A common misconception: All flashlights are created equal.
Editor's note: Respiratory protection in emergencies is not a one-size-fits-all proposition. Employers must assess their operations fully, determine the potential hazards and escape routes, and then equip and train their employees adequately so they can get out when necessary.
THE kitchen at any one of the 84 Cheesecake Factory restaurants nationwide can be a pretty hectic place. This popular, casual-dining restaurant chain attracts thousands of customers every day for both eat-in and take-out service from its extensive menu--keeping the cooks and the wait staff very busy, given the way people pack in to eat at the upscale eateries.
IT is a never-ending battle to get workers to wear any type of personal protective equipment. All types of PPE have their advantages and disadvantages, comforts and discomforts. Getting workers to use it is an endless task.
DOUBTLESSLY, you have heard that "You must use the proper tools to make the job easier and to end up with the desired result!" Well, this statement applies not only to the traditional hand and power tools you use for home projects and specialized tools you use on the job, but also to the sound respiratory protection program that should be followed in the workplace.
PUBLISHED in August 2003, ANSI Z87.1-2003, the revised American National Standard for Occupational and Educational Eye and Face Protection Devices, brought end users, eye care practitioners, and PPE suppliers a new classification system--"Basic Impact" and "High Impact" protectors--with testing requirements and performance criteria to support it. Z87.1
WHEN performing a quantitative respirator fit test (QNFT), the "way it's always been done" has been to perform several exercises as stated in the accepted protocols listed in the respiratory protection standards of the Federal Register (29 CFR 1910.134).
THE purpose of this article is to review developments that have taken place in the industrial safety eyewear market within recent years, help the reader take full advantage of the present offerings, and possibly provide some insight into what may be around the safety eyewear corne
A high-pressure pipe bursts or a barrel falls off of a forklift. An accident can happen in an instant! Thousands of industrial and commercial accidents occur each year involving airborne particles and chemicals such as corrosives (acids and bases), oxidizers, and solvents.
YOU have read the MSDS for the special alcohol that your plant uses and it says to use eye protection. But what does that mean?
YOUR hands are essentially the most important tools you have on the job. Without them, all other equipment is useless. After all, the best tools on the market still need a skilled person behind them to make them function.
BECAUSE hand protection plays such a major role in keeping workers safe, questions often arise concerning gloves and their use, care, and disposal. Below are several questions that are often asked by end users.
THERE are hundreds, if not thousands, of available fall protection systems and temporary anchors that end users can buy, install, and use when and where they are required. For example, a worker can use an ANSI-approved anchorage connector (strap) in conjunction with an ANSI-approved energy absorbing lanyard and ANSI-approved full body harness to create a compliant fall arrest or fall restraint system in any number of situations.
ALTHOUGH there are many employees who are compliant and wear safety shoes, far too often the employee does not truly understand the importance and value of the shoe. Ultimately, it is incumbent on the employer to direct the employee to footwear that will provide an adequate level of protection in relation to the job hazards he or she may encounter.
MANKIND has been utilizing material technology to protect its hands, feet, and other body parts from the hazards associated with living and working since cavemen first wrapped themselves in skins. Occasionally, advances in the material technology associated with personal protective equipment have even presaged dramatic changes in social and political structure.
FALL hazards are a year-round challenge. Some are lurking underfoot in the safest of workplaces; workers encounter others anywhere from a few feet to hundreds of feet above the ground. It helps to have the mindset that fall protection applies at any height, not just at the height where protective equipment is mandatory.
WHEN a recognized hazard cannot be eliminated through engineering controls (at the source) or reduced through administrative controls (staff rotation, procedure development), the last line of defense is through the use of personal protective equipment. One common type of PPE that is also often downplayed is foot protection.
MAINTENANCE and inspection of the sloping, 600-foot face of Hoover Dam is not a task that can be accomplished in a great many ways.
WITH more than 25 percent of all workplace accidents involving hand and finger injuries (and each disabling hand injury costing as much as $26,000), many companies and organizations are placing a higher priority on identifying the critical issues associated with the workplace environment.
WHAT do a police officer approaching a suspicious looking person and a quality control technician inspecting an integrated circuit board have in common? They both need good visual acuity.