Monthly Archives: December 2012

Properly Communicating Safety Procedures

Posted on by
Twitt

While there are many reasons for workplace accidents, unsafe acts by workers remains the largest problem. Studies indicate that anywhere fro 85% to 90% of all workplace accidents are caused by unsafe acts, which are things that could easily be prevented and avoided. Many of these acts are perpetrated by employees who either do not have the basic knowledge required to safely and effectively do their jobs, or by employees who are not made aware of specific safety guidelines pertaining to their jobs.

While individuals do bear some of the blame for their actions, a larger portion of that blame falls on the employer and the management team. It is the responsibility of management to ensure that every employee is capable of doing their job safely, and that every employee is following every procedure. If personal protective equipment should be worn, it is the duty of supervisors to ensure it is being worn, and the duty of ownership to ensure that supervisors are enforcing these rules. Similarly, an employee can not be expected to wear equipment that he or she does not know exists because that information was never passed down to him or her.

To avoid problems such as this, it is imperative that management institute clear and concise practices around safety, and that there is never an expectation of knowledge around safe practices. Until an employee is specifically given the safety procedures, and trained in safety, it is not fair to assume that they will work in a safe manner. You should not put your employees in this situation, as it is dangerous to them and opens you up to compliance issues.

If you do not have a comprehensive safety plan, it is time to get one. If you need help in writing one, it might be a good idea to hire a professional firm to help you organize your procedures to ensure they are up to code with OSHA requirements. If you would like some help in organizing your safety procedures, or if you would like to ensure that your procedures are adequate, please contact us so that we can assist you in ensuring your business is running safely. Please leave any comments you have about the importance of communicating safety procedures in the comments section.

OHSAS 18001

Posted on by
Twitt

OHSAS 18001 is an important standard for any business committed to safety. While not required, like OSHA regulations, implementing OHSAS 18001 will help you stay in compliance with many of the OSHA regulations that pertain to your business. OHSAS takes a common sense look at your business, at what you do, and at your potential hazards, and looks to mitigate risk without interrupting business flow.

This standard accomplishes this by involving management and employees, requiring effective training, identifying hazards, evaluating your business’ operations to see if any hazards are created from them, and taking all of that to create a plan to prevent and control all found hazards. The process of OHSAS 18001 has proven results, and ensures your business is in compliance with OSHA regulations relating to Lockout/Tagout, Emergency Evacuation Plans, Confined Spaces, Arc Flash, Personal Protective Equipment, and Signage among other things.

As you can see, we have previously blogged about each one of these topics. This should show how important each topic truly is – and to implement a comprehensive solution which covers all of these topics together will save you time, money, work place injuries, and headaches. Further, should you ever have issues with OSHA, being able to show your action plan and continued adherence to OHSAS 18001 will help you avoid additional and unnecessary citations and fines.

While the initial implementation of this standard can be difficult, a professional firm who has been down this road before can help you to understand the specifics as they relate to your business. Further, good firms will have plans in place to help you to stay in compliance. Here at PF Safety, we utilize our Factory Solutions Software to help you to continue to monitor your compliance. With this software, you can be sure that you are remaining in compliance as your systems and processes change.

If you would like more information about OHSAS 18001 or if you would like more information about our Factory Solutions Software, please contact us. And if you have anything to add about the benefits of OHSAS 18001, please leave a comment.

Emergency Action Plans

Posted on by
Twitt

Disasters happen. Whether natural or man made, disasters are bound to occur. We cannot always predict them, but we can prepare for them. Preparing for a disaster is crucial to employee safety and continuation of business. It is also a requirement for OSHA 1910.38. This standard describes the minimum elements any emergency action plan should include.

Emergency action plans must, at a minimum, include procedures for reporting a fire, procedures for evacuation, procedures to account for all employees after evacuation, procedures to be followed by employees performing rescue or medical duties, and the names and job titles of all employees who may be contacted for more information about the emergency action plan. Further, OSHA 1910.38 details that there must be an employee alarm system, employee training, and periodic reviews of the emergency action plan.

Tied into this standard is OSHA 1910.36, which we previously discussed. This standard gives the specific details of required evacuation procedures. This standard, in conjunction with OSHA 1910.38, can help you to prepare for disasters of any size, from a small fire in the break room caused by an employee microwaving tinfoil to a magnitude 10 earthquake. In either instance, the only way to avoid potentially serious problems to your employees, your business, and yourself is preparation.

So, if you have not recently updated your emergency action plan, or if your business has changed recently in any significant way (such as personnel, procedures, machinery used, etc.) it would behoove you to ensure your emergency action plans are up to code with OSHA 1910.38. If you have any question about implementing OSHA 1910.38, please contact us so that we can assist you. If you have any useful information on Emergency Action Plans and OSHA 1910.38, please post them in the comments section.

Safety Software

Posted on by
Twitt

One of the primary focuses we have here at PF Safety is lockout procedures. We have discussed this topic several times before because we take lockout tagout very seriously, as we understand the potential threat to your business and your employees should there ever be a lockout tagout miscalculation.

But as important and difficult as it is to properly comply with the standards initially, it can be even harder and vastly more important to sustain accurate procedures. An audit team such as ours can define your library and design proper placards, but it becomes your responsibility to monitor changes and redefine your procedure library over time. Now, the reason most companies hire professionals to set up their procedures initially is that it is so difficult to get a company up to speed in this critical area.

However, lockout tagout procedures are not suddenly learned when a company is brought up to code, and the same questions and uncertainties which caused a company to hire a professional are still present. What’s worse is that many business owners assume, because they have had a procedure put in place, they no longer need to worry about their lockout procedures and do not monitor them.

This can be an extremely costly mistake. It is imperative to consistently monitor your lockout tagout procedures, otherwise you will fall back out of compliance. Things change, and unless you are monitoring your machines night and day, something can get past you and create a very serious problem.

Fortunately, there is advanced monitoring software released by many companies which can help your company maintain compliant lockout tagout procedures. If you have any questions whatsoever regarding this extremely critical standard, please contact us. And, if you know of any other tips for maintaining compliance between audits, please post them in the comments.

Personal Protective Equipment

Posted on by
Twitt

As we’ve previously discussed, personal protective equipment is of major concern to OSHA, and should be one of your primary concerns as a business owner in any field with potential safety hazards. Personal protective equipment can be the difference between a serious on the job injury and a non event, should something go awry during day to day operations. Unfortunately, there are so many different types of protective equipment with very specific uses, it can often be difficult to determine which equipment is necessary in which situations.

For instance, it might be obvious that a respirator is needed during an abrasive blasting job, but which respirator is correct? Is a simple mask sufficient, or is a full breathing apparatus needed? The same can go for hazmat suits; are the suits you are using up to code? The codes and requirements are constantly changing, as the field of protective equipment is ever evolving. What was sufficient five years ago may be woefully inadequate today. And, even if you are “up to code,” are you giving your employees the best equipment available to protect them?

If you have not recently checked, it might be a good idea to at least review your protective equipment. Believe us, you do not want a problem on the job site to unnecessarily injure an employee. Especially if something as simple as a pair of gloves or better glasses could have changed the outcome. If you have any questions about the personal protect equipment you are currently using, please contact us. And if you have anything to add to the discussion, please leave a comment.

Safety Signs

Posted on by
Twitt

Safety signs are important in just about every facet of your business. Whether you own a factory with 500 employees or an automotive shop with 3 mechanics, there is certain signage required by OSHA. And without this signage, you can incur hefty fines. In addition to the fines, you can also put your employees severely at risk by not properly notifying them of safety hazards.

What is important to remember about signage is that it is not for you, it is for your employees. It might be obvious to you not to smoke near your propane tanks, but that doesn’t mean it is to a new hire who works in your accounting department. Likewise, you certainly know which machinery requires proper personal protective equipment to use, but that doesn’t mean everyone in your shop does. In order to ensure the safety of everyone working for you, you cannot assume any base level of knowledge about your equipment. So, while it is tedious to keep track of what OSHA signage requirements pertain to your facility, it is important to remember why those requirements were established.

If you have any questions about which safety signs are required where, you can consult OSHA directly and read through the relevant standards, or you can contact a company who specializes in OSHA standards and compliance. And, if you need to order new safety signs, wouldn’t it make sense to purchase them through that company, whose employees live to understand compliance? If you do have any needs pertaining to your safety signage, please contact us so that we can help you. And, should you have anything you think could benefit others reading this, please leave a comment.

Happy Holidays

Posted on by
Twitt

We just wanted to wish everyone a safe and happy holiday season. Too often do we hear about holiday related incidents, both at work and home, so we decided to share some tips to stay safe this year.

Holiday Lights – Holiday lights are one of the worst culprits of holiday accidents. Please check any lights you buy for a label ensuring they have been tested by a third party for safety. It is not worth potentially starting a fire in your home or office to save a few cents a strand. In addition, you should never use more than three sets of lights on an extension cord. Find different outlets in your home or office, or run additional cords, if needed. Finally, turn off all lights if you are going out or going to sleep. The lights can short out and start a fire.

Fire Places – There might be no better feeling than sitting in front of a warm fire on a cold night with family around the holidays, but please do it safely. Before lighting the fire, please remove any decorations, papers, etc from the fireplace (this includes any stockings hanging above it). Also be cautious if you plan to use any fire salts; their colors can be very festive, but they can also be very harmful if eaten. Finally, do not burn wrapping paper, it can cause flash fires and is extremely dangerous.

Trees – If you have an artificial tree, make sure it is fire resistant, as with lights it is worth the extra few dollars to protect yourself from unneeded risks. If you have a real tree, make certain it is fresh and well watered. A dry tree is a serious fire hazard, and needs to be carefully monitored. No matter what kind of tree you have, you should never put it near a fireplace, radiator, vent, or other heat source.

Candles – Candles are great decorations, and add a lot to the season, but proper safety must be followed now, just the same as the rest of the year. Keep candles in a safe place, away from any combustible materials, and where they will not be knocked over. Place candles in non-flammable holders, never put them on trees. Finally, ensure there is nothing above the candle which can burn, many fires are started in bookshelves or other shelving units.

If you follow these tips, you will greatly reduce your chances of an accident during the holiday season. Again, have a safe and happy holiday season, and please feel free to leave comments with any of your holiday safety tips.

Safety Audits

Posted on by
Twitt

If you have been following our blog, you have seen that we talk about safety audits in just about every post. While it might seem redundant, it is really just that important for your company. There is nothing that can protect you from OSHA more than a safety audit administered by a qualified third party.

A good third party safety audit will cover everything OSHA looks for in an audit. We cannot speak for other companies, but we can say that during our audits we examine your current hazard assessments, machinery, processes, signage, training, employee safety competence, evacuation plans, accident incidents and investigations, and anything else that you need to ensure compliance with OSHA. This all encompassing view allows us to truly understand your company, your needs, and how to effectively minimize risk while not disturbing your company’s operations.

When shopping for a consulting firm to handle your safety audit, there are a few key factors to keep in mind. First and foremost, why is this organization qualified to audit your business? Do they have a team of engineers, auditors, safety professionals, and trainers who have very specific and very relevant knowledge of your industry? Or, did a recent college graduate read through some OSHA regulations and decide that he can handle understanding the intricacies of OSHA as it relates to your operations? You will also want to consider what other clients the organization has. We list a small sampling of some of our clients, to give you a feel of what industries we cover. If you start speaking to an audit team and they hedge when asked about which industries they specialize in, or what clients they have worked with, you might want to reconsider. Finally, you want to consider what the audit team will do for you after the audit process is complete. Will they help you stay in compliance over time? Will they forget about you in a month, and be unavailable to you if you have questions? Are they even going to write out a full plan of next steps?

If you have been considering a safety audit, stop procrastinating. It is never going to be a fun or desirable prospect, but it is a necessity. If you have questions about our process, or how we can help your company, please contact us. And if you have any other things you would recommend looking for in a third party audit team, please leave a comment.

Ventilation (29CFR1910.94)

Posted on by
Twitt

If your business uses abrasive blasting, you must have at least reviewed OSHA Standard 1910.94. This standard covers the ventilation requirements for any business which uses any form of abrasive blasting, including the minimum clean air levels, necessary personal protective equipment, minimum exhaust obligations, and required air purification methods.

It is common knowledge that silica sand, while extremely cost effective, is potentially lethal without a proper ventilation plan. What is less commonly known is what the effects are of other abrasives. For instance, what is required if you utilize garnet, instead of silica? What if you change from synthetic abrasives to another form, such as agricultural? What are the different requirements between wet and dry abrasive blasting? We have seen many companies who were in perfect compliance change their abrasive material and create a hazardous work environment. Likewise, a change could make an extremely hazardous work site into a perfectly safe environment, which would allow you to save a small fortune in now unnecessary ventilation costs.

Another important thing to consider is how you are purifying the air. Will you be utilizing personal protective equipment? Do you need a dust collector or exhaust system? Each blasting device being used with each abrasive material, creates a different potential hazard, and has different safety requirements. Further, these requirements are not static – as new information is discovered, new requirements are released by OSHA.

If you have not recently reviewed this standard or had a qualified third party review your ventilation methods, it might be time to hire a professional team to review your processes. If you would like any additional information, please contact us. If you have anything to add to the discussion, please leave a comment.

Lockout Tagout Monitoring

Posted on by
Twitt

We have previously discussed OSHA lockout procedure requirements, as per OSHA 1910.147. In this post, we would like to discuss maintaining your OSHA compliance after initially getting yourself compliant. It is difficult – extremely difficult – to maintain your compliance without the help of either a dedicated representative (or, in some cases, dedicated team) or software designed to monitor your compliance.

Luckily, many companies have developed user friendly software which can handle this task. With this software, you can create a baseline representation of your company and update it as machinery, personnel, and responsibilities change. This allows you to keep a current and fully updated framework, with annotations that document the changes your company has made. Further, this software will often allow specific individuals to log in and have access in real time to the stored information.

This software is a great tool to monitor your compliance in between annual audits, and should be used in conjunction with annual audits, and only after completing a facility wide lockout program. Once you set your lockout program, schedule your annual audits, and begin using relevant software, you will be guarding yourself against unexpected or unforeseen safety risks.

If you are ready to get some more information about the cost saving, time saving, and headache saving software that we offer, take a look here to get more information. Then, contact us to get started. If you have any additional information pertaining to lockout tagout monitoring, please leave a comment, so we can get a discussion on this topic going.