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No one wants it to happen, but an emergency, natural or manmade, can strike at anytime, 24/7. What’s more, it need not be a major, nationally-televised incident, such as a hurricane, earthquake, or act of political terror. An event as common as a local building fire can present just as large a challenge to you. These resources will help you create a plan for handling such crises, whatever their scope, and to carry it out in a way that best protects your employees and your company.
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OSHA recently reminded emergency workers, employers and the public recovering from the impact of recent tornadoes, flooding, and other severe weather to be aware of the hazards they may encounter and take necessary steps to stay safe.
In the event of a fire, chemical release, or similar disaster, your workers might need to leave the building quickly. You’ve probably established emergency evacuation routes, but have you given them a test run? What looks good on paper may not work in real life. When designating your evacuation routes, actually walk each route, observing […]
When Taylor Farms workers in Tracy arrived for the morning shift on October 15, 2015, they immediately noticed a strong chlorine smell. Twenty workers, including two pregnant women, became sick enough that they evacuated the building and called 911. According to the Tracy Fire Department, the plant’s sanitation crew had accidentally mixed two cleaning chemicals, […]
Employers sometimes fret over the cost of preventive safety measures: Was it worth hiring extra personnel to prevent an injury that might not have happened anyway? Was it worth installing extra equipment to control a hazard that workers encounter only once or twice a year? But sometimes employers don’t implement simple, inexpensive measures that could […]
When the temperature drops below freezing, your pipes are at risk. Most people, including most business owners, are aware of this risk with respect to ordinary plumbing found in bathrooms and kitchens. But, have you considered whether your workplace sprinkler system is at risk? Frozen sprinkler system piping that bursts can cause serious water damage […]
At a strip mall in Indianapolis in a storefront that was being repurposed as a tattoo parlor, the new occupants wanted to open up the space. To do so, they tore out the walls around the sprinkler control room and finished by drywalling over the sprinkler riser and control valve. The only access they left […]
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) personal protective equipment (PPE) standards for construction require that protective clothing be maintained “in a sanitary and reliable condition.”
In April 2014, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) revised its Power Generation, Transmission, and Distribution rule (29 CFR 1910.269). The revised rule includes new requirements for estimating the heat energy that workers might be exposed to in the event of an electric arc, and how to select appropriate personal protective equipment based on […]
Did you know that the EPA estimates the average cost to clean up a spill or release from an underground storage tank (UST) system is $125,000? These high costs to clean up a spill or a release can cause significant anxiety and stress on any UST owner or operator.
Violence in the workplace isn’t pleasant to think about, but recent events highlight how important it is for employers to plan for it. We have advice for building an effective “active threat” plan from security expert Jay Hart. Hart, director of Force Training Institute, leads a team of first responders, antiterrorism, cybersecurity, defensive tactics, and […]