Practical EHS Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
A safety culture is an essential element of an safe and productive workplace. A successful safety culture is based on 8 core elements. The term “safety culture” reflects the commitment of personnel to safety at all levels of the organization. Safety culture has been defined in a variety of ways, such as: “The way we […]
What is a safety culture? It’s the set of values that management and the workforce use to determine how they act at work. Safety should not be viewed or stated simply as a priority, says James Roughton, Safety Professional with a MS in Safety, a CSP, CRSP, CHMM, CIT, CET, and Six Sigma Black Belt. […]
Because most workplace emergencies happen with little or no warning, you need to ensure that workers know in advance what they should and should not do in case of an emergency. They may not have time during an emergency to read the company policy for the particular emergency they are facing. Late summer can bring […]
Yesterday, we talked about design requirements for emergency exit routes. Today, we review OSHA’s emergency exit maintenance, safeguarding, and operational requirements. OSHA standards require emergency exit routes to be maintained in safe and fully operational condition at all times. This means you must: Keep exit routes free of explosive or highly flammable furnishings and other […]
When assessing the potential for respiratory hazard exposure in the workplace, OSHA says the key issues are when, what, and how much. OSHA defines an exit route as “a continuous and unobstructed path of exit travel from any point within a workplace to a place of safety.” An exit route consists of three parts: Exit […]
Respirator cartridges and canisters don’t last forever, and replacing them at the appropriate time is an essential element of protecting employees from respiratory hazards. Paragraph (d)(3)(iii)(B)(2) of OSHA’s respiratory protection standard (29 CFR 1910.134) says that if your employees use air-purifying respirators, you must develop a cartridge/canister change schedule. The useful service life of a […]
When assessing the potential for respiratory hazard exposure in the workplace, OSHA says the key issues are when, what, and how much. Paragraph (d)(1)(iii) of the Respiratory Protection Standard (29 CFR 1910.134) requires you to identify and evaluate the respiratory hazards in your workplace. Specifically it says: “The employer shall identify and evaluate the respiratory […]
It’s a new world of communication these days, and to keep your training current, you need to find ways to use new social media technologies in your training program. In fact, social media tools can help promote retention of training content, according to Thomas Stone, product design architect with Element K®. As the use of […]
Got safety plans to ensure OSHA compliance? These employers didn’t, and look what happened to them. Here are some recent OSHA enforcement actions that highlight the need to implement effective safety plans to avoid accidents, injuries, and OSHA breathing down your neck. OSHA Says Manufacturer Willfully Exposed Workers A manufacturer in Ohio faces $536,000 in […]