Tag: safety at work

Major Changes to the Hazard Communication Standard

New changes to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) Hazard Communication Standard are bringing the United States into alignment with the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS), further improving safety and health protections for America’s workers. Building on the success of OSHA’s current Hazard Communication Standard, the GHS is expected to prevent injuries and illnesses, save lives and improve trade conditions for chemical manufacturers. The Hazard Communication Standard in 1983 gave the workers the ‘right to know,’ but the new Globally Harmonized System gives workers the ‘right to understand.

Hazard classification: Provides specific criteria for classification of health and physical hazards, as well as classification of mixtures.

Labels: Chemical manufacturers and importers will be required to provide a label that includes a harmonized signal word, pictogram, and hazard statement for each hazard class and category. Precautionary statements must also be provided.

Safety Data Sheets: Will now have a specified 16-section format.

Information and training: Employers are required to train workers by December 1, 2013 on the new labels elements and safety data sheets format to facilitate recognition and understanding.

via Hazard Communication.

Effective Safety Committees

Safety committees are a key part of safety in the workplace. They can provide a central focus when they represent all functions or departments to allow the organization to take an overall look at safety requirements and to foresee problems. They can provide a sounding board by being a visible and approachable body for safety or health complaints and suggestions. Finally, they can provide central coordination of safety training activities.

via Safety Committees training, regulations, analysis, news, and tools – Safety.BLR.com.

Workplace Emergency Plans

Like individuals and families, schools, daycare providers, workplaces, neighborhoods and apartment buildings should all have site-specific emergency plans. Ask about plans at the places where your family spends the most time: work, school and other places you frequent. If none exist, consider volunteering to help develop one. You will be better prepared to safely reunite your family and loved ones during an emergency if you think ahead, and communicate with others in advance.

via Workplace Plans | Ready.gov.

Aging Workers

Are there any specific health and safety concerns related to aging workers?

A few. Most studies say that older workers tend to have fewer accidents, but when an older worker does get injured, their injuries are often more severe. They also may take longer to get better. Plus, the types of injuries can be different. Younger workers tend to get more eye or hand injuries, while older workers who have been working for many years report more back injuries.

via Aging Workers : OSH Answers.

Control of Hazardous Energy (Lockout/Tagout)

What is hazardous energy?

Energy sources including electrical, mechanical, hydraulic, pneumatic, chemical, thermal or other sources in machines and equipment can be hazardous to workers. During the servicing and maintenance of machines and equipment, the unexpected startup or release of stored energy could cause injury to employees.

Control hazardous energy by following Lockout/Tagout procedures.

via Safety and Health Topics | Control of Hazardous Energy (Lockout/Tagout).

What Can Safety Learn from Lean?

If you think lean is only for manufacturing, look it up on Wikipedia. You will find that lean principles, lean thinking and lean tools have been adapted and applied to everything from service industries to software development and now are being used to reduce the greatest waste of all: workplace injuries.

via What Can Safety Learn from Lean? | Safety content from EHS Today.

How to Prevent Needlestick and Sharps Injuries

Needlestick and other sharps injuries are a serious hazard in any healthcare setting. Contact with contaminated needles, scalpels, broken glass, and other sharps may expose healthcare workers to blood that contains pathogens which pose a grave, potentially lethal risk.

via CDC – NIOSH Publications and Products – Home Healthcare Workers: How to Prevent Needlestick and Sharps Injuries (2012-123).

Noise and Hearing Loss Prevention

Occupational hearing loss is the most common work-related injury in the United States.  Approximately 22 million U.S. workers exposed to hazardous noise levels at work, and an additional 9 million exposed to ototoxic chemicals. An estimated $242 million is spent annually on worker’s compensation for hearing loss disability.

via CDC – Noise and Hearing Loss Prevention – NIOSH Workplace Safety and Health Topic.

Construction Safety and Health

Construction workers build our roads, houses, workplaces, and repair/maintain our nations physical infrastructure. This work includes many hazardous tasks and conditions such as work at height, excavations, noise, dust, power tools and equipment, confined spaces and electricity.

via CDC – Construction Safety and Health – NIOSH Workplace Safety and Health Topic.