Arc Flash Hazards

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Arc flash analysis is another one of those extremely serious hazards which are all too often overlooked by safety teams. Part of the reason for this is the complexity of the rules regulating arc flash, and part of the reason is the fact that OSHA does not directly regulate it. Instead, OSHA relies on NFPA 70E to set their requirements. So, if you are just setting your safety plan based upon OSHA standards which are pertinent to your business, it is very possibly to completely bypass the arc flash requirements.

First and foremost, when establishing arc flash procedures, it is crucial to at least consult with a professional firm which has experience in this arena. Arc flash rules can get extremely complicated, especially for larger companies with more machines, and shortcut guides can often lead to errors. For instance, IEEE 1584 is a common guide used to calculate arc flash hazards, but it is incomplete in several ways and many companies which use only IEEE 1584 guidelines are not actually safe or compliant.

After establishing where there are arc flash hazards, it is important to put proper signage in place. These signs warn employees of the dangers of the machines, and explain how to prevent injury. Without proper signage, arc flash analysis does nothing to help protect employees, and it is important to make sure the correct signs with the correct information go in the correct places.

If you have any questions about arc flash analysis, would like to establish formal procedures for your workplace, or would like to have your current procedures reviewed, please contact us so that we can help you. If you have anything to add about arc flash dangers, please leave a comment.

Third Party Lockout Tagout Monitoring

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Lockout tagout accidents are a real threat to employees at any business which has a lockout tagout risk. The only way an employer can help protect employees from danger is through thorough and accurate lockout tagout procedures. These procedures must be maintained and regularly updated based upon the changes on the work site or the changes to the laws as determined in Standard 1910.147, which OSHA implemented to govern lockout tagout procedures.

The fines associated with a lockout tagout issue are quite steep due to the serious nature of lockout tagout errors. The potential risk to employees is also quite serious. Lockout tagout injuries can result in critical injuries or death. It is for this reason that many businesses turn to lockout tagout experts to manage their lockout tagout needs, including updating and ensuring the accuracy of their procedures.

Beyond simply creating and maintaining centralized procedures, a third party lockout tagout monitoring company can also ensure that these procedures are printed up and posted where appropriate. The procedures themselves do little if the staff is not properly made aware of them. The printing of the procedures is also more complicated than many business owners first realize, there are specific rules regarding the size, colors, and information included in lockout tagout procedure posted notifications.

If you have any questions about lockout tagout monitoring, and why a third party might be a good option for you, please contact us. And if you have anything to add about the many benefits of third party lockout tagout monitoring, please leave a comment.

Medical Services and First Aid

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Standard 1910.151 was created by OSHA as a way to ensure employees have access to basic first aid supplies and required medical help, should they be injured on the job. Basic first aid supplies can help to prevent a minor injury from becoming serious, and a serious injury from become life threatening. And in any medical event, access to help from qualified medical professionals can severely increase an employee’s chance of a full and speedy recovery.

The primary medical response should come from local first responders who can bring an injured person to a local infirmary, clinic, or hospital in near proximity to the workplace. If there is no readily available infirmary, clinic, or hospital, then a company is required to train an individual who can properly use first aid supplies. Regardless of the need for this individual, a company is always required to have “adequate” first aid supplies readily available, should they be needed.

As with many other OSHA Standards, 1910.151 leaves a lot of room for interpretation. For instance, what constitutes “basic first aid supplies?” And how many of these items would be enough? In order answer these questions properly and to make sure that your business is appropriately up to code, we usually recommend a third party safety audit. With an audit, an auditor can review your current processes and watch your team, to ensure that your process is adequate and your team is properly following it.

For more information on OSHA Standard 1910.151, please contact us. If you have anything to add about medical services and first aid, please leave a comment.

The Benefits of a Third Party Safety Audit

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There are a number of benefits to an organization which hires a professional safety firm to audit its facility. These benefits include granting a company access to years of experience in the safety field, having a second set of eyes review safety paperwork to make sure there is not a missed opportunity to improve efficiency and efficacy, and receiving an action plan which can be used to bring an organization up to code if there are any deficiencies.

Experience is one of the most important factors to consider when hiring a third party safety auditor. Many of OSHA’s policies have room for interpretation; if you hire an inexperienced auditor, he or she may never have been in that situation before, meaning they are not able to draw from previous experiences when making decisions. It is also important to consider the relevance of related experience, to make sure the auditing firm has experience in your line of work.

As with anything in life, it is always a good idea to have someone review your safety plans to ensure they are up to code, and that nothing has changed unbeknownst to the company’s management team. Should there be any issues with the current safety plan in place, a professional auditor will develop an action plan to help bring the company back up to code.

If you have any questions about third party safety audits, please contact us. And if you have anything to add about third party safety audits, leave a comment.

Properly Identifying Piping (ANSI/ASME A13.1)

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The ANSI/ASME A13.1 pipe labeling system was created to help employers and employees quickly and effectively identify what materials are flowing through a pipe, and in what direction those materials are flowing. This is important for day to day work activities, as it is always important to understand what you employees are working around, especially if a leak or other piping issue should arise. But it is critically important in the event of a serious emergency, as it can help employees determine which ways they should, and should not, go if there are broken pipes in their way. It also makes the job of first responders and other disaster personnel easier, as they, too, can quickly identify what substances have leaked, or are of potential concern in various parts of your work place. This simple, universal labeling system can save lives, and is of extreme importance to workplace safety.

The system itself is relatively easy to use. It is a color coded system consisting of 10 color schemes. The scheme is the combination of the color of the writing and the color of the background upon which the writing rests. Many of these color schemes have preset meanings, allowing anyone with a knowledge of this system to quickly identify the materials flowing in your pipes. For the few which are allowed to be company specific, it is important to note these schemes in your safety and health management system as well as your emergency action plan, so that they can be conveyed to anybody who needs that information.

The system also identifies the sizes and types of labels required for different sized pipes. The guidelines for the sizes and lettering, as well as the color schemes, changed in 2007. If you have not yet incorporated the ANSI/ASME A13.1 labeling system, or if you have not updated since the 2007 changes, it might be time to do so.

If you would like more information on this labeling system and how it can impact your business, please contact us. And if you have anything to add about ANSI/ASME A13.1, please leave a comment.

Fire Protection

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Fires are one of the greatest threats a company can face. A fire puts ever member of the staff in danger, can severely damage or destroy equipment, and can bring a company to a screeching halt. It is for this reason that OSHA Standard 1910.155 is so important for any business to review and follow. This standard covers fire protection, with regulations to help prevent fires as well as help suppress or contain them, should the need arise.

Fire prevention is obviously key to any fire protection strategy. If you can stop a fire from ever happening, that is a true safety win. The best way to do this is to make sure all of your equipment and machinery are properly maintained and all safety devices are working properly.

And while prevention is the goal of every business, equally important is preparing for a fire emergency. Early detection and elimination can save lives, machinery, and keep a business running smoothly. Simple things like fire detectors and sprinklers can help suppress a fire, while properly working fire extinguishers can put a fire out before it has the chance to spread. It is also important to ensure your fire protection equipment is regularly checked to ensure it is functioning properly. This is best accomplished by an annual audit, which will test each piece of equipment, and ensure that your plan is still efficient, regardless of the changes you make to your business year over year.

If you have any questions about your fire protection plan and implementation, please contact us so that we can help ensure you are safe and up to code. And if you have anything to add about fire protection and prevention, please leave a comment.

Benefits of Third Party Lockout Tagout Procedure Management

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When it comes to lockout tagout procedures and maintenance, many business owners wonder if it is worth outsourcing to a professional third party lockout tagout specialist, or if it would be better to manage this need internally. This is a fair questions and there is no easy answer to it. Instead, what you need to consider is the size of the project, the timeframe you are working with, and your team. With those factors in mind, you can then have a fair apples-to-apples comparison of costs and efficiency compared to a professional third party.

When considering the timeframe for implementation, it is important to consider the man power that will be required to meet your deadlines. If you need the project completed in a short period of time, is it going to be worth pulling a number of employees from other key functions to work on this project? Or, are you going to need to bring on new employees to keep your business operational?

Tied in with the timeframe is the size. If this is going to be a large scale project, it will obviously take more employee hours than will a small project. The larger the project, the more room there is for errors, as well. Again, you must consider if you have the personnel to pull to effectively manage the project, or if you will be hiring on additional staff to cover your lockout tagout project.

Finally, you need to truly and fairly evaluate your team. If you have a staff experienced in lockout tagout procedures then you are in a better place for internal management than a company with no experienced employees. Now, it is possible to learn lockout tagout, but depending on the time frame and size of your project, you will need to determine if it is feasible for members of your staff to learn a new component for a large project on a set schedule.

The best way to make the determination of outsourcing vs. in-house management is to contact a professional who can help you. If you are in need of establishing a new lockout tagout procedure, or are in need of lockout tagout maintenance, please contact us and we will help you decide what makes the most sense. And if you have anything to add about lockout tagout, please leave a comment.

The Importance of Preventative Maintenance

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Thought often overlooked, preventative maintenance should be of serious concern to every business owner and safety team. Properly maintaining machinery can increase the life of machinery, decrease the repair costs, and ensure safety protocols remain effective. The best safety equipment in the world is made ineffective with time if not properly maintained.

For maximum efficiency, preventative maintenance should be included in any Safety and Health management System. These systems are designed to ensure safety at every level in a company, and it is rare that you can include in your Safety and Health Management System something that is also so important to your company’s bottom line. But following manufacturer defined routine maintenance really does cut costs while keeping the workplace safer.

If preventative maintenance is not currently a part of your Safety and Health Management System, it is quite easy to incorporate it. First, you need to go through all of your machinery, inventorying exactly what you have, Then, you have to find out what the required maintenance is for each item. Finally, you just add preventative maintenance placards to each device, and create a section in the Safety and Health Management System dedicated to the procedures around following these placards.

If you are ready to establish a preventative maintenance plan for your company, or want more information on how it will benefit you, specifically, feel free to contact us and we can walk you through the entire process. If you have established a preventative maintenance plan for your business and would like to share your thoughts on the topic, please leave a comment.

Safety Signs and Visuals

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All across your workplace you have signs, visuals, and placards, which are printed in a number of colors and utilize a series of symbols and letters to denote specific hazards, safety devices, or evacuation routes. These symbols are largely universal, known by everyone who works in your facility and are a great way to notify your employees of a number of important things in the workplace.

But, what happens if an emergency situation arises and non-employees are in your facility? Or, staff members from one department happen to be trapped in another? Or emergency personnel are entering your facility to combat a serious hazard? There needs to be a well defined and universal system in place in your facility which can be understood by outsiders to your business quickly and efficiently. This is where OSHA Standard 1910.145 comes in. OSHA created a universal standard against which you need to create your company safety signs.

If you have old signs in your facility, or if you created the signs without ensuring they are compliant, it is important to have a full inspection of your facility to ensure all hazards are properly noted and that all signs are up to code. If any signs are determined to be out of date or unacceptable, you need to immediately replace those signs.

If you have any specific signs that need to be replaced, they can be ordered through our store, and you can rest easy knowing they are OSHA compliant. If, on the other hand, you are not sure if your signage is up to code, please contact us so that we can help you get on track. If you have anything else to say about safety signage, please leave a comment.

Effective Emergency Action Plans

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Emergency Action Plans are a topic we have discussed on several occasions in the past. We are repeatedly talking about them because they are of the utmost importance to workplace safety. Just about anything else OSHA regulates or your safety team monitors relates to specific employees or a specific group of employees, involved in potentially dangerous operations. Emergency action plans, on the other hand, relate to your entire staff, and can be needed at any time and for any reason, regardless of your line of business and how safe your facility.

Should you need to use your emergency action plan, it will likely be because something serious happened and your entire staff is, or recently was, in danger. Emergency action plans are used whenever an evacuation of your facility is required, most commonly from natural disasters, though also sometimes from man made disasters, as well. A well designed evacuation plan, however, is just the first step. After employees evacuate, there need to be clearly defined procedures to account for staff, to ensure a quick and effective response from rescue and medical personnel, and to make certain all required safety and management workers are contacted.

An effective emergency action plan has these three key steps, at a minimum. For maximum efficacy, these plans should be readily available to all employees, known by management and safety staff, and should be accessible from numerous locations inside and outside of the facility. Additionally, it is important to have training around the emergency action plan and a working alarm system.

With these steps in place, a disaster does not need to become a tragedy. For help in establishing your emergency action plan, or for a full review of your current plan, please contact us. And if you have anything to add about the importance of an emergency action plan, please leave a comment.