Arthur & Hansen LLC

We’re happy to announce that Arthur & Hansen LLC is now the official safety partner of the Central California Builders Exchange. We’re looking forward to providing safety solutions to construction companies throughout the Central Valley to enable growth and move our safety culture beyond compliance. For any CCBE members or construction companies in the Valley, feel free to reach out to us with any safety questions you may have! We are here to support you and our local industry.

The Susan Harwood Grant has been renewed for the Kern County Builders Exchange! This means more FREE safety training is coming your way! The focus for the next training cycle will be: Confined Space Entry Respiratory Protection Requirements Stay up to date on all training opportunities by following us & the Kern County Builders Exchange page!

Each year, millions of people are trained in CPR & First Aid, resulting in lives saved at home and in the workplace. Are your employees CPR & First Aid certified? We can help with that! We offer this course in a socially-distanced setting in KCBEX’s training room, or our safety advisor can come to your job site if social distancing can be maintained. We also provide each participant with their own sanitized CPR mannequin. This class is $50 for KCBEX members or $70 for nonmembers. Send us an email ([email protected]) to schedule a training

Bakersfield’s Air Quality for PM2.5 is 171 today Unhealthy! With the wildfires and poor air quality, employers should be checking the local AQI daily. To find the AQI for your area, follow these four steps 1. Visit airnow.gov online... 2. Type your city or zip code 3. Look at the circular graphic (like the one below) and find the numbers for AQI and if the primary pollutant is PM2.5, where the red arrow is 4. If your AQI for PM2.5 is 151 or higher (like today!) worker protection requirements must be implemented. You can find these requirements in our Wildfire Smoke Safety video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NyF-izH0bxA&t=1s See more

Most Californians are seeing the effects of the raging wildfires across the state. With the mass amount of smoke in the air, what do employers need to know to keep their workers safe while working outdoors? This video will explain CalOSHA's 2019 Emergency Regulation on Protection from Wildfire Smoke, the necessary steps for employers to integrate the requirements into their safety program, and help meet the training requirements of the regulation. In addition, here is a link... to our Wildfire Smoke Safety Tailgate (PDF): https://static1.squarespace.com//Arthur+%26+Hansen+Wildfir Whether you need assistance incorporating this topic into your IIPP or just looking for more info, don't hesitate to reach out to us with any questions! We would love to hear from you. Link to video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NyF-izH0bxA

For those of us living in California, fire season can sometimes feel to be year-round. Even if you don’t live near an area that is threatened by wildfires, the effects of wildfire smoke are felt throughout the entire state. Because of this, CalOSHA issued an emergency regulation in 2019 to protect workers from increased exposure to wildfire smoke through a combination of training, communication, and methods to reduce exposure at the worksite. Who do these requirements appl...y to? Essentially, everyone! Unless they fall under one of these 5 exceptions 1. Working inside a building in which air is being filtered 2. Working in enclosed vehicles in which air is being filtered 3. The concentration of PM2.5 in the air does not exceed an AQI of 151 at the worksite 4. Employees are exposed to an AQI of 151 or more for an hour or less during a shift 5. Firefighters engaged in wildland firefighting To help your company understand the requirements of the regulation and complete the required training, we developed a tailgate safety training document to use with your crews. You can access it here: https://static1.squarespace.com//Arthur+%26+Hansen+Wildfir

With wildfires raging throughout CA, employers need to keep in mind the 2019 CalOSHA regulation of protecting their workers from exposure to wildfire smoke. Wildfire smoke can trigger serious or fatal health effects, like asthma, bronchitis, even heart failure. Contractors need to check local weather forecasts for the Air Quality Index (AQI) for their area if their crews are working outside. If it’s 151 or higher, these worker protection methods must be implemented. 1. Commu...nicate wildfire smoke hazards to all affected employees & encourage two-way communication between them and supervisors 2. Avoid outdoor work when AQI is 151 or higher by providing an alternative work location or schedule adjustments, if possible 3. If adjustments cannot be made, provide particulate respirators like N-95 masks for employees to voluntarily use (No, bandanas & surgical masks will not work!) 4. If the AQI is 500 or higher, respirators are required to be used 5. Employees must be properly trained on the use of the respiratoruse the manufactures instructions for a quick training To help your company understand the requirements of the regulation and complete the required training we developed a tailgate safety training document to use with your crews. You can access it here: https://static1.squarespace.com//Arthur+%26+Hansen+Wildfir