A sample blog I wrote for Levitt-Safety

1. CONSTRUCTION BLOG TAKEOVER: A STUDENT’S PERSPECTIVE
5 BASIC SAFETY HAZARDS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT TORONTO’S BIGGEST TRANSIT
EXPANSION SITES
With the recent public transit expansions across the Greater Toronto Area, workers need to be aware of
some job site safety hazards they will have to face.
The Greater Toronto Area (GTA) is stepping up its game and expanding on already existing transit systems across
Southern Ontario to make a great network of inter-city transportation more accessible to cities not yet covered.
For example, Hamilton is getting a train station as part of the Lakeshore GO (Government of Ontario) Train line.
York University will be receiving a subway station as an extension of Toronto Transit Commission’s (TTC)’s Yonge-
University subway line. Starting off the race to the future of GTA transit is the recently launched Union-Pearson
(UP) Express, a train that connects from Toronto’s Pearson Airport to Union Station, which is a historical train
station that is getting its own revitalization. There’s so much going on and it’s a very exciting time.
However, as exciting as all of this is folks, we still need these expansions to come into existence and that
means years of tiresome work for most of Ontario’s labour force.
Now workers, listen up! At your place of work you may already be aware of safety hazards, or your supervisor has
discussed them with you and your team. If your supervisor hasn’t discussed them with you, it’s a really good idea
to read this blog.
The best part is that a lot of what you’ll read here also can be applied to almost any construction site, so you don’t
need to stop reading just because I’m putting focus on the transit-expansion job sites. Here are my five top safety
hazards for working on a transit expansion site:
1. Be careful of moving machinery: These could be things like bulldozers, excavators or skid steers. You
should always watch where you’re walking. Machines could be turning, lifting something heavy, or you
could be in the driver’s blind spot. Watch out for equipment like drill rigs or compactors, especially if you
work at one of the expansion sites. Another thing to consider is that on giant projects like these, machines
can be twenty times the size of an average human, so you should be extra careful. Tunnel boring
machines, drill rigs, dump trucks, and cranes are just some of the very dangerous machinery you will find.
2. Avoid holes that are being dug: What they’re doing over at York University is no secret. The site is
massive and can be seen from all over the central part of the campus. What is most noticeable is the giant
gaping hole in the center, which I am going to assume is where they’re putting in the new York University
subway station. Though it may seem needless to say, that hole can present a very real danger to every
single one of the workers on that site. However, what could be even more dangerous are the smaller
holes you wouldn’t think about on a day-to-day basis (i.e. manholes, potholes, holes for sewer pipes).
Uneven ground can also be a risk factor, as you could sustain an injury by tripping.
3. The need for hand and face protection: Hand and face protection are very important on any job site.
Broken and sharp steel, wood, sharp metal and a vast array of other dangerous materials can cut or
severely injure you. Getting any kind of cut can occur by simply not paying attention to where you’ve put
your hands, or from not wearing the right hand protection. For example, when using tools to weld rails
together, you should be careful of debris flying at your face.

2. 4. Arc Flashes and other environmental hazards – Possibly the most dangerous risk a welder would have to
face is the possibility of an arc flash, which is the light and heat produced from an electric arc supplied
with sufficient electrical energy to cause substantial damage, harm, fire, or injury. It is also part of an arc
fault; a type of electrical explosion that results from a low-impedance connection to ground or another
voltage phase in an electrical system (thanks Wikipedia!). Hearing protection is also vital for indoor or
underground working environments, such as the tunnel of the Yonge-University line’s new platform at
Union Station, because sound emitted from machinery and even your tools will always be bouncing off
the walls and can cause partial to full hearing loss. You wouldn’t be able to listen to music then!
5. Working with dangerous tools: Tools can be dangerous. Some have massive, sometimes destructive
potential and not knowing how to use them correctly can be potentially dangerous. Back in 2011, the
Toronto Star reported on an accident at the York University job site where a drill rig collapsed, toppling
onto two other machines and killing a worker, injuring five others. This kind of incident could have
possibly been prevented if workers were trained on how to use their tools correctly. Workers should also
always have the opportunity to “opt out” of working with dangerous tools if they think they need to.
A few other dangerous tools you might find on a transportation expansion job site include:
• Nail guns
• Solder guns
• Compactors
• Welding tools
• Box-cutter knives
Is your notebook full yet? Are you prepared to take these safety hazards into account while working? Although
these are some of the most basic safety hazards on any of Toronto’s biggest transit extension sites and other job
sites in the GTA, there are hundreds of others that you should be aware of as well. When preforming daunting
tasks on some of Ontario’s biggest projects for the future, safety may not always seem as important as it truly is.
Think of it this way: if safety was never treated as the first priority in any work environment, nothing else would
matter.
Thanks for reading! If you have any more hazards in mind that I missed, I’d love to hear from you in the comments.