Tag Archives: safety

Are you responsible for contractors?

If you have a contractor working at your site, and they are found to have safety violations, OSHA can hold you responsible as the company that hired the contractor.  It does not matter whether or not the contractor’s work puts … Continue reading

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Keep It Clear: Electrical Panels

Look for new requirements for keeping the area around electrical equipment (panels, shut offs, etc) clear.  This is from a recent National Electrical Code update: Keep It Clear:Proposal for 2014 NEC would sharpen requirements for clear work space Jeffrey Sargent … Continue reading

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OSHA cites Wisconsin company after fire

Fontarome Chemical, a pharmaceutical manufacturing company located in St Francis, WI (just outside of Milwaukee), received 17 citations from OSHA after an investigation following a fire at their facility last year.  Most of the citations and accompanying proposed fines of … Continue reading

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New OSHA website provides information on preventing backover incidents

I was surprised to read how many workers die from being backed over.  According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, over 70 workers died from backover incidents in 2011. A backover incident occurs when a backing vehicle strikes a worker … Continue reading

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Lockout/Tagout

Lockout/tagout refers to securing tools and equipment when they are being repaired to reduce or eliminate the chance of accidental release of energy.  What that means is that if you are working on equipment that could accidentally start up, or … Continue reading

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Ignore OSHA regulations: pay the price

I was reading a recent OSHA QuickTakes newsletter and the press releases about companies that received six figure OSHA citations.  What struck me was the seemingly complete ignoring of regulations.  Four contractors in New Jersey were cited for failing to … Continue reading

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Minnesota AWAIR Program

Minnesota has a requirement that certain industries must have “A Workplace Accident and Injury Reduction”(AWAIR) program.  This program serves as the basis for a good safety programs.  The program spells out: General policy statement about safety:  what are the company’s … Continue reading

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“Take 3″ actions to prevent flu

The CDC advises three actions to prevent or reduce flu:  Get a vaccine Take everyday actions Take flu antiviral drugs if prescribed. Everyday actions are simple steps: Cover your nose and mouth when you sneeze Wash hands frequently with soap … Continue reading

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OSHA Recordkeeping Concerns

Some employers I speak with have a hard time understanding the concerns relating to OSHA recordkeeping.  All injuries, other than those only requiring first aid, must be recorded on the OSHA log, if you have more than ten employees at … Continue reading

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Personal injury rates are just a small part of the story

Some companies put a lot of emphasis on personal injury rates, as if few injuries is a critical measure of success of a safety program.  There are a lot of arguments against that thinking – few or no personal injuries … Continue reading

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