Personal Protective Equipment Probably the last thing that comes to mind when you watch a pro football game is safety. It starts in the locker room before the game when the players put on their uniforms. To play the game, they must wear personal protective equipment, including a shock-absorbing helmet with face guard, shoulder pads, knee pads, and cleated shoes. These things can get pretty bulky and uncomfortable, especially when its 95 degrees on the field and the only shade you can get is from someone's shadow. Football is a rough game, and if a player wants to be with his family...

Ladder Safety Tips We have all worked with ladders at some time in our lives, either at work or at home. The following are some tips that may make your interaction with ladders less hazardous: Before using a ladder, inspect it for faults, such as broken rungs or rails. If it is an extension ladder, inspect the pulleys, ropes and locks for excessive wear. Also, check the footings and pads to make sure they still provide a non-skid surface. If any defect is found, the ladder should be tagged unsafe and taken out of service. If it cannot be fixed, make...

Conveyor Safety Find a way to cut down on the amount of materials you handle manually, and you've got a good thing going. You lessen the chances of hurting your back and hands, which are two of the more common types of on-the-job injuries. In addition, your capacity for work will increase and so will production.That's why conveyors are widely used. They move materials efficiently and safely. Conveyors are one of the earliest forms of automation. In fact, they've been around so long that we don't really look at them as a form of automation but as basic machinery for getting...

Care For Your Half-Mask Air-Purifying Respirator Personal Protection Your half-mask air-purifying respirator provides protection against breathing of airborne contaminants. Your employer is responsible for the respiratory program which includes providing you with the proper type of respirator for the given exposure. You and your employer share responsibility for making certain that your respirator is functioning as intended for your protection. The following is a list of general rules to help you care for and maintain your respirator: 1) The disposable filter cartridges usually contain a chemical absorbent to trap contaminants. The filter cartridge should be replaced immediately if it becomes more difficult to...

Avoid Improper Drum Handling Improper drum handling and barrels can result in severe injuries. These include painful back sprains, smashed toes and fingers, or exposure to hazardous chemicals if the contents are leaking. Proper work practices can minimize your risk of injury, so consider the following tips. Prior to handling the drum, read the label on the drum and look for symbols, words or other marks which indicate if its contents are hazardous, corrosive, toxic or flammable. If the drum isn't labeled, consider the contents hazardous until they are positively identified. Look around the drum to see if it is leaking....

Office Safety - Potential Hazards You may think that since you work in an office you don't have to worry about office safety. However, offices can become dangerous because people don't anticipate the potential hazards. Studies show that over one-fourth of office injuries are caused by falls. One-third of the falls incurred by women are due to wearing high heels, which make falls more likely. Consider wearing lower, wider heels. Other things that can cause falls are spills on floors, torn carpets or exposed carpet seams, electrical cords running across the floor, open desk or file drawers, boxes or supplies stored in...

Safe Lifting Techniques Safe Lifting - Can you think of even one job or occupation where you never have to lift an object? I can't. Lifting of objects can range from very light objects such as a piece of paper, a pin or a pen to very heavy objects like loads of boxes. Lifting is very much a part of our every day jobs. And, because it is something we do so often, we tend to do it without thinking, or at least we do until we strain a muscle, or worse, hurt our backs.Lifting incorrectly can result in a variety...

Cold Weather Hazards Of Propane Fueled Vehicles Propane is a gas that is turned into a liquid when stored in pressurized cylinders. You should be aware that as the temperature of the fuel tank rises, the liquid fuel expands which increases pressure inside the tank. In cold weather, this could result in a fire or explosion if a propane-powered vehicle with more than 80% liquid fuel in the fuel tank is brought into a heated building from outside. The increased air temperature in the shop causes increased pressure inside the fuel tank. This will open the safety relief valve if the...

Acetone Use & Care Acetone, also called dimethyl ketone, is one of the ketone group of solvents that also includes methyl ethyl ketone. Mechanics, painters, and fiberglass workers are frequent users of acetone for various purposes in the shop, and many people are familiar with its pleasant sweet-smelling odor. Acetone is an excellent solvent for oils and greases. It is often used in the electronics industry for degreasing and cleaning of precision electronic parts. It is also used in the formulation of lacquers, rubber cements, cleaning fluids, and paint removers, as well as the manufacture of methacrylic and epoxy resins. Acetone...

Machine Guards - Safety Requirements For Safeguards Placing and keeping machine guards on exposed machinery is a major step in preventing lacerations and amputations of body parts. It is also a requirement of State or federal OSHA Safety and Health Standards. In general, these standards explain guarding requirements in the following terms: Machines that have a grinding, shearing, punching, pressing, squeezing, drawing, cutting, rolling, mixing or similar action, including pinch points and shear points, whereas an employee comes within the danger zone, shall be guarded at the point of operation in a manner that provides protection for the employee. Keys, set...