Electrical Safety – Using GFCIs This year, in the U.S. alone, approximately 800 people will be killed by faulty electrical appliances and power tools; hundreds more will be severely injured. Worn insulation, wire damage, and moisture-induced short-circuits can make these devices as “hot” as the power lines to which they...
Using Portable Fire Extinguishers If you ever need to use a fire extinguisher, you won’t have time to read the directions first. Take the time before an emergency to get acquainted with the fire extinguishers in your work area. Know what kind of extinguisher to use on each kind of...
Using a Ladder Safely There is absolutely no reason for anybody to get hurt, disabled, or killed while using a ladder. Yet it happens every single day. Somebody steps on the safety sticker that says “This is not a step!” and ends up with a broken leg. Another worker puts...
Reporting – A Near Miss A “near miss” or accident without injury is easy to shrug off and forget. But there is a danger in brushing off accidents that don’t hurt, harm, or damage. When a “near miss” happens, it should immediately send up a red warning flag that something...
Working with Machinery Safely According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, over 1100 workers in the United States were killed last year by contact with equipment or by being caught up in running machinery. That’s 20% of all fatalities in the workplace. Over a thousand people killed in ways that...
Bloodborne Pathogens (BBP) Hazards In the workplace, bloodborne pathogens (BBP) may be transmitted when blood or other infectious body fluids come in contact with mucous membranes (your eyes, nose, mouth), non- intact skin (due to cuts, abrasions, burns, rashes, paper cuts), or by handling or touching contaminated materials or surfaces....
Electrical Safety For Construction It doesn’t take a lot of electricity to kill you. The amount of current needed to light an ordinary 60-watt light bulb is five times what can kill a person. Thus, all electrical equipment on construction sites is potentially deadly. Electrical hazards are doubly hazardous in...
Eye Wash Safety We all hope we never need an eyewash station, but if an accident should happen, it’s our wish that it’s clean and accessible. If a foreign particle enters the eyes, an emergency eyewash station is the most important initial step in first-aid treatment. Chemical burns to the...
Safety in Hot Work For some of you, welding is a hands-on job. Welding safety, however, involves not only the welder, but also those working in the vicinity of welding operations. We also need to watch out for hazards should a contractor enter our facility to do a welding job....
Safety at Loading Docks Loading docks are hubs of activity in manufacturing plants, warehouses, industrial buildings and distribution centers. In most companies, this is the primary location of movement of product in and out of a facility. A loading dock is a recessed bay in a facility where trucks are...