Workplace Compliance

One of the potential hazards faced by standup forklift operators is the crushing hazard that may arise when traveling, with the forks trailing, in a warehouse near a storage rack or similar obstruction. The risk is that a horizontal rack beam (crossbar) or similar obstruction might enter the operator’s compartment in a situation referred to as “under-ride”.

Did you know that approximately half of all businesses required to meet the ANSI standard for eyewash remain in non-compliance? That is pretty scary news and there really are no excuses when you consider just how easy it is to get your facility back into proper compliance.

It’s that time of year once again…no, it’s not income tax time, that’s coming up soon enough. It’s time to post your annual OSHA 300 log summary. You must post a copy of the annual summary in each facility in a place or places where notices to employees are customarily posted.

The National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) recently published ANSI/NEMA FL 1-2009 Flashlight Basic Performance Standard. This voluntary standard was established by a coalition of fourteen lighting tool manufacturers.

Recently, I have received several calls from customer requesting information about the clearance distances and identifying the work space around electrical equipment.

Recently OSHA provided more information regarding the maintenance of medical evaluation and fit test records as required by the Respiratory Protection Standard, 29 CFR 1910.134. Listed below are several questions and answers from the OSHA interpretation letter.

High-visibility garments are required safety attire for highway and road construction workers according to a new letter of interpretation recently released by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (on October 20th).

Statistics suggest that the cause of death associated with confined space entry has not changed appreciably in recent years. While it is critical to comply with all aspects of the OSHA “Permit-Required Confined Space” requirements (29 CFR 1910.146), I feel there are 3 specific aspects to the law which can prevent most of the fatalities that have occurred.

Before an employee is permitted to wear a respirator a fit test must be completed. The fit test procedure requires the user to perform several test exercises listed below.

The last point of our Four Point Safety System discussion is training. An effective accident prevention program requires proper job performance from everyone in the workplace.