Safety updates for '09

2009 is here, and with a new year comes new challenges in providing a safe work environment. Whether it's new safety and compliance legislation, new equipment or processes and possibly even new workers, these changes present an opportunity to maintain a safe workplace.

Many people make New Year's resolutions, but companies also need to make and follow through with their own "New Year's safety resolutions." This could be through updating programs, implementing new standards and creating a training matrix to ensure that all employees have the required safety training.

The smart company sees these updates as opportunities, not obstacles opportunities to protect their workers and to save money, whether in reducing workers' compensation costs, insurance premiums and fines. Or you can take the opportunity to get ahead of the curve with new/pending legislation.

The state's safety record has not been stellar. In 2007, 46 workers died. While the 2008 statistics are not finalized, the numbers will be very close to those from 2007. This is unacceptable by anyone's standards. With the number of fatalities in Las Vegas last year, Nevada and federal OSHA are taking a hard look at everything, not just construction. So as you can see, the need for "New Year's safety resolutions" is crucial your company's success.

When was the last time your company performed a complete and structured evaluation on your safety programs? Have things changed in your company? If not, then take a look at regulations and requirements that have changed. Recent updates include fall protection, crane training, electrical safety and personal protective equipment selection and issuance. Many requirement changes are made by Voluntary Consensus

Standards organizations such as American National Standards Institute, American Society for the Testing of Materials and through other rule-making bodies such as the National Fire Protection Association, Uniform Building Code and the National Electrical Code, and then adopted by reference by OSHA.

Some of the changes (either actual or proposed) are be listed on the OSHA web site www.osha.gov but another source for identifying changes would be the Federal Register.

While many companies implement new standards based on legislative requirements, the pro-active company updates its standards annually. To determine your company's needs, look for an increase in accident or incident rates, new equipment, new materials, new processes and even new workers. Find out what other companies are doing by networking with professional and trade organizations such as American Society for Training and Development, American Society of Safety Engineers and local chambers of commerce. All of these organizations have considerable membership rosters that can be a valuable asset when it comes time to look at new ways of doing "the same old thing." Remember, complacency leads to accidents.

To determine training topics, look at the size of your company, materials used, equipment and processes used, language barriers and exposure to hazards. Examine what you've trained on in the past and then conduct a simple survey of your company and then check the regulations.

If your survey identifies employee safety concerns, check the OSHA regulations.

If your company operates commercial vehicles, ships or receives hazardous materials or is engaged in any form of intrastate or interstate commerce, check the Department of Transportation requirements.

If your company stores, manufactures, processes hazardous materials, generates hazardous waste or even changes its own florescent lights, check the Environmental Protection Agency regulations.

Each of these agencies list the training your employees must receive. But, remember to also check the Nevada Revised Statutes, especially NRS 618 which addresses employee training. One of the key factors in this legislation is that employee safety training must be provided for all affected workers in a language and at a level the employee can comprehend. So if your company utilizes non-native English speaking employees, the law is really quite clear that the training, handouts and any other training-related materials have to be in their native language.

There are numerous resources to offer training in other languages. You may have bilingual employees at your company who can assist. There is a local language bank or you can buy translation software. The main issue you will find with the software is that many company-specific terms will not translate correctly and may utilize precise grammar, not the actual spoken language by of many of our workers. As an example, there is a vast difference between Spanish and Mexican languages.

Another factor to consider is employee availability. Case in point, one of our clients is a large heavy manufacturing facility. Due to the type and volume of work performed, we looked at the various production levels to create the training matrix. Training for those on the production line was scheduled when it is slowest: the winter. But other areas, such as office and support staff were scheduled during different periods, when their workloads were smaller. In addition, we identified spring as the appropriate time for new-hire safety orientations as that was when they experience their annual hiring push.

The matrix is a great start, but not the total answer. Day-to-day activities may identify other needs that were not captured during the survey or the mandatory retraining that is needed after an accident. So leave yourself some flexibility with your scheduling.

Now is the time to make your company's "New Year's safety resolutions." Identify the changes you wish to address, look at your programs, conduct your surveys and list your resolutions. By doing this, and sticking to them, you will make your company more profitable, maintain a safer working environment for your employees and polish your company image within the community as a company that cares.

Scott Alquist is the manager of the Truckee Meadows Community College Safety Center and is the program manager for all safety, OSHA and regulatory compliance courses for the TMCC Workforce Development and Continuing Education Division. Contact him at salquist@tmcc.edu or 857-4958.