The Electrical Safety Foundation International has some great tips for both workplace and home electrical work.

Every year, people are injured or killed by circuits they thought were safely turned off.  Simply shutting off the power is not enough.  Hazardous conditions can still exist.  Working with electricity requires thorough planning and extreme care. Whether you are a do-it-yourselfer tackling a weekend project or an experienced contractor, learning and practicing safe work habits can significantly reduce your risk.  That’s why you must always TEST BEFORE YOU TOUCH. You may not get a second chance to learn this important lesson.

Here is a great home electrical checklist which you can include in your Employee Safety Newsletter.  If you don’t have one we can help you create one.

Recently, I have had 2 inquires about Six Sigma.  While this quality control method is not a really a safety topic, I thought others might want a quick understanding about this process.

Six Sigma is a set of practices originally developed by Motorola to systematically improve processes by eliminating defects.  Six Sigma asserts the following:

• Continuous efforts to reduce variation in process outputs is key to business success
• Manufacturing and business processes can be measured, analyzed, improved and controlled
• Succeeding at achieving sustained quality improvement requires commitment from the entire organization, particularly from top-level management

Six Sigma is a fundamental principle to improve customer satisfaction by reducing defects.

There are different levels of project management with Six Sigma, green belts and black belts.  These levels require a certification process.  According to the Six Sigma Academy, Black Belts save companies approximately $230,000 per project and can complete four to 6 projects per year. 

This will give you a very brief understanding of Six Sigma.  If you want more in-depth information try Motorola Universtiy.  They have free Six Sigma lesson.  Maybe you can get your black belt too.

OSHA Cites Army Corps of Engineers for Inadequate Safeguards against Ammonia Release

Now this is a new one for me.  I don’t think I have ever heard of yhe Army Corps of Engineers being cited.  Has anyone else.?  Read below
Inadequate and incomplete safeguards against ammonia releases at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Hanover, N.H., Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory have resulted in the issuance of four willful notices of unsafe and unhealthful working conditions by OSHA.

The Corps was cited for violations of OSHA’s Process Safety Management standard, which is designed to prevent or minimize the catastrophic release of large amounts of highly hazardous chemicals – in this case, 17,000 pounds of anhydrous ammonia used in the refrigeration system for the laboratory’s ice engineering facility.

Among other things, the standard requires employers to compile written safety information and operating procedures for, and conduct hazard analyses of, the process, equipment and technology using the chemicals; develop clear operating procedures; train employees; ensure the mechanical integrity of the equipment used in the process; and evaluate compliance with process safety requirements every three years.

An inspection by OSHA’s Concord area office found that the Hanover facility failed to collect and update all process safety information; complete, update, maintain and follow through on all process hazard analyses; maintain complete, certified and up-to-date written operating procedures; provide adequate employee training; inspect or test piping and other process equipment; maintain written procedures to manage any changes to the process; document corrective actions taken after a previous ammonia release; and certify that compliance audits were conducted every three years.

“The potential for a release of ammonia is present as long as these and other proper safeguards are not established, followed, and maintained,” said Rosemarie Ohar, OSHA’s area director for New Hampshire. “In this case, management knew for several years that all these requirements were not being met yet did not correct the hazards. Prompt and complete correction is required and must be a priority.”

As a federal agency, the Corps must notify OSHA of corrective actions taken and may, within 15 days, schedule a meeting with the OSHA area director to discuss the violation notices, methods of correction, length of abatement periods and interim protective measures for employees. OSHA defines a willful violation as one committed with an intentional disregard of, or plain indifference to, the requirements of the Occupational Safety and Health Act and regulations.

July 31, 2007 - Battery-powered, hand-held Primetest 100 combines functionality of tool and appliance tester with extension cord tester and power receptacle checker in single instrument. By verifying electrical safety of electrical products, equipment, and appliances, unit helps employers meet OSHA obligations. OSHA 1910.334(a) indicates any damaged portable cord or plug connected equipment may not be used by employee until repairs and tests necessary to render equipment safe have been made.

This is a nice tool to have at home too.  How many of us have old tools and extension cords we don’t want to throw out?  But at about $600 it might be a little expensive for home use.

It’s not difficult to remember the elemental symbol for hydrogen (H) or that it is the most common element in the universe. But what do you do when you’re an ambulance medic and the pile-up you’ve just pulled up at involves one of the GM Equinoxes that will take to the public roads this fall? This is the scenario that the Department of Energy would like to prepare first responders for with a new course, Introduction to Hydrogen Safety for First Responders, something the Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Safety organization is probably quite pleased to hear.

The DOE created the course with the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and the Volpentest Hazardous Materials Management and Emergency Response (HAMMER) Training and Education Center. According to the DOE, “the course provides basic information to help raise awareness among fire, law enforcement, and emergency medical personnel and provides access to resources for more detailed information if needed.”

Basic understanding hydrogen and how it is stored and dispensed are two of the topics addressed in the course; videos and animations act as information carriers here. The course is available online, so if you want to test your skills (or are actually a first responder), check it out here.

WASHINGTON — Every summer, thousands of Americans are hospitalized for heat-related illnesses. Many of these cases are employees who work outdoors where heat stress is potentially dangerous. Now that summer is in full swing, OSHA is reminding all employers and employees nationwide about its safety and health resources, especially those offering best practices for working in hot weather. 

“Every outdoor jobsite faces hazards posed by the sun and heat,” said OSHA’s Assistant Secretary of Labor Edwin G. Foulke Jr. “We are encouraging employers and employees to take advantage of our published resources that offer sound advice to recognize and prevent heat stress and other heat-related illnesses.”

The two most serious forms of heat related illnesses are heat exhaustion (primarily from dehydration) and the more severe heat stroke, which could be fatal. Symptoms include headaches, weakness, nausea and dizziness. Recognizing those warning signs and taking quick action can help prevent a fatality.

Working Outdoors in Warm Climates www.osha.gov/OshDoc/data_Hurricane_Facts/working_outdoors.pdf, an OSHA fact sheet that offers advice on ways to protect employees against exposure to ultraviolet radiation (UV) highlights precautions to take if working in extreme heat and explains how to protect against Lyme disease and the West Nile Virus. The document also features information for teenagers working at summer jobs to learn more about safety and health.

OSHA’s Heat Stress Quick Card lists tips on preventing many heat-related deaths and injuries. Available in English and Spanish, this laminated card is free to employers for distribution to their employees. It is a quick reference tool on heat-related illnesses, including warning signs, symptoms and early treatment.

Protecting Yourself in the Sun is a pocket card that explains how to perform self-examinations that may detect early stages of skin cancer. The card, available in English and Spanish, also describes common physical features of skin cancer that can be caused by overexposure to the sun.

These free publications and others related to outdoor job hazards can be downloaded from OSHA’s Web site on the publications page www.osha.gov/pls/publications/pubindex.list or can be ordered by calling OSHA’s publications office at (202) 693-1888.

More information about sun and heat hazards can be found on OSHA’s Web site, and on the Web sites of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention www.cdc.gov/ and National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health www.cdc.gov/niosh/homepage.html.

If you own a small business (up to 500 employees) and think safety is not important you should read Collen DiBaise’s article How to Protect Employees From Injury for Small Business.  DiBaise points out that OSHA does marshal its small-business information into one central place. Its eTools section provides downloadable files with useful information on protecting your workplace from specific threats, such as anthrax, lead and even Legionnaires’ disease. The NFIB (National Federation of Independent Business), which has an alliance with OSHA, further attempts to whittle down the volumes of information, providing a page with its vote for best OSHA links.
Another place to turn is OSHA itself. The agency provides safety and health training at education centers across the country; to find a site near you click here. You can also request a free consultation at your workplace with an OSHA-trained professional through the agency’s Consultation Program. The service is free, but you need to commit to correcting any serious job safety and health hazards that are found. And finally, to read about how other small businesses are keeping their workplaces safe, read about OSHA’s “Small Business Successes.” Examples include a Vermont coffee roaster that installed special lifting devices to reduce back injuries and a family-owned microbrewery that informs employees about safety procedures at paid-for, after-hours meetings with catered meals.

Safety does matter.  Remember for an injury that cost a company (OSHA average) $25,000, a company needs to sell about and additional $833,000 (at 3% profit margin) to equal that cost.

ASSE, AIHA Host Chicagoland Safety & Health Conference at NIU
July 26 2007
The American Society of Safety Engineers and the Chicago section of the American Industrial Hygiene Association will co-sponsor the 19th annual Chicagoland Safety & Health Conference at Northern Illinois University in Naperville, Ill., Sept. 24-28. The event will feature three keynote speakers and more than 45 sessions on safety and health issues. Presented in association with OSHA, the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, the National Safety Education Center, and NIU, the conference is for employers, employees, and all parties interested in SH&E and emergency preparedness, ASSE says. Continuing Education Credits are available.

Keynote speakers include Debra J. Zubaty, OSHA Columbus area director; Bob LoMastro, former U.S. Army Green Beret and Navy Hospital corpsman, currently president of LoMastro & Associates, Inc.; and VPP/SHARP guest speaker Richard Hawk. Educational sessions will cover topics in industrial hygiene, safety in construction, safety in general industry, environmental safety, safety management, and OSHA’s Voluntary Protection and Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Programs.

For registration and CEU information call 815-753-6902 or visit the Chicagoland Safety & Health Conference Website at www.chisafetyconf.org. Early registration discounts are available until August 24. The exhibit area is free to participants, their clients, and the public.