The Safety BlogThe Safety BlogA professionally written occupational safety and health blog. Contains extensive and in depth topics about construction, manufacturing and workplace safety for industry professionals. Sponsored by Safety Services Company
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New MSHA (Mine Safety) Products from Safety Services Company
2008-03-06 17:21:00 Just wanted to bring everyone's attention to our new MSHA products which can be found on our MSHA page. Safety Services Company offers a 52 meeting annual MSHA refresher training program (Part 46.8) and a MSHA Form 5000-23 Certificate of Training for each employee. We also offer a Surface Workplace Checklist and Legal Identity Report. If you want to see more information, please Click Here. More About: Products , Industry News
The Importance of Mentoring in Construction/Manufacturing Jobsites
2008-03-05 01:25:00 Todays post is an extension of yesterday's, on the topic of inexperienced workers. On the job mentoring is the cheapest and most cost effective, not to mention BEST form of training available to companies. How many times have you wanted to help out a fellow worker that you observed struggling but you could not find the time? He or she eventually left the job because they could not handle the pressure. Now you look back and know that if you had spent some time with them everything may have turned out differently. A mentor is a wise and trusted teacher. Knowledge, hard work, trustworthiness, respect, and fairness make a mentor an invaluable asset on any job. The best way to communicate with new workers is to be honest, informative, and straight forward. When you attempt to communicate with a new worker you use both verbal and nonverbal communication. You can communicate more clearly, accurately, and credibly when you become more conscious of your body language. When verba... More About: Construction , Mentoring , Manufacturing
Hiring Inexperienced Workers
2008-03-04 00:06:00 Today I want to talk about getting ready for Summertime and some of the risks and concerns that you should consider when hiring in-experienced workers. We need to be aware of the experience of the worker being hired (hiring young and aspiring hard workers as well as those that need to save up money for college expenses). New worker training is very important! Retraining all workers is also important. The following is a true story: In November a 21-year-old male laborer died after being hit in the head with the bucket of a track hoe. He was wearing a safety helmet at the time of the incident. There were six to seven workers at the job site when the incident occurred. The work crew was pouring the footing for a retaining wall as part of a bridge for a private runway being built. The concrete form collapsed, trapping one worker and almost trapping two others. The decedent had left to retrieve a shovel to help free the trapped co-worker. As he retrieved the shovel, he walked i... More About: Workers , Hiring
Darwin Awards Winner of 2000 - Death While Filming a Safety Video
2008-02-29 03:54:00 It seems that ironic safety related deaths are in abundance these days, taken from the 2000 darwin awards it seems a safety demonstration went wrong when, on camera, a man was demonstrating the proper forklift safety techniques. Unfortunately, he did not practice proper forklift safety precautions. He was thrown from the forklift while exceeding the proper forklift speed and of course, not wearing a seatbelt. Remember guys, wear a seatbelt! FOLLOW THE FORKLIFT SAFETY RULES More About: Video , Safety , Awards , Darwin , Industry News
Forklift Safety
2008-02-05 04:09:00 In 30 years of construction experience i'd be hard pressed to think of a company I worked for who didn't have a forklift on at least 1 jobsite everyday. In many ways they are considered the backbone of most construction/manufacturing jobsites. Generally we all feel comfortable operating them on a day to day basis but it is good to refresh ourselves on the proper safety precautions involved with forklifts. Every year, over 100 people are killed, and more than 20,000 are injured in forklift related accidents. OSHA mandates strict guidelines associated with the operation of forklifts which are as follows : (29 CFR* 1910.178 & 29 CFR 1910.178(q)(7)) On all grades, the load and loadengaging means shall be tilted back, if applicable, and raised only as far as needed to clear the road surface. The forks shall not be raised or lowered while the forklift is moving [29 CFR 1910.178 (n)(7)(iii)]. ... More About: Safety , Forklift
Free Mock OSHA Inspection
2008-02-02 01:43:00 As a prequel to the following post I want to state that it is never our intent as a company to 'scare' our clients into purchasing any of our products. The nature of our industry is such that people never even think about workplace safety until they have been inspected already, so we have to scramble and fight to re-build rules and precautions that should have been there from the beginning. Please understand that the following information is based on our experience (most of us here have several years in construction/manufacturing experience) and while we are absolutely a for-profit company, we take a genuine interest and care for the safety and care of those who work alongside us. If you don't believe that OSHA Inspections can lead to big trouble, I suggest you take 10 minutes to browse the Bureau of Labor Statistics Website, Safety and Health Statistics page. Have you ever wondered what would happen if you were to be inspected by OSHA? What areas they focus on? Do you expe... More About: Industry News , Free , Mock
A Great Construction Manager
2008-02-01 20:37:00 I'm going to mix things up a bit today by opening up the blog to suggestions on something i've been working on. The following is a list of good/bad things myself and the other Safety Specialists here have observed from good managers over the years, with some bad ones thrown in as well. You can use this to gauge your effectiveness as a Safety/Construction Manager , and please, take the time to make suggestions of your own by using the comments below. I (Patrick) say A good manager: - Is confident - Works hard - Trusts one?s employees - Is honest/authentic - Has great team-building skills - Has effective coaching skills - Has the ability to say ?no? - Has a broad perspective - Has patience - Has decision making skills - Has a good attitude that sets the tone for entire company Amadonna says a good manager is able to: - Be a good listener - Value the people they work with - Create a career path for employees and support them getting there - Think strategically Linc... More About: Great
Man Dies in Fall from Roof
2008-01-25 22:25:00 This title may make you think that the man was up on a roof and fell off. This was not just any man. This was Ken Hendricks. Ken was the 91st richest man in the United States. His net worth is $3.5 billion. How did he get so rich, you ask? he started his own roofing company at age 21, and then started a national roofing supply distribution chain (ABC Supply Company). From everything I have read he was a well liked man. A couple of years ago he was quoted as saying ?I?ll sell the company over my dead body?. ABC Supply Company has 6,000 employees in 390 locations doing $3 billion in sales a year. So how does a man who has been in the roofing business since working with his father as a youngster (his dad was a roofer) die of massive head injuries when roofing has been his life? He fell through his own garage roof. Ken was checking on construction work being performed on his garage roof when he fell through. Ken was not wearing fall protection. Anytime roofing work is in pr... More About: Industry News , Roof , Fall , Dies
Fantastic Safety Resource
2008-01-23 01:38:00 Another excellent resource was brought to my attention in the comments, David Wright from iamwright.com runs a fairly regularly updated blog. From what I have seen he has great stuff, give him some love! http://blog.iamwright.com -George Davis More About: Safety , Resource
Tips for Team Lifting
2008-01-22 21:36:00 Do you have trouble communicating to your workers that two heads are better than one? Sometimes two sets of hands, as well as two bodies, can be better then one; especially when it comes to lifting items that require more than one worker to lift. Lifting injuries are not just back injuries. Lifting results in work-related musculoskeletal disorders that include: - 13% of the hand/wrist - 22% of the elbow - 30% of the shoulder - 43% of the back Lifting heavy items is one of the leading causes of injury (overexertion and cumulative trauma) in the workplace. Team lifting must be coordinated with all actions communicated between team members. When you use smart lifting practices and work in your power zone, you are less likely to suffer from back sprains, muscle pulls, wrist injuries, elbow injuries, spinal injuries, and other injuries caused by lifting those heavy objects. Training all by itself, without making changes to the workplace, is often not effective in preventing in... More About: Tips
Vacations and Video Display Disease!
2008-01-21 23:08:00 Our writing team has been out on extended vacation, but were back in full swing, today we talk about proper ergonomics for people who work on computers. Do you ever get VDD (Video Display Disease ) from your VDT (Video Display Terminal)? Yes, I do too. The long hours at the computer can add up to all kinds of health problems. My boss will not spend the money to buy me an ergonomic chair. There are many new chairs that would improve my productivity. Here is what I experience. How about you? Back Problem: When my chair is too soft, I sink into the seat pan. This restricts movement and causes thigh, buttock, and lower back fatigue. When my chair is too hard, I need to change postures frequently to relieve thigh and buttock discomfort. What a bummer! What should I do? Your chair should be designed to allow free movement while sitting. The chair must be properly designed for comfort, efficiency, and the task. Because your chair is a very personal item, you must be involved in the se... More About: Vacations
The Dangers of Mold in the Workplace
2008-01-04 22:02:00 One resource that I feel is grossly under-utilized is the SHIB's (Safety and Health Information Bulletins) that OSHA releases throughout the year. The content is jam packed with great warnings and tips for creating a safe work environment, and they are generally written in a format that is easier to read than the actual laws which correlate to them. What I'm going to spotlight today is a bulletin that was released way back in 2003 regarding a workplace hazard that applies to just about EVERY office, period. "A Brief Guide to Mold in the Workplace " contains some great tips we're going to outline here. The first and biggest point is to recognize that the best way to get rid of mold, is to prevent it from happening in the first place. OSHA suggests some of the following : 1. Repair broken pipes and fixtures as soon as possible. 2. Address damp/wet areas immediately. 3. Keep HVAC drip pans open, clear and unobstructed. 4. Implementing proper draining in and around your building... More About: Industry News
Hexavalent Chromium
2008-01-03 23:28:00 The following is a response which to a forum thread at safetyforums.com (currently down). There was a post where Mark Thomas asked about Hexavalent Chromium and I thought this was an excellent opportunity to respond, as our senior writer, Patrick Brayton, has been updating our programs here at Safety Services to include some of the new requirements. I have posted Mark's original forum post until safetyforums is back up. : "I'm interested in hearing about safety people's experiences in meeting OSHA's new chromium (VI) safety standard 1910.1026 There are significant welding operations at our plant, including stainless steel welding. We carried out extensive breathing zone 8-hour TWA exposure monitoring for hexavalent chromium. All came back below the PEL and action level. This confirmed the adequacy of our engineering controls and work practices. However, our guys occasionally work off site on client repair and maintenance jobs doing Shielded Metal Arc welding (SMAW). Engine... More About: Industry News
OSHA in 2007
More articles from this author:2008-01-02 22:02:00 Following is a thorough article written by OccupationalHazards.com Below is only an excerpt to protect the content of the site, however you can read the full article Here. "OccupationalHazards.com decided to assess how OSHA handled itself in 2007 via a series of interviews with distinguished occupational safety and health professionals and experts based in Washington D.C. For this year-end review, which will take form as a three-part series starting on Jan. 2, 2008, we will analyze what OSHA accomplished and didn?t accomplish in 2007, what it should and shouldn?t have done and if Congressional oversight had any impact in the way it conducted business." Read More... More About: Industry News 1, 2 |
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