This page is dedicated to providing our readers information about OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration). We’re tracking regulatory topics and compliance standards like signage requirements and the safe handling of hazardous materials. We’re also writing analytically, posting informative pieces about workplace safety, its relationship to consumer satisfaction and productivity, and considering OSHA’s implications and effectiveness. Our posts aim to simplify technical jargon, explain regulatory contexts, and help both workers and employers understand issues of compliance and federally mandated safe work practices.
OSHA
Top five Harlem Shake OSHA safety violations
Here at MySafetySign, we’re not immune to the repetitive, head-scratching hilarity and absurdity of the viral “Harlem Shake” phenomenon. For the uninitiated who’ve been happily living under a rock for the past month, the Harlem Shake is a group dance event of dubious origin (and not really related to the original, and respectable, Harlem Shake dance […]
Create your own lockout tag system
Imagine causing a fatal accident just by turning on a piece of equipment. OSHA’s § 1910.147 rule says that workplaces must establish an energy control program for dangerous equipment, and a lockout/tagout system is an easy and powerful way to make sure no one gets hurt on the job.
Is grain handling the most dangerous job in the country?
Deep-sea fishing, backwoods logging, and farming are among the top five most dangerous occupations in the United States, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The hazards for loggers and fisherman are obvious (big waves, chainsaws), but…farmers? What’s the issue there? The answer has a lot to do with a seemingly innocuous agricultural product: […]
Is OSHA really saving lives? It depends on who you ask
Ever heard the phrase, “correlation does not imply causation”? It’s a favorite of statisticians, who bristle at people’s tendency to draw errant conclusions about data because they conflate the two terms. Here’s one particularly offensive, oft-misconstrued example of that mistake: crime rates are higher in African American communities than in white or Latino populations. Does […]
Can Workplace Safety Affect Customer Satisfaction?
Yes, it can: that’s the finding of a new study by the National Safety Council (NSC). The report, which was published in the Journal of Safety Research, studied the connection between customer satisfaction and the safety climate at a Midwestern electricity utility. The findings suggested a “significant correlation” between rates of customer satisfaction and the safety […]
California Refinery Fire Sparks $1M OSHA Fine, Highest Allowed by Calif. Law
Nearly six months after a massive fire at a Chevron oil refinery in Richmond, Calif., the state bureau of the Occupational Safety and Health Agency (OSHA) has levied a $963,200 fine against the American corporation. OSHA’s report cites 25 breaches of safety regulations leading to the Aug. 6, 2012, blaze, including such “willful serious” violations […]