Rebar Cage and Construction Safety: Best Practices

Rebar Cage Construction and Safety: Best Practices presents guidelines for the safe handling of steel reinforcing-bar (rebar) cages throughout the design, fabrication, and erection process. The focus is on rebar cages used for large, cast-in-place concrete columns in a variety of settings, including bridge piers, elevated highway sections, and high-rise buildings. These cages are inherently unstable, usually held together by tie-wire alone. They are challenging to fabricate, to lift from the horizontal to the vertical position, and to support in the temporary condition until concrete is cast. Engineered temporary support systems, such as bracing or cable-guy systems, can mitigate the instability of standing rebar cages and resist lateral loads, ensuring better safety for the iron workers tasked with climbing the cages. Topics include: overview of rebar cages; organizational management for rebar cages; construction engineering; checklists of best practices for construction; and summary, conclusions, and recommendations. This volume describes best practices for construction engineering and construction practice regarding rebar cages. It will be useful to construction engineers working with large columns for the first time as well as construction contractors looking to establish policies and procedures related to rebar column safety.