Safety Materials

TRAM Presentation

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screen-shot-2016-10-13-at-8-29-33-pmOne of the great benefits of attending TRAM is that MSHA distributes DVD’s with all presentations on them. The bad thing is these take some time to prepare, create, and mail. People in my presentation expressed an interest in having some of the material available ASAP, so here it is. It’s common for TRAM to provide the type of energy that make you want to start putting the ideas to work as soon as you get home.

Here’s the link to my presentation. If you have any problems accessing it please let me know.

Holiday Greetings

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Fun house

We’d like to be the first to wish you holiday greetings, but of course we’d have to have done that in August or something like that. 😉 Seriously, we know we’re not the first, but don’t want to be the last either, so be safe. No time is more precious than today whether it’s before a holiday or not. We want to remind you of that here at Complete Safety Solutions. Give the gift of yourself and be sure to do your work the way you know it’s supposed to be done, safely. In spite of a bad start, it looks like mining may end up with at least a better year than last year when it comes to fatalities. Still, too many homes are missing a loved-one this season that they shouldn’t have had to miss. It’s hard to say how we can prevent all mining related deaths, but it’s very simple to prevent the next one. Do your share and work safely.

We wish the best of everything. Enjoy the holidays.

Randy and Jolene

Download MSHA’s Holiday Alert here. (pdf)

Serious Injury for Metal/Nonmetal Mining

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mnm-serious-accident-alert073015Potash Facility – A miner was entangled in the belt system while unloading a rail car into a belly dump haul truck using a portable conveyor system. The miner was released from the hospital without any apparent broken bones or lacerations. A similar accident occurred at a sand and gravel mine in 2014, however that accident resulted in a fatality. [2014 #12 MNM]

Best Practices

  •  Ensure that persons are trained, including task training, to understand the hazards associated with the work being performed.
  • Establish and discuss safe work procedures before beginning work. Identify and control all hazards associated with the work to be performed and use methods to properly protect persons.
  • Conduct work place examinations before beginning any work.
  • Position mobile conveyors to eliminate exposure of moving parts before operating.
  • Identify hazards around conveyor systems, design guards, and or emergency stop systems before putting into operation.
  • Always provide and maintain guarding sufficient to prevent contact with moving machine parts.
  • Do not wear loose fitting clothing when working near moving machine parts.
  • Do not place yourself in a position that will expose you to hazards while performing a task.
  • Provide and maintain a safe means of access to all working places.

Click here for: MSHA Alert for Posting (pdf)

Ladder Safety Materials and More…

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LadderSafetyGuide

A ladder safety Powerpoint and PDF were released by MSHA at a February 5 Stakeholders Meeting.  The Powerpoint version includes 62 slides, most of which include extensive detail in the notes section that aren’t visible to the regular viewing audience when presented. MSHA intends that “it will serve as the basis for a series of inspector trainings on ladder safety in the coming months, and will ensure that MSHA inspectors, miners and mine operators are all working with the same information”.

Major areas covered include: Ladder construction and maintenance; requirements specific to fixed and portable ladders; underground ladders and travelways; and the differentiation between ladder standards and safe access standards. Photographs in the presentation clearly show proper and improper practices, and note which conditions would be cited in an inspection.

Get it along with other materials from the meeting here.

Measuring Light Levels

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luxmeterIn my MSHA Refresher classes this year we’re doing an activity measuring the light levels in and out of the classroom. It’s a good opportunity to become familiar with how greatly they can vary and how they can actually be measured easily. I found an online resource that goes into detail about levels of light and the three different measurements dealing with the same light source. For everyone interested in going more in depth into this subject I provide the link here.

The MSHA Rule says:

30 CFR § 56/57.17001 

Illumination of surface working areas.
Illumination sufficient to provide safe working conditions shall be provided in and on all surface structures, paths, walkways, stairways, switch panels, loading and dumping sites, and work areas.

So while there’s no definite requirement to measure, measuring can give you an idea if you are meeting the standard or not, or at least give you a better understanding of what is sufficient or not.

Transitioning to Safer Chemicals Tool

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transitioning to safer chemicalsAmerican workers use tens of thousands of chemicals every day. While many of these chemicals are suspected of being harmful, only a small number are regulated in the workplace.

As a result, workers suffer more than 190,000 illnesses and 50,000 deaths annually related to chemical exposures. Workplace chemical exposures have been linked to cancers, and other lung, kidney, skin, heart, stomach, brain, nerve, and reproductive diseases.

OSHA has an online tool that is handy for helping you examine the chemicals you use. You can find it here.

Household Products Database

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c542990_sWe all should be concerned about knowing more about the chemicals used in the workplace, but just because we buy products for home use doesn’t alone mean they are any safer. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has a very helpful Household Products Database online. You’ll even find many of the chemicals you may use at work that can be purchased at the local hardware or department store. Check it out here.

It’s the Law… Depending Where You Are

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seatbeltWhat ARE the seatbelt laws across the country. My own state of Pennsylvania is in the minority with no Primary seat belt enforcement, meaning you have to be stopped for another infraction to receive a fine for not wearing a seat belt. I happen to like Wyoming which, although it has no primary enforcement either, you get a $10 reduction on your other fine if you had your seat belt on! Wow, positive reinforcement on the highway!

If you’re traveling across the company you can use the information on the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s web page to stay within the law. Better yet, ALWAYS BUCKLE UP!

Click Here for the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety Seat Belt and Child Restraint Laws for all 50 States

Fall Protection Awareness

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c92143_mAccessing, operating or maintaining self-propelled mobile equipment often requires activities such as climbing ladders or walking on machinery surfaces which expose miners to fall hazards, in all types of working conditions. Modern mobile equipment is designed to minimize slip and fall hazards; but large machinery, new and old, can require work at heights with a fall potential that can cause serious injury or death. 25 miners died as a result of falls from heights from 2005 through 2012 in Metal and Nonmetal mines.

Get a pdf of MSHA’s Fall Protection safety flyer here.