Hazardous.
Conduit “stub-ups” have been traditionally accepted in the concrete construction industry as a necessary evil. Until now, methods of protection and awareness have ranged from spraying the “stub-up” safety orange and taping a flag to them, to setting concrete blocks over the top of the “stub-up”, all of which cost in labor and materials without eliminating the issue. All the while, the hazards for trips, falls, and impalements, as well as exposure to expensive damage (or potential loss) of the raceway were only being highlighted or hidden.
Wasted money.
“A recent PlanGrid and FMI Corp. survey of 600 construction leaders revealed $177.5B in labor costs are spent fixing mistakes, looking for project data and managing conflicts while another $31B was spent on rework due to miscommunication and inaccurate data on the job site in 2018,” stated Bisnow magazine.
OSHA violations.
Employers are required to protect employees exposed to impalements, such as vertical rebar and metallic conduit, especially when there is a material means to reduce or eliminate the hazard. OSHA has begun writing citations for conduit stub-up impalement hazards under the General Duty clause. Focused inspections for trips, falls and impalements from conduit stub-ups will continue in accordance to OSHA in the construction industry. Here is one such citation a Chicago area electrical contractor received on August 10, 2015.
