Category Archives: Accident Prevention Signs & Tags

OSHA Proposes $110,400 in Fines for Gershenson Construction

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The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited Gershenson Construction company for 11 safety violations. These violations are comprised of 1 willful and 10 serious violations, and are from hazards relating to trench cave-in and a lack of protection for workers from struck-by injuries. These citations come with $110,400 in proposed penalties.

“Failing to protect workers from struck-by hazards and allowing employees to work in a trench without protective systems is inexcusable and will not be tolerated,” said Larry Davidson, OSHA’s acting area director in St. Louis. “Being struck-by vehicles and other objects is a leading cause of construction-related injuries and deaths. Gershenson Construction has a responsibility to protect workers from known hazards in the construction industry.”

The willful violation was issued for failing to ensure workers were protected from cave-in hazards while working in a trench that exceeded a depth of 5 feet. The ten serious violations were issued for exposing workers to the hazards of being struck-by a partially suspended load; lack of adequate and frequent inspections of the work site for hazards; inadequate training of employees; lack of head protection; use of damaged rigging equipment; lack of permanently affixed legible identification markings on rigging equipment; and allowing an excavator to operate within 10 feet of energized, overhead power lines.

If you are in the construction industry and are not sure your procedures relating to struck-by and cave-in hazards are up-to-code, it might be time to have your health and safety procedures properly audited by a qualified third party occupational safety and health auditing firm. It could mean the difference between a safe work environment for your employees and a potentially deadly one.

If you have any questions about third party safety audits, please contact us. If you have anything to add about this investigation or the need for third party safety audits, please leave a comment.

More than 1 Million Participated in National Fall Safety Stand-Down

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Last week, the US Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration partnered with over 25,000 businesses to bring awareness to measures which can prevent fall hazards in construction. These businesses provided fall safety information throughout the week to over 1 million employees in an effort to reduce the number of injuries and fatalities caused by falls. Falls are the most common cause of death in the construction industry, and OSHA is taking a hard stance against inadequate fall protection and ineffective training.

“This is an unprecedented event. Tens of thousands of employers and hundreds of thousands of workers across the country have joined our campaign to save lives and prevent fatal falls in the construction industry,” said U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez. “The economy is on the rebound, housing starts are on the rise and the summer construction season is getting underway. Now is the time to focus on this vital safety issue and make sure all construction workers come home at the end of every workday.”

The magnitude of this movement, coupled with the words of Perez show that fall safety is at the forefront of what OSHA will be focusing on. So if you are in the construction industry, it is imperative that you have iron-clad fall safety procedures and training in place. If you have not recently reviewed your plans, or if they are not firmly set in writing, it is time to review, update, and finalize them. If you are worried that your plans are not up to par, it is advisable you contact a qualified third party occupational safety and health auditing firm to help you update your plans.

If you should have any questions about your fall protection policies, or any other health and safety policies, please contact us and we will help you bring your company up to code. If you have anything to add about the National Fall Safety Stand-Down, please leave a comment.

OSHA Accident Prevention Signs and Tags

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The US Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration places a heavy value on accident preventions signs and tags. All signs and tags must be properly created, have appropriate lettering and colors, and follow standard hazard definitions. In order to assist business owners in creating proper signage, OSHA created Standard 1910.145.

Standard 1910.145 defines what a sign is; when a sign is needed; which signs are needed in which circumstances; what design must be present on the sign; how to apply the signs; and any parameters of the sign, including size, shape, and corner type. OSHA further defines specific sign types, such as “danger” signs, “caution” signs, “biohazard” signs, etc. OSHA also defines several emblems and figures within the standard.

Because OSHA takes such a narrow view to signs and their design, it is important to make sure all of your signs are up to code, and to have a plan in place for the constant review of existing signs, and replacement of signs as they get old, as they can fall out of compliance with age. To help in the review process, it is usually advisable to have regular third party audits of your safety signs, to ensure slowly aging signs have not gone unnoticed by employees who see these signs multiple times a day.

To help with the replacement of outdated or damaged signs, it is advisable to purchase new signs from a qualified OSHA expert. We have a store where you can buy any sign you need, and rest assured knowing we guarantee it is OSHA compliant.

If you have any further questions about OSHA accident prevention signs and tags, or if you need to have your facility audited, please contact us. If you have anything to add about these signs and tags, please leave a comment.

Accident Prevention Signs and Tags

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Accident prevention signs and tags are seen throughout any workplace. These signs include danger signs, caution signs, hazard signs, safety instruction signs, vehicle signs, evacuation signs, and any other workplace signs which warn employees of potential hazards. When creating these signs, it is important to make sure they are compliant with OSHA Standard 1910.145.

Standard 1910.145 was created by OSHA in an effort to make workplace signage more uniform and accessible to employees. This standard sets the requirements for the size, shape, and color of signs used in a workplace. It also covers the size of the lettering in the signs, as well as their color and design.

This standard was created with both a mind to potential evacuation situations and needs, as well as to easy access to the signs on a day to day basis. Because of the uniform nature of this standard, any first responders arriving to your facility will know exactly what the hazards are, rather than trying to guess.

Fortunately, we have an online store available for most of your sign and tag needs. We can create any sign you need, and we ensure that the signs are up to code with OSHA. We have found that, by worrying about your sings for you, you can focus on more important safety matters.

If you have any questions about the signs at your workplace, or if you need new signs, please contact us. And if you have anything to add about accident prevention tags and signs, please leave a comment.

Accident Prevention Signs & Tags (OSHA 29CFR1910.145)

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OSHA Standard 1910.145 is one of the most fundamental OSHA safety standards, and is beyond mandatory for you to understand if you want to stay compliant. Here it is. This rule is extremely important and, like most things OSHA, somewhat difficult to fully understand. That’s why we are here, to help you understand these standards and stay in compliance. We dedicate our lives to understanding these codes.

This standard basically clarifies the styles, colors, edges, word usage, and placement of safety signs in your workplace. A sign incorrectly designed or out of place can mean, from a practical sense, an employee getting hurt or being unprepared for a dangerous environment, which can bring OSHA knocking at your door. If OSHA does come knocking, an out of place or misprinted sign can mean a citation or fine, depending on the sign and how egregious the error.

So, what are the specifics of this standard? For starters, make sure your signs are uniform. Beyond that, make sure your signs are in the right places – so, danger signs go where there is immediate danger, caution signs go where there is a need to warn against potential hazards, and biological hazard signs are used when there is either a present or potential presence of a biohazard. Finally, check their borders to make sure they are rounded or blunted, and that you have the correct color scheme. If anything seems incorrect to you, take it down and replace it. With OSHA, it is always better to be safe than sorry.

So, what are you supposed to do if you feel your signs are either incorrect or missing? Check out our printed signs and sleep easy knowing that you have uniform, correctly coded signs for your workplace. If you are worried your signs are out of date and may no longer be up to code, just look them up in our link, and compare them to your own. Trust me, it is far better to replace a few signs now, than have unnecessary injuries in the workplace and citations from OSHA.