Small Safety Fixes Pay Big Dividends

| BlackHawk Team

When it comes to safety at the job site, best practices can never be overemphasized. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) handbook states that OSHA was created in 1971 to "assure safe and healthy working conditions for working men and women by setting and enforcing standards and by providing training, outreach, education and assistance".

OSHA standards cover safety rules for significant electric power generation, transmission, and distribution companies. The maritime Industry and many other substantial industries created safety rules that employers must follow. In this blog we will review a few OSHA required and recommended safety standard solutions for items that seem small but can become large problems if not established correctly.

Safety Hazards: Wet or Greasy work Floor

If an employee’s work area is wet or greasy, it is prone to injuries due to slips, trips, and falls. According to OSHA, employers must continue to:

  • Maintain resources that ensure that the floor clean and dry
  • Maintain proper drainage systems
  • Provide non-skid false floors, platforms or mats
  • Provide warning signs for wet floor areas

OSHA requires workers wear non-slip footwear such as shoes, boots and overshoes.

Safety Products: Fire Extinguishers

According to OSHA, “when fire extinguishers are available for employee use, it is the employer's responsibility to educate employees on the principles and practices of using a fire extinguisher and the hazards associated with fighting small or developing fires. This education must be provided annually and to newly hired employees.”

“Employees who have been designated to use fire extinguishers as part of the emergency action plan, must be trained on how to use the fire extinguishers appropriately in the workplace. This training is a specialized form of education that focuses on developing or improving skills and it must be provided annually and when employees are first assigned these duties.”

Further standards on fire extinguishers also state that an employer must:

  • Provide portable fire extinguishers and mount, locate, and identify them so that they are readily accessible to employees without subjecting the employees to possible injury.
  • Use only approved portable fire extinguishers.
  • Not  use portable fire extinguishers that use carbon tetrachloride or chlorobromomethane extinguishing agents.
  • Assure that portable fire extinguishers are maintained, fully charged, operating properly, and always kept in designated places while not in use.
  • Remove all soldered or riveted shell self-generating soda acid or self-generating foam or gas cartridge water type portable fire extinguishers that are operated by inverting the extinguisher to rupture the cartridge or to initiate an uncontrollable pressure generating chemical reaction to expel the agent.

Safety Needs: Ergonomic Issues

Ergonomic injuries on the job are a newer addition to OSHA’s oversight. It currently issued a comprehensive, four-pronged approach to reduce and prevent ergonomic injuries in the workplace.

The plan includes a combination of guidelines, outreach, enforcement, and an advisory committee. Your specific industry may not be covered by these rulings yet, but it is always a good idea to follow ergonomic best practices. This keeps you aligned with ongoing OSHA updates, but more importantly it cuts down on injuries that could result in losing good employees. Some items that will help to keep employees ergonomically safe include:

These three items are just a few of the many ways you can keep your employees safe. Staying Keeping your employees safe can be a challenging task. BlackHawk Industrial Supply works hard to bring you the right products to ensure that your work site safety program keeps your employees secure and protected.

Please see all of our safety supplies on our website. Our trained professionals at Blackwk Industrial are happy to help you with any workplace safety product questions. We welcome you to contact us here https://www.bhid.com/ContactUs or call us TOLL FREE at (855) 610-1001.

You can also read related blog posts on workplace safety and safety products:

Metalworking Fluids Safety Basics

Keeping Workers Safe with Respirator Masks

Winter Work Needs: Temporary electric heating supplies

OSHA Cold Weather Requirements

Keeping Your Workers Safe with Safety Vests