Aerial Lifts - Working at Elevations Injuries from falls are one of the most common and severe workplace accidents. Employees must understand how to identify fall hazards and the ways they can protect themselves. Areas Where Fall Hazards Exist: Any height greater than 4 feet is considered a hazard and must be protected. This includes: Roofs Floor Openings              · Loading Docks               · Work Platforms   Ways to Protect Employees from Fall Hazards: The most effective way to protect employees from falls is by eliminating the hazard. Passive systems such as guardrails and covers remove the employee’s exposure to the hazard.   Passive Systems Administrative Controls Active Systems Guardrails Covers Boundary Lines Signs / Access Control Fall...

Sleep Deprivation Whether it’s due to workloads, or working side jobs, the result is the same – sleep deprivation. Many workers are arriving on the job overly tired or sleep-deprived. Sleep deprivation or fatigue can affect a worker’s manual dexterity, reaction time, and alertness. Worker fatigue or lack of sleep can affect judgment and safety. And workers aren’t the only ones suffering the consequences of sleepiness on the job it’s costing employers money and, in some cases, putting the public’s safety at risk. Studies show that workers are not only getting less sleep than they should; they’re getting less than they used...

Personal Ergonomics What is Ergonomics? Ergonomics is the science of matching tools and tasks to the work environment. In other words, ergonomics tries to make your job fit you, rather than making you fit your job. The purpose of ergonomics is to reduce or eliminate injuries and illnesses that can result from stress on muscles, nerves, and joints. These types of injuries have been common to workplaces for a long time, but safety standards concerning them are new. If OSHA finds that poor ergonomics is a threat to employee well-being, it can cite a company for violating its duty to provide...

Hard Hats Shall = Mandatory.  Should = Advisory. There really isn't any excuse for not wearing hard hats on jobs that require it. The miracles of chemistry and manufacturing have turned out head protection to fit every need and about every taste. The colors are attractive and have proved to be positive factors in morale and in comfort. In some cases, the type of job a crew performs is identified by the color of its hard hats. This type of team identification—and protection—is also used by football teams, pilots in Air Force units and other groups. The color of a hard hat...

Construction Safety - Floor Openings Unprotected holes in the floor, deck or roof have been responsible for a number of very serious injuries. Yet, through planning and personal attention, falls through openings under foot are easy to prevent. If you make a hole, guard it. Before cutting the hole, barricade the work area to keep people out. If the hole must be open, install permanent barricades around the perimeter. Like railings around the edge of a building or stairwell, these should be a minimum of forty-two inches high, have a mid-rail and be capable of withstanding a 200-pound load. Toe boards are...

Personal Protective Equipment Probably the last thing that comes to mind when you watch a pro football game is safety. It starts in the locker room before the game when the players put on their uniforms. To play the game, they must wear personal protective equipment, including a shock-absorbing helmet with face guard, shoulder pads, knee pads, and cleated shoes. These things can get pretty bulky and uncomfortable, especially when its 95 degrees on the field and the only shade you can get is from someone's shadow. Football is a rough game, and if a player wants to be with his family...

Conveyor Safety Find a way to cut down on the amount of materials you handle manually, and you've got a good thing going. You lessen the chances of hurting your back and hands, which are two of the more common types of on-the-job injuries. In addition, your capacity for work will increase and so will production.That's why conveyors are widely used. They move materials efficiently and safely. Conveyors are one of the earliest forms of automation. In fact, they've been around so long that we don't really look at them as a form of automation but as basic machinery for getting...

Care For Your Half-Mask Air-Purifying Respirator Personal Protection Your half-mask air-purifying respirator provides protection against breathing of airborne contaminants. Your employer is responsible for the respiratory program which includes providing you with the proper type of respirator for the given exposure. You and your employer share responsibility for making certain that your respirator is functioning as intended for your protection. The following is a list of general rules to help you care for and maintain your respirator: 1) The disposable filter cartridges usually contain a chemical absorbent to trap contaminants. The filter cartridge should be replaced immediately if it becomes more difficult to...

Safe Lifting Techniques Safe Lifting - Can you think of even one job or occupation where you never have to lift an object? I can't. Lifting of objects can range from very light objects such as a piece of paper, a pin or a pen to very heavy objects like loads of boxes. Lifting is very much a part of our every day jobs. And, because it is something we do so often, we tend to do it without thinking, or at least we do until we strain a muscle, or worse, hurt our backs.Lifting incorrectly can result in a variety...

Hurry Up Can Hurt Sports cars competing over race courses marked with racing stripes. People who race on the job are marked with cuts, bruises, and bandages.There are places to race and places not to race. Speed belongs on the race course, not in the workplace. Almost everyone has been guilty of speeding through a job. We forget, until it's too late, that "hurry up can hurt." In just about every instance, hurrying on the job does not do much to increase productivity. Usually, it is simply an easy way to get a job done—get a tough job out of the way—or try...