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Safety Program Management, Safety Management Systems, Ergonomics Programs, Safety Program Development, Occupational Health / Industrial Hygiene Surveys, JCAHO Preparation Services, Construction Safety Services, Managed Outsourcing for Safety and Health, Safety Program Management, OSHA VPP (Voluntary Protection Program), Safety Audits & Health Audits, Noise Exposure Evaluation and Control, Safety Program Management FAQ |
Featured Articles:
Assessing Your Training Needs
 Safety and health training is the most critical step you can take to prevent injuries and illnesses. Training not only greatly reduces the potential for harm to an individual, but it also protects the assets of an organization. Yet, most organizations don’t know what training is required, or the frequency, content, documentation needs, or benefits of that training.
The first step is understanding what type of training is needed, which depends on what potential issues exist in your facility. The only way to ensure that all your training needs are identified is to conduct a GAP analysis. The following is a partial list of requirements from OSHA and other groups.
- Emergency Plans and Fire Prevention Plans
- Powered Platforms for Building Maintenance
- Hearing Conservation
- Fall Protection
- Flammable and Combustible Liquids
- Process Safety Management
- HAZWOPER
- Personal Protective Equipment
- Respiratory Protection
- Confined Spaces Permit
- Control of Hazardous Energy (Lockout/Tag out)
- Medical Services and First Aid
- Fire Protection and Brigades
- Fire Extinguishing Systems
- Powered Industrial Trucks
- Mechanical Power Presses
- Welding, Cutting, and Brazing
- Blood-borne Pathogens
- Ionizing Radiation
- Hazard Communication
- Hazardous Chemicals in Laboratories
- Asbestos
- Lead, Nickel, Chromium
- Indoor Air Quality and Mold
- Safety Committees
 The next step is to identify the measurable goals and objectives of the training so that you can assess performance indicators. This will help you make continuous improvements and reduce the potential for injuries and illnesses. Remember, training programs must focus on specific subject matter, meet all the requirements, be specific to the facility, and include a written test at the end to measure effectiveness.
1Source Safety and Health professionals can develop and present training programs that meet your needs and satisfy the requirements of the regulations. We specialize in the presentation of customized programs and workshop activities. Our courses have been well received by both large and small organizations, including hospitals, schools, construction firms, environmental companies, manufacturing companies, and commercial facilities. We appreciate that training time is valuable and can design a program to suit your workplace.
Selected training topics
- HAZWOPER Initial and Refresher
- Confined Space Entry
- Fall Protection
- Lockout/Tag out
- Respiratory Protection
- Safety Committee
- Incident Investigation
- Personal Protective Equipment
- DOT Hazardous Material Modules
- Hazard Communication/Right-to-Know
- Indoor Air Quality
- Mold Recognition, Evaluation, and Control
- Two-hour Asbestos Awareness
- Ergonomics
- Hearing Conservation
- Site-specific Agenda
For more information please contact Colin J. Brigham, CIH, CSP, CPE, CPEA, Vice President, at 888-873-9983, ext. 24.
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OSHA Outreach Training Programs – 10-Hour and 30-Hour Construction and General Industry Training
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) Outreach Training Program is a voluntary train-the-trainer training program through which OSHA authorizes trainers to teach construction and general industry occupational safety and health standards and policies. OSHA has promoted workplace safety and health by authorizing trainers since 1971. In the last three years, over 1.1 million workers have received training through this program. This type of training provides workers with important information to improve safety performance on the job.
The 10-hour course is designed to provide workers with a basic understanding of some of the most hazardous construction activities. The emphasis is on hazard identification, avoidance, control and prevention, rather than on OSHA standards only. We inform workers about the OSHA requirements and, more importantly, help them to understand why the requirements are there and how they can protect themselves and their coworkers.
The 10-hour construction course includes the following mandatory topics:
- Introduction to OSHA, including the provisions of the OSHA Act, the general duty clause, the responsibilities of the competent person and record keeping
- Electrical safety
- Fall protection
Other topics are chosen that address the hazards to which the specific workers being trained may be exposed. Three or more of the following topics are covered:
- Personal protective and lifesaving equipment
- Materials handling, storage, use and disposal
- Hand and power tools
- Scaffolds
- Cranes
- Excavations
- Stairways and ladders
The 30-hour construction course is intended to provide a variety of training to people who have some safety responsibility on the job site. The course covers the above topics in more detail and also includes other topics, such as
- Health hazards in construction
- Welding and cutting
- Concrete and masonry construction
- Steel erection
- Hazardous waste site operations
- Asbestos awareness
The general industry training is similar in structure but with topics that are presented specific to the potential groups of hazards. 1Source Safety and Health, Inc., has staff members that are authorized to present the 10- and 30-hour training for construction and general industry. We supplement the training team with other certified safety professionals, certified industrial hygienists, a certified professional ergonomist and other subject-matter experts. We can conduct the training at your business or on the job site.
The training includes classroom and hands-on activities such as practice with fall protection equipment, inspections of scaffolds, inspection of excavations, etc.
Some progressive employers are requiring that contractors coming onto their sites to work have this training. Additionally, some states are moving toward requiring contractors to have this or equivalent training.
For more information or to schedule training, contact Daniel Bruun, CIH, Vice President, at 888-873-9983, ext. 17, or dbrunn@1ssh.com.
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Hazardous Energy Lockout/Tagout: Fried and Died
 The consequences of failing to effectively lock out/tagout equipment can be catastrophic. An extreme example of this occurred at a Wyman-Gordon Forgings, Inc., facility in Houston, Texas, on December 22, 1996, when eight workers were killed. A crew of ten maintenance workers was performing work on a 40-foot-high pressurized nitrogen tank for a 35-ton forging press. They believed that the pressure had been bled from the tank prior to beginning work. When two-inch bolts were removed from a three-foot-square lid, it blew off, ripping a 40-by-50-foot hole in the factory roof. Five of the workers were blown off of the top of the tank. How could this have been prevented?
The OSHA-proposed penalty was $1,803,500. The citation that OSHA issued had 34 items listed, including:
- There was a failure to provide appropriate hardware for isolating, securing, or blocking machines or equipment from energy sources.
- The hazardous energy control procedures (HECP) did not clearly and specifically outline the scope, purpose, authorization, rules, and techniques to be used for the control of hazardous energy.
- The employer failed to effectively train each authorized employee.
- The employer did not conduct a periodic inspection of the energy control procedure at least annually.
 Another example that illustrates the need to use of HECPs and effective communication between host employers and contractors occurred at RR Donnelley & Sons Company in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, on December 22, 2002. The contractor, who was with Herr and Sacco, Inc., was severely burned by a release of steam from a line that he believed had been de-energized. He died from the burns. Both employers were cited, with RR Donnelley & Sons paying $55,000 as the host employer and Herr and Sacco incorporated paying $3,325. OSHA items common to both
citations included:
 Lack of a compliant energy control program
- Absence of a suitable hazardous energy control procedure
- Failure to provide appropriate hardware for isolating, securing or blocking machines or equipment from energy sources
- Failure of the on-site and outside employers to inform each other of their respective lockout or tagout procedures
Failing to protect your employees from an unexpected release of energy can obviously have significant adverse consequences. 1Source Safety and Health, Inc. can help you to properly address this exposure by working with you to develop and implement compliant hazardous energy control programs, develop equipment-specific HECP, and provide training. For additional information or support contact Colin J. Brigham, CIH, CSP, CPE, CPEA, at cbrigham@1ssh.com or 610-524-5525, xt. 24.
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