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Step 1: Know Which Agency Rules Apply The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), OSHA, and the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) each have separate training rules, but there is often overlap among the various training requirements. For example, an employer may have workers managing hazardous waste and have the […]
It’s one of the most basic public health and sanitation measures: the toilet facility. It’s also one of the most basic human needs: the need to eliminate. Despite this, restroom availability and use have been a persistent sticking point between employers and their workers—one with implications for worker health and safety. As such, the availability […]
Temporary workers are a high-risk group for serious injuries and illnesses. One way to help ensure that they don’t fall through the cracks between the leasing agency’s safety program and the host employer’s safety program is for both employers to implement an effective I2P2 program. Yesterday, we looked at the regulatory requirements that cover I2P2 […]
Sometimes, two heads are better than one. It ought to be that way with temporary workers, who have essentially two employers, both of whom are supposed to be looking out for their safety. But in practice, miscommunication and poorly defined responsibilities lead to gaps in worker training, hazard identification, and supervision that have served to […]
Yesterday, we looked at OSHA’s answers to some employers’ questions about training certification and LOTO verification. Today, we’ll look at what OSHA has to say about workers performing maintenance on plug-and-cord-connected equipment covered under an exception in the LOTO rules. Employers often write to OSHA asking for clarifications of its requirements. Sometimes, OSHA writes back. […]
Here’s a question: Your employees carry identification badges that identify the individual employee when it is swiped on an electronic reader. The badges are used for workplace security, documenting time on the clock, and recording attendance in training classes. The badge-swiping system identifies individual employees, but is not equivalent to an “electronic signature.” Is it […]
Today’s Advisor reports on OSHA’s new safety and health training program for the public sector. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) jurisdiction doesn’t extend to the public sector, but that doesn’t mean the agency is neglecting the safety and health of state and local government employees. Late in 2013, OSHA launched a new certificate […]
The earliest recorded disaster involving ammonium nitrate (AN) occurred on April 16, 1947, in Texas City, Texas. A transport vessel loaded with 2,600 tons of AN caught fire; when the fire spread to the sealed storage hold, the transport exploded, killing 581 people—including all but one member of the Texas City Fire Department. We’ve known […]
On April 17, 2013, fire broke out in a wooden warehouse at West Fertilizer Company in West, Texas. As the town’s volunteer fire department mobilized to respond, 30 tons of ammonium nitrate (AN) fertilizer in an adjacent wooden warehouse exploded. Fifteen people died, including 12 volunteer firefighters. An apartment building, many houses, and a nursing […]
The Internet is where it’s at these days—you can do everything from order a pizza to read your professional journals online. But the signal-to-noise ratio can be high, too—it can be hard to find the most reliable and useful resources among the Internet clutter. So we’ve collected four online resources—besides Safety.BLR.com®!—where you can find some […]