The Dangers of Oily Rags Oily rags left in a closed container can become a safety nightmare. Many people do not believe it can happen. For no apparent reason, fire erupts, usually during off hours – as the materials have had time to react. It is called spontaneous ignition, and preventing is part of your job. Spontaneous ignition occurs when a combustible object is heated to its ignition temperature by a chemical reaction involving the oxygen in the air around us. This “oxidation “ process creates heat that, if not dissipated, will bui8ld up until ignition occurs. Generally, this can happen when...

Excavations Are Serious Business Excavations and trenches need not be deep or large to create a life threatening hazard. Soil is heavy, and failures take place with little or no notice. You can be trapped before there is time to react. So it is important that every excavation be prepared correctly, allowing you to complete your job safely and efficiently. Remember that every trench is different. Soil type, moisture content, depth, configuration, proximity to existing structures, and location of spoil piles all work together to make every excavation unique. Keep these points in mind when working: Follow the recommendations of your...

Front-End Loader If you operate a front-end loader, you have probably experienced the bouncing, weaving, and "road walk" that leaves you feeling as if you are not in total control of the equipment. Hopefully, you have recognized this as dangerous and have learned to slow down, especially when traveling downgrade, when empty, or when traveling on particularly bad terrain. There are other hazards to be considered as well: (1) getting caught in the pinch points of the bucket arms or the pivot area of an articulated machine, (2) collision, (3) running over a pedestrian, (4) spilling a load on others, (5) machine...

Trying To Do The Job Alone Dear Sir. I am responding to your request for additional information regarding how my recent injury occurred. In block number 3 of your accident report form I put trying to do the job alone as the cause of my accident. You said in your letter that I should explain more fully. I trust that the following details will be sufficient. I am a bricklayer by trade. On the day of the accident, I was working alone on the roof of a new six story building. When I completed my work I discovered that I had about 500...

Dangers of Powerline Contact Each year, workers are killed by electrocution from contact with overhead power lines. Over 90 percent of the contacts involved overhead distribution lines. These are the same lines that run in the alleys behind our houses and through our job sites. Since they are so common to us, they seem harmless. This serious mistake is fueled by two common misconceptions: the belief that some overhead lines don't carry enough power to kill, and the belief that power lines are well-insulated. Both are dead wrong. The leading category of contact involves heavy equipment--cranes, drilling rigs, concrete pumps, aerial buckets,...

Hand Tool Safety Hammers, wrenches, chisels, pliers, screwdrivers, and other hand tools are often underrated as sources of potential danger. Hand tools may look harmless, but they are the cause of many injuries. In fact, an estimated 8 percent of all workplace compensable injuries are caused by incidents associated with hand tools. These injuries can be serious, including loss of fingers or eyesight. Hand tools can cause many types of injuries: Cuts, abrasions, amputations, and punctures. If hand tools are designed to cut or move metal and wood, remember what a single slip can do to fragile human flesh. Repetitive motion injuries....

Handling 55 Gallon Drums Safely In the typical workplace 55 gallon drums are used to store material, to ship it, to dispense it for use, and to store wastes. All these drums must be moved from time to time. Like most things, there's a right way to move a drum-and several wrong ways to do it. At least four serious injuries can occur if a drum is not handled safely: fractures lacerations hernias back strain All these injuries are painful and require a long time to heal. By taking a few precautions before you attempt to move a drum, you can help...

Sunglasses vs. Safety Glasses Now is the time many people working outdoors break out the sunglasses. While conventional sunglasses may protect the eyes from glare, they do a poor job of protecting your eyes from the industrial hazards of splashes, flying objects, and dust. In fact, conventional glasses can present their own hazards in the workplace. It is a fact that the frame and lenses used in safety glasses are stronger than the frame and lenses used in conventional glasses. When an object strikes the lens of safety glasses it is very unlikely that the lens would dislodge. This is not true...

Do You Know Someone New On the Job? The average person changes jobs eight times in a lifetime. How many different companies or different jobs have you worked? Do you remember how it feels to be the new kid on the block? How many times have you changed from a laborer to a carpenter, or from an ironworker to a welder, then to a leadman? Every time you have made on of these changes, you’ve faced a higher probability of being injured on the job. Studies show that in heavy industries up to 25% of injuries, or 1 in every 4 workers,...

Emergency Preparedness Are you mentally prepared for an emergency? Emergency Preparedness is not only the physical steps to take. How would you mentally handle an emergency? Would you know what to do if an emergency occurred while you were on the job? Do you know what actions to take if a co-worker was seriously injured, a fire ignited, or a structure collapsed? Are you mentally prepared to react to an emergency? Emergencies and disasters are a reality of everyday life. Local and international news programs document such occurrences every day throughout the world. Too many lives are lost and property is damaged because...