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The deadline for training employees on the SDS and GHS labels was December 1, 2013, so you should already have done that. The next deadline is June 1, 2015, when chemical manufacturers, importers, distributors must comply with all the requirements of the GHS rule (e.g., hazard classification, SDS format). Then, by December 1, 2015, all […]
As part of its Fall Prevention Campaign, OSHA has ventured into a new area: ebook publishing. What, you might ask, do ebooks that can be read on computers and other electronic devices have to do with fall prevention? OSHA is hoping that its new 16-page booklet, Falling Off Ladders Can Kill: Use Them Safely, will […]
Falls are a leading cause of workplace injury and death. Fall protection also routinely makes OSHA’s Top 10 Violations list every year. Employees fall for many reasons: unstable working surfaces, improperly positioned ladders, misuse of fall protection, and unprotected sides and edges of working surfaces. OSHA says that you must set up your worksite to […]
Yesterday, we focused on OSHA’s safer chemicals toolkit. Today, we turn to its annotated PEL tables. OSHA recognizes that many of its permissible exposure limits (PELs) are outdated and inadequate for ensuring protection of worker health. Most of OSHA’s PELs were issued shortly after adoption of the Occupational Safety and Health Act in 1970, and […]
Recently, OSHA announced two new tools designed to help employers protect their workers from exposure to hazardous chemicals. The first tool helps employers identify safer chemicals and the second is a web resource called the “Annotated Permissible Exposure Limits,” or annotated PEL tables, which OSHA says will enable employers to voluntarily adopt newer, more protective […]
Yesterday, we looked at the potential ergonomic pitfalls of lean manufacturing. Today, we look at the flip side: “non-value-added tasks.” What if you could reduce your manufacturing costs, improve productivity, and prevent ergonomic injuries all at once? Sound too good to be true? It may not be, according to Chris Shulenberger, Certified Professional Ergonomist with […]
Yesterday, we explained how Cintas® Corporation is making workers safer by innovating. Today, we introduce you to another VPP worksite where innovative programs are also improving safety performance. Morton Salt’s Grantsville, Utah, facility is one of the company’s four worksites to have earned VPP Star status. About 10 years back, the Grantsville plant had received […]
According to NIOSH, 4 million workers go to work each day in damaging noise. Ten million people in the U.S. have a noise-related hearing loss. Twenty-two million workers are exposed to potentially damaging noise each year. Because of these statistics, NIOSH recommends that all worker exposures to noise should be controlled below a level equivalent […]
The OSHA noise exposure standards says that if any employee’s exposure equals or exceeds an 8-hour time-weighted average of 85 decibels (dB), which is the “action level,” you must develop and implement a noise monitoring program. The audiometric sampling strategy for the monitoring program should be designed to identify affected employees and enable proper selection […]
Here’s a quick review of OSHA’s rulemaking plans for 2014 and what they might mean for you and your company The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) says that the regulations OSHA will be pursuing in 2014 are part of a plan/prevent/protect approach, "designed to ensure employers and other regulated entities are in full compliance with […]