Site setup: 6 wall, opening, rail, ladder, shade, toilet

• check wall height first, since the California text singles out wall sections more than one story or 12 feet tall, according to California Department of Industrial Relations.
• list each exterior opening above the ground floor with its protection height, since the California text makes exceptions for the ground floor and the floor being demolished, according to California Department of Industrial Relations.
• write mid-rail material as a size, since the California railings text sets a minimum of 1-inch by 6-inch material, according to California Department of Industrial Relations.
• treat shade as a cooling check and not only as cover, according to Washington State Legislature.
• record toilet location and whether it is inside a heated building, according to Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes.

A team lead who briefs crews on site conditions before a demolition or outdoor job turns rules and site facts into instructions that a crew can act on. The six items in this article match the quoted rules, so they make a practical opening block for a brief.

None of the quoted texts is presented here as a federal rule. The wall and opening text is titled as a demolition rule, according to California Department of Industrial Relations, and the railing text is titled as a design and construction rule, according to California Department of Industrial Relations. Check whether each rule fits the job in front of you before you apply it.

Writing the six items in one place also gives the crew a single reference before they arrive. For overhead line checks, see the overhead line checks page.

A brief also keeps a record of what was known before work started. A line that carries its jurisdiction and its quoted figure lets a later reader see which rule the team lead relied on, without returning to the source text.

The first item is wall height and lateral bracing. The California text, according to California Department of Industrial Relations, says no wall section, which is more than one story or 12 feet in height, shall be permitted to stand alone without lateral bracing, unless a civil engineer, currently registered in California, has submitted engineering data to the Division substantiating the capability of the wall to stand without lateral support.

The brief should record each wall section's height in feet, whether that section is more than one story, and whether lateral bracing is in place. That gives the team lead a yes-or-no line for each section. If bracing is not in place, the brief should also name where the engineering data described in the rule is held.

The quoted sentence applies to a wall section that is more than one story or 12 feet in height. A section that does not meet that description is not covered by that sentence, so the brief should still record its height and bracing status.

The second wall line covers the end of the day, under the same California Department of Industrial Relations section. A practical habit is to add an end-of-shift stability check to the brief and to name the person who signs it off.

When a section has no bracing and no engineering data on file, the brief can mark it as a stop item that the team lead reviews before the crew enters that area.

The second item is exterior opening protection. Exterior wall openings on all floors shall be protected to a height of not less than 42 inches, except on the ground floor and the floor being demolished, according to California Department of Industrial Relations.

For the brief, list each exterior opening above the ground floor with its protection height, and mark the floor being demolished so the exception can be checked against the plan. Recording the height as a measured value, and not as an estimate, makes the line easier to verify on the day.

The third item is rail material and strength. The railings text, according to California Department of Industrial Relations, says mid-rails shall be of at least 1-inch by 6-inch material. The same text says mid-rails, screens, mesh, intermediate vertical members, solid panels, and equivalent members shall be capable of withstanding, without failure, a force of at least 150 pounds (666 N) applied in any downward or outward direction at any point along the mid-rail, screen, mesh, or other intermediate member.

In the brief, write the mid-rail material as a size, and name the strength check the crew uses so the line can be verified on the job. The brief should also confirm that the railing on the job is one the quoted text covers, because the strength sentence names several kinds of intermediate member together, according to California Department of Industrial Relations.

The railings text also says double 1-inch by 4-inch members may be used for this purpose, provided that one member is fastened in a flat position on top of the posts and the other fastened in an edge-up position to the inside of the posts and the side of the top member, according to California Department of Industrial Relations. Where a rail is built this way, the brief can record how each member is fastened.

The fourth item is ladders for remaining floors. The California text says ladders shall be provided for these remaining two floors and shall be constructed and maintained in accordance with Article 25, Ladders, according to California Department of Industrial Relations.

The quoted sentence refers to these remaining two floors without naming them, so the team lead should read the surrounding section before writing the ladder line. The brief can list each remaining floor, the ladder planned for it, and a note that the ladder is to be constructed and maintained as the quoted text requires.

Each floor on the list should have its own line, so a floor with no ladder line stands out on the page. The quoted sentence also does not name who inspects a ladder, so the brief should name that person before the crew climbs. For ladder setup, see Portable ladder setup: 3 figures to check before dispatch.

Ladder lines can sit beside the wall lines on the same page, so the team lead reviews the floors and the walls together.

The fifth item is shade that actually cools. Shade may be provided by any natural or artificial means that does not expose employees to unsafe or unhealthy conditions and that does not deter or discourage access or use, according to Washington State Legislature.

The same text adds that shade is not adequate when heat in the area of shade defeats the purpose of shade, which is to allow the body to cool, according to Washington State Legislature. For the brief, describe each shade location by what it is and whether the heat in that spot still lets the body cool.

The brief should also check that each shade location can be reached from where the crew works, since the quoted sentence says shade must not deter or discourage access or use.

A vehicle used as a break spot needs its own line in the brief, since the Washington text names a vehicle as a specific case, according to Washington State Legislature.

The brief can leave shade size and temperature lines for the team lead to complete from the job conditions.

The sixth item is toilet placement. The Minnesota rule uses the word privies, and says privies shall be placed inside of heated buildings wherever possible to do so, according to Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Use the same word in the brief so that the crew can match the line to the rule.

The brief can record where toilet access is placed, whether that place is a heated building, and why an inside location was not possible when it is not inside one.

Each of the six items needs one line in the brief with a measurement or a yes-or-no check. The list below is a suggested format, not a rule taken from any quoted text.

• walls: height in feet, whether a section is more than one story, bracing status, and where any engineering data is held.
• openings: each exterior opening above the ground floor, its protection height, and the floor being demolished.
• rails: mid-rail material as a size, and the strength check the crew uses.
• ladders: each remaining floor, the ladder planned for it, and who checks it.
• shade: each break location, its shade type, and whether it lets the body cool.
• toilets: the location, whether it is inside a heated building, and the reason if it is not.

Keep the same line order in every brief, so the team lead can compare one site with the next. The lines can be carried into handoff paperwork. For that step, see Field Service Work Order Checklist for Dispatch Handoffs.

The table below gives one quoted rule from each publisher in this article.

Next step

The next step is to add a wall, rail and shade line to your next job brief.

Related guides: Chemical labels: 6 items to check before dispatch · Dispatch board setup: 7 checks before go-live.

How tall can a wall stand without bracing?

According to California Department of Industrial Relations, a wall section more than one story or 12 feet in height may not stand alone without lateral bracing, unless a civil engineer, currently registered in California, has submitted engineering data to the Division.

How high must exterior openings be protected?

The quoted height is not less than 42 inches, with exceptions for the ground floor and the floor being demolished, according to California Department of Industrial Relations. The brief should list every exterior opening above the ground floor with its protection height.

What strength must mid-rails withstand?

The quoted figure is a force of at least 150 pounds, applied in any downward or outward direction, according to California Department of Industrial Relations. The same text applies it at any point along the mid-rail, screen, mesh, or other intermediate member.

Does a parked car count as shade?

Not when it sits in the sun. A car sitting in the sun does not provide acceptable shade to a person sitting in it, unless the car is running with air-conditioning, according to Washington State Legislature.