The photo below is a perfect example to demonstrate when a protruding shaft MUST be guarded.   Question:  Does the shaft protusion shown below required to be guarded?  If you answered “yes”, for a bonus, name the OSHA standard that you would use to issue a citation.  Answer(s) below:   Here is some background on “shaft guarding”… OSHA standard, §1910.219(c)(2)(i) states,...

WHO AM I? I am more powerful than the combined armies of the world. I have destroyed more than all wars of the nations. I am more deadly than bullets or missiles, and I have wrecked more homes and jobs than the mightiest siege of guns. I steal billions every year. I spare no one. I find my victims among the rich and poor alike, among the young and old, the strong and weak, the high level and low level...

The word safety refers to our freedom from danger, injury and damage, and to our personal security.  The word safety has been used so often that many of us may think of it as a “Preaching Word”, or a word that forces us to alter our ways or change bad habits.  Instead, when we hear the word safety, we must think of it as a word that applies to the way we do everything in life. Think...

SAFETY EXCUSE #1: Prior Experience & Success Will Guarantee Your Safety • A construction worker who’s driving a nail without eye protection says, “I haven’t been hit by a nail yet. Besides I don’t miss—much.” • Another worker without a hardhat in a construction area says, “I’ve been working here 20 years and I’ve never been hit in the head by anything. Besides, I’ll just be here a few minutes.”...

Some mistakes last forever—as Arnold discovered after he lost two fingers to the machine he had operated for seven years.  On June 5, 1989, Arnold violated two of his company’s safety rules: he cheated the guard when he adjusted the coolant line on the machine and he also failed to follow the prescribed lockout/tag-out procedure.  Arnold had two fingers severed when the machine he was adjusting...

A man by the name of Louis Binstock once said, “Too often the shortcut, the line of least resistance, is responsible for evanescent and unsatisfactory success. ” Simply put, taking shortcuts only results in success for a short duration of time. A shortcut is a quicker or easier way to do a job without following a safe work procedure required to prevent injury.  A shortcut can lead to injury and...

Why do some companies succeed in safety and other’s do not?Is it due to the high tech brand new equipment they bought?Could it be they are aliens from a planet that is strange?Or is it something else that brings about their change?****************Exec’s of these companies upon hearing our ponderWould raise up their arm and point over yonderTo an object not far which hangs high up on the...

Thinking that it’s “only 120 volts” or 208 volts or 480 volts or…”It’s only low voltage.” Okay, I’ll admit that you can have an open casket with a low-voltage hit, but you’ll still be dead.  The only difference between low and high voltage is how fast it can kill you. High voltage kills instantly; low voltage may take a little longer. ...

1. We resolve…to accept responsibility for our safety and to help others around us do the same.  Each person must examine his/her attitude towards safety.  Do we recognize that we must take responsibility for our own safety or do we think that “stuff just happens?”  We have a lot of control over what happens to us. 2. We resolve…to take time for safety every day. How much time does it...

What if we worked ten million (10,000,000) hours without an injury, but after careful analysis we recognize that we also work zero (0) hours without taking a chance.  In other words not an hour in each work day or not one work day passes without at least one worker deviating from standard safety procedure, taking a shortcut, breaking a safety rule or displaying any particular unsafe behaviour. ...

Given the level of occupational hazards in our workplace during normal weather, wet and rainy weather is bound to dramatically increase the risk of accidents.  A good spell of rain lasting only 30 minutes is enough to create several puddles and make the ground slippery rendering it unstable.  All the mud and slush can seriously jeopardize health and safety of workers.  Wet Weather Hazards...