Evacuation Plan

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An evacuation plan is nothing more than a document which shows where a staff member should go in the event of an emergency to most efficiently exit the building. It is no more than that. It might include shelters, zones, back up routes, or color coding, but at its core, any evacuation plan should focus on an employee’s ability to leave the facility. Now, you can add zones, shelters, back up routes, and color coding to an evacuation plan to make it easier for employees to leave the building in an emergency situation, and we would recommend that you do that, but do not let these additions detract from the point of the plan – helping employees to safely and quickly exit the building.

To help employers stay on track and create an efficient evacuation plan, OSHA created Standard 1910.36, which gives specific guidelines pertaining to the creation and dissemination of evacuation plans at work. And while there are a number of specific guidelines set for just about every circumstance imaginable, what is most important to remember is that every company needs to create an evacuation plan for every facility.

We have had clients with small facilities in the past who, when asked for their evacuation plan, laughed and said they did not have one because their facility was so small. Unfortunately, common sense is not an acceptable evacuation plan, even if you only have two rooms and one door to the outside. If you do not have a viable evacuation plan, or have not reviewed it recently, create a good plan which fits OSHA’s requirements.

If you have any questions about how to create an evacuation plan, where to post it in your facility, or how to handle a specific issue with your plan, please contact us. If you have anything to add about evacuation plans, leave a comment.

Arc Flash and Shock Analysis

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Arc flash is one of the most overlooked workplace hazards we encounter. It is not because employers intend to put their employees in harm’s way or because safety teams do not do a good job, it is because OSHA relies upon the NFPA to handle the regulations. This creates a situation where some people do not realize that the regulations are required, and where others think they can choose what to follow and what not to follow.

If arc flash, electrocution, or any other shock hazard are a concern at your place of business, please make sure you review NFPA 70E in its entirety. This is the official standard for arc flash and shock safety, and should be followed. There are many “quick guides” and “summaries” available when it comes to arc flash analysis, but while they may be easier to understand, they are not the regulations.

Arc flash and electrocution hazards are among the most dangerous workplace hazards. Errors in these areas can and will result in death, and can and will result in large fines. If you are not sure your procedures and signage are up to code, consider a third party audit. In the event of an emergency, your employees will thank you.

If you have any questions about arc flash and shock hazards, or about how a third party safety audit can help you prepare for these situations, please contact us. If you have anything to add about arc flash and shock hazards, please leave a comment.

How Should I Monitor My Lockout Tagout Procedures?

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There are a number of ways to monitor lockout tagout procedures. But to find the best option for you, you need to first determine if you will do it in house or if you will outsource it, and if you will do it manually or with the help of a computer program. Once you have decided on these two questions, deciding the specifics and turning them into a comprehensive procedure will be much easier.

For the first question, the question of in house or outsource, you need to ask yourself a few things. Number one, do you have appropriate staffing for this task, or will you need to hire additional staff to manage the additional load? Number two, do you have the right staff, or will you need to hire new people with a background in lockout tagout? And number three, how comfortable are you with lockout tagout? Based upon your answer to these questions, you can determine if it would be cost effective to manage the lockout tagout in house, or if it might be more cost effective to hire a profession to help you, and if you even have an appetite for managing it yourself – remember, if there are any problems and you go it alone, you need to find the solution.

For the second question, that of doing it manually or utilizing computer software, you must ask yourself a few questions. If you are planning to monitor your lockout tagout procedures alone, then you need to find out what software is available to you, how much it costs, and how comfortable you are with the software. If you will be hiring an outside party to manage it, then you need to find out what software they have available, how interactive it is, and how much it costs.

With these two questions answered, creating the actual procedures should be a manageable task. Should you have any questions about the costs associated with hiring a firm to assist with your lockout tagout needs, please contact us. And if you have any pointers relating to lockout tagout monitoring, please leave a comment.

Establishing a Permit Entry System For a Confined Space

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If your facility has confined spaces and you have not reviewed OSHA Standard 1910.146, you have done yourself a disservice. This standard is mandatory reading for anyone with a confined space to contend with. It explains when a permit entry system is and is not required for the confined space, who may and may not enter the confined space, and how you should monitor who is and is not entering the space.

First, it is important to understand what a confined space is. As per Standard 1910.146, a confined space is any space which meets the following 3 criteria: it is large  enough and so configured that an employee can bodily enter and perform assigned work; has limited or restricted means for entry or exit (for example, tanks, vessels, silos, storage bins, hoppers, vaults, and pits are spaces that may have limited means of entry.); and is not designed for continuous employee occupancy.

Next, you need to determine if your facility requires a permit entry system and an attendant. This determination can be tricky based upon the space (or spaces) in your facility, and for that reason it is usually advisable to hire a qualified auditing firm to assist in the process.

Should you determine your facility does, in fact, need a permit entry system, establishing one is actually not too difficult. You need to start by determining who will and will not have access to the space, and under what circumstances those individuals will have access. You then need to create procedures and make them known to employees. Finally, you need to create appropriate signage and properly display the signage near the confined space.

If you have any questions about a space in your facility, or would like help in developing your permit entry system, please contact us. If you have anything to add about how to properly establish a permit entry system for a confined space, please leave a comment.

Happy Labor Day

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Happy labor day to our readers. For many, this day means little more than a day off from work and the end of summer, but for us it serves a reminder of how important workers are to their companies, and to the economy on the whole.

For that reason, we want to leave you with a few safety tips as you enjoy the holiday.

For those grilling:

Please be sure the grill is away from any hanging branches, the house, or anything flammable.

Do not grill inside or in a garage.

Ensure the propane tank is properly connected, if applicable.

Do not let children get too close to the grill, and never leave it unattended if small children are present.

If using a charcoal grill, do not use any starter fluid after the charcoals have been lit.

For those using fireworks:

Wear safety glasses at all times.

Keep water readily available in case of an emergency.

Do not allow children to use fireworks without parental supervision.

Only use them outside

For Those Boating:

Always wear life jackets.

Always have a radio, cell phone, or other device available to track the weather.

Always have a radio, cell phone, or other device available to call for help.

Follow all rules of the water – just because you are not in your car does not mean you do not have to follow the laws.

Do not exit the boat with the motor running.

We hope everyone enjoys their Labor Day, and if you have any workplace safety questions or concerns, please contact us.

Establishing Lockout Tagout Procedures

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Whether a veteran of twenty years or a novice to the field, establishing lockout tagout procedures will always make you cringe, at least a little. And the reason for that is the complexity of the calculations, the complexity of the regulations, and what is at stake if the procedures are not put in place properly. It is for this reason so many companies use online quick guides, outside agencies, or dedicate a department just to establishing and monitoring these procedures.

If you are one of the many who fall into the online guide category, be careful. Many of these guides are meant to act as a supplement to a more rigorous review performed by a qualified third party. In these instances, the guide should be used to vet potential lockout tagout firms or to set talking points during the project. Attempting to establish competent lockout tagout procedures based upon one of these manuals will be extremely risky, as they are incomplete.

Some of the other guides are unintentionally incomplete. The unfortunate thing about lockout tagout is that every facility has a unique need in this regard, so attempting to create a readable guide will never cover every possible need – for this reason, these guides can be dangerous.

And for those who dedicate an entire department to lockout tagout, the costs can become exorbitant. Hiring several lockout tagout specialists and paying them each an annual salary can quickly out pace the costs of utilizing a third party. When deciding to go this route, it is important to run a very serious cost analysis, comparing the costs to hire and maintain a department against the costs of hiring a firm.

If, after reviewing your lockout tagout procedures, you have questions about whether or not you are compliant or if, after running a cost analysis, you realize it is worth hiring a firm to help you with your lockout tagout needs, please contact us. And if you have anything to add about establishing lockout tagout procedures, please leave a comment.

Availability of Medical Services and First Aid

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No matter what your line of business, and no matter how well you safeguard your facility against injuries, they can and do happen. And in those times, it is important to be able to offer your employees access to medical services and first aid. Having medical services and first aid available is also important to OSHA, which regulates this in Standard 1910.151.

In this Standard, OSHA states that, “The employer shall ensure the ready availability of medical personnel for advice and consultation on the matters of plant health.” (1910.151 [a]) For many employers, this requirement will be met by a local hospital, infirmary, or clinic. But in the event your facility is not covered by one of these three facilities, it is mandatory for an employee to “be adequately trained to render first aid.” (1910.151 [b])

The regulation also states that first aid supplies must be available on site. This common sense requirement not only helps to protect employees in the event of an injury or an emergency, it also helps to protect business continuity. For many employees, a basic first aid supply will suffice, and allow them to return to work, rather than leave the facility to find a local infirmary, hospital, or clinic.

If you have any questions about this standard, or would like help in ensuring you are compliant, please contact us so that we can assist you. And if you have anything to add about the importance of readily available medical services and first aid, please leave a comment.

Pipe Marking (ANSI/ASME A13.1)

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No matter how you do it, it is important to mark any exposed pipes in your facility. Some companies create their own system for marking these exposed pipes, while others use established systems created by industry leaders. Either way, it is important to have a clear system in place so that employees and first responders will know what they are dealing with in an emergency situation.

If you decide to create your own system for marking your pipes, it is important to consider three things: what color are the labels, how big are the labels, and how do you show the direction of the fluid’s flow. The color of the lettering and the labels should have some uniformity, so that if the words cannot be read, they can still be understood as flammable, toxic, safe, and so on. The labels need to be size appropriate based upon the size of the pipe. The larger the pipe, the larger the label needs to be. And with that, the larger the label, the larger the lettering should be. Finally, it is crucial that every label denotes the direction of the flow of the pipes. In an emergency situation or an evacuation, this information could save lives.

If you decide instead to use an existing system, the most common is the ANSI/ASME A13.1 pipe labeling system. This system creates a set of rules around label creation and makes it easier on safety teams to maintain accurate labels. It also makes the job of first responders easier, as they will be familiar with your facility’s labels.

If you would like to have your pipe marking system reviewed, or if you would like to upgrade to the ANSI/ASME A13.1 system, please contact us and we can help you. If you have anything to add about properly labeling pipes, please leave a comment.

Lockout Tagout (LOTO) Monitoring

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After establishing lockout tagout procedures, it is important to accurately and effectively monitor them. This can be done by hand in-house, if you have the resources available. This can also be done by a third party organization, if you have the funds available to cover the costs. Or, this can be done in conjunction with a third party organization through software specifically designed to track lockout tagout changes and make the user (in this case, the business owner and safety team) aware of any changes to the lockout tagout OSHA Standards.

If you decide to monitor your lockout tagout procedures in-house, you must ensure that you have a qualified individual with a background in lockout tagout monitoring available. Lockout tagout is one of the more difficult areas of safety management to fully understand and monitor, and if the person in charge of monitoring your procedures is not fully prepared for the task, the results can be disastrous.

If you decide to monitor your lockout tagout procedures with a third party organization, and leave them in charge of everything, you need to consider two things. Number one: do you have the funds readily available to you, and does it make financial sense to pay someone else to perform this task. And number two: do you trust the company monitoring your procedures. If the answer is “no” to either question, then you need to reevaluate your decision.

Finally, if you decide to utilize monitoring software for your lockout tagout procedures, you need to ensure the software was developed by a reputable company that stands behind their product. We at PF Safety, for instance, stand 100% behind our Factory Solutions Software, help you to set it up, and help you with ongoing support as you need it.

With these options in mind, it is time for you to make a decision. If you have any questions about which option might best benefit you, or for more information on Factory Solutions Software, please contact us. If you have anything to add about lockout tagout monitoring, please leave a comment.

Third Party Safety Audit Benefits

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If you own a business, then one of your key concerns which you probably never really think about is workplace safety and OSHA compliance. Most business owners have a team in place to worry about these things, allowing the owners to worry about bigger picture issues. But one bad oversight on the part of a safety team could lead to a company going out of business.

So in order to help them sleep at night, many business owners hire a professional firm to perform a third party safety audit. The auditors assigned for this task will complete a full, wall-to-wall inspection of the facility, much in the same way as OSHA does. These auditors are trained to review every aspect of a facility to find any and all potential hazards and violations.  It can often be a great benefit to have a second set of eyes review your safety procedures and to examine all aspects of your facility.

After the facility is reviewed, most auditors will discuss the issues they found with you and your audit team. This discussion should include what issues were found, what the current procedures are, and what the guidelines are for the procedures which should be instituted. This allows a company to improve and remain fully compliant with OSHA and other regulatory bodies.

If you have any questions about how a third party safety audit might benefit you, or if you would like to schedule an audit, please contact us. And if you have anything to add about third party safety audits, please leave a comment.