SafetyGuardian May 2023

“Safety is not an intellectual exercise to keep us in work. It is a matter of life and death. It is the sum of our contributions to safety management that determines whether the people we work with live or die.”

– Sir Brian Appleton

Trivia Question

After air monitoring and testing indicated no concerns with air quality or contaminants, workers have requested to wear N-95 masks. Based on OSHA’s Respiratory Protection standard (29 CFR 1910.134) which of the following statements is correct?

The OSHA standard does not apply to work areas confirmed to have no air contaminants; therefore the use of an N-95 respirator would be considered voluntary and not covered by OSHA’s standard.
The use of an N-95 respirator in the scenario above meets OSHA’s definition of “voluntary use.” Employers are required to meet some, but not all, elements of 29 CFR 1910.134.
Per OSHA, since an N-95 is technically a respirator, employee use as described above, requires a written program, fit-testing, and training. However, no medical evaluation is required.
Based on it’s simplicity of use and low impact on the respiratory system, the use of an N-95 respirator is exempt from OSHA’s standard.

Answer

Answer: B. Join Glenn Clapp for this month’s Timeout for Safety (Wednesday, May 17 at 2 p.m. to explore more about which of OSHA’s requirements apply to voluntary use of respirators.

Timeout for Safety

Our next Timeout for Safety is Wednesday, May 17 at 2 p.m. This month’s Timeout will feature information related to OSHA’s requirements for the voluntary use of respirators. As always, everyone is encouraged to bring questions and ideas to discuss with fellow safety professionals in an informal but informative session.

Save the Zoom link below and join the session on the scheduled date and time.

https://ncsu.zoom.us/j/99470762385

Upcoming Sessions

May 17, 2023 02:00 PM
Jun 21, 2023 02:00 PM
Jul 19, 2023 02:00 PM
Aug 16, 2023 02:00 PM
Sep 20, 2023 02:00 PM
Oct 18, 2023 02:00 PM
Nov 15, 2023 02:00 PM
Dec 13, 2023 02:00 PM

Trainer Toolbox

10th Annual Stand-Down

The 10th annual Stand-Down to Prevent Falls is taking place this week.

Share Your Story With OSHA

If you want to share information with OSHA on your Safety Stand-Down, Fall Prevention Programs or suggestions for improving future initiatives like this, please email oshastanddown@dol.gov. Also share your Stand-Down story on social media with the hashtag: #StandDown4Safety.

OSHA Outreach Trainers – We’ve Got GREAT News!

To meet the requirement of maintaining front and back copies of your student completion cards, you can now download PDFs of those cards straight from the Trainer Portal! When you log in, go to your completed OTPRs. When you click on one of these reports, you will see a new button labeled “Download archivable student cards.” Click that button, and you now have an electronic copy of the cards that were issued for that class!

OSHA Heat Safety

The OSHA Heat Illness Prevention webpage educates employers and workers on the risks associated with working in hot and humid conditions, which annually leads to the deaths of dozens of workers and the illness of thousands more. Also, view OSHA’s Remembering Tim: A Life Lost to Heat Illness at Work, highlighting the importance of heat safety awareness and training.

OSHA Outreach Trainer Virtual Instructor Led Training (VILT) Most Common Errors

In preparation to instruct a 10 or 30-Hour Outreach course virtually, it is mandatory for the trainer to first reach out to Southeastern OTIEC to submit an exception request. There are some additional items that will also be critical to the success of the course:

All course participants must have their own computer/laptop (NOT mobile device), with a functioning camera and microphone.
All participants must be on camera during the entirety of the training.
Class size should be limited to 20 participants. This will allow the trainer to be able to view all participants on one screen, and instructional material on their second screen.
For record-keeping purposes, if unable to obtain daily sign-in sheets with student signatures, the instructor should instead download the daily attendance report from the virtual program being utilized (i.e. Zoom). Please note that the screen name for each participant must be their correct name so as to be accurately reflected on the attendance report.

For additional information and tips, please visit our VILT Best Practices!

Featured Courses

OSHA 3085 Principles of Scaffolding
June 6 – 8 | Raleigh, NC

This course covers the requirements for safe construction and uses OSHA’s construction scaffold standards as a guide. Upon course completion, participants will be able to identify the types of scaffolds and their components, determine safe assembly, use, and disassembly, and recognize common violations of OSHA standards.

OSHA 500 Trainer Course for Construction
July 11 – 14 | Irmo, SC

During the course, students will work with a partner to develop a presentation and teach an assigned OSHA Construction Industry Outreach topic and successfully pass a written exam. Participants will be provided with a variety of training materials and resources.

24-Hour Hazardous Materials Technician for Emergency Response
July 11 -13 | Raleigh, NC

This course meets OSHA training requirements for hazardous materials technicians (individuals who respond to releases or potential releases to stop the release) as stipulated in 29 CFR 1910.120(q)(6)(iii) and 29 CFR 1926.65 (q)(6)(iii).

8-Hour Hands-On HAZWOPER Refresher
July 13 | Raleigh, NC

Hazardous waste clean-up site workers; hazardous waste treatment, storage, and disposal facility employees; and personnel who respond to hazardous materials emergencies are required to complete annual refresher training as stipulated in 29 CFR 1910.120 and 29 CFR 1926.65. This course meets those annual refresher requirements by presenting realistic hazmat issues for group discussion and opportunities to plan and respond to simulated hazmat spill/release scenarios.