safetybriefs.org

We may have found the best-looking safety goggle so far.  Popularity is over flowing.  The hottest selling safety goggle looks more like a pair of safety glasses. They are the Elvex Go Specs.  Check out the safety glasses Hybrid! Go-Specs™ provide an extra measure of protection in dusty and dirty environments. Wind blown particles such as dust, sand, cement, and chemicals can cause serious eye irritation and damage. Also beneficial for contact wearers and suffers of dry eye syndrome.

These safety goggles are lined with a layer of durable resistant foam on the inside.  The foam has periodic air spaces to prevent fogging and moisture build up.  They are very popular especially in the lab environment.  They also come with impact resistant molded lens with SuperCoat™ anti-fog coating.  The Elvex Go Specs can be viewed here: http://www.safetyglassesinc.com/Elvex/Safety-Goggles/Elvex-Go-Specs-Clear-Anti-Fog-Safety-Goggles/.

Technorati Tags: Safety Glasses, safety goggles, workplace safety

Posted in Press Releases, Safety Articles, Safety Glasses by ionsafety. Ionsafety (his real name is Jim) has been in the safety industry for over 14 years. He has a passion for keeping an "eye" on safety.

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Do you ever have those moments when you wonder, “What are they thinking?” When you you hold your breath and just hope nothing happens as you hold your cell phone wondering if you’ll have to call 911? And about perfectly normal, seemingly sensible people? Those thoughts went through my head last week when my neighbor strapped himself to a tree and ladder while chainsawing. He did have his safety glasses on … after his wife made him.

The top three causes of death for tree trimmers is electrocution, falls and being hit by parts of the tree.

Some important safety equipment when cutting down trees: safety glasses, ear protection, gloves, boots and chainsaw chaps. Also the appropriate ropes and harnesses if applicable. Remember to be prepared for the unexpected and properly educate yourself before attempting any DIY tree projects. OHSA has some great etool resources that are very helpful in better understanding hazards & solutions to them.

Thanks to my neighbors for allowing me take and post these photos.

Technorati Tags: chainsaw prote, safety don'ts

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 purpose of Stress Awareness Day is “to focus public awareness on one of the leading health problems in the world today. Health-related organizations throughout the country are encouraged to sponsor stress education programs and events. Annually, the first day after income taxes due.”

How is stress effecting you? Stress can lead to health problems and a decline in worker productivity. It’s in everyone’s interest to address stress in the workplace
Here’s some interesting numbers from workers surveyed:
-40% of workers report their job is “very or extremely stressful.”
-26% of workers report they are “often or very often burned out or stressed by their work.”
-3/4th of workers believe the worker has more on-the-job stress than a generation ago.
-Workers who report high levels of stress have health care expenditures nearly 50% greater than their counterparts. Yikes!

We know it exists and some of us have faced the more serious side of stress. NIOSH recommends Stress Management and Organizational Change as two actions reduce job stress. The following are suggestions from American Psychologist are on how to change organizations to prevent job stress:

• Ensure that the workload is in line with workers’ capabilities and resources.
• Design jobs to provide meaning, stimulation, and opportunities for workers to use their skills.
• Clearly define workers’ roles and responsibilities.
• Give workers opportunities to participate in decisions and actions affecting their jobs.
• Improve communications-reduce uncertainty about career development and future employment prospects.
• Provide opportunities for social interaction among workers.
• Establish work schedules that are compatible with demands and responsibilities outside the job.

Enjoy the day!

Technorati Tags: national stress awareness

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’s a great story that emphasizes the need for chainsaw chaps.

“Chaps actually saved my life once (I’m convinced, anyway). I was working for a builder in Michigan, clearing out some of his land for new houses. The lots were heavily wooded and his method was to push the trees over with the backhoe and we would buck them up on the ground, and sometimes this resulted in fairly large piles of trees.

I was working on one of the piles, cutting upwards from underneath the bottom of a limb that was lying more or less horizontally, when the balance of the pile shifted and the upper tip of the blade hit something where I couldn’t see it, and the whole blade kicked back across my upper leg. The chainsaw was running at full speed but the threads in the chainsaw chaps stopped the thing cold.

At first I didn’t even realize what had happened – I thought the saw had bound in the branches or something, and even gave the trigger a few kicks to try and loosen it again. That was when I felt it trying to tug at my pants and realized what had happened. We were miles away from nowhere; I am sure I would have bled to death in minutes if that thing had gone through my leg. So yeah, I’m a big believer in chaps.”

Thanks Joel for your story. The photo used is from another person’s chain saw injury (ugh – blood).  Joel’s leg is just fine.

Be safe working on your Spring Projects outside!

Technorati Tags: chainsaw chaps, chainsaw protection

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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Every year in the U.S. youth are either injured or die from work related injuries. Approximately 70,000 youth end up in the ER with work related injuries while another 70 die every year. It is most common for these injuries to occur in the first 6 months of the job. Many injuries are due to job duties that are illegal for them to do or from inadequate training.

Age Restrictions (Laws that protect teens from doing dangerous work)

No Worker Under 18 May:
-Drive a motor vehicle as a regular part of the job or operate a forklift at anytime.
-Operate many types of powered equipment (like meat slicer, circular saw, bakery machine)
-Work in wrecking, demolition, excavation or roofing.
-Work in mining, logging or a sawmill.
-Work in meat packing or slaughtering.
-Work where there is exposure to radiation.
-Work where explosives are manufactured or stored.

No Worker 14 or 15 Years May:
-Bake or cook on the job (except at a serving counter)
-Operate power-driven machinery, except certain types which pose little hazard such those used in offices.
-Work on a ladder or scaffold.
-Work in warehouses.
-Work in construction, building or manufacturing.
-Load or unload a truck, railroad car or conveyor.

Resources: NIOSH & OSHA

http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/adoldoc.html

http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/teenworkers/teenworkers.html

http://www2.worksafebc.com/Topics/YoungWorker/Home.asp

Technorati Tags: workplace safety, workplace safety for youth

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 interesting the type of photos we see from around the world denoting workplace “safety.”  There’s always an abundance of pictures from China. Always.

The Safety Guru group on Flickr has an interesting collection of safety photos from different contributors in locations around the world. I visit occasionally to see what’s new. Unfortunately I only post photos with direct permission from the photographer so I can’t use the 3rd party photos from that group. But you still can check it out and laugh… or groan.

Today’s photo was provide by P. Adkin which he shot when he was in China.  Thanks so much for allowing us to use your photo.

Stay safe!

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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Earlier this month OSHA held a public meeting “OSHA Listens”, asking for public feedback on key issues the agency faces. The following nine questions were the different topics discussed:

• What can the agency do to enhance and encourage the efforts of employers, workers and unions to identify and address workplace hazards?

• What are the most important emerging or unaddressed health and safety issues in the workplace, and what can OSHA do to address these?

• How can the agency improve its efforts to engage stakeholders in programs and initiatives?

• What specific actions can the agency take to enhance the voice of workers in the workplace, particularly workers who are hard to reach, do not have ready access to information about hazards or their rights, or are afraid to exercise their rights?

• Are there additional measures to improve the effectiveness of the agency’s current compliance assistance efforts and the on site consultation program, to ensure that small businesses have the information needed to provide safe workplaces?

• Given the length and difficulty of the current OSHA rule making process, and given the need for new standards that will protect workers from unaddressed, inadequately addressed and emerging hazards, are there policies and procedures that will decrease the time to issue final standards so that OSHA may implement needed protections in a timely manner?

• As we continue to progress through a new information age vastly different from the environment in which OSHA was created, what new mechanisms or tools can the agency use to more effectively reach high risk employees and employers with training, education and outreach? What is OSHA doing now that may no longer be necessary?

• Are there indicators, other than work site injuries and illness logs, that OSHA can use to enhance resource targeting?

• In the late 1980s, OSHA and its stakeholders worked together to update the Permissible Exposure Limits (PELs) (exposure limits for hazardous substances; most adopted in 1971), but the effort was unsuccessful. Should updating the PELs be a priority for the agency? Are there suggestions for ways to update the PELs, or other ways to control workplace chemical exposures?

There was some great discussions out in the blog & twitter world in response. You still can watch the different panels via webcast or get a written transcript and comments of the meeting here. What would your advice to OSHA be?

Technorati Tags: osha

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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Hey Luke,

I hear you’re the fall protection expert who’s in the know. Here’s my question for you:
Can I install the anchor points over my roof shingles?

Sincerely,
Ted

This is a common question I get asked all the time and here’s  the answer in a nutshell:

You must secure the anchor directly to the surface of what it is approved for.

Now here’s the reason why:  It all goes back to when manufacturers test the anchors. Manufacturers do their pull out tests on what they approve it for. For example, if they approve their anchor for 3/4″ plywood. What they’re going to do is attach the anchor directly to the Plywood and do the testing and see if it holds up. (I am just simplifying what actually goes on) They approve it.  So now, if you take and put a shingle in between the anchor and the plywood you are changing the parameters and creating a totally different test because the shingle creates a gap that can change the results. Therefore it is not approved to do this in the field.

Why don’t they test it with shingles and see if it holds up? Great questions – it’s because there are so many different roofing materials out there that would make it near impossible to test for everyone. And there is a huge liability by allowing the workers to install these in the field this way – too many different variables means too many risks in these situations.

Technorati Tags: anchor points, fall protection, fall safety advice

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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In early February, Terry Thompson, 51, was killed from a 100 ft fall as he worked on dismantling a cell phone tower. He had almost 30 years experience. OSHA and local officials are still investigating.

The same day in Florida, construction worker Daniel Caldwell, 40, died after a 25 ft fall off a roof.

Two weeks ago construction worker David Pink, 25, was injured in a 60 ft construction fall. Pink was taking plywood off the top floor of a building when the wind caught him and he went off the edge head first.

Most recent sources say that Pink’s 30 ft retractable did not engage and when he hit the end of the retractable he flipped and the cable snapped. After the cable snapped he continued to fall another 30 ft, shattering his hip and the side of his face. What saved his life was that he was working across the street from a hospital and the ambulance, as well as a doctor, arrived in minutes. He was able to get to the UW Trauma center immediately.

Most retractables need to be re-certified every 2 years and it was believed this retractable was closer to 3 years. OSHA is investigating this accident.

Most people don’t get do overs. Stay safe! 100% tie-off, check your equipment, keep up to date, train your workers properly! DO what you need to do for everyone to stay safe and alive.

Technorati Tags: fall protection, workplace accidents, workplace safety

Posted in Fall Protection News, 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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This week I was researching recent (this month) deaths and injuries that occurred because of falls. These falls ranged from 25- 100 ft with both inexperienced and experienced workers. OSHA posted the following release this month and I thought I would post a portion of it:

—
WASHINGTON, Pa. – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has fined the C.A. Franc construction company $539,000 following the investigation of a roofing worker who fell 40 feet to his death at a Washington worksite. The Valencia, Pa.-based roof installer – whose owner is Christopher A. Franc – was cited for 10 per instance willful citations for failing to protect workers from falls.

“Mr. Franc knowingly and willfully failed to protect his workers from falling to their death,” said Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA Dr. David Michaels. “We will not tolerate this type of blatant and egregious disregard for the health and safety of workers.”

OSHA began its investigation immediately following the worker’s death on Aug. 15, 2009, and found the C.A. Franc company had failed to provide any fall protection to its employees working on a pitched roof 40 feet off the ground. In addition, Mr. Franc failed to train a newly hired college student in hazards and the necessary safety measures for roofing work. As a result of the investigation, the company has been cited for 10 alleged per-instance willful violations, one for each employee working unprotected on the roof, with a proposed penalty of $490,000, and one additional alleged willful violation for failing to train the new employee, with a penalty of $49,000.

General contractor Hospitality Builders Inc. also has been cited with one willful violation and a proposed penalty of $70,000 for failing to ensure that C.A. Franc workers had fall protection.

“This fall fatality was one of five that occurred during a 15-day span in the Pittsburgh area,” said John M. Hermanson, OSHA’s regional administrator in Philadelphia, Pa. “Falls are the leading cause of fatalities in the construction industry. Failure to provide employees with fall protection is unconscionable. We urge construction companies to take the necessary action to ensure their workers are protected.”

http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=

Technorati Tags: osha fines, osha violations

Posted in Press Releases, 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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