Karen D. Hamel CSP, CIT, WACH, is a regulatory expert, trainer and technical writer for HalenHardy. She has more than 27 years of experience helping EHS professionals meet regulatory requirements and industry standards and has had more than 300 articles published on a variety of EHS topics. Karen is a Certified Safety Professional (CSP), Certified Instructional Trainer (CIT), Walkway Auditor Certificate Holder (WACH), OSHA-Authorized Outreach Trainer for General Industry, Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Trainer and Hazmat Technician. She serves on the Blair County, PA LEPC. Karen can be reached at khamel@halenhardy.com
Not only does OSHA have regulations for the forklifts themselves, they also have specific requirements for forklift operators. The Powered Industrial Truck Standard outlines the topics that must be included during training, as well as requirements for refresher trainings.
Restoring power typically means sending out crews, often in extreme weather conditions. It may also require coordinating assistance from other utility providers through mutual aid agreements.
Frontline workers are usually the first to discover oil leaks, drips and spills — whether it's discovered upon arrival, found during a routine inspection or is the result of an operational error.
Rain, snow and mud don’t just look bad when they get tracked into the building. They can be dangerous. Grabbing a “Wet Floor” sign from the custodian’s closet probably isn’t enough to prevent slip and fall injuries in entranceways.
Each day that they are in use, forklifts and other types of powered industrial equipment must be inspected prior to operation. But often, not nearly as much thought is given to the battery charging stations that keep many of these essential machines running.
During emergencies at facilities, a lot of different fast-paced activities are often happening simultaneously. Objectives can include accounting for all personnel, putting out a fire, containing a chemical release, coordinating with outside resources and many others.
Telling employees to watch their step isn’t enough to eliminate slip, trip and fall injuries in production areas. Like other safety hazards, slip, trip and fall hazards can be identified and in many cases eliminated.
Not long after toddlers take their first tentative steps, they’re likely to be told, “Don’t touch the hot stove.” Either by heeding that warning or sadly through their own experience, they learn that a hot stove may burn them.
In the final seconds of the championship game, the quarterback hands off the football to his star running back. The running back skillfully weaves, dodges and avoids tackles. The home crowd cheers as he crosses the goal line, securing victory.
Few employees may ever take notice of a freshly cleaned, well-maintained floor. Unfortunately, too few also tend to notice uneven surfaces that cause trips or spilled materials that can make floors slippery. That’s one of the reasons why it’s up to employers to make sure that these types of hazards are eliminated.
