The American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) announced yesterday that the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) has approved two new ASSE A10 construction and demolition standards aimed at enhancing safety.

The two new standards approved are the ANSI/ASSE A10.1-2011 Pre-Project and Pre-Task Safety and Health Planning for Construction and Demolition Operations and the ANSI/ASSE A10.26-2011 Emergency Procedures for Construction and Demolition Sites.

The new A10.1-2011 standard establishes the elements and activities for pre-project and pre-task safety and health planning for construction. Its primary purpose is to assist construction owners, project constructors and contractors in making pre-project and pre-task safety and health planning a standard part of their planning processes and to assist owners in establishing a process for evaluating project constructor candidate safety and health performance and planning practices.

The new A10.26 standard  applies to those emergency procedures involving: fires, collapses, hazardous spills and other emergencies that can endanger workers; emergency rescue of injured or ill workers or other persons, or of injured workers unable to rescue themselves; on-site provision of first aid and emergency medical care; evacuation and transportation of injured or ill workers to appropriate emergency medical facilities; pre-planning and coordination of emergency plan with emergency medical facilities; and training on emergency procedures/plans for workers and other groups. It also provides guidelines for the development of emergency procedures for construction sites.

“The A10 standards play an important role in providing technical guidance to the construction and demolition industry in order to prevent occupational fatalities, injuries, and illnesses,” said Richard King, Chair of the A10 Committee. “These two new standards build upon our existing documents to enhance work safety and health on construction sites.”