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Key Lockout Tagout Definitions Every Safety Manager Should Know

by Julianne Bass 03/07/2016

The power of heavy duty machinery is largely left up to speculation until a major accident occurs and its true impact is shown. Protecting workers from the powerful machines they interact with on a daily basis largely relies on the presence of an effective and compliant lockout tagout program and the proper training of all employees who will have to apply its procedures. When creating a sustainable program here is a list of 10 lockout terms, all safety managers, and workers should know.

Authorized Employee: the worker that is applying the lock or tag to machines/equipment in order to perform service on it
Affected Employee: A worker that may come in contact with machines or equipment on which lockout tagout procedures are applied
Other Employees: All worker who are in or around the area in which lockout tagout procedures are being used

Capable of being locked out: Can be locked without dismantling, rebuilding, or replacing the energy-isolating device or permanently altering its energy control capability.

Energized: any piece of equipment or machinery that is connected to an energy source or may contain stored energy
Energy-isolating device: A device that physically prevents the transmission or release of energy
Energy source: Any source of electrical, mechanical, hydraulic, pneumatic, chemical, thermal, or other energy.
Lockout: The placement of a device often in the form of some sort of lock, on an energy-isolating device, in accordance with an established procedure, ensuring that the piece of equipment the device in being place on is controlled and cannot be operated until the lockout device is removed.
Servicing and/or maintenance: Workplace activities that place workers in situations where they would be exposed to unexpected startups or releases of hazardous energy from the piece of equipment on which they are working or in the presence of.
Tagout: The placement of a tagout device on an energy-isolating device, in accordance with an established procedure, to indicate that the piece of equipment is being controlled may not be operated until the tagout device is removed.

Workplace Safety News Roundup

by Julianne Bass 02/25/2016

Workplace Safety News

Keeping track of new OSHA regulations and taking advantage of supplemental safety training and reading materials makes a big difference in the success of the programs you implement in your workplace. Seeing what others are doing both for the better and worse help mold an all encompassing safety initiative. Here is a sampling of some of the news buzzing around workplace safety this month.

Preventing Slips Trips and Falls around the Loading Dock

Workplace injuries and accidents that cause employees to miss six or more days of work cost U.S. employers nearly $62 billion in 2013, the most recent year for which statistically valid injury data is available from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and the National Academy of Social Insurance, according to the 2016 Liberty Mutual Workplace Safety Index. That is more than $1 billion per week spent on the most disabling, nonfatal workplace injuries.

Eliminating The Top 10 OSHA Safety Violations from Your Workplace in 2016

by Julianne Bass 01/20/2016

Every year on the last week of September the NSC Conference has a big unveiling of the year’s 10 OSHA Top Violations, but when you look at the hard facts, much of those top ten OSHA safety violations have remained unchanged for quite a few years running. If these are the most troubling violations leading to injury and death year over year, why hasn’t there been more of an effort to make a change? Why wouldn’t we eliminate these workplace safety hazards from continuing to be a danger to workers? Where is the ball being dropped? Is it with OSHA, or with individual companies?

Here are some helpful tips that will help you eliminate top 10 OSHA safety violations from your workplace in 2016.

Fall Protection (29 CFR 1926.501), 7,402 total violations

Fall protection has been at the top of OSHA’s list for 5 years in a row, with much concern and attention paid to the impact it has on the safety of workers specifically in the construction industry. When working at heights of 10’s or even 100’s of feet in the air it is critical to ensure that your workers not only have the right fall protection supplied to them but that they also know how to properly use it before any work begins. Incorrect implementation of safety precautions and fall protection safety signs are just as dangerous if not worse than having none at all.

Want to learn more about fall protection? Read Don’t Fall Out Of Compliance: What You Need To Know About Fall Protection

Hazard Communication Standard (29 CFR 1910.1200), 5,681 total violations

2016 will bring with it the final GHS deadline in June 2016. While it has been a long and difficult process to implement protocols all the way up the supply chain and stick to deadlines, once all is said and done, GHS compliance will have a great impact on osha safety standards and safety for workers who interact with dangerous substances on a regular basis. Through cost reductions, productivity improvements and decreased instances of injury and illness GHS will begin saving a total of $745 million annually across all industries it has impacted.

Want to learn more about GHS?

Scaffolding (29 CFR 1926.451), 4,681 total violations

In another issue specific to the construction industry, 72 percent of workers injured in scaffold accidents identify the planking or support giving way or slipping, or being struck by a falling object. Ensuring that scaffolding is erected properly before work begins goes a long way in protecting workers in addition to having regularly scheduled assessments, proper implementation of osha safety signs and fall protection guardrails in place for those who will be working on or around scaffolding areas. Enforcing PPE rules for those who will be working in these areas is also crucial when it comes to preventing struck by hazards caused by falling objects.

Respiratory Protection (29 CFR 1910.134), 3,626 total violations

2016 may become a year of big changes when it comes to respiratory protection as it concerns permissible exposure limits and the passing of OSHA’s workplace safety long awaited Silica rule. Outside of reducing the levels of acceptable exposures, when it comes to providing protections against chemicals that cannot be eliminated from work processes, selecting the proper respiratory protection can prove to be tricky. The most important step to selecting the correct respiratory solution for your workplace starts with have a good understanding of the substance you are trying to protect against. Not all respiratory protection is created equally and each workplace safety hazards come with its own rules and solutions for protecting your workers against them. Choose wisely and make sure your solutions properly fit your workers.

Want to learn more about respiratory protection? Read up on Respiratory Protection: Compliance Myths

Control of Hazardous Energy (Lockout/Tagout) (29 CFR 1910.147), 3,308 total violations

Number 5 on the 10 OSHA Top violations, Lockout Tagout often is an area that can easily become overwhelming for those in charge of keeping their procedures up to snuff. If one little thing changes, the whole procedure may need rewriting. However, never fear technology is on your side with many different procedure writing software’s and services available it is easy to get someone out to your facility and assist you in creating a plan that is sustainable and can be easily maintained.

Want to learn more about Lockout/Tagout? Read Are You Creating Effective Lockout Tagout Procedures?

Powered Industrial Trucks, General Industry (29 CFR 1910.178), 3,004 total violations

Forklift safety is only one piece of the pie when it comes to creating an effective powered industrial trucks safety plan. Realizing that these trucks are interacting with humans the battle of man -vs- machine is important to keep in mind (HINT the loser is always man). When creating a game plan to keep all workers safe consider the physical conditions of your facility; how pedestrian traffic will interact with truck traffic, and also if there are any hazardous areas that should be deemed off limits to forklifts such as areas that are enclosed or have little ventilation. Lastly, make sure that OSHA safety signs are properly implemented in your facility.

Want to learn more about forklift safety? Read Forklift Safety Best Practices: How Workplace Conditions Affect Safety Operations

Ladders (29 CFR 1926.1053), 2,732 total violations

Ladder safety seems like a no brainer when you get down to it. Make sure it is in working order, that it is clean, and that it has secure placement before use. However, there is no way to account for the unexpected. A number of things could go wrong while climbing to heights at which a fall could prove fatal. Ladder safety should not be overlooked and starts with having a clear understanding of the basic principles. But a workplace should always have fall protection safety signs in place and a backup plan when unexpected hazards emerge such as wind, flying objects, animals, ladder malfunction etc.

Want to learn more about ladder safety? Read Step up: Best Practices of Ladder Safety

Electrical (Wiring) (29 CFR 1910.305), 2,624 total violations

The misuse of cord and cables, uninsulated wiring and extension cords are where this violation saw the most offenders, with the silver lining being the number of total incidences for this standard are trending downward from 2014 to 2015. Other good news from OSHA shows that they are revisiting these OSHA safety standards for updates after 40 years of being untouched and on the books. Changes made to this 40 year old rule are thought to be able to save an additional 20 lives per year while preventing 118 other injuries.

Want to learn more about Electrical (Wiring)? Breaking Down the Regulation

Machine Guarding (29 CFR 1910.212), 2,540 total violations

Losing an arm or eye because of exposure to blades, getting caught in a machine, or particles flying off of a machine are all causes for concern when it comes to machine guarding. When production timelines are tight, these are the times that machine guarding accidents are most likely to occur. When chaos ensues workers are more likely to begin to cut corners and could land themselves in a very dangerous situation. With the proper OSHA safety signs implementation and guarding in place facilities are able to eliminate the possibility of these life altering injuries from occurring. Protecting workers from points of exposure and improving anchoring of a fixed machine are two ways to improve any machine guarding safety plan.

Want to learn more about machine safety? An Introduction to Machine Guarding

Electrical, General (29 CFR 1910.303), 2,181 total violations

Improper installation or use of tolls and equipment are main concerns for the Electric Standard to round out the 10 OSHA top violations. As with the wiring regulations, OSHA is also putting a fresh set of eyes to this standard as well in hope to continue to drive incidents and violations because of this standard down.

Want to learn more about Electrical Safety? Preventing Facility Hazards: Electrical Safety Tips You Need to Know

It goes without saying that OSHA will have a busy year ahead of it in 2016 and with fines increasing by 80% and inspectors performing longer and more comprehensive audits, it is in the best interest of all facilities to do everything within their power to comply before OSHA safety violations occur or even worse—before injury or fatality occurs.

Need help assessing the safety needs around your facility? We can help. Click here.

2016 Workplace Safety: Things to Watch

by Julianne Bass 01/08/2016

OSHA will have a busy year ahead of it. As rules passed in 2015 begin to settle in, and 2016 rules become finalized, will we see any movement in the top violations? Will we see a decrease in workplace injuries? What do you think the workplace safety landscape will look like a year from now?

It’s only a matter of time before we begin unrolling the year ahead. Here’s to making 2016 the safest year yet!

Tips: Head to Toe Protection Tips for the Workplace

by Julianne Bass 01/06/2016

It’s the last line of defense between you and a life altering injury, do you know the proper products and how they should be used in order to make sure you are protecting yourself? Do you know the importance of the products that are being provided to keep you safe? Are you guilty of not bothering to wear the correct protections because you think it could “never be you”? For starters: STOP THAT! Second, follow these simple tips to keep yourself safe! Let’s be smart about this in 2016, shall we?

Head:

Protect your head from traumatic brain injuries, they make up 22% of all work related fatalities. Hard hats are broken down into 2 types and 3 classes, provide a hat that best fits the falling your hazard.

Hearing:

Measurement standards should be appropriate for the noise levels and spectral content specific to the environment being regulated. Meeting requirements is not enough. An 85dBA/8 hour low frequency tonal noise dominant setting can still be harmful. Additional protections such as active ear defenders should be considered in the cases for true protection of workers.

Respiratory:

When working around airborne particles or debris, be sure to wear the proper respirator for the hazard and change filters frequently. The life of these filters will vary depending on the concentration of the hazard, the storage conditions and age of the filter.

Back:

1 in 5 workplace injuries are back related and 33% of injuries can be reduced with strength testing for appropriate tasks and proper lifting technique training. Avoid the common causes of force, repetition, and posture.

Hands:

72% of hand injuries were a result of hands not wearing gloves. Hazards associated with machinery and cutting are at the top of the list when it comes to workplace hand injuries, when reviewing and selecting gloves make note of flexibility, grip, cut and puncture resistance, chemical resistance and degradation.

Feet:

Crushed, punctured, burned, shocked, sprained or broken. While often forgotten about, foot protection is just as important as the protection of the rest of your body, your footwear should provide both comfort and protection to ward off the hazards lurking around your facility.

FAQ: What’s Coming in 2016 Workplace Safety?

by Julianne Bass 12/03/2015

Silica, recordkeeping, GHS, skills gap, OSHA fines: who can keep track of all the workplace safety news rumblings happening at any given time. When it comes to the matter of what is fact and what is fiction sometimes it is a little difficult to tell. While all of these topics are important let’s focus on the information you need to know for 2016.

Will the Aging Workforce Issue Continue to Have A Greater Impact?

The difference between having workers and having skilled workers is night and day. Someone who has been working on a machine for 30 years is clearly going to be able to offer a lot more expertise on how to best maintain it than those with just a few months or even years under their belt. The skills gap has been a major buzzword in the manufacturing industry for awhile now and all signs point to it only gaining more steam in the years to come. According to the manufacturing institute over the next decade 3.5 million jobs will likely need filling of which 2 million we go unfilled due to the growing skills gap. While some ignore the skills gap all together others are figuring out ways to retain their older workers for longer through ergonomics and new “advisory” positions.

Is OSHA Really Increasing Their Fines by Increase 80%?

Yes indeed they are, as a result of the passing of the new budget signed by President Obama, OSHA fines will be increasing by 80% all at once, to catch up with inflation adjustments dating back to 1990. This will raise max penalties for willful violations from $70,000 to $127,000 and max serious violation fines from $7,000 to $12,477. Adjustments will occur before August 1, 2016.

I Thought All of the GHS Deadlines Passed Already, Why Are We Still Talking About It?

GHS deadlines began back in 2013 starting with employers being responsible for training their employees on the impending changes to chemical labeling and SDS formatting. Since then, manufacturers, importers, distributors and employers have been required to stop shipping all products labeled using old formatting. Unfortunately when upstream suppliers missed their deadlines this made it more difficult to others to continue to meet their requirements. As of June 1, 2016 all companies are required to be fully transitioned over to the new system, No Matter What.

What is the Latest with the Silica Regulation, Will Changes Happen in 2016?

Since OSHA started talking about making changes to the silica standard, it has had a difficult time every step of the way. Silica is really “just the tip of the iceberg”. This topic of discussion opens up broader concerns about permissible exposure limits on all harmful chemicals, many of which haven’t been updated in 10, 20, or 30 years! Then, there is also the concern that OSHA drastically underestimated what it would cost the construction industry to implement the changes necessary under the new rule, by as much as a whopping $4.5 BILLION a year. Needless to say this rule faces much opposition but OSHA is hoping to push it through sometime within the next year or year and a half. Stay tuned for what is sure to be, more to come on this issue.

Is OSHA Going to Make it so Companies Have to Electronically Update a Public Injury and Illness Database?

OSHA has had a lot of traction, in the realm of recordkeeping, with the new implementation of rules at the beginning of 2015 around injury and illness reporting what needs to be reported and under what timeframe. In hopes of keeping that positive momentum going they now focus their attention on two other recordkeeping rules; they will require many companies to regularly report their documentation for public record and clarify an employers’ responsibility for an injury in their workplace and eliminating OSHA’s 6 month statute of limitation on citing them. OSHA hopes to get these rules wrapped up by this time next year.

How To Easily Create Lockout Procedures

by Julianne Bass 12/01/2015

Facility wide, site to site, across the country and beyond. Creating and maintaining lockout procedures can be a daunting task when trying to sort through all of the OSHA compliance components to create a cohesive plan that workers can easily follow.

As a safety leader you understand the importance of safety and productivity goals and the role that set procedures play in a successful plan.

Does a tool exist to make it all easier? LINK360^® might do the trick! LINK360^® is a software that provides a dynamic workflow that holds employees accountable for their roles in workplace safety and enables easy standardization, multi-site reporting and ensures the future sustainability of your equipment safety programs and procedures.

Join us December 15, 2015 for a Live demo walk through of all the capabilities the LINK360^® software provides including:

An overview of reporting capabilities and dashboards
Creating your custom workflow and assigning responsibilities
Procedure creation
Auditing capabilities
And more!

Reserve your spot now : https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/4000260067549810946

Workplace Safety News Roundup

by Julianne Bass 09/30/2015

Bad News in Preliminary 2014 Fatal Work Injury Data

Preliminary results from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries showed fatal work injuries increased by 2 percent in 2014 from the prior year, although the rate of 3.3 per 100,000 full-time workers stayed the same. The preliminary total in 2014 was 4,679 fatal work injuries.

Click here to read more

Company ordered to pay $536K for retaliating against injured worker

OSHA has ordered North America’s second-largest freight railroad to reinstate an employee and pay him $536,063 for retaliating against him after reporting a knee injury.

To read more click here.

Top 10 apps for safety pros

At the American Society of Safety Engineers’ (ASSE) Safety 2015 conference in Dallas, Paul Colangelo, National Director of Compliance Programs for ClickSafety, presented his Top 10 list of apps for safety pros.

Here’s his list

Texas worker injured after being denied safety equipment; employers cited

Despite his request for a safety harness, a temporary worker without fall protection on a roof later fell 12 feet through the roof. His fall resulted in his hospitalization with fractured arms and severe contusions. The employer, waited three days to report the injury, an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration found. Federal law requires employers to report such incidents within 24 hours.

To read more click here.

Harness the Fall Protection Safety Basics: What All Safety Managers Need to Know

by Julianne Bass 08/17/2015

Fall hazards are a serious issue, and I’m not just talking the daily tumble we all take rolling out of bed in the morning. In any case if we all know falls are a clear and present danger, why isn’t anything being done to better protect those in harm’s way? Year over year, OSHA announces fall protection as the most cited violation, and year over year even with OSHA’s fall protection requirements, the dangers remain the same.

Mobility of the hazard

Some of the issues may have to do with the mobility of the hazard. Workers at heights have to constantly assemble and disassemble, move to different sites and start the process all over again. Think of it this way, if you had to go to work, build your desk and chair, and then take it apart every day before you left, over time you might start to cut corners. It’s human nature, we’re lazy! But now think of this, if your life was on the line to build that desk would that change the approach you took? Absolutely! Now what if it was someone else’s desk/ life that was in your hands. It is difficult to pinpoint the root issue but it doesn’t hurt to remain well versed on the basics and to understand what is personal protective equipment.

Falls don’t only happen at heights; climbing a ladder or even walking on an uneven surface can result in serious injuries.

The most common situations that cause fall injuries include unstable walking or working surfaces, slick or slippery walkways, clutter, unsafe ladder usage, unguarded edges, wall opening or floor holes.

Fall injury costs

Fall injuries sure are expen$$$$ive! They cost an estimated $70 billion annually in workers’ compensation and medical costs. WOWZERS! All tasks that involve working at any height should consider the available forms of fall protection equipment and which will best suit the job: PPE, fall arrest system, guard rails, personal protective equipment safety signs etc.

Successful fall reduction plan

The big question is now: What will it take to have a successful injury reduction plan complying with OSHA ppe requirements when it comes to workplace falls? It’s not a blink of an eye solution, an all encompassing action plan. The most important key to your plan will be how effectively you are able to engage you employees to retain the information they need to protect themselves and stop others from making dangerous mistakes. They can’t protect themselves from what they are not aware of.

Looking to find some more information about fall protection safety tips? Click here.

OSHA Compliance Update: Walking and Working Surfaces OSHA New Rule

by Julianne Bass 08/17/2015

What have you been working on since 1990? The year the Simpsons aired for the first time, the Hubble telescope was placed into orbit, and the first navigation system was installed in a car. While all of that was happening, OSHA published the proposed rule addressing slips trips and falls in the workplace. Since then the issue of falls in the workplace has remained one of the leading causes of injuries and fatalities. Noticing the need for an update OSHA reopened the rule for comments in 2003 which lead to a second proposed rule being published in 2010. After more than 2 decades in the making OSHA’s final rule on walking and working surfaces is set to be finalized, currently under final review by the white house.

View rule process here.

The New Rule

The new rule will specifically address floor and wall openings, stairs, ladders, scaffold, and elevated platforms. It will specifically impact the current regulation 29CFR 1910 Subpart D. The hope is that when this final rule is published it will provide more clarity, understanding and compliance flexibility in addition to consistency between construction, maritime, and general industry standards.

Changes

Some of the new expected changes will include the ability for businesses to choose from options when providing fall protection, clearly outlined methods of use for the different types of fall protection, and detailed expectations for training of workers around identifying fall hazards, addressing fall hazards, and properly protecting against fall hazards including the limitations of the provided methods of protections.

Check back with Emedco when they make it official for more information.

To view the proposed standard in its entirety click here