May 4, 2016
Given a topic as potentially complex as confined spaces, we can often enhance our understanding of the safety requirements by looking at other, similar standards. The shipyard employment standard (29 CFR 1915 Subpart B) offers us one such opportunity.
May 4, 2016
OSHA generally requires that lift trucks which handle small objects or un-banded units have a vertical load backrest of sufficient height, width, and strength to prevent the load or any part of it from falling toward the operator.
Apr 5, 2016
It’s been said that necessity is the mother of invention. So when forklift operator’s are faced with moving a variety of unusual material they have come up with innovative ways to accomplish the task. One of these ways is what is often called free rigging.
Mar 29, 2016
Anyone who has worked at a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers project understands how much emphasis the corps places on safety. Fall protection offers a great example. Central to this effort are the specific training and retraining requirements for fall protection users, competent persons, and qualified persons.
Mar 10, 2016
Providing fall protection on flat or low-sloped roofs (defined as roofs with a slope of 0 in 12 to 4 in 12) has always been a hot topic of discussion in our Fall Protection Competent Person classes. And the discussion starts by trying to figure out: How close can a worker get to the edge of a roof before they are exposed to a fall?
Feb 3, 2016
Telehandlers are defined as: A vehicle with a telescopically extensible boom, which can be fitted with various lifting or manipulative devices such as pallet forks. The word is a combination of telescopic and handler.
Jan 7, 2016
When Oregon re-wrote its confined space rules last year, one issue of interest among those attending the stakeholder’s meeting hosted by OROSHA, was the question of fall hazards and permit spaces. In other words, if you had a pit twenty feet deep and the only hazard was posed by using a fixed ladder to enter this pit, would the fall hazard be serious enough to make the confined space a permit space?
Jan 6, 2016
As a forklift operator you may not pay much attention to the fork length because they are the same length every day when you get on your forklift. But there are several principles involving fork length that you should keep in mind.
Dec 7, 2015
As manufacturers develop new safety features, operators need to understand how these systems work and how they might be affected by these changes. A perfect example is the Operator Presence System (OPS) which uses a sensor in the operator’s seat to detect the presence of the operator. Forklifts manufactured after November 1, 2005 are required to be equipped with an OPS .
Nov 4, 2015
In safety we understand that if something can be done, it will be done eventually. So if it’s possible for a truck to pull away when being loaded by a forklift, it will happen. You can find videos showing trucks pulling away on YouTube and on regulatory websites there are plenty of case studies. So, how do you keep a truck driver from driving off during the loading process?
Nov 4, 2015
Few topics elicit as much confusion as the reclassification of permit-required confined spaces, also referred to (more appropriately as using alternate entry procedures). People want to know if we should control hazards or eliminate them?
Oct 7, 2015
Given that each rope is attached to the load and an anchor, at some point someone wondered if you could swap them out and switch between using a belay as a mainline and a mainline as a belay. In other words, could you keep both lines tensioned so that if one failed, the other line would prevent any appreciable freefall and associated shock loads?
Sep 30, 2015
Forklifts can exhibit little problems or big problems. When you have a problem with your equipment, should you shutdown or keep working?
Aug 27, 2015
It’s not uncommon for contractors to use the host company’s forklifts. But is this a good practice? Before you decide answer these four questions.
Aug 4, 2015
When you are asked the question: Is it worth having a rescue team? Common sense dictates that most employees should be able to respond appropriately to an incipient fire. Alarms and extinguishers have saved countless billions in damages and few would argue against spending money to ensure a safe and effective response in the few moments after a fire has started. Like structural fires, confined space emergencies are the result of a chain of events and if this chain can be broken early, lives can be saved.
Jul 29, 2015
A forklift written program is an essential tool for developing safe behaviors in the workplace. They provide a semi-permanent reference that ensures everyone is following the same set of rules which are specific to that work location. The next time you review your written program, see if it addresses these five key points.
Jul 28, 2015
On a construction site we often need to position some workers above the ground and others below. So we often find scaffolds erected near excavations. While no one would intentionally place a scaffold leg on the lip of an excavation both the excavation competent person and the scaffold competent person (yes, both scaffolds and excavations require competent persons) should be able to answer the question: how close is too close?
Jun 24, 2015
If a fall arrest anchor can’t withstand the forces generated, nothing else matters. But when a worker clips in, how can they be assured that the anchor will function if and when it’s needed? This is essentially a quality assurance question and assuring quality requires a variety of processes, none of which are complicated but each are required to make the system work. In this blog we have broken the processes down into various steps with the focus on fall arrest anchors.
Jun 9, 2015
Operators need to know that most forklifts have a three-point suspension which results in a stability triangle, and it’s the operator’s job to keep the center of gravity (CG) within this triangle. But the CG is constantly changing as the forklift and the load are moved, raised and lowered. The closer the center of gravity gets to the edge of the triangle the more likely the unit is to tip, especially in the case of a sudden turn or deceleration.
June 2, 2015
For the last five or so years we have enjoyed considerable success with Version 3 of our Confined Space Entrant, Attendant, and Entry Supervisor curriculum. Nonetheless, we are excited to release Version 4.