Getting workers to wear and continue using industrial PPE has challenged safety and health professionals since a California businessman began selling headgear made out of leather in 1898 – the first PPE.

At the start of September, the number of open jobs exceeded the number of active jobseekers for the 17th consecutive month—a record for the United States economy.

Safety managers are responsible for keeping workers safe, but it shouldn’t come at the expense of sales or productivity. That often starts with picking the right PPE provider. At its core, a PPE provider partnership is about delivering high levels of service and quality products.

Homicide as the cause of death in the workplace has risen from ninth in 2015 to fourth in 2018.  OSHA has increasingly invoked the General Duty Clause to require employers to protect workers from workplace violence from bullying to homicides.

When it comes to workplace safety, welders are well aware that their profession is one of the most dangerous. Welders face an array of hazards from electric shock, retinal damage, ocular melanoma, or serious burns.

IEEE, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, recently produced a paper1 reviewing 100 years of research on shock and arc injuries. Going back, the first recognized hazard to workers was the shock hazard.

A permit-required confined space has the potential to present inherent risks to worker health and safety and should be entered only when necessary and always with extreme caution. Unfortunately, there are times employees need to enter these work areas.