In many of today's workplace environments, a respirator and a proper respirator fit test are critical components of the employee respiratory protection program.
OSHA has released fiscal year (FY) 2019 final statistics showing a significant increase in the number of inspections and a record amount of compliance assistance to further the mission of ensuring that employers provide workplaces free of hazards.
Federal OSHA conducted 33,401 inspections—more inspections than the previous three years.
Workers in various industries can be exposed to dangerous airborne contaminants. The dangers range from nuisance level dusts to serious, life-threatening exposure, each requiring respiratory products at various levels of protection.
OSHA has cited Diaz Professional Construction LLC for exposing employees to falls at a Montgomery, Alabama, residential worksite. The framing contractor faces $31,879 in penalties.
The importance of safety can’t be underestimated. Providing personal protective equipment (PPE) is essential in industries that require employees to work in harsh and hazardous conditions, from manufacturing to transportation, construction and more.
Today’s workplaces look far different than they have in the past, taking on many shapes, sizes and settings. As a result, more workers from multiple employers are working side-by-side at the same locations, increasing the shared responsibility for worker safety among employers.
Imagine that on the first day at your new job, the foreman tosses you a harness and a 6-foot lanyard and says, “Be careful out there!” That may seem like an extreme example of a woefully inadequate fall protection training program, but I will bet dollars to donuts it happens more often than we think.
As OSHA continues to update its 2016 rule on recording and reporting workplace injuries and illnesses, organizations should be aware of new policies that affect how they treat – and reward – safety in the workplace.
When employees are performing construction work six feet or more above a lower level, you need to provide them with some type of fall protection. There is an exception for working on scaffolding — the threshold height for fall protection is ten feet. OSHA regulates falls at 1926 Subpart M.
Unfortunately, many organizations have a false perception that merely employing someone in a safety capacity is a risk control, as in, “Your Honor, we did our due diligence in safety… see, we hired a Safety Person (points to the ‘Safety Person’).”
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