132.1 Material Inspection for Safety

MoDOT personnel are to work safely at all times. Policies and procedures can be found in MoDOT’s Comprehensive Safety Page. These rules must be read and practiced. Each morning, Risk Based Assessments should be discussed and filled out. In addition to the information in the CSP and RBA, the following paragraphs are more specific to situations that may be encountered in the process of inspecting and sampling materials.

Hard hats or other protective devices should be worn when conditions warrant and shall be worn when required by MoDOT policy. Loose clothing, long, unrestrained hair, and jewelry should not be worn around moving machinery. Extreme care must be taken when moving drilling equipment near power lines. In order to obtain a sample, it is sometimes necessary for the person taking the sample to be in a potentially hazardous location and extreme caution should be exercised. Frequently, samples are taken in the vicinity of heavy equipment and the person taking the sample must know the equipment's operation for proper protection. The operator of the equipment should always be told when sampling is being started and when it is finished.

Sec 106 states "Facilities shall be furnished for the procurement of samples, performance of the tests and for the protection of testing equipment and supplies when tests are made at the source of production." Sec 106 further states, "The Commission will refuse to provide plant inspection at sources where adequate safety measures are not provided and maintained." Unsafe conditions shall be brought to the attention of the producer and District Safety and Health Manager. If these conditions are not immediately corrected, the producer is to be notified in writing over the District Engineer's signature, of the specific unsafe condition and informed that plant inspection will not be provided until the condition has been corrected.

Some specific items to consider when sampling are:

(a) Make sure that ladders and scaffolding are adequate and secure.

(b) Keep away from unguarded moving parts.

(c) Allow no smoking or fire in the vicinity when handling volatiles.

(d) When sampling at asphalt plants, handle asphalt mixes carefully because of their high temperatures.

(e) When sampling from chutes, be careful that the weight of the material hitting the sample container does not cause a loss of balance.

The inspector shall at all times observe the safety policies and procedures in force at the plant or location where the inspection is to be performed. The most helpful safety rule to follow is common sense. No written instructions can cover all conditions that will be encountered. Therefore, safety is dependent to a great extent on personal care.