Congress created the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) after the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970. The administration aims to provide and ensure safe work conditions for employees. They do this through enforcing OSHA standards and providing specific training, education and assistance.
Exposure Control Plan
OSHA standards require several components of the exposure control plan in order to provide a safe workplace. Each plan must be specific to the facility, updated yearly, and easily accessible to all workers. It may also need additional updates in the cases of creating new positions or implementing new technology. The plan includes several components, including the determination of employee-employee exposure, Hepatitis B vaccination, and record-keeping.
Preparing for Incidents and Preventing Injuries
Injuries are common in the workplace, so plans of action and prevention are necessary. The Injury and Illness Prevention Program prevents incidents before they happen. This program teaches employees on how to quickly identify incidents and fix them before the incident occurs. In addition, emergency plans are imperative in preventing injuries.
Employers must have a written emergency plan, including specific protocols regarding various emergencies. Workplaces must be prepared to prevent potential injury or illness because emergencies occur with no warning.
In order to prepare, conduct various drills, assign specific responsibilities to employers, and establish a meeting place. Accidents happen often, so keeping logs of things like eyewash stations and crash carts is critical in order to prove the accident did not happen due to negligence.
The Safe Use of Hazardous Chemicals
The Hazard Communication Standard states that anyone who manufactures, distributes, or imports hazardous materials must provide a Safety Data Sheet (SDS) for all chemicals. The Safety Data Sheets include similar information to the precautionary statement on chemical labels. This information includes health properties, risk to health and hazards, and protective measures and safety precautions.
In addition, the Globally Harmonized System meets the requirements of the hazard communication system. This system helps classify and label chemicals, explains all potential hazards, creates classification processes, and communicates the information on labels and safety data sheets.
Labels and Safety Data Sheets
Employees need to meet specific OSHA standards training requirements for labels to clearly understand the safety information and content of the chemical. Training for labels allows employees to correctly store the chemical. The requirements includes the product identifier, signal word, precautionary statements, and the name and address of the manufacturer.
In addition, they must be aware of how the elements work together, the SDS requirements, hazard statements, and pictograms. A pictogram is a universal picture with a red border that identifies chemical hazard classification. Two signal words, danger and warning, are also included on chemical labels. These signify the level of severity and alert the potential hazard of the chemical.
Master Chemical Inventory
When using chemicals in the workplace, employees have the right to be informed of the chemicals being used and their corresponding hazards. Employers have the responsibility to provide protective measures to prevent adverse effects and to provide a safe workplace.
Get Certified
Training on OSHA standards is critical to keep everyone in the workplace safe. American Medical Compliance (AMC) is a leader in the industry for compliance, Billing and HR solutions. To become certified, please visit us at: www.americanmedicalcompliance.com.
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