Electricity. What is the old saying I’ve heard, no cares about electricity but everyone cares about cold beer? If you’ve ever been on the receiving end of an electrical jolt you know it was an unpleasant surprise. And, such a jolt was at the end of a low voltage contact. Higher voltages and amps can [...]
Do you have a hazardous communication (Haz Com) program? What is an Haz Comm program? Do I need an Haz Comm program? Let’s answer these questions in reverse order. Yes, you need an Haz Comm program if you have hazardous chemicals in the workplace. Hazardous chemicals include flammable gases/aerosols, liquids or solids, anything corrosive to [...]
If you know the top 10 non complying safety conditions for which the Occupational Safety Health Administration (OSHA) identifies as hazards to your employees, you have a good starting point. Are you a small business? Have a limited safety budget? Do you want to help keep your employees safe at work? Consider looking at the [...]
Safety rules are written in blood. Avoid blood. The Occupational Safety Health Act (OSHA) and the Mine Safety Health Act (MSHA) are federal safety laws. These laws govern how workplace tasks are carried out. The purpose of these laws is to safeguard employees in the workplace. But I recall one safety trainer’s safety class who [...]
Asking the right questions during discovery. Or knowing where to tap. A homeowner has a plugged sink drain. He tried a liquid drain cleaner. He tried a plumbing snake. He tried a plunger, all to no avail. Frustrated he called a plumber. The plumber comes out, spends a few minutes observing the pipes and then [...]
Electricity is all around us. It is in our homes and offices and places of work. Electricity is a great tool for making our personal and working lives more convenient, improve work efficiency and more comfortable. But, like anything that can help us it can hurt us as well. So, a few basic safety practices [...]
A repeat OSHA violation exists where an employer has been previously cited for a substantially similar unsafe condition. Plus, the citation has become a final order of the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission or the final abatement date of the previous citation, whichever is later. (OSHA Letter of Interpretation. March 18, 1998.) Have more [...]
Employer Beware: OSHA Repeat Violations. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) can look back 3 years of a business’s citation history to determine whether a “repeat” violation condition exists. (The OSHA statute does not, in fact, state a time limitation, rather, OSHA has settled on a policy to look back only three years. Letter [...]
Dealing with OSHA Citations The Occupational Safety Health Administration (OSHA) is a federal agency designed to provide safety information, safety training suggestions, and safety programs. The focus of OSHA is assisting employers to provide a safe workplace free of hazards to employees. OSHA also has an enforcement function. If an employer is allowing a noncomplying [...]
The big top 10 OSHA violations for 2018. Or being informed is being armed. The top 10 OSHA violations have been fall protection, scaffolding, respiratory protection, LOTO, ladders, forklifts, fall protection, machine guarding, eye/face protection, hazardous communication. So, knowing what OSHA commonly finds during investigations or site audits can be helpful to the employer and [...]