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I wanted to take this post to let you know about brand of safety glasses you may not have known existed… Drumroll… O. C. C….

Yep, Safety Glasses Inc.  stocks Orange County Choppers Safety Glasses and they are sharp.  They’re manufactured by AO Safety, so they’ve got that going for them.  Secondly, most of them have slick metal frames and are as sturdy as Aunt Mildred’s 3-point stance.

These babies are full of fashion, and are a fraction of the cost of other designer safety glasses.  Did I mention that they look stupendous? They do.  So check them out.  And as a little bonus here’s a little introductory video we put together a year or so ago.

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Posted in Safety Glasses by Safety Frank. Safety Frank is our resident all around safety guy. He specializes in making safety easier to understand though humor, video, and a general irreverence for a very stuffy industry.

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April 23, was  officially take a chance day.  However here is a list of 10 things I would not take a chance on today.

1. Not wearing your safety glasses for an entire day
2. That new duct tape harness you created to save a few bucks
3. Telling your boss you slept with his wife
4. Leaving flammable materials sitting by the burn pile
5. Seeing how close you can get your face to your machine without wearing safety glasses
6. Testing the theory that legs can grow back by not wearing chainsaw chaps
7. Lifting anything with your groin
8. Trying to determine how bad an anvil to the head would hurt without head protection.
9. Letting co-workers yell in your ear all day without ear plugs to see if  you’ll lose your hearing.
10. Using your dog’s leash as a fall protection lanyard because you forgot yours at home.

Technorati Tags: chainsaw chaps, fall protection, Safety Glasses

Posted in Safety Articles by Safety Frank. Safety Frank is our resident all around safety guy. He specializes in making safety easier to understand though humor, video, and a general irreverence for a very stuffy industry.

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Are we in a Recession?  Apparently.  Oh well.  Here’s the thing though.  In tough times, individuals and companies are looking for any way to save a buck.  They start cutting things.  Unfortunately, in our haste and panic we often cut the wrong things.  Safety is not an area to cut out.

It is possible to save money, and still provide your employees with safety gear to keep them out of harm’s way.

Look, I love the Wiley X safety glasses as much as the next guy. They look awesome, and I’m pretty damn sure they improve compliance.  However, there are less expensive models available that keep your eyes just as safe.  Hell, you can get a ton of safety glasses for under $4 a pair.

Remember you can save money by changing the style, but don’t cut out safety all together.  You’ll regret it for the rest of your life if something happens.

Technorati Tags: recession, Safety Glasses, safety in a recession

Posted in Safety Glasses by Safety Frank. Safety Frank is our resident all around safety guy. He specializes in making safety easier to understand though humor, video, and a general irreverence for a very stuffy industry.

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So, you’re thinking about a horizontal lifeline system, but you don’t know what the hell you’re looking for.  Well, fear not my friends.  First off let me explain a horizontal lifeline system…

Basically a horizontal lifeline stretches from “point A” to “point B” across the length of a roof.  The beauty of a system like this is that workers can attach their lanyard, retractable, etc… to the rope or cable anywhere across the length of the roof without moving their anchor.

Now, let’s take a look at two basic systems from Guardian.  Guardian offers both a cable and rope version at 100 ft.  Both systems support two workers and include everything you’d need to set up your lifeline.  The cable lifeline system is obviously more durable, but with that durability comes weight.  The rope lifeline system is much lighter, but wouldn’t be recommended with welding applications.

Another option comes from SafeWaze, who offers a two man cable and rope system with distances ranging from 30 to 100 ft. long.  And don’t forget that you can use some anchors to create your own lifeline system, such as the CB anchors and the Beamguard.

Hopefully, this quick primer gives you the information you need to get started and thinking about building a horizontal lifeline system of your own.

Technorati Tags: cable lifelines, horizontal lifelines, lifeline systems, rope lifelines

Posted in Fall Protection Articles by Safety Frank. Safety Frank is our resident all around safety guy. He specializes in making safety easier to understand though humor, video, and a general irreverence for a very stuffy industry.

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Due to the increase of infrastructure construction, where fall protection and welding often meet, I thought I’d showcase a few welding fall protection products on the market.

Anchor: Guardian Beamer 2000 – The metal that makes up this anchor is resistant to welding splatter and fits over I and H beams.

Retractable: Go with any cable retractable in the work of welding.  Stay away from Web retractables and lanyards (unless otherwise noted to work with welding applications.

Harness: Safewaze Saturn Welding Harness – This little dynamo is made from Nomex and resists damage from splatter and char up to 700 degrees.  It was made specifically for Welders and the price is way better than Guardian’s Kevlar option.

So there you have it.  Also don’t forget to check out or recent article on welding safety glasses….

Technorati Tags: beamer 2000, fall protection, welding fall protection

Posted in Fall Protection Articles by Safety Frank. Safety Frank is our resident all around safety guy. He specializes in making safety easier to understand though humor, video, and a general irreverence for a very stuffy industry.

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Did you know that April 29 was National Zipper Day!!!  Did you know that zippers have played an important role in safety over the years?  Well they have.  In celebration, where can you find zippers in the safety industry?

Hello, Vest Harnesses use zippers to make these things easy as hell to put on.  If it wasn’t for the zipper, these harnesses would be just as much of a pain in the ass as every other harness on the market.

Another use of the zipper… Safety Vests!  I’m detecting a theme here.  Yes, zippers are often used in safety vests.

Other than that…  It’s pretty slim pickins’  Hmmm.  I guess I should have thought about this a tad bit more before I started writing this post.  I guess zippers also work for mouths…  or fing… hmph! hrrgh! mmrph!

Technorati Tags: fall protection, safety vests, vest harnesses

Posted in Fall Protection Articles by Safety Frank. Safety Frank is our resident all around safety guy. He specializes in making safety easier to understand though humor, video, and a general irreverence for a very stuffy industry.

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Well, it was just announced that OSHA will be removing all of their sanctions from everything. Yep you heard me right… everything. Working on a skyscraper? You no longer need to wear a harness.  Want to make your employees run on flaming coals? Done.  Your wish is your command.

So what’s up with the relaxing regulations? Well for one, the recession is affecting so many businesses that fining most companies is an empty gesture that does more harm than good, as it’s causing companies to go belly up. So, poof they’re gone. Also, I heard that OSHA got sick and tired of prosecuting morons for the same crap over and over again. Apparently, the head of OSHA said, “piss on ‘em. If they want to die let ‘em.”

Okay so maybe this is a bit of April Fool’s fun, OSHA’s regulations are alive and well. Yet, sometimes I think we tend to forget why they exist in the first place. To help us stay safe. Besides, OSHA only becomes a hassle when you let down your end of the bargain.

Technorati Tags: osha, osha fines, osha regulations

Posted in Safety Articles by Safety Frank. Safety Frank is our resident all around safety guy. He specializes in making safety easier to understand though humor, video, and a general irreverence for a very stuffy industry.

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Temples are a huge component of safety glasses and eye protection, and as a result let’s go over some of the common used terms when discussing this piece of equipment.

First of a ll what is a temple?  Well, a temple is the plastic or metal that stretches from the frame of your safety glasses to your ears.  Clear?  Now here are the variants.

Pivoting or Ratcheting Temples: The ability to tilt or adjust the angle of the temple up and down in order to provide a comfortable or specific fit.

Adjustable Temples: The manipulation of the temple in length in order to accommodate various sized faces, depending on how far the ears are away from the eyes.

Temple Tips: The end of the temple by your ear.  These are often covered in rubber for comfort.

Technorati Tags: eye protection, safety glass temples, Safety Glasses

Posted in Safety Glasses by Safety Frank. Safety Frank is our resident all around safety guy. He specializes in making safety easier to understand though humor, video, and a general irreverence for a very stuffy industry.

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Here is a brief answer to this question from the folks over at entnet.org.  So what’s the deal?  Can we still hear voices and machines with ear plugs in?  How is that possible?

“Just as sunglasses help vision in very bright light, so hearing protectors enhance speech understanding in very noisy places. Even in a quiet setting, a normal-hearing person wearing hearing protectors should be able to understand a regular conversation.

Hearing protectors do slightly reduce the ability of those with damaged hearing or poor comprehension of language to understand normal conversation. However, it is essential that persons with impaired hearing wear earplugs or muffs to prevent further inner ear damage in very noisy places.

It has been argued that hearing protectors might reduce a worker’s ability to hear the noises that signify an improperly functioning machine. However, most workers readily adjust to the quieter sounds and can still detect such problems. If a worker is already hearing impaired, he or she needs expert advice about how to protect against further damage. In some cases hearing aids can and should be used under earmuffs.”

Technorati Tags: ear plugs, ear protection, earmuffs, hearing protectors

Posted in Safety Articles by Safety Frank. Safety Frank is our resident all around safety guy. He specializes in making safety easier to understand though humor, video, and a general irreverence for a very stuffy industry.

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Here is another disaster fact from OSHA.  You may remember my first post about this neat feature, but if not you can check it out here.  Anyway, here is another sample accident and what you can do to prevent it.  Sometimes it’s just a good idea to hear all of the things that have happened so you know they can possibly happen.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF ACCIDENT
Employee was working on a roof without any fall protection method employed. He fell 15 feet 7 inches head first and struck the asphalt below. He and another employee were moving 20 foot sections of angle iron away from the edge of the roof when he appeared to lose consciousness and fell over the edge.

ACCIDENT PREVENTION RECOMMENDATIONS
Implement a fall protection plan and discuss the different methods available to prevent an accident from occuring. Methods available are as follows: Guardrail systems or body harness and lanyards attached to the appropriate anchorage points.

Technorati Tags: anchor points, fall protection, harnesses

Posted in Fall Protection Articles by Safety Frank. Safety Frank is our resident all around safety guy. He specializes in making safety easier to understand though humor, video, and a general irreverence for a very stuffy industry.

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