Safety Tips

Working with pallets can present hazards for both workers and equipment. Workers can suffer cuts and abrasions from pallets in disrepair, and unstable pallets can break, dropping freight and causing potential damage to equipment and injury to workers.

Floodwaters can be contaminated with any number of dangerous substances that may cause serious illness or even death, such as micro-organisms, sewage and industrial waste. It is imperative to maintain good hygiene when working in areas affected by floods.

Adequate sleep is important for an individual’s health and well-being. Most experts recommend getting between seven and nine hours of sleep every day, which can be difficult to achieve, especially for people who work during nighttime hours or on a rotating shift schedule.

Portable fire extinguishers can be vital in preventing a small fire from turning into a major catastrophe. But the devices provide no protection if they are not properly maintained.

Washington – Advocacy group Public Citizen sent a petition to OSHA Sept. 1 requesting the agency enact a standard to protect workers from extreme heat exposure.

Despite the fact that an OSHA standard requires roofers and other workers to guard skylights and roof openings, fatal falls persist – perhaps because of workers’ mistaken belief that plastic dome covers provide adequate fall protection.

Falls from tractors or trailing equipment can lead to serious injury and death on farms and ranches.

Electrical hazards cause more than 300 electrocutions and 4,000 injuries in the workplace each year, according to the Rosslyn, VA-based Electrical Safety Foundation International. Many of these incidents could have been avoided with increased awareness about electricity, according to the organization.

Working with chemicals and solvents in the workplace can expose workers to a host of health hazards. Being properly trained in how to handle these hazardous materials is vital.

A 57-year-old cleanup worker at an animal feed processing plant was killed after falling into a manlift shaft.