Going to work should be about doing your job and earning a paycheck.
The day that you go to work and end up being injured, however, is he day that the going to work and earning a paycheck can change forever. From doctor’s and hospital bills to making rehabilitation appointments, recovering from a work injury is often a long process.
Companies know that work place accidents are life changing events and they are required by law to do everything that they can to make every work space safe. In fact, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is an agency whose main purpose is to make sure that work places across the country are safe. From outlining OSHA fall protection guidelines to communicating the requirements for wire rope slings, following the required standards can help workers stay safe while they are on the job.
From OSHA fall protection standards to other kinds of guidelines about how to keep workers safe when they are at work, consider some of these facts and figures about the ways that employers strive to protect their workers:
- Knots that are specifically required can help make sure that every wore rope sling is properly installed.
- Exceptions are rare to the requirement that Federal OSHA limits the fall or arrest distance to six feet.
- Estimates indicate that both worker injuries and illnesses are down. For instance, while there were 10.9 incidents per 100 workers in the year 1972, there were only 3.4 per 100 in the year 2011.
- Procedures that are precisely outlined can help all workers make sure that they are safe while they are on the job.
- In an effort to be both clear and concise, OSHA uses a three step process to prevent dangerous falls and save lives. These steps are: plan, provide, and train.
- No work place is as safe as it should be if the
- Gear that is used for lifting needs to be carefully monitored and checked on a regular basis.
- Workers compensation benefits can help people with some of the recovery processes, but the better plan is to make sure that you never need to know how these benefits work.
- One of the guidelines that is a part of the OSHA fall protection plan is fall arrest, which consists of two major types: general fall arrest, such as nets; and personal fall arrest, such as lifelines.
- Rigging certification is something that needs to be renewed on a fairly regular basis.
- Keeping up to date with safety equipment inspections and worker training is another important part of the guidelines that OSHA provides.
- Exposure to falls can be lessoned when working where temporary floors and scaffolds are not used and when the fall distance exceeds 25 feet.
- Research and testing show that without fall arrest and/or safety equipment, a person can fall up to seven feet in two-thirds of a second.
- Specific material handling guidelines are written to make sure that there are directions for every kind of possible material.
- Socket and clip fittings used to attach the rope determine the sling’s load limit. Fittings, for instance, have 75% to 100% of the breaking load of the rope.
- An anchorage must support 5,000 pounds for a single tie-off point for one individual.
- Federal guidelines correctly enforced can help keep a work space both safe and productive.
- Every time that you go into work you should feel that you are safe and protected, even when you are working in places with heavy machinery and dangerous chemicals.
OSHA fall protection standards and other guidelines are made with the goal of KEEPING WORKERS SAFE. Do you work in a place where you feel confident that your employer is doing everything possible to make sure that the safety routines are understood and carefully explained?