Don't be Spooked by OSHA

Spooked. It’s the feeling you get when you walk passed that rusted “DANGER” sign into a dark, creepily vacant hallway; the moment when chills run all the way down your spine and you find yourself whispering, “Am I just hearing things, or are those footsteps behind me getting louder and closer?”

It’s that same feeling that takes over when OSHA regulations aren’t followed while mitigating or restoring a building.

Even the most minor misstep can create dangerous working conditions. In 2015, there were 4,836 workers who lost their lives at their job site; one in five of those deaths were workers in the construction industry. That statistic alone should chill you to the bone!

The numbers are scary, but don’t fear – treacherous situations in your work environment are completely avoidable. The following are the 10 most cited OSHA standards violated in 2016:

1. Fall protection, construction (29 CFR 1926.501)
2. Hazard communication standard, general industry (29 CFR 1910.1200)
3. Scaffolding, general requirements, construction (29 CFR 1926.451)
4. Respiratory protection, general industry (29 CFR 1910.134) 5.
5. Control of hazardous energy (lockout/tagout), general industry (29 CFR 1910.147)
6. Powered industrial trucks, general industry (29 CFR 1910.178)
7. Ladders, construction (29 CFR 1926.1053)
8. Machinery and Machine Guarding, general requirements (29 CFR 1910.212)
9. Electrical, wiring methods, components, and equipment, general industry (29 CFR 1910.305)
10. Electrical systems design, general requirements, general industry (29 CFR 1910.303)

To avoid violating OSHA standards, and to ensure that your job site is a safe and spookless environment, here are few suggestions.

1. Report Potential Spooks

Reporting accidents is not only required by OSHA, but also helps to create preventative safety plans in the future and keeps a clean record. No one wants a pile of skeletons in their closet!

It’s even suggested that “near misses” be recorded to help minimize actual incidents. Recording and reporting accidents helps to create a better safety program for your company. It’s important to keep track of headless horseman sightings; you don’t want him haunting the jobsite.

2. Get Certified for a Crazy Amount of Knowledge

While not required by law, it’s highly recommended that individuals working in the construction industry be OSHA certified so they can be professionally trained on what to do when there’s a full moon out. OSHA certification is a fantastic way to create a solid baseline of standard training, and these courses help employers to meet important training requirements in an efficient and controlled method.

3. Make Sure Your Project Scope Incorporates Supernatural Prevention

Incorporating OSHA into your project scope is not only required by law, but also allows for you to properly budget for extra safety measures. It may take a few extra steps, but abiding by OSHA standards on the jobsite could just be that one step that prevents ghosts from haunting the jobsite.

4. Plan Monthly Fright Avoidance Meetings

OSHA recommends that voluntary safety meetings are held each month. So gather all your ghouls and goblins, sit down, and make a game plan. These meetings should discuss employee’s safety or health concerns, and should also cover recent accidents or “near misses”. This meeting helps to remind employees of the safety rules and regulations, and can help to prevent future injuries.

5. Use Startle Prevention Equipment

The use of Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) is vital in making sure the workforce doesn’t turn into a group of Frankensteins. The purpose of PPE is to reduce employee exposure to hazards when engineering and administrative tools are not able. Choosing not to wear PPE can be dangerous, as it could potentially save a life.

The OSHA training program reduces worker’s compensation claims by 52%…that’s a lot of headless horsemen avoided! At Unified, we are proud to say that OSHA safety is one of our specialties. Our safety culture is rated one of the best with our insurance carriers, and we employ safety professionals to help make sure it stays that way. With instructors certified in OSHA 10 and 30, Unified is ready and waiting to share our wealth of knowledge with you!

Unified is here to help ensure that your job site is a safe and spookless environment…just call us the Ghost Busters!