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Photo by NIOSH

One workplace safety hazard I never considered until recently was the weather, specifically cold weather. I live in frick’n cold Wisconsin. A good friend (who lives in frick’n cold Minnesota) shared about his new job where he works outside installing satellite dishes. I asked if work was ever canceled because of the weather conditions - he said never. I found that concerning. Working on a slippery roof, below freezing weather, and installing stuff… sounds like a recipe for disaster.

I asked around one of the safety groups I belong to and one of the NIOSH guys sent me a great link that discussed the dangers of cold weather:  http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/coldstress/

If you read through the whole article there are recommendations for employers and workers. I am sorry to say that my friend’s employer does very little to protect the workers. Seems like it takes an injury or death for something to change.

“Employers should take the following steps to protect workers from cold stress:

• Schedule maintenance and repair jobs in cold areas for warmer months.
• Schedule cold jobs for the warmer part of the day.
• Reduce the physical demands of workers.
• Use relief workers or assign extra workers for long, demanding jobs.
• Provide warm liquids to workers.
• Provide warm areas for use during break periods.
• Monitor workers who are at risk of cold stress.

Provide cold stress training that includes information about:

• Worker risk
• Prevention
• Symptoms
• The importance of monitoring yourself and coworkers for symptoms
• Treatment
• Personal protective equipment”

Stay warm and stay safe.

Technorati Tags: cold weather work, workplace safety

Posted in Safety Articles by Sassy Safety Glasses Queen. The Sassy Safety Glasses Queen is our resident safety glasses expert. She specializes in the news, trends, and fashions of the Safety Glasses industry while dabbling in the world of fall protection.

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The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) released data earlier this month showing that mine fatalities last year fell to an all time low.

I think it is interesting to note that December 30th, 1969 was when the Coal Act was signed. Below is an excerpt from MSHA’s Assistant Secretary, Joe Main.

“…I want to note a very important anniversary in mine safety and health. This year we will celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969, known as the Coal Act. Signed on December 30, 1969, this law represents a watershed moment in the improvement of occupational health and safety in the United States. It was the precursor to the Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977, which created MSHA, and it was the basis of the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act) of 1970. The Coal Act forever transformed occupational safety and health in the United States.”

Laws can make a difference. You can make a difference.

Technorati Tags: coal miner's safety, workplace safety

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Dear Luke,
I’m using a harness that I’ve had stored in the barn for the past decade. It was used infrequently but wasn’t stored super great. When is it time to replace a harness? What’s its shelf life?
Wondering

This question is often asked. I’ve seen harness that needed to be disposed after one year and others that are in great condition after a decade. Here’s what you need to know:

Most fall protection companies use the ANSI standard and the five year life as a guideline. This is only a guideline. You must inspect your harness and follow the maintenance guidelines that go with the harness. Do you see damage? Has it been left out in the elements? Has it been exposed to chemicals or intense heat? How it’s taken care of may shorten it’s life. Good care and maintenance may extend it (store at room temperature away from chemicals, moisture, and ultra-violet light). Your harness and lanyards should have instructions for their use, inspection and cleaning. Check it out.

Fall protection companies require that, “all fall protection products to be visually inspected prior to use and regularly inspected by a ‘Competent Person’, such as defined by OSHA or CSA.”

Technorati Tags: fall harness, fall protection question

Posted in Fall Protection Articles, Safety Articles by Luke Allsage. Luke Allsage is our resident fall protection expert, he knows what you need, where to put it, and how much it can hold. In the rare cases he doesn't know something, he knows where to find it.

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Choosing lead-free traction tapes:

Think about what goes into our landfills. At the end of a product’s life cycle it’s going to end up in the garbage and then a landfill. Lead-free products won’t contaminate a landfill which is a win-win for green-conscious businesses and individuals. Choosing products, like True Grip Traction tapes, that are Lead Free and RoHS Compliant is a great idea. To be considered RoHS Compliant, products must follow the regulations of RoHS which looks at equipment/products containing lead, cadmium, mercury, hexavalent chromium, PBB, & PBDE flame retardants.

Technorati Tags: safety tapes, safety tips

Posted in Safety Articles by Sassy Safety Glasses Queen. The Sassy Safety Glasses Queen is our resident safety glasses expert. She specializes in the news, trends, and fashions of the Safety Glasses industry while dabbling in the world of fall protection.

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It’s that time of year where we make resolutions & choose to make better decisions.

One change we are making here at Safety Briefs is taking more mailbag questions for Luke, one of our fall protection experts. Feel free to email us your safety questions. If we don’t know the answers, we can find someone who does!

Those of us from Safety Briefs wish you a Safe and Healthy 2010!

Technorati Tags: fall protection advice, workplace safety

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After researching safety tapes the past couple weeks I know more than I thought possible about safety tapes.

This weeks tip:  Chose acrylic adhesives instead of rubber adhesives for anti-slip tape.

If you have the choice, go with the acrylic adhesives. It’s going to save you time and money in the long run when you eventually go to remove the safety tape. (The tape has to be replaced sometime!) When pulled up, the acrylic adhesives leaves behind no residue (yeah!) but if it’s a rubber based safety tape you’re going to need some acetate and some good old fashion elbow grease to rub away the residue. From a maintenance standpoint, the choice is clear -save your knees and time.

Technorati Tags: anti-slip tape, safety tape advice

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For the month of December we are giving away TWO pairs of Harley Davidson safety glasses, courtesy of Safety Glasses Inc. All you need to do to get your name in the monthly drawing is subscribe to this blog. Yes it’s that simple.

This months winners are:

*Brian, Florida (He picked the Harley Davidson 500 series silver mirror safety glasses. Looking good!)

*Still waiting to hear back from our second winner. If I haven’t heard back by the end of the week I will pick someone new.

Technorati Tags: freebies, safefy glasses

Posted in Safety Glasses by Sassy Safety Glasses Queen. The Sassy Safety Glasses Queen is our resident safety glasses expert. She specializes in the news, trends, and fashions of the Safety Glasses industry while dabbling in the world of fall protection.

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Every week Google sends me updates of the latest OSHA fines and workplace safety stories so it was awesome to read this week about amazing companies who are making their company the “safest.”

The America’s Safest Companies Award was founded in 2002. It honors companies that achieve specific criterias in safety. This year the criteria got even harder, where the selection team picked companies that demonstrated “Visionary thinking… were practically perfect…and over the top” in safety.

EHS Today, sponsors of this award, wrote that these companies, “provide a safe working environment for tens of thousands of employees, protect the environment and act as advocates for health and safety.”
The criteria:

• Support from management and employee involvement.
• Innovative solutions to safety challenges.
• Injury and illness rates lower than average for their industries.
• Comprehensive training programs.
• Evidence that prevention of incidents is the cornerstone of the safety process.
• Good communication about the value of safety.
• Way to substantiate the benefits of the safety process.

This years winners:

AMEC Earth & Environmental Inc.,The Concrete Pipe Div. of CEMEX, Medtronic Inc., Morin Actuator, RQ Construction Inc., Trendmaker Homes, Trihydro Corp., and Wood Group Power Plant Services.

Source: http://ehstoday.com/safety/asc/

Technorati Tags: Safety award, workplace safety

Posted in Safety Articles by Sassy Safety Glasses Queen. The Sassy Safety Glasses Queen is our resident safety glasses expert. She specializes in the news, trends, and fashions of the Safety Glasses industry while dabbling in the world of fall protection.

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Earlier this month OSHA released news about New Place Carpentry who is facing new fines in the amount of $308,500. In the past six years they have been cited eight times by OSHA for “willful and repeat fall hazards.” These hazards included lack of fall protection and unsafe work involving scaffolding. OSHA’s New England regional administrator, Marthe Kent, stated that the huge fines proposed were to “…reflect the gravity of these hazards and this employer’s ongoing refusal to comply with basic, commonsense, and legally required protections for its workers.”

There are costs (fines, injuries, lives) to not following rules. Interestingly, the blogger chat about this company was mostly about short cuts. Shorts cuts in building and short cuts in protecting employees. It will be interesting to see what happens.**

**All companies, after receiving a citation and proposed penalties, have 15 business days to either comply, meet with OSHA or contest the findings.

Technorati Tags: osha fines, osha violations

Posted in Fall Protection Articles, Safety Articles by Sassy Safety Glasses Queen. The Sassy Safety Glasses Queen is our resident safety glasses expert. She specializes in the news, trends, and fashions of the Safety Glasses industry while dabbling in the world of fall protection.

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What is the reason for the D-ring having to be situated between your shoulder blades?

In a nutshell, that is where your body best takes the load in a free fall without doing internal damage. Many people do not understand that just because a harness has d-rings on the side you can never be solely attached to those -they are used for positioning. If you did take a fall while just being connected to one of those rings, it could potentially snap your back. Ouch.

Technorati Tags: d-rings, fall protection questions

Posted in Fall Protection Articles, Safety Articles by Luke Allsage. Luke Allsage is our resident fall protection expert, he knows what you need, where to put it, and how much it can hold. In the rare cases he doesn't know something, he knows where to find it.

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