In October’s issue, we take a look at robots and how technology is improving operations at facilities, learn about OSH expert witnesses and innovations in gas detection, among much more.
Even as companies are just now realizing the full array of benefits provided by Industry 4.0, there is a new industrial revolution on the horizon that integrates mankind and machine in ways only sci-fi movies once imagined. Industry 5.0 promises a workforce of human and machine collaborators capable of lightning fast efficiency with reduced risk.
If foot support and protection is ignored, then these employees’ health and wellness is left to chance. In the workplace, slips, trips and falls are seemingly innocent hazards. However, these incidents are some of the leading contributors to injury and even death in the workplace.
OSHA outlines a protocol, as well as general requirements for fit testing in Standard 1910.134 App. A. As part of the policy, employers are required to fit test employees which are required to wear an FFR to do their job. So, what is a fit test?
Purge testing is the process of purging an area of all gases to make sure you know which gases are moving through your gas delivery system. This is the air your gas detection equipment will test when workers are inside the space.
Maintenance activities guarantee the availability, reliability and safety of production equipment. While performing their maintenance roles, technicians are exposed to hazardous energy sources or unexpected starting up of equipment. These conditions increase the risk of injury or death. To prevent such accidents, companies devise machine-specific lockout tagout (LOTO) procedures.
An emerging technology trend can help facility managers address the pressure and responsibility to uphold sky-high cleaning standards —automation. Some tasks are best performed by people, while others should be automated, allowing workers to focus on more core-business activities.
OSHA is implementing an enforcement initiative on heat-related hazards, developing a National Emphasis Program on heat inspections, and launching a rulemaking process to develop a workplace heat standard.
There are basic concepts about workers’ compensation that everyone within an organization should know so that everyone works together toward getting the injured employee and the company back to 100% or, at least, to pre-injury status.
In the earliest days of OHS, disputes of who was responsible for the payment of a workplace injury or illness was settled by litigation. Every US state eventually passed workers’ compensation insurance law to establish a no-fault system where responsibility for injury/illness payment nearly always falls upon the employer.