In many of today's workplace environments, a respirator and a proper respirator fit test are critical components of the employee respiratory protection program.

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.

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.