Safety

8 Common Causes of Workplace Accidents

Posted

The workplace can be dangerous, even more so in an industrial environment. Numerous factors can cause accidents, ranging from overexertion to mishandling of hazardous materials. There are also a multitude of variables that can contribute to or influence a workplace incident. Following are eight of the most common causes of accidents in the workplace: Lifting… Read More »

7 Safety Tips for Working in High Places

Posted

In many industries, employees are required to deal with the many risks involved in working in high places. Most people automatically think of a skyscraper building when considering dangerous occupations where work is done above ground level, but death or serious injury can occur much closer to the ground. If a simple fall is hard… Read More »

6 guidelines to prevent workplace slips, trips and falls

Posted

It’s probably happened to most of us. That momentary lapse of inattention thinking about a personal problem or distracted by an activity that ends in a slip, trip or fall. A stumble down a stairway. A trip over an uneven surface. Slipping on the ice. It can lead to a variety of regrettable events ranging… Read More »

Pre-start Inspection for an AWP

Posted

Prior to each work shift, conduct a pre-start inspection to verify that the equipment and all its components are in safe operating condition. Follow the manufacturer’s recommendations and include a check of: Vehicle components * Proper fluid levels (oil, hydraulic, fuel and coolant); * Leaks of fluids; * Wheels and tires; * Battery and charger;… Read More »

Wear Safety Shoes

Posted

Foot trouble can be as painful as back trouble, and it can be just as restrictive as to what type of work you can do, too. People used to complain about their bunions and corns hurting, but these complaints are less common today due to improved medical treatment and the better shoes now available. To… Read More »

Ergonomics: Tool Grip

Posted

Commonly a tool comprises a head and a handle, with sometimes a shaft, or, in the case of the power tool, a body. Since the tool must meet the requirements of multiple users, basic conflicts can arise which may have to be met with compromise. Some of these conflicts derive from limitations in the capacities… Read More »

Decreasing exposure concentration

Posted

For reducing exposure concentration, it is useful to consider the source, the environment in which a hazard occurs and the workers who are exposed. As a general rule, the closer controls are to a source, the more efficient and effective they are. Three general types of controls can be used to reduce the concentration of… Read More »

Tools

Posted

Tools are particularly important in construction work. They are primarily used to put things together (e.g., hammers and nail guns) or to take them apart (e.g., jackhammers and saws). Tools are often classified as hand tools and power tools. Hand tools include all non-powered tools, such as hammers and pliers. Power tools are divided into… Read More »

Scaffolds

Posted

Scaffolds consist of easily assembled frameworks of steel or timber on which working platforms may be placed. Scaffolds may be fixed or mobile. Fixed scaffolds—that is, those erected alongside a building or structure—are either independent or putlog. The independent scaffold has uprights or standards along both sides of its platforms and is capable of remaining… Read More »

Physical hazards

Posted

Physical hazards are present in every construction project. These hazards include noise, heat and cold, radiation, vibration and barometric pressure. Construction work often must be done in extreme heat or cold, in windy, rainy, snowy, or foggy weather or at night. Ionizing and non-ionizing radiation is encountered, as are extremes of barometric pressure. The machines… Read More »