Vintage Office Safety

Warning Signs and Tags – Would OSHA Approve Yours?

OSHA says that its specifications for workplace safety signs and tags apply to the design, application, and use of all signs or symbols intended to indicate and define specific hazards.

According to OSHA, all workplace safety signs must:

• Contain sufficient information to be easily understood.
• Be concise, accurate, and easy to read.
• Identify the hazard.
• Explain in a few words how to prevent accidents and injuries.

In addition, all signs should be placed in prominent locations where workers can see them before they face the hazard.

You also need to be sure that your signs don’t themselves constitute a hazard. That’s why OSHA requires safety signs to have rounded or blunt corners and be free of sharp edges, burrs, splinters, or other sharp projections. Also, the ends or heads of bolts or other fastening devices must be located in such a way that they can’t cause injury.

Must All Safety Training Be Documented?

Do you really need to document every bit of your safety training?  The short answer is, yes, you do, even if OSHA doesn’t require it.

More than 100 separate OSHA rules feature training requirements. Some of those standards also require you to certify that training has been successfully completed and that employees have learned the skills and information they need to work safely.

For example, OSHA’s process safety management standard (29 CFR 1910.119) requires documentation of training, as does the powered industrial truck standard (29 CFR 1910.178). And DOT’s hazardous materials transportation regulations (49 CFR Parts 171-180) require you to keep records of training conducted in the preceding 3 years.

Securing a Workplace.. Legally

With terrorism and workplace violence in the news, workers are understandably concerned about their security. While there is no way to guard against every possibility, there are policies and relatively simple measures that employers can take to help secure a facility and protect personnel and property. Lack of adequate security can result in injury to employees and long-term economic disruption for companies. Employers need to address security concerns at the very highest level of the organization, integrate it into business operations and employment policies, and create awareness in every employee.

MSDS Usage: Read It, or WAG It?

MSDSs provide essential safety and health information about the chemicals in your workplace. But they can only do their job and help protect against chemical hazards if employees actually use them. The MSDS should be the main resource employees rely on when they have questions about chemical hazards and precautions. But do they actually consult the MSDS or do they guess?

One effective way to instill the essential safety habit of actively using MSDSs is to hold refresher training on the different hazardous chemicals employees work with. Make the MSDS for each chemical the centerpiece of the training session. During the session, take employees section by section through the MSDS and show them exactly where to find the information they need and how to interpret that into action. This training can be combined with the required annual Right to Know training, or be conducted separately.

Are Employees Prepared for Emergencies?

Who needs to have an Emergency Action Plan?

There are two different, but equally correct, answers to this question. The first answer is that OSHA requires an Emergency Action Plan (EAP) only for employers who are covered by certain standards, such as “Fixed Extinguishing Systems” and “Process Safety Management of Highly Hazardous Chemicals” (other standards also require EAPs). The second answer is that every company really should have an EAP. Not only does OSHA highly recommend it, but it simply makes sense to have a plan for a safe, orderly response to emergencies such as fires, weather events, releases of hazardous substances, etc. And note that even relatively minor incidents, such as small fires or spills, constitute an “emergency” if they trigger an alarm and require employees to stop what they’re doing and evacuate their work areas.

Mandatory Training for Employees in accordance with OSHA

When it comes to workplace safety, there are many different things that need to be considered. Depending on the type of job that is being done, as well as the conditions of the work environment, certain types of training are required for employees in accordance with OSHA regulations. Too many people don’t take this training seriously enough, which is causing OSHA to publish what they are calling an ‘Outreach Trainer Watch List’. This will be a list of any trainers who have had their authorization revoked or suspended, allowing employers and employees to get the proper training without having to worry about getting it from an unreliable or unverifiable source.

OSHA Continuing Education- Getting the Training You Need Now

Many jobs require special training and education that carries on throughout the life of the career. However, none are as important as the training requirements of OSHA jobs and any position that relates to OSHA. When it comes to OSHA continuing education requirements, failing to get updated training and education doesn’t just threaten your license, it threatens your business and comes with hefty fines, which are much worse than any that the state licensing board could lay on you for letting your license expire without get CE credits.

5 Reasons to Take Continuing Education and Training Online

When it comes to regulating and maintaining OSHA certification, you cannot afford to fall behind. Getting and staying certified should be your first and foremost priority, which is why you need to take the time to find the best methods for continuing education and initial training so that you can stay on top of things now and throughout your career. Online courses are a great way to get the OSHA certification that you need, and here are 5 reasons why.

How to Prepare for an OSHA Investigation

The OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Act) was signed into law in 1970, and requires all employers and employees to follow a strict set of rules which brings safety and well being to the forefront of the workplace. If a business is being investigated by OSHA, there are definitely some preparations that need to take place. The act allows OSHA to conduct inspections whenever they need to in order to ensure that employers are following rules and complying with various standards that have been set forth. Since there are 111 million workplaces covered by the act and counting, there is no way to inspect them all. Therefore, there is a system in place to determine which facilities need inspected first.