Practical EHS Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
OSHA says 70 percent of workers sustaining hand injuries were not wearing gloves, and that the other 30 percent were wearing improper or damaged gloves. These estimates underscore the need for proper glove selection and care. Some general glove use and care instructions for your next safety meeting on hand protection include: Make sure the […]
Combustible dust explosions have destroyed workplaces and killed employees. Take action now to prevent a disaster. A comprehensive approach to preventing and controlling combustible dust hazards is essential to prevent deadly explosions. Some general rules include the following: Do not allow employees to use compressed air, dry sweeping, or other cleaning methods that can disperse […]
OSHA has issued guidance for its inspectors to determine if makers and importers of chemicals have correctly classified products as combustible dust hazards under the revised Hazard Communication (HazCom) Standard (or HCS). The recent guidance, issued as an interpretation and sent to OSHA regional administrators, affects manufacturers and importers of chemicals (“classifiers”), not users. In […]
Do you have a plan for when the power goes out unexpectedly? You should. A power outage can amount to much more than just a brief inconvenience. It can create safety issues that workers may not recognize unless they have been told to expect them. Consider these questions to identify and plan for possible hazards […]
Beware counterfeit products that could cause electrical accidents in the workplace. What are the most frequently counterfeited products in the world? Rolex watches? Louis Vuitton wallets? Try Viagra. In a close second place, though, and of much greater concern for workplace safety experts, are electrical products and components. More than 1 million counterfeited electrical products […]
Yesterday, we focused on key aspects of OSHA’s lockout/tagout standard. Today, we conclude this quick review of written procedure and training requirements. As an employer, you are required to establish written procedures for locking out the piece of machinery or equipment that will be worked on and to provide training for all employees who might […]
Every year, people are killed on the job by activated machinery. Many of those deaths could have been prevented by following lockout/tagout procedures to turn off machinery that is being serviced or repaired. OSHA’s rules and procedures for lockout/tagout are found at 29 CFR 1910.147. The standard identifies three employee roles: Authorized employees are those […]