Practical EHS Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
Safety is a process, and as such, needs to be managed. This section offers resources to create a viable safety program, sell it to senior management, train supervisors and employees in using it, and then track and report your progress. Look also for ways to advance your own skills in these areas, both for your current job, and those that follow.
At this moment, 23 states and the District of Columbia have legalized marijuana for medicinal use, and Washington and Colorado have famously legalized the plant for recreational use, too. Alaska and Oregon will become the next states where recreational marijuana is legal after voters approved cannabis ballot measures set to become effective in 2015. Under […]
If you’re like most employers, you’re concerned about the illicit use of alcohol and drugs on the job and how it affects safety. You may even drug-test your employees. But it’s not just the illegal use of drugs that can affect safety in your workplace—prescription drugs, over-the-counter (OTC) medications, and even herbal remedies can compromise […]
Yesterday, we discussed how to use a sound level meter to perform area noise monitoring as part of your hearing conservation program. Today, we’ll look at when and how to use personal noise dosimetry to characterize worker exposures and determine what hearing protection, if any, might be required. You may need to use personal noise […]
Noise monitoring is a vital part of your hearing conservation program. It can help you determine whether workers could be exposed at or above the action level; select workers for inclusion in a hearing conservation program; and enable the selection of appropriate hearing protection devices. According to OSHA’s occupational noise standard (1910.95), area monitoring or […]
Is the obesity epidemic hurting your workplace? Are your workers less productive than they could be because they suffer from poorly controlled Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, or obstructive sleep apnea? Are your healthcare costs soaring out of control?
For a number of years, OSHA has been making the business case for safety, pointing out that employers can save $4 to $6 for every dollar invested. A similar message is emerging regarding health. A 2014 RAND Corporation study of 7 years of PepsiCo data found that efforts to help employees manage chronic illnesses saved […]
An effective discipline policy can help your workers remain aware of, and in compliance with, workplace safety rules. However, if your workplace discipline policy is badly designed or inconsistently applied, you could put yourself in a bind with workers and regulators.
Few people enjoy disciplining employees. It’s a distasteful task. But correctly applied discipline is in the best interest of both the employee and employer, and all employees who are responsible for discipline should know how and when to discipline an employee who has violated a safety rule.
Do you ever feel as if you’re at odds with your supervisors and workers over safety? Like you’re working at cross purposes, in an environment where safety is seen as the enemy of production? What if there were a way to bring workers onto your team and get everybody working together to enhance workplace safety? […]
Maybe you have to have a safety committee because state law requires you to. Maybe you thought it was a good idea when you started it, but it has never worked out like you hoped. Maybe you poured your efforts into establishing a safety committee, but workers never seemed to trust it fully. What’s keeping […]