There are safety meetings and then there are safety meetings. For instance, you might have a weekly safety meeting on a specific topic, providing new information to your rookies and a review for the experienced workers.

 Another kind of safety meeting is the quick get-together before a specific job when you review the hazards and outline the procedures and emergency measures. These are called tailboard or tailgate meetings, because they often take place around the back of a truck at a construction job site. However, Tailgate Meetings can be used in ANY work environment, from confined space entry to moving furniture in the office, and especially when something new or unusual is to be done. (more…)

During 2008 there was a tremendous focus from OSHA and employers on personal protective equipment: who is required to provide the equipment, who pays for the equipment and who is to maintain and replace. For all that effort, many times it simply boils down to the fact that the equipment is available, but not necessarily always worn.

It’s one of the top challenges safety pros face year after year. In a recent survey, 290 safety professionals were asked about about their experiences to find out the top reasons workers give for not wearing PPE. And we also asked safety managers how they deal with the problem. Here are the results: (more…)

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, in a 2-1 decision, ruled that in the case of Elaine Chao v. Summit Contractors, OSHA regulation 29 C.F.R. Sec. 1910.12(a) “is unambiguous in that it does not preclude OSHA from issuing citations to employers for violations when their own employees are not exposed to any hazards related to the violations.” Therefore, according to the ruling, the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC) “abused its discretion in determining that the controlling employer citation policy conflicted with the regulation.” (more…)