ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY TRAINING YOUR BUSINESS NEEDS
According to OSHA regulations, and depending on the industry you are in, there are a variety of special safety training programs your employees should receive. It is vital that your company provides all industry specific, legally mandated training to your employees or to those fulfilling certain roles. Training and courses like those provided by SEA, Inc. can keep your company regulation compliant, and your employees safe and better protected.
That being said, if your company or any team member will be working with, or might come in contact with hazardous materials, special safety and environmental training courses are a must. Without HAZMAT training, your business could be in violation of federal laws. Not only is this a dangerous situation for your staff, and possibly for your neighbors, and the environment, but without the training that regulatory organizations like OSHA, the EPA, and the DOT require, you could have fines and penalties levied against your firm. Generally speaking, if your business works with, produces, transports, or does anything with hazardous or potentially hazardous materials, your employees need to know how to avoid HAZMAT incidents. HAZMAT training gives your employees the necessary knowledge to adhere to HAZMAT guidelines keeping them safe, and protecting the environment. Training also includes instruction on how your staff should respond to a HAZMAT incident if one occurs; this includes showing them how to isolate the incident, and evacuate a dangerous area. Because of the wide variety of regulatory guidelines that are required for specific industries, there are also a variety of training courses available to your business. SEA, Inc. customizes training courses based on needs of the business in an industry, and the regulatory requirements. A one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t work for training when it comes to hazardous materials. Your team must be aware of situations that could actually be encountered, and they need to be well trained for real, potential situations.
These courses not only meet the expectations of regulatory bodies, keeping your business from getting into trouble by violating laws and your employees safe, but it also exceeds those expectations by keeping the community and environment safe if an incident should occur.
There are several HAZMAT, hazardous waste, and other courses you may need to provide to your employees. Courses like HAZWOPER, and Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response, are comprehensive, and required by OSHA for many companies.
Beyond training, it is important to note that your employees may not be able to do it all. In some situations, outside help may be required for environmental management services for high hazard remediation services, or some hazardous waste services like identification, transportation, or disposal. Through education, you can learn when this is might be necessary for your business.
To find out more about the various OSHA safety training courses that may be required for your particular business, contact SEA, Inc., a leader in the industry. SEA Inc. offers a wide range of safety training courses, and you can learn more by calling us at 888-627-8740 or by filling out our convenient online contact form. Get in touch with us today because the sooner your employees receive this important training, the sooner you will have a safer workplace.
A Quick Guide for Industrial and Manufacturing Facilities By Keina Jennings, CEO/CFO, SEA
By Don Harkness, East Coast Regional Manager, SEA Ladder Inspection Safety At-A-Glance Ladders of all types are useful in the workplace. They are tools that allow workers to safely reach another level. Working at elevated levels poses plenty of risks, ones that have been covered in many regulatory training courses you have attended. Walking, Working Surfaces and Fall protection all focus heavily on the different hazards, of which SEA would be honored to share with you, but today, I want to focus on what needs to happen prior to using the ladder. The Right Tool for the Job And make no mistake, ladders are tools, and only perform as well as we, the operators, allow them to. So, what do we need to consider when picking the right ladder for our job? Several key factors include, but aren’t limited to: What are we doing? What style do you need? Step Ladders, extension ladders, and platform ladders all serve different purposes! What is the weight limit of my ladder? Note that the weight limit includes you and all the tools/equipment you are wearing, including fall protection! What height do I need my ladder to be? Ladders come in all shapes and sizes, so ensure you pick one that allows you to not put yourself at risk, even if it takes a little extra time to go and get it! What material should my ladder be made of? Most ladders are fiberglass but also come in several other materials. Make sure you plan for the task and don’t pick a metal ladder when working with electricity, for example The Most Important Step After choosing the ladder for our task, we need to perform an all-around inspection of the ladder. How often do we need to perform this inspection? Does it need to be documented? Ladders must be inspected before every use to ensure that no damage has occurred. As far as documentation goes, it is required that a documented inspection occur once a year, but your company policy can dictate more frequent documented inspections.
By Alison Jennings, VP Operations, SEA Sometimes it takes a real-life moment to remind us how quickly routine tasks can turn into injuries. Recently, I had a reminder of just how quickly something simple can turn into an injury. I was hanging a picture frame at home. Nothing complicated—just one of those quick projects you knock out in a few minutes. I picked the frame up by the sides to move it into position. As I lifted it, the bottom of the frame suddenly gave out. The glass dropped straight down and landed directly on the top of my bare foot. Within seconds, what started as a simple task turned into a trip to urgent care. The cut was deep enough that I ended up needing eight stitches. Looking back, there were a few things I didn’t think about in that moment. I was barefoot. I didn’t consider the possibility that the frame might break. I didn’t think about what could happen if the glass slipped or fell. It really wasn’t a dangerous job. I wasn’t using power tools or heavy equipment. I was just hanging a picture. But that’s the reality of many injuries—they don’t happen during obviously dangerous activities. They happen during everyday tasks when we assume nothing will go wrong.