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Update: This post was updated in June of 2018 to align with the new Walking-Working Surface Rules posted by OSHA.
Warning line has received a bad reputation over time. Should it have? Maybe. Warning line is the equivalent of someone saying, "Hey, don’t go over there!" When I think of...
Whenever I deliver a training class to a group of workers for whom I’m also serving as a safety consultant, I explain that there are two things I need to do: 1) Keep them safe and 2) Keep the company compliant.
Perhaps you decided to read this because you thought, "Of course not! Everyone knows that is a crazy dangerous, not to mention non-productive." However, studies show that walking and texting are pretty much akin to walking blindfolded.
Researchers at Stony...
So, everybody's got a smartphone or a tablet, right? If not, what are you waiting for? That little communication device sitting in your hand is no longer just for talking. Gone are the days when you could say the best thing about your phone is that it is rugged enough for your job or it...
A safety professional may read the title of this article and feel it’s child’s play. How could somebody not know how to look for risk? That same safety professional may even be tempted to use a phrase that I cannot stand: common sense. I once heard a speaker explain that common...
It's that time of year again, when many parts of the country devolve into a frozen, bone-chilling wasteland that sends many of us scrambling to our warm fireplaces, layers of fleece, and mugs of hot (sometimes spiked) beverages. Even parts of the country not usually known for their cold...
Complex fall protection situations arise all the time. Workers find themselves in scenarios where they need to have fall protection and a personal fall arrest system (PFAS) seems to be the only solution available, yet there is no suitable anchor point. This always comes up at the last minute;...
The recent accident in Westwood, MA regarding the fall of a worker clearing snow from the roof of a business, underscores just how dangerous this job can be. In this particular instance, the worker fell through a skylight and landed on the ground 25’ below. In light of the situation,...
If you’ve been a safety professional for any amount of time, you could probably write a book based on the excuses you’ve heard regarding why a worker or a company failed to adhere to safety rules and regulations. The excuses range from ignorant to absurd – from entertaining to...
Some say the concept of multi-tasking is an illusion – that our brains are not actually capable of doing two things at the same time. Even the things we refer to as multi-tasking (i.e. – answering an email while writing a report and participating in a conference call) are actually short...
The headline out of Jacksonville, FL reads, “OSHA: Roofing worker’s death ‘preventable’”. As an EHS professional, I feel like I should be able to come up with a better retort then, “Well, duh,” but it seems to be awfully appropriate here. Preventable incidents – preventable deaths –...
As safety professionals, our focus needs to be on prevention: proactivity keeps workers from being hurt in the first place. In recent years, with incentive programs under fire, there has been a push for companies to focus on leading indicators (such as safety meetings attended, near misses...
For many years now, falls have been the leading cause of death on construction sites. From small residential projects to large commercial structures, people continue to add to the fatal fall statistic – regardless of the focus placed on this epidemic. Sometimes this is the result of a...
Fear of falling is natural. Once believed to occur only as a result of a traumatic experience, it has more recently become considered a condition you are born with. Most people fear falling because – well – gravity. We can’t fly. We don’t bounce. We fall, we land – sometimes...
Homeowners and building managers cannot be expected to be experts in every area of maintenance and repairs that need to be performed on their building. Day in and day out, contractors around the country are hired to perform such work because they are the experts. Some of this work takes...
I’ve been in many warehouses. Many, many warehouses. The difference in safety culture from one to the next is as varied as the products they store. Some are in pristine, new buildings with clear lines painted on the floor, have only safe, certified forklift operators driving the...
If you are responsible for maintaining rooftop HVAC equipment, you have probably run into a common problem: technicians need to safely cross piping, ductwork, conduit, or elevation changes just to reach the equipment they service every day.
The confusing part is that most buyers do not know...
With the coming of warmer temperatures in most of the country comes an increase in construction activity. Unfortunately, if history teaches us anything, with increased construction activity comes increased worker injuries and fatalities. Falls continue to top the list of fatalities in...
By now, you may have heard: OSHA issued a new final rule in regards to electronic recordkeeping. Great! What the heck does that mean?
Well, funny you should ask, because I’ve got answers!
Just the Facts
Let’s start with the basics. The final rule was issued by OSHA...
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