HazCom – Globally Harmonized System For many years now, employees could gather limited information about the hazardous chemicals they work with by looking at container labels and reading Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDSs). However, there was no set format to govern how the companies that produced or distributed those chemicals...
Amputation Hazards in the Workplace Amputations are some of the most serious and debilitating workplace injuries. They are widespread and involve a variety of activities and equipment. Amputations occur most often when workers operate unguarded or inadequately safeguarded mechanical power presses, power press brakes, powered and non-powered conveyors, printing presses,...
Preventing Accidents Consider this statistic: 80 out of every 100 accidents are the fault of the person involved in the incident. Unsafe Acts cause four times as many accidents & injuries as unsafe conditions. Accidents occur for many reasons. In most industries, people tend to look for “things” to blame...
Heat is Coming One of the most significant hazards that summer brings is heat illness. Although there may not have been very many truly hot and humid days yet this year, now is the time we need to talk about heat illness. Quite honestly, your body is probably not yet...
Portable Fire Extinguishers Do you know how to extinguish a fire? According to OSHA regulations, no one at a workplace is supposed to use a fire extinguisher unless they have been trained to do so. Though this may seem awfully restrictive, there are several good reasons for this rule. If...
Ergonomics Ergonomics literally means “the rules of human strength.” Engineers interested in the design of work environments originated the word in the 1950s. Today, the purpose of ergonomics in the workplace is to create a better match between workers, the work they perform, and the equipment they use. A good...
Clean Worksite Safety In the workplace, “good housekeeping” is the term used for keeping the worksite clean, neat, and free of hazards that can cause injury. This isn’t just a matter of appearances – it’s a serious safety issue. In fact, we can easily earn OSHA’s “seal of disapproval” –...
Alas, fellow safety enthusiasts – there is no posting for this, the first week in April, 2015. But do not fear! We will be back next week with more safety articles.
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 was wrong, unplanned,...
Safe Hot Work Procedure Hot work may include spark and high heat producing job tasks such as grinding, welding, soldering, thermal or oxygen cutting, and heating. Advanced planning and safe work procedures help prevent workplace fires caused by hot works activities. Grinders use powered rotating attachments to work metal and...