Monthly Archives: July 2013

How a Third Party Safety Audit Helps Your Business

Posted on by
Twitt

Any properly run business has a system in place for ensuring OSHA compliance and overall workplace safety. Some companies utilize a Safety and Health Management System, while others have an in-house process which works best for them. Whatever the look of the system, at it’s core is a desire to run an efficient but safe company which adheres to all OSHA regulations. And while this concept might seem extremely basic, it is incredibly difficult for companies to actually adhere to. Some of the problem stems from a lack of truly understanding the standards, and some of it stems from not keeping up to date when standards change. Either way, it is important to do all that you can to avoid being cited for easily avoidable and correctable noncompliance.

This is where a third party safety audit is beneficial to any business owner. A qualified and well seasoned auditor, who works for a qualified firm with proper resources, is trained to do one thing, and one thing only – learn OSHA. Safety auditors make it their job to study these regulations in and out, so that they can view your facility through the same prism an OSHA auditor would. In addition, any good auditor can help you streamline your process while mitigating safety risks.

Any way you look at it, a third party safety audit protects your business, ensures your employees are safe, and protects you from unneeded headaches should OSHA ever come knocking. If you have any questions about how a third party safety audit works or how to schedule one, please contact us. And if you have anything to add about how third party safety audits help businesses, please leave a comment.

Monitoring Lockout Tagout Procedures

Posted on by
Twitt

Whether you are new to your industry or have been in it for decades, if your industry involves lockout tagout procedures, you have pulled your hair out at least a few times from it. But don’t feel bad, everyone has – lockout tagout procedures are hard to implement and harder to maintain. But once you’ve overcome that first hurdle of putting an effective lockout tagout procedure in place, it is important to have a system in place which allows you to monitor and update these procedures quickly. This system must also allow for immediate dissemination of information to any employees working in the area, and must take any updates to the relevant OSHA standards into account.

There are two ways to monitor lockout tagout procedures. It can be done by the safety team, who will periodically review the OSHA standards and periodically review the procedures to ensure everything is still in compliance. Should personnel or machinery change, they might update the relevant information in the procedures. But they will not be dedicated to monitoring the lockout tagout procedures; there simply is not enough man power on any safety team to do that (or at least, there shouldn’t be given the costs associated).

The second option is to use software designed to help monitor your lockout tagout procedures. A great example of this type of software is our Factory Solutions Software, which is a web-based program that allows you to update your procedures in real time at any time and from anywhere you have internet access. It is fully scalable, fully customizable, and is constantly updated as per OSHA’s requirements. With this software, changes can be easily and effectively disseminated to employees, and there is no fear of your facility being out of compliance.

If you have any questions about the benefits of Factory Solutions Software, please contact us. Should you have anything to add about the importance of effectively monitoring lockout tagout procedures, please leave a comment.

June is National Safety Month

Posted on by
Twitt

Every year, June is labeled National Safety Month by the National Safety Council, and as such employers all across the country focus in on safety. Each company does this in a different way, but most try to ensure employees understand the importance of workplace safety. For this one month every year, the nation is focused on creating a safer work environment.

But then July 1st hits, and most people begin to think about their 4th of July plans, or their summer vacations, and the signs come down and emails stop going out, and everything goes back to business as usual. For some employees, the message of National Safety Month lasts a few weeks as they attempt to continue to foster a safer work environment. But for most, once the company’s focus comes off of safety, so, too, does theirs.

And this is the biggest problem with National Safety Month. The focus and attention placed on workplace safety should not end when the month ends; it should continue, at least in a limited capacity, year round. By making safety a focus for your company, you are making it a focus for your employees, and you are greatly reducing the chance of workplace injuries, because your employees are constantly reminded of how to create a safer workplace. There are many benefits to National Safety Month, and with a proper plan in place, these benefits can be seen year round.

For more information on how we can help foster a safer work environment, please contact us. And if you have anything to add about the ill effects of taking the focus off of safety, please leave a comment.