Employees often bring their cell phones to work, a choice that could potentially cause numerous hazards on the job. Cell phones can be a dangerous distraction in the workplace, just like other workplace distractions such as horseplay and chattering with co-workers or having our minds on something other than our...
Did you know that over 2/3 of all accidents involve housekeeping in some way, shape, or form? Approximately 2.5 million disabling injuries happen in the service industry every year with a cost of over 100 billion dollars. Effective housekeeping can eliminate some workplace hazards and help get a job done...
OSHA requires employers to identify and protect against breathing hazards. Engineering controls are the preferred form of protection, e.g., ventilation, using less toxic measures, and enclosing operations that create air contaminants. When air measurements reveal that engineering controls haven’t brought air hazards to safe levels, employers must provide employees with...
The OSHA First Aid standard requires trained first-aid providers at all workplaces of any size, if there is no “infirmary, clinic, or hospital in near proximity to the workplace which is used for the treatment of all injured employees.” When an accident happens, a first aid program that meets the...
OSHA describes suspension trauma as “the development of symptoms such as light-headedness, poor concentration, palpitations, tremulousness, fatigue, nausea, dizziness, headache, sweating, weakness, and occasionally fainting during upright standing.” Suspension trauma, also known as “harness hang syndrome” and “orthostatic intolerance,” occurs after a worker has fallen into a fall arrest harness...
Fire extinguishers can be an important tool in preventing a small fire from growing larger. However, they should not be used to combat large or rapidly spreading fires. The most important thing to do during a fire situation is to get yourself to safety and call the proper authorities to...
Bloodborne pathogens are microorganisms, normally carried in infected blood and bodily fluids, that can cause diseases, some fatal, such as Hepatitis B and C, as well as HIV. Bloodborne pathogens must find a direct route of entry into the body for infection to be possible, but bodily fluids can also...
A worker received an electric shock on a piece of equipment he was using. He was not injured, and he did not report the incident. A few days later another worker also received a shock from the same defective equipment and again did not report the problem. Within days a...
Confined spaces frequently contain atmospheres that are flammable, toxic, or whose oxygen level has been depleted or enriched. Natural ventilation is generally insufficient to remove contaminated air from the inside space and to exchange it for fresh air from the outside. The lack of air exchange occurs particularly in confined...
There are many examples of people being seriously injured or killed by machinery and electrical equipment. Often, these tragedies happen because people carelessly try to repair or maintain the equipment without making sure its energy source has been shut off. Many times, the accident happens when other workers restart the...