With the hint of springtime comes a renewal of energy and a newfound determination to get ahead of all those safety job demands! We build and rebuild our "to do" lists and scrutinize each entry, trying to improve the great and bring up to compliance the not-so-great portions of our company's safety program. (Anyone who believes his program cannot be improved is sadly mistaken!)
Question: One of our forklift truck operators recently complained of headache. I think he might have been overexposed to carbon monoxide (CO).
It was a model job site, each employee wearing spotlessly clean safety glasses or goggles at every workstation. (Here is where experience comes in, however. The trash cans and floors held the evidence: newly deposited wrappers from someone walking through and handing out new equipment just before the inspection!)
Owners of Class E office buildings in New York have an alternative to tape-based photoluminescent safety products currently in use on stairs and stairwell landings.
Applying to about 8,600 federal buildings, the interim policy says the transporters' speed must be limited to 3 mph.
Increasingly, health & safety professionals find themselves the dubious owners of a variety of software tools and large-scale software systems. These tools and systems serve a variety of purposes, from assessment to measurement, to data management and analysis, to large-scale EH&S program automation and administration.
The summer of 2003 was one of the wettest in Maryland history. Later that fall, an indoor environmental quality (IEQ) investigation in a leased facility revealed mold growth in the air handing units (AHUs) and main supply duct of all 12 of the building’s HVAC systems. During the next two months, we worked with occupants, our leasing agent, the building owner, and his contractor to successfully remediate the mold growth. We decided to assess mechanical hygiene in 15 other buildings.
The company has received a report of a consumer suffering an electric shock after an electrical component came into contact with an ungrounded nozzle on one of the recalled units.
I’ve seen many executives and senior managers sincerely seeking to enhance employee involvement. They realize engaged workers are more likely to be more motivated, do higher-quality work, make better suggestions, deliver improved service, be more alert and aware—and show far better Safety results.
Sawn fingers, severed limbs, crushed torsos, and blinded eyes are among the many and sometimes deadly injuries common to sawmill work. Today’s laser-enhanced, electronically operated blades are a far cry from the water-powered saws of yesteryear, but the industry’s hazards have remained largely the same since the nation’s first mill was built at Jamestown, Va., in 1608. Four hundred years later, OSHA still considers sawmilling one of the most dangerous occupations in the country.
The theme for the Feb. 19-20 event, held at the NTSB Training Center in Ashburn, Va., is "Developing a Healthy Safety Culture."
In addition to the busy manufacturing facility, the secretive operation's distribution channels bring a host of additional hazards, which are clearly being well managed, said the Worker's Compensation Board of Nova Scotia.
Employment tests are effective tools, but employers using them must take care not to violate federal anti-discrimination laws.
Participants in steel and airline plans are the most likely to have their benefits reduced, the agency says.
This standard incorporates a new annex to help users estimate and evaluate risks from potential hazards in the environment or in facilities, and select the appropriate alerting signal word and sign format consistent with the type and degree of hazard.
Engineers and owners need the latest data to make good decisions about HVAC systems for specific applications.
Fire detection systems are designed to discover fires early in their development when time will still be available for the safe evacuation of occupants. Early detection also plays a significant role in protecting the safety of emergency response personnel. Property loss can be reduced and downtime for the operation minimized through early detection because control efforts are started while the fire is still small.
The leader of any organization is the safety officer, the head of the organization. Managers and supervisors are safety officers for their respective units and are directly responsible for protecting the resources entrusted to them. Safety must be the core value. However, the predicament is how to effect a value system among individuals—each having his or her own that may already be set in stone. We must realize that not all of our beliefs are the same beliefs others hold. Each of us sees the world differently, and we cannot expect to believe that all will respond the same.
The best way to manage on-thejob hazards is to make sure every step is taken to avoid them. One way to help prevent accidents is by utilizing a safety signage program to keep employees informed and educated about possible hazards, company procedures, and general safety tips.
DHS issued new guidelines after months of discussions prompted by 362 arrests in New Bedford, Mass., last March.