Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

Ensuring PPE Use:

According to Jolly, the key to ensuring proper PPE use by employees and full compliance with OSHA standards is management interest and commitment. "Nothing gets fixed unless management cares."
Change comes when the workplace, with management in the lead, adopts a culture of safety. Jolly says culture is a combination of "indoctrinating employees from the get-go that they are supposed to wear the right protection, as well as training them and enforcing the rules. All these things roll together into culture."
Another important aspect of an effective PPE program is making sure protective equipment is properly used. Jolly and Thomas advise employers to hold onto any materials that come with new PPE. Manufacturers' instructions and the like should be stored and treated the same way material safety data sheets are—for example, by placing them in a binder for use in training and for reference by employees and supervisors.
In fact, in Virginia, legislation now requires employers under the state OSHA program's jurisdiction to follow manufacturers' safety procedures for their equipment. Thomas and Jolly advocate a similar federal OSHA rule and believe it would significantly improve PPE compliance nationwide.
Comfort Counts, Too!
Another very important aspect of real world PPE use by employees is comfort. If it isn't as comfortable as possible, workers are going to look for excuses not to wear it.
 "Comfort drives compliance," says Kimberly-Clark Professional Division research scientist Kim MacDougall. At the end of the day, she stresses, the very best protective equipment is useless unless a worker wears it consistently.

The Real World Perspective(Safety Daily Advisor)

Asbestos OHS, Dangerous or not?

Asbestos has been used in lamp wicks and candles since 4000 BC. It's amazing fact that it was also used in the shrouds of Egyptian mummies. Perhaps this is the real origin of "The Curse of The Mummy" stories. Asbestos clothing was extremely expensive in ancient times to wrap the bodies of Kings, in order to keep their ashes pure during cremation, and it is said the Romans merely threw their asbestos napkins into a fire to cleanse and purify them.
Large natural deposits of asbestos discovered in Canada, Australia and Africa. The fibers, from which this mineral consists of, can be 700 times thinner than human's hair. Their small size lets them stay suspended in the air for quite long time. Asbestos is very staunch material: resistant to chemicals, flame-retardant, insoluble, it does not evaporate into air and does not break down over time. Due to these properties asbestos has been widely used in construction and in production of insulation materials. Greeks called asbestos the miracle mineral', the word 'asbestos' comes from the Greek word meaning 'indestructible'.
This mineral is called 'Fibre of Death' due to its carcinogenic properties. Its threat to health was recognized in 1898, and first laws were adopted in England in 1931.
The term "Asbestos" is common for a fibrous variety of six naturally occurring minerals that have been recently used extensively in numerous branches of industry. Actually, "asbestos" is a commercial name given to a group of minerals with special features, such as flexibility, high tensile strength, electrical resistance and resistance to chemical and thermal degradation. These minerals have been used in producing of different products, among them building materials, fire- and bulletproof materials, brake pads and shoes, textile products and many more.
One of asbestos's features is to divide into tiny size particles that could get in the lungs of a person with the air. There are some professions concerned with long-term use of asbestos. They can cause dangerous diseases, including lung cancer. In spite of recent recession in use of asbestos products, they are still being used in many residential and commercial projects and pose threat to health of all people around.
Tremolite, Anthophyllite and Actinolite are asbestos containing formations, which still being used in production of building materials, such as talcum powders and vermiculite.

White asbestos - Chrysotile, CAS No. 12001-29-5, Mg3(Si2O5)(OH)4, is referred to serpentine group of minerals. This type of minerals was widely adopted in United States industry. Inhalation of chrysotile has been shown to be less harmful than inhalation of other forms of asbestos. According to UK Health & Safety Commission report (Asbestos: Effects on health of exposure to asbestos, 1985) it's the least dangerous type of all asbestos types.
Brown asbestos - a mineral, named Amosite (acronym from "Asbestos Mines of South Africa"), CAS No. 12172-73-5, Fe7Si8O22(OH)2. This is amphibole, scientifically is known as Grunerite.
Blue asbestos - Riebeckite, CAS No. 12001-28-4, Na2Fe2+3Fe3+2Si8O22(OH)2, is the mineral of the amphibole group, it is found in Africa and Australia. Crocodolite is asbestiform type of this mineral, it is supposed to be the most dangerous type of asbestos.
There are some more asbestos minerals, which industrial use is not significant. Among them actinolite asbestos (or smaragdite), CAS No. 77536-66-4, Ca2(Mg, Fe)5Si8O22(OH)2, anthophyllite asbestos, CAS No. 77536-67-5, (Mg, Fe)7Si8O22(OH)2, tremolite asbestos, CAS No. 77536-68-6, Ca2Mg5Si8O22(OH)2 can be named. They still used in producing of building and insulation materials. The types of consumer products that can hold small quantities of asbestos are named in Asbestos Ban and Phase Out Rule, which was adopted in 1989 by Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), United States, and was overturned two years later.
Industrial exploitation of asbestos deposits started in the late 1800s in North America along with commercial use of the mineral, and rose significantly during World War II. Since then an application for it have been found in many industries, such as automotive industry, building and construction. Asbestos is used or has been used in more than 5,000 products:
- Asbestos cement sheet and pipe products used for water supply and sewage piping, roofing and siding, casings for electrical wires, fire protection material, electrical switchboards and components, and residential and industrial building materials;
- Friction products, such as clutch facings, brake linings for automobiles, gaskets, and industrial friction materials;
- Products containing asbestos paper, such as table pads and heat-protective mats, heat and electrical wire insulation, industrial filters for beverages, and underlying material for sheet flooring;
- Asbestos textile products, such as packing components, roofing materials, and heat- and fire-resistant fabrics (including blankets and curtains);
- Other products, including ceiling and floor tile; gaskets and packings; paints, coatings, and adhesives; caulking and patching tape; artificial ashes and embers for use in gas-fired fireplaces; plastics; vermiculite-containing consumer garden products; and some talc-containing crayons.
The possibility of lung cancer development can be greatly increased by smoking along with asbestos exposure.
Asbestos-containing materials were used in construction of many buildings, especially in systems of sound and thermal isolation. Sometimes technical ducts, false ceilings and other places of difficult firemen access were "stuffed" with asbestos. In the U.S. so called "popcorn ceiling", the type of acoustic ceiling that contained asbestos, have been used in apartments construction till 1986, although production of this type of materials was banned in 1978. It can be explained by the fact that the producers received permission to sell the remains of these materials. So now laboratory test is the only way to check the presence of harmful material in your house.
Although asbestos is hazardous to person's health, its thread can be reduced by special ways of application, because if its fibers cannot be inhaled, they pose no risk.
However, sometimes it's impossible to avoid asbestos fibers dislodging, for example during flocking or drilling, so maintenance personnel is in great danger while doing their job. It makes the removal of asbestos from a building quite complex. It requires temporary relocation of all users of the building. Besides of it, it's necessary to isolate the part of building from which asbestos is being removed in order to prevent the spreading of the fibers.
If the building is closed to normal users, it may be necessary to seal it off from outside atmosphere so that no accessible air is contaminated. Examples of asbestos removal enterprises include the Jussieu Campus (begun circa 1996 and still going on as of 2005) and the Tour Montparnasse (in 2005, projected duration was 3 years if the tower was emptied of its users, and 10 years if it was not).

(source: www.mesotheliomacontrol.com/)

Quote of the day

"Dont complain. just work harder" Randy Pausch

He was an american professor of computer science and human-computer interaction and design at (CMU) Carnegie Mellon Uniersity in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He learnt that he had pancreatic cancer. He gave an upbeat lecture entitled: The last lecture: Really Achieving your childhood dreams.

You can watch it on youtube.com.

Apologise

Good day for you all who have ever visited this blog.

Kind regards,

I just wanted to apologise because I haven´t posted more articles on my blog, but there was a problem, I was starting my internship, so that I did not have enough time to.
There´s a good news, I shall restart my responsbaility with my blog, I´m going to post a step-by-step guidelines that will help you to understand your role in the organisation where you work.

I´m performing a project about Occupational Health & Safety Management, so I hope you involve with it too. I´m not a selfish man, I assume that we build a good structure when we work as a whole, moreover, when every individual cooperates with his/her part we can get a great success.

If you have feedbacks, new ideas, innovation, do not hesitate to drop me a message.

Warmest Regards,
Steve Rendon

'The Safe Dog Handbook' by Melanie Monteiro - The Ellen DeGeneres Show

'The Safe Dog Handbook' by Melanie Monteiro - The Ellen DeGeneres Show
If you are an owner of a dog, you will understand this perfectly....

Bookmark and Share

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aolhealth Tweets

aolhealth Tweets

Breast Cancer and the Workplace - Taking Care of Yourself - Breast Cancer Support - Breast Cancer Network of Strength

Breast Cancer and the Workplace - Taking Care of Yourself - Breast Cancer Support - Breast Cancer Network of Strength

Quote of the day

Walt Disney:

"We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we're curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths. "

Reporting Workplace Accidents and Other Matters

Workplace Accidents

Responsible person of a workplace is required to notify workplace accidents.

For accident that causes the death of, or serious bodily injury to an employee, he is required to:

• notify an occupational safety officer of the Labour Department within 24 hours after the accident and follow it with a written report within 7 days after the date of the accident if no written notification has ever been given.
For accident that results in the employee being incapacitated from working for at least 3 days, he is required to:

• report the accident in writing to an occupational safety officer of the Labour Department within 7 days after the date of the accident.
Serious bodily injury includes any bodily injury that results in the victim's admission at a hospital or clinic for treatment or observation.
Written report of accident is not required if notice of the accident has been given within the specified period in accordance with Section 15 of the Employees' Compensation Ordinance (Cap 282).

Dangerous Occurrences

The occupier of premises where a workplace is located is required to report Dangerous Occurrence occurred at the workplace to an occupational safety officer of the Labour Department. The report must be in writing and lodged within 24 hours after the Dangerous Occurrence.

Notifiable Occupational Diseases

A medical practitioner who finds or suspects that an employee is or was suffering from a notifiable occupational disease and believes that the disease was or may have been attributable to the occupation of the employee must notify his finding or suspicion to the Commissioner as soon as practicable.

A good comic about OH&S

Do you think that this is the correct way to expose that our job is important ?

Quote of the day

"I learned that, before you reach an objective, you must be ready with a new one, and you must start to communicate it to the organization. But it is not the goal itself that is important."

If you focus in the success of your organization having on clear that the customer is really important to, you will understand the need each person has.

Our organization doesn't need to focus in the money as first; the external customer and internal customer are the fountain of success, thanks to them we can obtain satisfaction with our work.

Maybe, you know this value: its the COLLABORATION, if you pay attetnion to the image you observe that there's into the photo a good quote "Collaboration is everything", so your organization needs collaboration, because each person into your organization is an indispensable piece to put together a jigsaw puzzle.

What does COLLABORATION mean?

Collaboration is a recursive process where two or more people or organization work together in an intersection of common goals.

- But what does collaboration consist?
by sharing knowledge, learning and building consensus. Most collaboration requires leadership, although the form of leadership can be social within a decentralized and egalitarian group.

- What's the success to my organization?
In particular, teams that work collaboratively can obtain greater resources, recognition and reward when facing competition for finite resources.

(Written and edited by Steve Rendon in co-operation with his account at wikipedia.org)

Duties of Occupier of Premises

Duties of Occupier of Premises
Occupier of premises means a person who has any degree of control over the premises where a workplace is located. If an employee's workplace is located on premises that are not under the control of his employer, occupier of the premises has the duties to ensure that the premises, the means of access to and egress from the premises and any plant or substances kept at the premises are, so far as reasonably practicable, safe and without risks to health.

For example, the consignment counters selling proprietary products in an emporium, where the sales persons are not employees of the emporium, the persons' safety and health at work shall be the responsibility of their employer while operator of the emporium shall have the duties of occupier of the premises. The operator shall have the duties to make overall arrangements for safety and health at the premises like fire prevention, means of escape, ventilation, first aid, sanitary facilities etc.

Duties of Employees

An employee must so far as reasonably practicable, take care for the safety and health of himself and of other persons who are at the workplace. He must also co-operate with his employer or other person so far as may be necessary to enable safety and health requirements are complied with.

"Reasonably Practicable"

"So far as reasonably practicable" must assess, on the one hand, the risks of a particular work activity or environment and on the other hand, the physical difficulties, time, expenses and even "trouble" which would be involved in taking steps to avoid the risks.

Improvement Notice and Suspension Notice

The Commissioner for Labour may serve on employer or occupier
1. Improvement Notice requiring the rectification of contravention against safety legislation within specified period ; and
2. Suspension Notice requiring suspension of an activity or use of premises or of any plant or substance where there is imminent risk of death or serious bodily injury.

Employer or occupier served with a Suspension Notice has the right of applying to the Commissioner for a review He may also appeal to the Administrative Appeals Board if he is affected by the decision of the Commissioner. However, during the review or appeal, the Suspension Notice remains in force.

A brief guide to OS&H ordinance

Purposes of the Ordinance

* To ensure the safety and health of employees when they are at work;

* To prescribe measures that will make the workplaces of employees safer and healthier for them;

* To improve the safety and health standards applicable to certain hazardous processes, plant and substances used or kept in workplaces; and

* To improve the safety and health aspects of working environments of employees.

The Ordinance is applicable, with only a few exceptions, to all employers and occupiers of premises where workplaces are located. It also binds the government. Domestic premises where the only employees are domestic servants, and places where only self-employed persons work are not workplaces under the Ordinance.
An employee is at work only during the time when he is actually at a workplace. An employee is not regarded at work when he is being conveyed as a passenger in a car, ferry or other vehicle in circumstances no different from that of an ordinary passenger.

Some aspects on this post talk about duties of employers:

General Duties of Employers

Every employer must, so far as reasonably practicable, ensure the safety and health at work of all his employees. His duties include:

* provide and maintain plant and system of work that are safe and without risks to health;

* make arragements for ensuring safety and absence of risks to health in connection with the use, handling, storage or transport of plant or substances;

* provide information, instruction, training and supervision as may be necessary to ensure the safety and health at work;

* maintain workplace including the means of access to and egress from the workplace in a condition that is safe and without risks to health; and

* provide and maintain workplace and working environment that are safe and without risks to health.

But have you questioned yourself about your duties and have you thought what ordinance means?

ORDINANCE:
* regulation: an authoritative rule
* a statute enacted by a city government
* ordination: the act of ordaining; the act of conferring (or receiving) holy orders; "the rabbi's family was present for his ordination"

wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn

Now, you must think in your duties... I'll post them here tomorrow.

Purpose of creating a blog

A blog is an online journal that allows post information, opinions, thoughts and other material online. A typical blog combines text, images, and links to other blogs, Web pages, and other media related to its topic. The ability for readers to leave comments in an interactive format is an important feature of the blogs.

Purpose of Blogging:
The major purpose of creating a blog is to get exposed to the online world with views and outlooks. The following are some other popular purposes of blogging –

Channel for expressing thoughts: A blog is one of the best and effective channels to express personal views and thoughts. Many bloggers use their blogs to post their opinions on some topics they are interested or proficient in.

Share personal experiences: Blogs can be used as a means of sharing personal experiences, hobbies or details of the blogger is maintained as an online dairy of the blogger. Many bloggers with distinct personalities and unique thoughts were successful to use their blogs as an effective means to become popular.

Blogging for businesses: Many businesses have found blogging as an efficient resource to communicate with a good number of people online. Blogging acts as an effective means of communication to provide information to target audience through online. Thus, they could enhance their business opportunities using online resources. Many businesses also use internal blogs to communicate effectively with their employees.

Blogging for Internet marketing: Internet marketers, these days, have started using blogs as resources to create backlinks for their websites. Thus, blogs help them to enhance search engine rankings of any website.

Effective monetization resource online: There is a vast percentage of bloggers who create and use their blogs to make money online. Bloggers earn money on blogs through programs like advertising, affiliate programs, blogging for businesses, raising donations, blog flipping, etc.

Entertainment module: There are many blogs run online merely run for entertainment purposes like Vlog, Photologs, Podcasts, etc. A blog, which focuses on music, movie videos, wallpapers and photos, etc., is called an entertainment blog.

Educational purposes: Blogs are also used for educating people online. Bloggers post information on a wide variety of topics like health tips, computers, home, do-it-yourself, traveling, sports, business etc.

The flexibility and ease of blogging resulted in the adaptation of blogs for various purposes. The constant search for new elements by the blogging service providers has resulted in many advanced features and options for the bloggers. These features are helping the bloggers to take the advantage of the blogs for various purposes.

A commentarist posted: Jay Johnson's weblog talks about technology, science, and environmental issues. His blog also updates on new findings in space research.