Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
8. Materials handling and storage
9. Hand and portable power tools
10. Process-generated hazardous and toxic substances (e.g., methane
and hydrogen sulfide)
A valuable tool to use when conducting the safety audit is a safety
inspection checklist. If your organization does not have a safety inspec-
tion checklist, one should be generated as soon as possible. Once the
organization's safety checklist is generated, the safety person should
consider this document as a living document that will continue to grow
as time passes.
1.12 CoMMuniCaTion
The importance of training and documentation of the training that
has been completed must be stressed. Another area that is equally as
important as training workers and documentation of the training is
the area of
communication
. Communication is addressed in the OSHA
Hazard Communication (HAZCOM) standard. The HAZCOM standard
requires employees who might be exposed to hazardous material to
have full knowledge of the hazards. Safety communication goes beyond
HAZCOM, however. Getting safety information out to supervisors and
workers is critical; for example, to facilitate the scheduling of safety
training it is prudent to publish a schedule far in advance of the actual
training dates. It might be wise to develop an organizational publication
titled
Safety Training/medical exam/Inspection Schedule
, which can
be published quarterly or annually. This schedule should provide a day
by day, month by month account of when safety training is scheduled.
Supervisors like to know far in advance what is scheduled in the future
so they can plan appropriately.
The bottom line on safety communication is that the supervisors
and workers need to be informed. It is true that too much information
can defeat the intended purpose, but it is also true that too little infor-
mation may lead to accidents.
1.13 safeTy PrograMs
There are two types of safety programs:
organizational safety
programs
and
individual
safety programs
. An organizational safety
program is the plant's
entire
safety program, which consists of policy,
organization, and the safety and health plan. Individual safety programs
are
specific
safety programs (e.g., hazard communication, confined
space entry, lockout/tagout, respiratory protection, and other safety
programs) that are part of the organizational safety program. Individual
safety programs are designed to achieve specific objectives. Each indi-
vidual safety program states a plan of action for the enlistment and
maintenance of support from all members of each particular area with
regard to safety on the job. To be effective, the plant's individual safety
programs must be understandable and their requirements must be
