Among the articles in the January 2020 issue of ISHN Magazine, we review the most violated OSHA standards, Part 2 of Larry Wilson's 'Rethinking Traditional Safety' column series, insight from safety experts, and much more.
OSHA’s fall protection standard was the No. 1 most-frequently cited agency standard in fiscal year 2019. Falls are among the most common causes of serious work related injuries and deaths. Employers must set up the work place to prevent employees from falling off of overhead platforms, elevated work stations or into holes in the floor and walls.
OSHA’s hazard communication standard was the second most-frequently cited agency standard in FY 2019. The Hazard Communication Standard (HCS) is now aligned with the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS).
Lockout/Tagout was the fourth most-frequently cited agency standard in FY 2019. The standard outlines measures for controlling hazardous energies — electrical, mechanical, hydraulic, pneumatic, chemical, thermal, and other energy sources.
OSHA’s respiratory protection standard was the fifth most-frequently cited agency standard in FY 2019. OSHA's Respiratory Protection Standard applies to general industry, construction, shipyards, marine terminals, and longshoring...
Ladders 1926.1053 was the sixth most-frequently cited agency standard in FY 2019. Specialty Trade Contractors and Construction of Buildings earned the lion’s share of OSHA citations for violations of standard 1926.1053, with employers in the first category...
Powered Industrial Trucks (1910.178) was the seventh most-frequently cited agency standard in FY 2019. Employers in the Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing industry were cited 235 times, based on 170 inspections, with proposed penalties of $506,594. In second place...
Fall Protection – Training Requirements (1926.503) was the eighth most-frequently cited agency standard in FY 2019. Construction industry employers filled the top three categories of most-cited industries for violations of this standard.
Machine Guarding (1910.212) was the ninth most-frequently cited agency standard in FY 2019. Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing was the most-cited industry for violations of 1910.212 in FY 2019, with 423 citations, 371 inspections and $2,409,690 in proposed penalties.
Eye and Face Protection (1926.102) was the tenth most-frequently cited agency standard in FY 2019. Specialty Trade Contractors were the most-cited category for this standard, with 1,440 citations stemming from 1,434 inspections, resulting in $3,557,690 in proposed penalties.
ANSI/ISEA 121-2018 is a standard that consists of design, testing, performance and labeling requirements for tool tethering systems and containers used to transport and secure tools and equipment at heights.
As defined by OSHA, combustible dust is “a solid material composed of distinct particles or pieces, regardless of size, shape or chemical composition, which can present a fire or deflagration hazard when suspended in air or some other oxidizing medium over a range of concentrations.”
Flame-resistant (FR) doesn’t last forever. Since FR clothing can be expensive to replace, it’s usually best to repair these garments whenever possible. But if your FR clothing is beyond repair, your only choice will be to replace these garments.
Last issue, we discussed whether it was hazards or is it hazardous energy. The conclusion is that it's really hazardous or potentially hazardous energy… which can move. People can also move, which means that eyes and mind on task are very important, which means that human error is important whenever people are moving or things around them are moving.
Material handling consists of the moving, handling, and storing of materials in a facility using manual force, employee-operated equipment (forklifts), and automated equipment (conveyors). The handling and storing of materials inside a facility includes activities like:
Fall protection has been the number one most frequently cited OSHA violation for several years now, which means, worksites simply are not understanding the need to keep employees upright. Employers continue to take significant unnecessary “risk” when it comes to workplace slips, trips and falls by not taking the appropriate measures in evaluating their worksites.
January of 2018 saw the most recent update to 70E- the workplace electrical safety standard developed by NFPA. While the standard itself is not a law, it was developed at the request of OSHA, which uses much of its language when assessing organizations for compliance. Many organizations also follow 70E to comply with specific OSHA regulations.
On a Tuesday afternoon, you send a maintenance contractor out to a remote station to perform a routine check on some of your equipment. Your contractor drives out to the nearest access road, parks his truck, and walks over to the site. When he gets there, his personal gas monitor alerts him to high levels of dangerous gases...
When it comes to accidents, manufacturing ranks second highest of all industries. That comes despite OSHA regulations and American National Standards Institute (ANSI) standards. A key culprit is unguarded hazardous machinery.
ISO 45001, finalized in 2018, replaces a previous standard, OHSAS 18001, which was developed by auditors as a health and safety complement to quality and environmental standards (ISO 9001 and ISO 14001). ISO 45001 is a conformance standard, intended for use with third-party certification.
This is a voluntary consensus standard. It uses recognized management system principles in order to be compatible with quality and environmental management system standards such as ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO 45001.
People distracted by their cellphones are tripping, falling and hurting their heads and necks more often, with such injuries increasing “steeply” over a 20-year period, a new analysis has found.
Obese teenagers can have certain brain differences from their thinner peers -- changes that might signal damage from inflammation, a new, preliminary study suggests.
Several techniques can help reduce stress and promote relaxation. Listening to soothing, calming music can lift your mood -- and make living with chronic pain more bearable.
This article highlights six key misconceptions about machine safeguarding. ANSI / ISO 12100:2012 Safety of machinery – General principles for design – Risk assessment and risk reduction is the primary reference.
Locker room talk. A fellow was saying he was in bed for ten days after having his big toe operated on. “Ten days for your big toe?” “Yeah, the doc said my joint was shot and if I didn’t have a pin put in, I couldn’t walk and would be in a wheelchair the rest of my life. Man, I’d wake up in the middle of the night and my toe was killing me.”
Although we talk about a company’s bottom line as the reason to implement engineering controls to reduce or eliminate respiratory hazards in the workplace, that doesn’t mean most organizations put profit above worker safety.