FLAMMABLE and combustible liquids are present in nearly every workplace. Gasoline, diesel fuel, and many common products such as solvents, thinners, cleaners, adhesives, paints, and polishes may be flammable or combustible.
FOR some years now, there has been a debate over whether it is safer to leave a portable oxy-fuel welding and cutting unit in a constant state of readiness for use, or whether the unit should be disassembled when it will not be used for "X" period of time.
Editor's note: Private and public organizations can use NFPA 1600, Standard on Disaster/Emergency Management and Business Continuity Programs, to set up effective programs for mitigation, preparation, response, and recovery from disasters and emergencies. NFPA (www.nfpa.org) has made the 2004 edition of the standard freely available on its Web site to allow for widespread use.
THE basics of heat stress are well known, as are the ways to prevent it from becoming a problem. That anyone remains at risk of heat-related serious illness, or worse, is a sign that the dangers have been forgotten or simply are being ignored.
IN June 2001, a Marietta, Ga., worker was using his feet to tamp down cardboard inside a compactor when his feet became caught in the cardboard and he was pinned inside the machine.
ENSURING subcontractor safety requirements are adequately defined is often an arduous task. Procurement specifications are used as a complement to the design package and provide additional information to the bidders that defines special conditions associated with the work site, how scrap materials are to be handled, quality provisions and, of course, safety requirements.
THE federal government finally has involved itself seriously in fire protection--a decidedly local responsibility from the days when Ben Franklin organized the first volunteer fire department. In the days since September 11, 2001
IN any large-scale industrial environment, the coordination between providing immediate assistance to injury victims and concurrent dispatch of follow-on assistance is extremely critical.
CALIFORNIA leads the nation in milk production. Its approximately 1,200 dairies produced more than 32 billion pounds of milk in 2000.
IN our work with companies striving to become safety excellence organizations, we've learned the biggest impediment to achieving improved performance is an inability to overcome the conventional "wiz-dumbs" of safety (wrongheaded thinking that impedes progress in the right direction) that inhibit organizational change.
NOISY, dusty, confusing traffic patterns, flaring tempers, constantly changing weather conditions, temporary workers and/or bilingual workers, subcontractors milling around like worker bees, traffic--did I mention stress? There are few worksites as continuously challenging as a construction site.
A common misconception: All flashlights are created equal.
Editor's note: Notifying employees and/or the public in an emergency situation is a tougher challenge in the post-9/11 world. Many facilities face an expanded threat profile that cannot be adequately addressed by a siren or some other general alarm signal. MadahCom Inc.
JUST about every industrial facility and parking lot with a manhole has the potential to contain an Occupational Safety and Health Administration-defined "confined space."
WORKER'S compensation fraud is difficult to pull off without factoring in the decisions made by a medical provider.
IN the construction industry, we often deal with new or unique situations. Because they are unusual or new, we tend to plan more intently to ensure the work goes safely.