Hazard
Prevention and Control
- Appropriate
- Maintenance
- Emergency
Plans
- Emergency
Treatment
Once
a list of hazards and potential hazards
for the workplace has been produced,
the prevention and control program can
be designed. The program should consist
of the following:
- Appropriate
Controls - all controls in place.
- A
preventative maintenance program established
and working.
- An
emergency action plan established
and all employees know how to respond.
- A
program is in place to render emergency
treatment.
When
designing the prevention and control
program, apply controls following this
ranking: engineering; controls; work
practices; personal protective equipment;
and administrative controls. A further
explanation follows:
1.
Engineering to eliminate the hazard
by substitution or by removing the hazard
from the method, material, structure
or process. It's the most effective
way of ensuring employees' health and
safety. In most situations, OSHA requires
that an employer implement feasible
engineering controls for both safety
and health concerns before relying on
guarding, safe work practices, personal
protective equipment or administrative
controls.
2.
Controlling hazard by enclosing or guarding
at its source. All machines and equipment
should be guarded for pinch points,
catch points, shear points, squeeze
points, flying objects or sparks, sharp
and pointed objects, hot and cold objects.
3.Using
work rules and work practices to train
personnel to be aware of the hazard
and to follow safe job procedures to
avoid it. Employees must be trained
to understand why these rules and work
practices are necessary and how they
can be used to protect themselves and
others.
4.
Providing and requiring the use of personal
protective equipment to shield them
against the hazard. Employees must be
trained and be knowledgeable on the
selection, use, limitation and care
of all personal protective equipment.
Before an employer can rely on the use
of personal protective equipment, engineering
controls must be used where feasible
to reduce exposure to the lowest extent
possible.
5.
Using administrative controls to limit
the time/duration of the exposure.
Administrative
controls are only effective in certain
cases and the control must not expose
more employees to undesirable environments
of toxic and injurious materials.
Of
course the ideal situation would be
to eliminate hazards or exposures that
employees would encounter. Since this
is not always possible, employers should
use the best available methods for protecting
employees. Engineering controls combined
with good work practices can, for the
most part, provide maximum protection
for employees. The employer is responsible
for providing whatever training is necessary
to ensure that their employees know
how to use the systems in place for
protection.
DO:
- Get familiar with OSHA requirements.
- Apply
controls using the ranking method,
i.e., engineering; safeguarding; work
rules and safe work practices; personal
protective equipment; administrative.
- Develop general safety and health
work rules and communicate them clearly
and frequently to your employees.
- Solicit your employees input when developing your plant safety
rules and regulations
- Post work rules and regulations in the workplace.
- Review rules periodically to ensure that they are kept current
with existing practices.
- Develop procedures for enforcing safety and health rules and
safe work practices to ensure that
employees do not neglect them.
C2
PREVENTATIVE
MAINTENANCE
|
Provide
a good equipment maintenance program
that will keep the in-place engineering
controls operating as efficiently as
possible. Check items such as ventilation
systems to make sure it maintains the
correct airflow. Check electronic or
electrical controls to see that they
work. Check guards and guarding devices
to see that they are in place, are being
used and are effective. When equipment
is not maintained properly, it can become
hazardous. Maintain good housekeeping
as it eliminates clutter, which can
cause trips, slips and falls or contribute
to fires; promotes efficient use of
space; reduces operating energy requirements;
and promotes good morale.
DO:
- Establish an equipment maintenance program so that engineering
controls function properly and hazardous
breakdowns can be prevented.
- Survey and list all processes, machines and portable power tools
available.
- Audit all maintenance records for the machines you have. Determine
if manufacturers manuals exist, if
they are adequate and whether they
are being followed.
- Develop a tracking procedure that lists the status of each tool
or machine or process, its location
and relevant inspection data.
- Clearly define inspection criteria, appropriate schedules for
maintenance and inspections.
- Clearly define organizational responsibility for inspections.
No
safety and health program is complete
without a plan for emergencies. Survey
for all possible emergency situations
(fire, natural disasters, human errors
such as toxic spills). Just because
something has never happened, does not
mean it won't. Plan for the emergency
to determine who is supposed to do what.
Train and educate so that the responses
needed at times of crisis can become
practically automatic. The greater the
possibility of an emergency, the more
preparation should be done. Each employee
should be trained in the emergency procedures
of the workplace. For those who have
special responsibilities during emergencies,
additional training should be provided
that will allow them to safely perform
their duties. Working training drills
into the activities of the workplace
will better prepare everyone should
an emergency arise. All should know
immediately how to respond, through
planning, training and drills.
DO:
- Identify all possible emergency situations such as those created
by work processes, natural disasters,
fires, and human error.
- Develop a plan for responding to each type of emergency identified.
- Train employees and conduct a drill on emergency actions to ensure
that all know immediately what to
do when an emergency arises.
- Post emergency telephone numbers, emergency exit routes.
- Insure
that new employees are aware of your
emergency response procedures.
- Periodically
review emergency planning in meetings.
A
medical program consists of prevention,
early recognition and treatment, and
limiting the severity of injuries and
illnesses. This means that you need
to provide basic health care services
onsite. It does not mean establishing
a large department of doctors and nurses.
Instead, most facilities have employees
within their site that can provide basic
health care should an emergency situation
arise. Employers should look for occupational
health providers when putting together
the health and safety program. For small
companies, the employer can arrange
for health care through local clinics.
The key to the medical program is to
minimize the time an injured person
will have to wait before being properly
treated. Training employees onsite in
first aid and CPR provides companies
with a source of help during times of
trouble.
DO:
- Contract with occupational health professionals to provide for
emergency medical treatment for employees.
- Arrange for industrial hygiene surveys or ergonomic studies if
conditions indicate they are necessary.
- Train employees in first aid/CPR (at least 2 persons per shift).
- Establish procedures for handling emergency medical situations
to reduce the likelihood of panic
and to result in faster and more efficient
emergency care.
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