JUST before Christmas, I went to purchase supplies at a "big box" retailer. As I turned a corner to enter a wide aisle, I saw a narrow forklift coming toward me. It was moving too fast for a retail store. The driver was traveling with forks trailing but looking behind him. He was laughing. I heard no alarm. When the forklift was 20 feet away, the driver was still unaware of my existence. He continued to drive. I screamed. He turned his head.
MY first exposure to alarm warning situations was watching the robot on “Lost in Space” alert space travelers to immediate danger. The message is the same today: Stop what you are doing, immediately react to the tone and sound, and act accordingly (avoid the hazardous situation by responding correctly). Do your employees know the sounds of safety at your workplace?
MOST people agree cultural diversity in the workplace utilizes our country's skills to their fullest, while also contributing to our overall growth and prosperity. However, many of the workers employed in the commercial and industrial sectors continue to rely mostly, if not totally, on their native tongue.
IN the wake of a most devastating 2005 hurricane season with deadly storms named Katrina, Rita, and Wilma, many safety managers will undoubtedly find top management asking tough questions: "What are our risks and threats to customers, employees, operations and property? What type of enhancements to plant safety and emergency planning and response are justified?"
"YOUR Speed" driver feedback signs have become increasingly popular devices for slowing traffic and increasing workers' safety. Thanks to new technologies, these signs have become more effective and easier to deploy than ever before.
EMERGENCY responders have helped protect Americans from hazardous substance releases since our nation's beginnings. From the bucket brigades of colonial times to today's in-plant and community hazardous materials response teams, response workers have taken action during emergency releases to save lives, preserve property, and protect the public good.
TRADITIONAL methods for illuminating signage are giving way to new/old technology. I say new/old because Light Emitting Diodes, or LEDs, have been around since the 1960s. The technology has caught up and enabled LEDs to become commonplace within the last five to seven years because of new processes and the fact that materials have become less expensive to produce.
ON the heels of yet another federal investigation attributing chemical-related deaths and injuries to defective hazard communications systems in the workplace, few would question that a public health crisis is afoot. More than 30 million American workers are exposed each day to hazardous chemicals at the workplace, with upwards of a half-million chemicals being stored and used in today's hospitals, manufacturing plants, and industrial facilities.
WHAT are the biggest safety problems on summer construction sites? Noise, moving vehicles, heat, and falls from height come readily to mind. But some of the most common hazards are more subtle: Communication problems, poor housekeeping, and a wrongheaded safety approach are factors.
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.
INTENDED to remind workers of safety hazards, warning signs are not necessarily the quick and easy safety reminders they are supposed to be.
HOW does the theory of adult education fit into Hazard Communication training? What truly is "effective training" as required by OSHA? Does HazCom training have to be boring?
TWO high-rise building evacuations last year focused building owners and city officials nationwide on the issues of adequate signage and evacuation systems. Thousands of workers and diplomats successfully found their way out of the United Nations headquarters in Manhattan during the massive Aug. 14 electrical blackout.
IN theory, warnings are an important means for accident prevention. They reveal hidden hazards so the user of a product or facility can avoid injury. Unfortunately, warnings frequently, and some would say usually, fail to affect behavior.
EACH year, millions of people are injured in the workplace. One of the most difficult tasks facing employers is to identify the hazards associated with the products and equipment used by their employees. Such careful considerations will not only provide a safe work environment for the employee, but protect the employer as well, in that costs associated with workplace injuries (loss of productivity, worker's compensation) and litigation will be minimized.