What would you say if I told you that you could be breaking the law if something is blocking the aisle ways of your office, store or warehouse?

Or how about getting slapped with a $15,000 fine because one of your employees forgot to put tools or supplies in their designated storage area?

Sound a bit overboard?

As common and seemingly insignificant as these infractions may seem, OSHA is actively looking for those companies who ignore hazards in the workplace. They may be small, such as blocking aisle ways, or serious such as the company cited for thirty alleged serious and repeat violations following an inspection. That company was fined a whopping $112,000.

These citations encompassed a variety of infractions including machine guarding, electrical and fall hazards; locked and blocked exit doors; defective forklifts; lack of an eyewash station; and deficiencies in required hearing conservation programs, bloodborne pathogens, personal protective equipment and confined space hazards

If OSHA inspections weren’t scary enough, on June 10, 2003 OSHA announced its launching of their new SST (Site-specific Targeting) targeting over 3,200 “High-Hazard Worksites” focusing on those sites with the highest safety and health risks. First time sites were targeted on the basis of “Days Away from Work Injury and Illness” with a rate of 9 days or higher. In addition OSHA targeted companies with 14 or more injuries and illnesses resulting in lost workdays or restricted activity for every 100 full-time workers.

Safe Lifting Poster

OSHA will also inspect hundreds of workplaces with low injury and illness rates to review the actual degree of compliance to OSHA regulations. These will be selected from establishments with above average LWDII and DAFWII rates.

At CPC we want to urge HR and safety managers to take precautions to ensure the safety of their team members. Here are some of the things that you can do to maintain a safe workplace and protect your company’s finances and reputation:

1. Hold regularly scheduled training sessions for workers on a variety of relevant topics including: safe lifting, operation of forklifts and heavy equipment, how to avoid slips, trips and falls, first aid response and handling hazardous material.
2. Make sure that managers hold first-line supervisors and foremen accountable to stringent safety regulations.
3. Reinforce that training by any means possible, such as safety posters.
   Our most often asked for safety posters are listed below (click to view the poster):
   • FD-150 OSHA Workplace Safety Poster “We Have Gone ____ Days Without an Accident”
   • CA-150 CAL/OSHA Workplace Safety Poster We Have Gone ____ Days Without an Accident”
   • FD-100 OSHA Forklift Poster
   • FD-130 Hazardous Materials Quick Reference Poster
   • FD-125 Safe Lifting Procedures Poster
   • FD-720 8 Tips to Prevent Slips, Trips and Falls Poster
   • FD-140 Fire Extinguisher Poster
   • FD-105 First Aid Response Poster
   • FD-255 Code of Safe Practices Poster
   • FD-74265 Heat Stress Poster

Safety Programs:
Prepare for that OSHA inspection by implementing relevant safety training programs. CPC has many other products geared toward training and reinforcement of safety procedures. Visit our website at www.complianceposter.com to see the features of our other safety training products such as videos and training manuals for Construction, Forklifts, Emergency Action Plan and Evacuation Video, and Blood borne Pathogens safety.

At CPC it is our goal to provide you with a choice of support products to assure a safe and healthful workplace that will protect your company against possible fines.

Haz Mat Poster

• OSHA announced final ruling on June 30,2003

• OSHA will not modify form which employers use to record workplace injuries and illnesses to include a separate column for musculoskeletal disorders (MSD).

• OSHA requires employers to list “all” illnesses and injuries

Now Playing (Recent State Law Changes):

• Alabama
  
• California
  
• Georgia
  
• Indiana
  
• Massachusetts
  
• West Virginia