Tips & Updates about OSHA & Hazwoper Training Courses | Safety Tips

For those who are interested in helping with the clean-up team, should the Deepwater Horizon spill reach Sanibel and Captiva islands, they can now take an online OSHA training session that is being offered by various websites. Oil is considered to be a hazardous material and there are very strict state and federal requirements for volunteers once oil hits the shorelines or even if it occurs in near shore waters. Some of the online OSHA safety course providers have arranged for the courses and are currently offering a 4 hour OSHA training session. The cost is very reasonable and they also offer discounts on bulk admission. An online safety course has its own benefits. Unlike the on-site training course, for online training you need not waste your time, money and energy in traveling to a specific site. Now, with this online safety training session, you can now complete the course at your own time. For any assistance, you can now get in touch with your trainers anytime, anywhere, as they...

Each year there are nearly 800,000 work-related eye injuries, resulting in approximately 2,000 workers receiving some form of medical treatment every day. Because 90% of eye injuries are preventable, Defog It antifog is promoting Healthy Vision Month 2010 with workplace eye safety tips. There are various statistics that emphasize the costs of workplace eye injuries to companies, individuals and society and the need for vigilance about eye safety. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics about $924 million in workers' compensation payments were made in a recent year. Bureau of Labor Statistics further adds; almost $4 billion in wages and productivity were lost in a recent year. Approximately 60% of workers suffered from eye injuries were not wearing proper protective eye wear. Vision loss is among one of the top ten workers disabilities. In recent years, mining,construction and manufacturing have had the highest incidence of eye injuries. Jodi Groh, Director of Marketing for...

For yet another violation by a company, OSHA has slap them with a fine of about $558,000. USPS, a postal service was cited as they ignored the long established OSHA safety standards and put their workers into harm knowingly. The violations was for exposing the workers to serious and potential fatal hazards of electrocution, shock and arc-flash at the Providence facility. The Postal service failed to adhere with the OSHA standards for electrical safety. Moreover, during the inspection at the Providence Processing & Distribution Center, the agency found untrained and unqualified workers testing on live electrical equipment. They generated 8 citations for willful safety violations and a fine of $530,000. A remaining $28,000 fines were associated with 4 citations for serious safety violations that included the employers failure to instruct the workers on proper procedures to lock out machines’ power sources that would prevent unexpected start-up during the maintenance or related hazard...

OSHA has cited two companies for violating workplace safety laws and proposed a total fine of more than $200,000. A food transportation and storage company, Americium Logistics, was cited by OSHA for a total number of seven serious violations. The violations were defined as hazards that could have resulted in severe physical harm or even death according to OSHA. The total violations included lack of adequate respirator for workers and failure for protecting ammonia piping from rupture. The company was also cited by OSHA for four repeated violations and one lesser violation resulting in a total of $153,000 in the proposed penalties. Another company, Fleet pride Inc., a truck parts distributor, was cited by OSHA for three serious violations. The violation included defunct emergency lighting and four repeated violations that included for inadequacy of personal protective equipment. OSHA spoke in a press release that the types of violations show the companies’ disregard for the safety and...

The U.S. Department of Labor's OSHA after investigating a whistle blower found that New Jersey Transit had retaliated against a worker for reporting a work-related illness thus violating the Federal Railroad Safety Act. According to the investigation, an employee was brought up on charges for missing work by the the railroad after suffering a job-related sickness after witnessing a fatal accident that involved another worker. The worker was also retaliated by the railroad cutting off his pay and suspending him as well. The employee faced financial and personal losses due to the retaliatory acts. The employee then filed a whistle blower complaint with OSHA, alleging about the retaliation by the railroad for reporting the work-related illness. An investigation was conducted by OSHA's Whistle blower Protection Program under the whistle blower provisions of the FRSA. They found merit to the employee’s complaint and ordered a relief. Any employee has the legal right to report work-r...

The workers who expose to chemicals that may harm them seriously should be given all the information about the chemicals and also should be provided protective measures to them. OSHA has given more importance on this issue for the safety of workers. The reactions of hazardous chemicals are so horrible that sometimes the victims have to lose their organs for life and have to live poor and terrific life. Information and training play a great role while it comes to hazardous chemicals. OSHA has introduced communication program for this purpose and many more. Material Safety data Sheets are provided for each hazardous chemical and are given to the workers who expose to such materials. This MSDS helps the workers to know about the chemical well and the training helps them to expose to hazardous chemicals. The training has great value as it practically shows the way how to expose to such hazardous chemicals and save life. If the employees are well acquainted with how much that specific chem...

Workers in general industries and construction companies are facing many kinds of problem from the very beginning. Many times they are not justified. They have to work at unhygienic sites and many times they get injured and die also. OSHA (Occupational safety and health administration) was established in the year 1971 as the main federal agency of U.S. Department of Labor to prevent such work related injuries, illness, and deaths. OSHA has begun to provide training for the workers. After the introduction of OSHA, the occupational death has been cut by 62% and injuries have decreased to 42%. These trainings help the workers in understanding if the employers are providing safe and healthy working conditions or not. OSHA aims at ensuring the worker friendly condition for the workers so that no worker dies or injures on the job. OSHA conducts inspection of workplace to ensure that the employers and employees are following the safety and health regulations. OSHA provides education and ...

A measure, which was just signed onto law by President Obama, would prohibit the chemical companies from classifying safety information as “sensitive” in an effort to keep it from becoming public. This new law is in response to explosion at workplace that caused two fatalities. Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) drafted The American Communities Right to Public Information Act as a separate part of legislation. It was passed into law as a part of an appropriations bill for the department of Homeland Security. The amendment makes it clear that the Sensitive Security Information designation that created by recent homeland security laws can’t be used to withhold the information that government should share with the public. The legislation was drafted in response to Bayer CorpScience explosion in August, 2008 that killed two workers in Institute, WV. Bayer was accused by the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee of using a “campaign of secrecy” regarding the explosion. The committee said tha...

Local business are preparing for new emphasis by federal regulations on worker safety with record keeping. This scrutiny leads to more leads from audits for companies which flunk in strenuous review. The U.S OSHA Administration created enforce to large and growing no. of worker safety laws and regulations which issued site specific target plan for the year in effect that the agency would be tougher on injury rates in specialized industries. This plan mentioned nursing homes, with workers suffering back and limb injuries in caring for the patients as an industry who faces special attention. There is a program in burecartic work called as “National Emphasis Program which is potentially a significant tool for local businesses pointing to escape OSHA attention with range of targeted industries. This plans to examine companies which report low injury rates due to injury with idea that many companies underreport the need for record keeping. The agency estimates that as many as 20% of busines...

OSHA Fined Valero Energy Corp . a handsome amount of $107,500 for violating health and workplace safety. OSHA started investigation as a part of National Emphasis Program on petroleum refinery process safety management. As a result of investigation the company has been issued Valero Refinery for four repeat violations of $75,000 and 9 serious violations with a penalty of $32,500. OSHA officials said that Valero is strongly encouraged to identify hazards to help ensure that workers at the site are not at risk of death. The four repeat violations involve company’s failure to conduct and document inspections and tests on process equipment, conduct proper process hazard analysis and keep adequate process safety information. A repeat violation by OSHA is filed when such standard or violations are issued to employer with three years. OSHA will definitely cite a serious citation when there is a probability that death or physical harm could result and employer should have been aware of that. T...

GE Energy has a production facility in Slater Mo, which has received an award from U.S. Department of Labor’s OSHA for providing excellent safety measures to employees in its Slater facility. OSHA’s VPP Programs recognize business and work sites that provide an exceptional safety, health and environment practices to its employees through the efforts of their own employees, management & government. VPP participants are a selected group of facilities which have been designed to implement safety, health & environmental programs which stays in line with OSHA mandates to protect workers effectively. VPP is OSHA’s program to recognize the dynamic efforts of employers and employees who achieve high in OSHA health & safety standards at their plant. THE GE Chairman said that they are proud that of efforts of their employees in making them achieving extremely high in OSHA standards which made them achieve safety excellence award. He also said that approval into OSHA’s VPP is official...

The Outreach Training Program is a voluntary program which has grown into a national network of independent trainers. These trainers are eligible to teach workers and employees about work place hazards and to provide them OSHA 10 hour completion cards. Some officials claim some trainers are not providing training in accordance with the programs rules. So to take care that the trainers follow rules, OSHA has made it mandatory for trainers to become authorized and see it to that they are in compliance with rules. The use of independent trainers has allowed OSHA to grow significantly by extending its training capabilities. The trainers for OSHA are required to complete a one-week course through an OSHA Training Institute Education Centre. After that only the trainers are eligible to teach 10-hour programs to workers which give them the basic knowledge about workplace hazards. This program has become such a great success that workers and employees in some states are required to have an OS...

Centennial Contractors Enterprises have signed an alliance with OSHA to establish a relationship with safety and health laws governed by OSHA. The safety alliance between Centennial Contractors and OSHA will together impart several training and education goals to various employees with an importance of workplace safety and health curriculum. The 2 companies will also work together to achieve outreach and communication goals which include: Providing expertise on recognition and prevention of work place hazards. Speaking and exhibiting various conferences and events of OSHA or Centennial conferences. To share information with OSHA Personnel and industry safety health and professionals. Encouraging Cennetial work sites participation with OSHA co-operative programs such as compliance assistance. Finally OSHA and Centennial main purpose to work together is to expand the safety of the nation, build innovative solutions for safety of workers by participating in different forums and round ta...

Gulf States were being offered 2 courses one for OSHA Training and another for welding inspectors. The first one was OSHA 10-Hour Outreach program aimed as a basic OSHA Training. This 10 Hour Class included Gulf States along with 4 other neighboring industries. The topics for the course included walking and working surfaces, machine guarding, right-to-know or hazard communications etc. The second course was of American Welding Society certified welding inspector training and testing which focuses on 44 hours of classroom training. The American Welding Society training involved eight Gulf States employees, 3 Kirby Building System employees from Tennessee and 3 American Building employees. Providing these training to Gulf States make the employees of these states safer on working plants.

OSHA created VPP Programs to partner with businesses to manage workers safety. The companies who were having VPP Status were having an injury rate 52% lower than other companies. VPP emphasize that every employee need to identify and correct the hazards in their particular office. This program helps to create a safer place for employees to work and enables to develop a spirit of co-operation and trust between unions, management and OSHA to improve safety . If any company wants to become a VPP Site, one needs to submit an application which would be reviewed by OSHA followers by an on-site evaluation of OSHA Experts. The main purpose of OSHA VPP Program is to enhance workplace safety and health with each & every employee in that company. OSHA sets the standards which will provide training, outreach and education and finally encouraging the employees to improve workplace safety and health. In recent years around 15 new postal work sites have earned OSHA VPP status . OSHA standards f...

Tyson Foods plant had recently met an accident wherein toxic fumes emitted from one of the machines led to death of an employee. Tyson Foods has many of Animal Foods plant which is used for recycling of poultry products into protein and fats. A part of this recycling process involves using hydrolyzers a machine for high pressure steam which is used to convert poultry features to feature meals. This recycling processes decomposition leads to production of hydrogen sulphide which is a toxic substance. Now on analyzing this situation U.S Department states that employers of this plant are often exposed to toxic gas when working near the recycling plant. To avoid this frequent adjustments and replacements are being required by the workers. One of the employees Jacson Kelly on attempting to repair a leak in hydrolyzer was exposed to hydrogen sulphide gas which leads to his death. Along with him other 2 employees who tried to rescue him were also hospitalized due to toxic hydrogen sulphide ...

The U.S. Department of Labor’s OSHA is going to recognize Tessenderlo Kerley Inc’s Burley Plant for its excellence in employing safety and health when the company will renew the participation in Voluntary Protection Programs at Star or highest level .This facility has demonstrated that a safety and health program supported by management can dramatically reduce on the job injuries and illnesses. Tessenderlo Company incorporates around 13 workers producing soil gases for the distribution to agricultural product retailers. The production time for this gas is limited to a tenure of six to eight months a year, which demands on time in that span. Generally production times are limited from mid February to the end of April and from first of June to end of November. During extended downtime periods, facility maintenance and improvements are completed. Having taking into consideration the safety measures this company has an injury and illness rate below 100 percent which is low than the...

The U.S Department of Labor’s OSHA is in demand for nearly $7 million in Susan Harwood Training Grants available as nonprofit, community and faith based organization. OSHA honour funds to provide training on safety and health topics for workers. As of current year the program offers 24 targeted topic areas which include crane safety, combustible dust, emergency preparedness and response. OSHA’s main mission is to train workers on safety and health. The Susan Harwood Training Grant Program is open to organizations who can serve as an extension of their agency as well as educate workers on saving their lives and reducing injuries. Training grants will be awarded to those who complete a 24-month performance period. This grant will be published in June edition of Federal Register. Applications for this grant should be submitted electronically using government wide Website. (http://www.grants.gov). Applications can complete the mandatory online registration at any time, but must be comple...

Investigators with OSHA Administration were at JBS Site recently due to the news of ammonia leakage at the pork processing plant. This incident sent almost 51 employees to hospital. OSHA policy is that if 3 or more people are taken to hospital as a result of work place safety then that case becomes a top priority for them to investigate. OSHA will look into this matter, investigate and find out what could have caused this accident and check if there was any violation to OSHA's rule that might have caused this accident. The JBS Plant had been visited by OSHA in January 2008 where almost 30% of its employees were sent to hospital. In January 2008 a drain valve on one of coolers inside JBS ruptured due to high pressure. As a result of which JBS was fined $3500 for 2 violations. In these case OSHA's investigation reveled out that the first violation was due to deviation of temperature and pressure operating limits. The second violation was due to employers investigation report whic...

OSHA has formed a partnership with Whiting Turner Contracting Co to reduce hazards and enhance safety of workers during construction. Knowledge and training are 2 important things in evaluating, identifying and eliminating work related hazards. This partnership takes a practical approach to safety and health that will pay in reduced human costs and increase morale and productivity. Under this partnership Whiting Turner will develop a specific safety plan to be administered by a qualified safety and health representative, establish specific safety and health guidelines, conduct a comprehensive job hazard analysis, and establish methods for reporting work site hazards. Subcontractors will develop and maintain project-specific plans which will meet or exceed the Whiting-Turner plan; provide employees with safety orientation, and conduct weekly safety and health inspections. OSHA in return will evaluate the safety and health plan; assist in ensuring the delivery of effective training ; g...