Monthly Archives: August 2013

Creating Lockout Tagout Procedures

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Twitt

Creating lockout tagout procedures is never an easy task. It is difficult to calculate the potential energization of machines and equipment, and if a machine is miscalculated, the resulting damage could be fatal. OSHA created Standard 1910.147 as a guideline for creating these procedures, however if you are inexperienced in lockout tagout, this standard can just leave you more confused than when you started.

Because of this, many employers find help guides online. These guides help you to determine where your isolation points are, where you need to put guards, and what signage is needed for your machines. What these guides cannot, unfortunately, do, is walk you through establishing the procedures and calculating isolation points. And unlike many other OSHA regulated procedures, lockout tagout procedures are different for literally every single business. Further, those procedures need to be updated every time a piece of machinery or equipment is replaced or added.

For these reasons, we generally recommend consulting a professional when initially creating lockout tagout procedures if you are inexperienced with them. From there, maintaining them can be as easy or hard as you would like to make them. With our Factory Solutions Software, which our clients have access to, you can ensure your procedures are always compliant. Or, you can manage it yourself. Either way, if a professional helps you with your lockout tagout procedures, you will be armed with the tools to properly manage them.

For more information on how we can help you create your lockout tagout procedures, please contact us. If you have anything else to add about creating lockout tagout procedures, please leave a comment.

Flammable and Combustible Liquids

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Twitt

Any company which utilizes flammable or combustible liquids obviously has safety procedures in place for them. At a minimum, there must be procedures for handling, moving, storing, and using these dangerous liquids. But, to be sure the procedures are OSHA compliant, it is important to refer to Standard 1910.106, which regulates flammable and combustible liquids.

This standard will usually need to be reviewed in conjunction with others, as it does not cover the individual substances. Instead, it covers how to properly store, use, move, or handle these hazardous liquids. It draws from NFPA Publication 30, relying on the expertise of the NFPA in the area of fire protection.

When storing flammable and combustible liquids, you must determine what medium you will use to store them. Will it be a small container, such as a propane tank, or will it be a huge cylinder beside a building? This is generally determined based upon your company’s needs, but how you manage these different sized storage devices can drastically change how your procedures should look.

For transportation of flammable and combustible liquids, you must think about how you plan to transport said liquids. Will you move the canisters in which they are held? Will you use pipes with valves and specific fittings? How will you test your system of moving the liquids? Depending on your answers to these questions, you may need to have a number of specific procedures in place.

For the handling and use of flammable and combustible liquids, there are basic guidelines set here, but you will likely need to consult the specific standards based upon the materials being used.

Finally, you need to set an auditing schedule for flammable and combustible liquids. This schedule must meet the minimum requirements set in Standard 1910.106.

If you have any questions about Flammable and Combustible Liquids, please contact us. And if you have anything to add about the dangers of flammable and combustible liquids, please leave a comment.

Benefits of a Safety and Health Management System

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Twitt

A Safety and Health Management System should be an integral part of any safety plan at any company. Whether a multinational manufacturer operating facilities in multiple countries, or a small startup with 10 employees and 1 tiny office, a Safety and Health Management System can help your staff avoid dangerous situations, and better prepare your staff in the event of an emergency.

What a Safety and Health Management System is, is a centralized system which is used to house all of your company’s safety regulations. Rather than having dozens of safety procedures stored in dozens of places, they will all be stored together, in a logical order, to allow for quick and easy access to the company policies.

This helps business owners by creating an environment where safety staff, management, and employees can easily and efficiently look up relevant policies to ensure they are being followed. It also allows you to easily cross reference one policy with another. So, if you are performing a task which is governed by multiple policies, such as entering a confined space or reviewing your lockout tagout procedures, you can easily ensure all policies are being followed. Similarly, if you are updating a policy, you can efficiently ensure that all related policies are updated, as well.

If you would like to create a Safety and Health Management System, or if you have any questions about how incorporating one would help your company, please contact us. And if you have anything you would like to add about the many benefits of a Safety and Health Management System, please leave a comment.

Software for Monitoring Lockout Tagout Procedures

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Twitt

Lockout tagout procedure monitoring can be a difficult task. Every time a change is made, no matter how small, the entire procedure needs to be reviewed to make sure this minor change does not have some far-reaching change on another part of the procedure. This can make lockout tagout a very time consuming, and very costly, process to monitor and maintain.

In addition, many companies employ safety personnel who are not properly trained on lockout tagout procedures, meaning some of the nuances of the regulations might be lost on the individual in charge of the procedure. OSHA Standard 1910.147, which governs lockout tagout procedures, can be very convoluted, and without an in depth understanding of the regulation, it is almost impossible to fully understand.

Fortunately, we at PF Safety have recently released our Factory Solutions Software. This software creates, tracks, monitors, and updates your lockout tagout procedures for you. It keeps a record of all changes and updates, and notifies you of these changes. Our software is created in such a way that it will automatically notify you of any compliance or OSHA regulation updates, so that you can properly update your policies. In addition, the software is fully customizable, fully scalable, and only requires an internet connection to access it.

If this software sounds like something that could help streamline your business, please contact us so that we can explain in more detail how the software works. If you would like to add a comment on how this or similar software has worked for your business, please leave a comment.

Personal Protective Equipment Policies

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Twitt

Policies surrounding personal protective equipment must be carefully created and consistently followed to protect employees at work. Personal protective equipment is a last line of defense for employees working in potentially dangerous jobs, and without this equipment a simple malfunction or slip of the hand can turn into a tragedy.

When creating a personal protective equipment policy, it is important to start by looking at OSHA Standard 1910.132, which governs general personal protective equipment requirements. After this standard has been reviewed, it is then time to consider your specific company and the operations which you perform. Based upon your industry and your business, you then need to review the OSHA standards for each of those operations to determine what, if any, further personal protective equipment requirements are listed in those standards.

Once you have determined the additional requirements as per the relevant standards, you need to integrate these requirements into an effective personal protective equipment policy, keeping Standard 1910.132 in mind as you create it. By creating a policy in this way, you are ensuring that each person working in your facility is properly protected with personal protective equipment.

Finally, you must make sure that all equipment is regularly checked and maintained, to ensure it is still working properly. Gloves with holes, for instance, will not be very effective if an employee comes into contact with fire.

If you have any questions about your current personal protective equipment policy, or if you would like to establish a personal protective equipment policy, please contact us. Please leave a comment if you have any other best practices for creating an effective personal protective equipment policy.