The United States Department of Labor, OSHA, requires that employers provide employees with the skills and tools to identify, correct, or eliminate a hazard. Employees must have training in all aspects of their working career and is an ongoing requirement. Specialized training, general awareness, and operation training come to mind for employees. Sometimes this can be handled with the OSHA 10-hour or OSHA 30-hour trainings. Unfortunately, the 10- and 30-hour trainings are general awareness and are many times not detailed enough to be considered as operations level training. In these cases, employers must ensure that employees receive additional training on the topic to ensure they are fully aware of the requirements for safe work. Fall protection training for example is based on compliance with the regulations and not what a manufacturer may require. This leads to a need for additional training.  Continue Reading →

2016 brings the final implementation of OSHA’s Hazard Communication Standard (HCS) to become fully compliant with the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals  (GHS). Continue Reading →

Heat is the number one weather-related killer in the United States, resulting in hundreds of fatalities each year. Be able to recognize the symptoms of heat related emergencies and know how to respond. Working in hot and humid weather, being in the sun, and doing hard physical work are things that need to be taken seriously. You are also at risk while doing yard work, playing sports, and other leisure activities. Continue Reading →

A review the OSHA stats regarding fatalities readily highlights trends on how workers are being hurt and killed. In fact in the latest report, five of the first seven incidents listed, show workers who died from some sort of fall. It is important to remember here that non-work related injuries and fatalities often mirror the OSHA statistics. Continue Reading →

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), thousands of people are blinded each year from work related eye injuries. Nearly 60% of those injuries occurred to workers who were not wearing the proper eye and face protection. In fact, not wearing the proper Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) to protect your eyes is like throwing darts with your eyes as the intended target. Would you actually do this? I don’t think so! Continue Reading →

OSHA recently announced its fiscal year 2012 top 10 most frequently cited violations in the workplace. Many of these violations make the top 10 list year after year, although the order changes slightly. Note that fall protection has garnered the top spot for the last two years. Continue Reading →