. “When we were looking across a rolled vehicle on I-80 just after it for her, we checked the window wells and occurred. They got the driver out of his didn’t see her. She might have been some- vehicle and the dog that was with him got where else and then she fell down in there.” spooked and ran from the vehicle.

Zoey was hungry and employees gave her They got the driver into one of their plenty of food, comfort and love. Someone plows and were checking to see if he needed even gave Zoey their coat for the little dog to an ambulance. sleep on. “The driver was worried about his dog,” They contacted the Russells to tell them they found Zoey. Kitty immediately headed to Cheyenne, driving in the snow to get their Photo: WYDOT Knighton said. “I tried calling the dog but it didn’t come.” Knighton didn’t want the dog to get hit beloved dog because Billy, who is a truck Zoey reunited with her mom, Kitty Russell. by a vehicle so he tried to coax it over to driver, was out on the road working. him with a packet of tuna he had with him.

“I couldn’t believe they found her because she was gone for a However, the dog still didn’t come over to him. whole week,” Kitty said. “When they told me I started crying and Knighton then gave the packet of tuna to the driver who was screaming. I called my husband and he was in tears. We are both able to get his dog to come over to him. n so happy and grateful to everyone who helped find Zoey. She