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 [...]

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 [...]

Health and safety plans.  Intimidating?  Serious?  It sounds like too much?  Well, actually not so.  First, you want a safety plan.  It helps you, your employees, and other companies you work with to understand your safety requirements.  Second, if you use the safety plan as a safety training tool you can educate and keep your [...]

Driving.  Everyone does it.  Many businesses rely on vehicles (commercial and personal vehicles) to carry out their business.  For many of the first years I worked as a safety professional I heard other safety people talk about lock out tag out, fall protection, slips-trips and falls, and confined space as the big work place hazards.  [...]

Work place safety subject matter experts can help clarify job safety responsibilities in cases involving work place injury or death.  Work place safety is governed by either the Occupational Safety Health Administration (OSHA) or Mine Safety Health Administration, (MSHA).  Both of these federal work place safety organizations have regulatory safety standards which have been interpreted [...]

No one expects an emergency or disaster to occur.  But that is where Emergency Crisis Planning comes in.  Pre planing and training of employees, supervisors and labor alike, can mitigate the negative impacts of an emergency or disaster.  Emergency Crisis plans  outline escape procedures, escape routes, emergency shut down procedures, the use of fire extinguishers, [...]

Being struck by an object or piece of equipment or tasks where an object can strike an employee is commonly recognized as a “struck by hazard.”  Struck by incidents typically result in serious injury.  Imagine an employee working around an excavator.  This type of equipment swings and a common source of struck by incidents comes [...]

I’ve been a safety professional for approximately 20 years.  During that time I frequently heard about fire, electricity, falls, confined spaces and chemical exposure safety hazards.   Was I surprised to learn that the number one cause of workplace injuries/fatalities was motor vehicle accidents.  What makes this so?  A lot of business uses motor vehicles for [...]