Managing Workplace Stress Managing workplace stress is important because too much stress, or stress that continues for an extended period, can affect your health, concentration, judgment, and ability to work safely. Recognizing stress early and taking appropriate steps to manage it can help prevent mistakes, unsafe acts, and injuries. Not all stress...

Safe Lifting Techniques - Preventing Back Injuries Safe lifting techniques help prevent back injuries, strains, sprains, and other musculoskeletal injuries caused by improper material handling. Lifting injuries often occur when workers attempt to handle loads that are too heavy or awkward, lift while bending or twisting, or fail to use available...

How Workers Get Hurt Workplace injuries are rarely random events. Many can be prevented when employees recognize hazards, understand how injuries occur, and take appropriate precautions before beginning work. Some of the most common workplace injuries involve overexertion, struck-by or struck-against incidents, falls, and contact with machinery or equipment. Back and Overexertion Injuries Back...

Lockout/Tagout - Remember to Lockout & Tagout Lockout/tagout (LOTO) protects employees from the unexpected startup of machinery or equipment and the unexpected release of hazardous energy during servicing and maintenance. Failure to properly control hazardous energy can result in electrocution, crushing, burns, amputations, or death. Turning a machine off with its normal...

Conveyor Safety Conveyors move large quantities of materials efficiently while reducing manual material handling. However, moving belts, rollers, pulleys, chains, sprockets, and loads can create serious caught-in, caught-between, entanglement, pinch-point, and struck-by hazards. Workers must understand conveyor hazards and follow established procedures whenever working on or around conveyor systems. Conveyor Hazards Common conveyor hazards...

Fire Extinguishers Portable fire extinguishers are an important part of workplace fire protection. Even when a facility is equipped with automatic sprinklers or other fire-protection systems, portable extinguishers may provide a means of controlling a small, incipient-stage fire before it spreads. However, extinguishers are effective only when they are readily accessible, properly...

Personal Protective Equipment Personal protective equipment (PPE) helps protect employees from workplace hazards that cannot be eliminated or adequately controlled by other means. PPE may include protection for the head, eyes, face, hearing, hands, feet, body, and respiratory system. The proper PPE depends on the hazards of the task. Employees must use...