Many workplaces contain spaces that are “confined” because their configurations hinder the activities of employees who must enter into, work in, or exit from them. In many instances, employees who work in confined spaces also face increased risk of exposure to serious physical injury from hazards such as entrapment, engulfment,...
DRPGMs are designed to alert workers to toxic gases, oxygen-deficient, combustible atmospheres existing in workplace environments. Some examples of these include permit-required confined spaces, manholes, and other enclosed spaces. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standards require the use of gas monitors for permit-required confined spaces, hazardous waste operations,...
Each year many people are injured or blinded by work-related eye injuries that could have been prevented with the use of properly selected eye and face protection. No one goes to work expecting to damage or lose their eyesight. Yet, an estimated 2,000 workplace eye injuries that require medical attention...
Backover incidents are not infrequent in the workplace. They occur when a vehicle is in the action of backing up and strikes or runs over a worker who is standing, walking, or kneeling behind the vehicle. These incidents can be prevented. How Do Backover Incidents Occur? The reality is that...
In industry, we typically have a warehouse where we receive products and goods, and from which we ship production items. Warehouse workers can face many kinds of hazards, but with proper design considerations, planning, and training these hazards can be controlled and warehouse work remain safe. Warehouses often contain a...
Falls are one of the leading causes of death in industry and construction; and every year falls from ladders make up nearly a third of those deaths. These falls from ladders are preventable and lives can be saved by following the safe work practices we will describe in what follows....
Falls from high places can cause serious injury or death. Aerial lifts are most often used in general industry and construction when erection of scaffolding or staging is impractical. We use boom supported personnel platforms and bucket trucks, cherry pickers, for those situations. Worker injury or deaths can occur when...
Falls can cause serious injury or death from high places. We fortunately have personal fall-protection equipment available to prevent these causalities. Unfortunately, our friends, family, fellow workers often fail to use what is available to them. This is such a big subject that Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) estimates...
OSHA’s Powered Industrial Truck (PIT) Standard provides specific instructions that operators should always follow while using a PIT. Before we look at some of these, let’s consider the surfaces over which a forklift may travel. Surface Condition The surface conditions matter when it comes to forklift operation because the surface...
In the construction industry, there are many work areas where welding, cutting, and brazing might be in operation. Welding operations are of three types: electric arch, gas, and thermit. Electric arc welding is probably the most common or widely used type, where an electric arc melts the materials to form...