March 2019 OHS

March 2019

  • HEARING PROTECTION: Not Your Grandpa's Ear Muffs
  • HEARING PROTECTION: Refreshing on the Basics of Noise and Hearing Conservation
  • SUMMER HAZARDS/HEAT STRESS: When Work Brings the Heat: Your Guide to Heat Stress Risks and Solutions
  • LOCKOUT/TAGOUT: Lockout/Tagout (LOTO): Electrical Safety Simplified
  • FALL PREVENTION: Ladder Safety Month: Ladder Safety Tips
  • FALL PROTECTION: Leaning Into Construction Safety
  • FALL PROTECTION: Far Too Many Fatal Falls
  • HEAD & FACE PROTECTION: One Heck of a Bump
  • INDUSTRIAL HYGIENE/GAS DETECTION: How Much Awareness is Too Much Awareness?
  • PROTECTIVE APPAREL: Creating an Electrical Safety Culture: The Dangers of Complacency
  • PROTECTIVE APPAREL: Is Comfortable FRC an Urban Myth?
  • DRUG TESTING: Marijuana in the Workplace
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Cover Story

The simple addition of a bump cap is the equivalent of a buying an insurance policy. It

One Heck of a Bump

By Benjamin Brook

Depending on the environment, bump caps can be customized to suit most situations.


Features

Although adopting Lean is ultimately something of a paradigm shift for most companies, getting started is easy. (Southland Industries photo)

Leaning into Construction Safety

By Henry Nutt III

Lean principles ensure everyone is on the same page from day one of a project and that each team member maintains a shared understanding of tasks, risks, goals, and procedures throughout construction.


Make sure the weight rating of the ladder you choose is greater than your weight and all of the clothes, tools, and equipment you will be wearing/carrying. (Little Giant Ladder Systems photo)

Ladder Safety Month: Ladder Safety Tips

By Dave Francis

When climbed properly, a ladder in good condition will never be the cause of the accident.


Until marijuana production, manufacturing, labeling, and distribution become standardized, use, safety, and wellness will continue to be a foggy area. (OraSure Technologies graphic)

Marijuana in the Workplace

By Jackie Pirone

Employers' policies should restrict marijuana use to the extent permitted by law.


Look for a headband with the level of resilience and interoperability that meets the specific application. Then, select those with lightweight design and materials to support long-time wear. (Honeywell Safety & Productivity Solutions photo)

Not Your Grandpa's Ear Muffs

By Lisa Steckert

Advances in passive hearing protection improve comfort, fit, and function.


It

Creating an Electrical Safety Culture: The Dangers of Complacency

By Mike Enright

Complacency can be dangerous when it comes to protecting the face and hands or properly protecting yourself from devastating electrical shock hazards.


The sixth annual National Safety Stand-Down to Prevent Falls in Construction is set for May 6-10, 2019. Falls from height cause more than one-third of U.S. construction deaths.

Far Too Many Fatal Falls

By Jerry Laws

The latest BLS CFOI data showed 747 construction trades workers died in 2017, and that fatal falls were at their highest level in the 26-year history of the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries.


Keeping clean, cool, and convenient water accessible to workers can prove to be more challenging than one would think. The use of hydration packs is a good way to not only solve for that challenge, but encourage more intake of water. (Ergodyne photo)

When Work Brings the Heat: Your Guide to Heat Stress Risks and Solutions

By Alsie Nelson

You can't change the weather, but you can change your approach to working in the heat.


If we can aggregate the data to change how people work, isolate them from hazards, and eventually eliminate hazards, we can tap into the full potential of connected safety. (Industrial Scientific photo)

How Much Awareness is Too Much Awareness?

By Kyle Krueger

We are already struggling to tread water in a sea of devices vying for our attention. When connected safety programs are properly implemented, these can be a life raft, and with some work, a speed boat to navigate these waters.


Technology advances mean high-performance FRC can finally match non-FR in weight, flex, softness, and moisture management. (Tyndale Company photo)

Is Comfortable FRC an Urban Myth?

By Scott Margolin

Recent fabric and style advances are challenging conventional wisdom.


Any person who may be exposed to the electrical energy should be party to the LOTO procedure.

Lockout/Tagout (LOTO): Electrical Safety Simplified

By Robert J. St. Pierre

LOTO is an integral part of the electrical safety requirements contained in the NFPA 70E Standard for Electrical Safety in the Workplace.


It is important to remember to attempt to capture the worker

Refreshing on the Basics of Noise and Hearing Conservation

By Andrew J. Goodwin

Understanding what the rules are is only half of the battle with noise. The other half is assessing noise levels and utilizing effective controls.


Departments

The Ins and Outs of Safety

By Robert Pater

Ask and listen for real suggestions of where workers see Safety falling short (non-defensively, of course).


About Those Robots . . . .

By Jerry Laws

Robot density will be high in Japan because of its aging population, and the Asian robot market as a whole "will explode," the report predicts.


Artificial Intelligence