Injury prevention

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“Whether it’s walking the factory floor, taking a stroll outside during a break or getting from one meeting to another, we’re on our feet at least part of the day,” the National Safety Council says. “With all of that foot traffic, there’s always the potential for a fall.”

Although many chainsaws now come equipped with safety features, workers still need to be trained on proper use of the tool.

Simply put, “lockout/tagout is a safety procedure used to make sure equipment and machines are properly shut off and not able to start during maintenance or repair work,” the Texas Department of Insurance says. “This is known as controlling hazardous energy.”

A 55-year-old painting contractor and his 27-year-old son were electrocuted when the aluminum extension ladder they were moving contacted an overhead power line.

The first rule of performing façade work while on a scaffold: Don’t do it unless you’ve completed scaffold safety training, warns a recent worker alert from the New York City Department of Buildings.

Inspections are an important part of any workplace safety and health management system. Described in a video from the Maryland Occupational Safety and Health Division of Labor and Industry as the practice of “identifying unsafe conditions through observations and testing of the work environment,” inspections can cover housekeeping, emergency alarms, electrical hazards, machine guarding and chemical hazards.

The National Safety Stand-Down to Prevent Falls in Construction is an annual event. But employers should focus on fall prevention all year.

From 1992 to 2005, at least 154 workers were killed after a metal ladder they were using came in contact with an overhead power line, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data cited in a recent NIOSH review.

Although most states enforce some type of “move over” law, which requires drivers to move over one lane or reduce speed when passing law enforcement on the side of the road, struck-by incidents are still happening.

Guarding floor and wall openings and holes is a requirement under OSHA’s fall protection standard. Hatches, which provide workers with direct access to a rooftop where equipment is often stored, fall under this requirement.