Workplace Safety Awareness Council Blog

Do you have a first aid kit at the workplace? OSHA requires it per 29 CFR 1910.151(B) "Adequate first aid supplies shall be readily available."

The question then becomes, "what is considered adequate"? Well strangely enough there once was a time when an employer had to have a licensed medical professional prescribe the proper contents for the first aid kit!

Don't remember ever doing that did you (we didn't either). OSHA then became wiser and changed the wording as we see above. Of course that wording just complicated things so they clarified rather nicely the required first aid kit contents in Appendix "A" of 29 CFR 1910.151 where it states:

An example of the minimal contents of a generic first aid kit is described in American National Standard (ANSI) Z308.1-1998 "Minimum Requirements for Workplace First-aid Kits." The contents of the kit listed in the ANSI standard should be adequate for small worksites. When larger operations or multiple operations are being conducted at the same location, employers should determine the need for additional first aid kits at the worksite, additional types of first aid equipment and supplies and additional quantities and types of supplies and equipment in the first aid kits.

Well now Z308.1-2009, American National Standard -- Minimum Requirements for Workplace First Aid Kits and Supplies, has received ANSI approval and becomes effective. There are some changes to the contents, new types of first aid kits and a required supply list to include a first aid guide.

Should you start buying new first aid kits that now match the newly revised ANSI standard?

Although perhaps a good idea to match the current standard, OSHA has only adopted the requirement to meet the 1998 version of ANSI Z308.1 standard. As long as your kits at least meet that standard, you should be good to go, if you are a typical small workplace.

OSHA still requires that the employer evaluate the workplace, the workers, the task performed, the employee count, types of injuries possible etc and then make a decision on the first aid kits and their requirements.

How best can this be done? By conducting a Job Hazard Analysis (JHA).

You do know how to conduct a JHA right?

If not, come back to this blog and we'll talk about the JHA. . .

Labels: ANSI Z308.1, First Aid Kit, JHA, job hazard analysis, OSHA, Safety

It would seem that 250lb linebackers who run a 4.5 second 40 yard time and violently collide into other professionals at equal size and speed would be dangerous enough. . .

Last week in Irving Texas, however the unexpected happened. During a microburst up to 70-mph winds, the Cowboys 85 foot tall practice bubble collapsed. Nearly 70 players, coaches, and members of the media were inside the steel framed structure.

A total of 12 people were injured including a 33-year-old Dallas Cowboys staff member who was
left paralyzed. Scouting assistant Rich Behm suffered a spine fracture that caused permanent paralysis from the waist down, the team confirmed Sunday.

Thankfully, nobody died however the life of Rich Behm has been forever changed. Now, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is onsite.

Representatives of Summit Structure of Allentown, Pa., and Cover-All Building Systems, of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, which built the facility, could not be reached Sunday.

In 2007, a Pennsylvania judge, relying on Timbie's expert assessment, found that a structure Summit built for the Philadelphia Regional Port Authority on the Delaware River collapsed because of "failure of the design" to account for snow buildup on the roof, court documents show. That structure had a double roof construction, which is different from the Dallas Cowboys' structure.

Judge Allan Tereshko wrote that the Philadelphia structure collapsed "under the weight of the first significant snowfall" of the year, conditions that "would have been easily tolerated by the building had it been properly designed and constructed."

Based on first impressions it appears that Summit Structure is in hotwater once again for a substandard building.

Questions remain however for the Dallas Cowboys: Did they do their due diligence in selecting a trustworthy vendor?

Did they ensure that all inspections were completed by their local municipality (there is a rumor that final inspections didn't happen)? Did the Cowboys develop a "severe weather policy" which would require personnel to leave the practice bubble and seek more suitable shelter?

No doubt the courts and OSHA will quite busy figuring this one out. . .

The lesson for you? Analyze your workplace for hazards (including severe weather hazards) and create policies and deliver training to protect employees.

Need an incentive? Hurricane season is right around the corner. . . .

Labels: Dallas Cowboys, OSHA, OSHA Compliance, OSHA Training, OSHA Visit, Severe Weather Policy

Recently we've received a number of questions about NFPA 10 - Maintenance code for portable fire extinguishers. In an effort to unify NFPA code with Underwriters Laboratory (UL), the latest version of NFPA 10 requires that PFE's manufactured before October 1984 shall be removed from service at the next 6 year maintenance interval or 12 year hydrotest, whichever comes first.

Does this mean that you need to retire and replace all of your older portable fire extinguishers? Well, OSHA does not reference UL 299 or UL711 and that is the crux of NFPA’s reasoning behind the retirement of the older extinguishers.

In their regs OSHA says:
1910.157(e)(4) The employer shall assure that stored pressure dry chemical extinguishers that require a 12-year hydrostatic test are emptied and subjected to applicable maintenance procedures every 6 years. Dry chemical extinguishers having non-refillable disposable containers are exempt from this requirement. When recharging or hydrostatic testing is performed, the 6-year requirement begins from that date.

In 29 CFR 1910 Subpart L - National Consensus Standards - 1910 Subpart L App B
OSHA references GUIDELINES where employers can go to receive GUIDANCE in complying with the REGULATIONS. These guidelines are non-mandatory as identified in OSHA’s comments:

NOTE: The following appendix to Subpart L serve as nonmandatory guidelines to assist employers in complying with the appropriate requirements of Subpart L.
ANSI/NFPA No. 10, Portable Fire Extinguishers.

So right now, OSHA does not require you to retire your older extinguishers, however OSHA does require that the PFE’s be maintained and in working order and depending on the age of the PFE’s it might be good to retire it, but it’s not required across the board.

The next question is "Does your local building code or municipality (or other authority having jurisdiction) recognize and enforce NFPA 10? If the answer is yes, you'll need to follow the NFPA standards.

One last thought: Does your company own the portable fire extinguishers and use simply use a third party vendor to maintain them? Of course in this scenario your company would be responsible to retire and replace them (at your cost) if local code has adopted NFPA 10.

More typically the vendor owns the extinguishers and you would lease them. This of course would make the retirement and replacement of the PFE’s the responsibility of the vendor.

Labels: Fire Code, NFPA, OSHA, OSHA Compliance, Portable Fire Extinguisher

Good friend and Maintenance Evangelist Joel Leonard talks with Fred Echols, host of All Things Considered/Weekend Virginia on WVTF and Radio IQ in Roanoke/Charlottesville, Va., about using an infrared camera to measure the heat that radiates from the foreheads of contestants who eat hot sauce.
For details follow the link: http://www.myfox8.com/news/morningnews/

For those of you who know of Joel's work, you'll also know of his now world famous maintenance crisis song, which you can catch on the plantservices.com site. For more information about the contest, see The Hothead Contest blog and The Asheboro Chili Cookoff blog.

Labels: Joel Leonard, Maintenance, OSHA, OSHA Compliance, Safety, SkillTV

Well today is April 1st and unless you've been hiding under a rock you've probably been hit with some sort of "April Fools Story". It happens every year, we read a story and believe its true until we remember - "Oh wait - you got me, its April Fools Day". Our twist on April Fools Day is a little different. . . .

We've just completed a video and we're calling it "Safety is no Joke". Its a great collection of "funny" safety pictures (and we're using the term "funny" very loosely). The best part is the video is synced to the dueling banjo music from the movie Deliverance! You can't want this video without smiling - I promise!


Be sure to sign up for our e-newsletter at the end and do us a huge favor and forward the link to a friend and help us get the word out - Safety is no Joke!

Labels: Compliance, OSHA, Safety, training video

Just arrived back from the NFM&T conference in Baltimore and we had a great group.
The general feeling we're getting out there is that safety managers are more interested in the return on investment of safety than ever before. And it makes great sense! A recent study by Liberty Mutual found that for every dollar spent on safety you can expect a $3 - $4 return on the $1 investment! That's pretty powerful stuff, in any economy.

Think it doesn't work? While working with a group of municipal power companies in Florida, one risk manager was able to reduce his company's workers comp and liability insurance costs from $1 million dollars to just above $375,000 in a three year period. That's not a one time savings of $625,000 - its an annual savings of $625,000 based on smart safety goals - $625,000 each and every year!

Imagine what a similar savings would do for your company. better yet, imagine what a similar savings would do for you personally. Think job security, a healthy raise, new doors opened, the ability upgrade your position and salary. Pretty good options, especially in this economy!

To find out how to achieve similar savings in your organization, click on this link for a recent webinar that we conducted. This webinar may just be the jump start you need to make some serious changes in your organization and career:

http://www.wpsac.org/webinarinquiry.php?webinar=webinar3

See you on the blog very soon!

Labels: Compliance, Liberty Mutual, OSHA, Safety, Workers Comp