Hazardous Energy and Electricity


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Hazardous Energy and Electricity

Subtopics:

Electrical Safety
Lockout/Tagout

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Standards Update: Cal/OSHA Adopts Updates to Ship Building Rules and First Aid for Electrical Workers
December 2011
Cal/OSHA recently adopted two federal rules that bring its regulations into line with new and existing federal rules. Both rules were "Horcher adoptions," meaning that the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board has made only editorial and format changes necessary to conform the federal standards to California's other state laws and standards. . . . more »

NIOSH highlights best practices for lockout/tagout during machine maintenance
June 2011
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has issued a tip sheet, Using Lockout and Tagout Procedures to Prevent Injury and D . . . more »

Appeals Board Decisions: Flawless Safety Programs Alone Aren't Enough; Employers Must Also Enforce Their Programs
June 2011
On May 3, 2003, Leslie Lagdamen and three other electricians were sent to the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) Balboa Park substation in San Francisco to change out the substation's grounding cables. While Lagdamen was removing a grounding cable, an arc flash occurred, causing him to suffer second and third degree burns as well as other injuries. . . . more »

Appeals Board Decisions: Worker Suffers Injury While Working Off-Hours; Was the Employer's Lack of Supervision to Blame?
March 2011
On the Saturday after Thanksgiving in 2002, a maintenance worker went in to work at the Glass-Pak facility in Suisun City. The facility was closed for the holiday weekend, but the worker chose to put in some hours. While working, he reached in to adjust a sprocket and chain assembly that had not been de-energized. . . . more »

Featured Resource: Safety Guidelines for Outdoor Decorations
November 2010
Almost every year, a California worker dies while hanging holiday lights outdoors. Some are electrocuted; others fall while working on ladders or roofs. . . . more »

Appeals Board Decisions: Furniture Factory 'Helper' Loses Finger; Employer Should Have Provided Lockout/Tagout Training
October 2010
San Quentin Prison inmate Michael Jackson worked in the prison's furniture factory as a "helper." His job duties involved loading wood pieces into an edgebander, a machine with rotating blades, and removing the altered pieces at the other end of the machine. His assigned tasks in no way involved cleaning, maintaining, or operating the machine. . . . more »

Hazard Identification: Food for Thought; Food Production Facilities Find Themselves on High Hazard Industries List
August 2010
Although both working conditions and sanitation have improved since the days when Upton Sinclair detailed the horrors of Chicago's meatpacking industry in his 1906 novel The Jungle, food processing and manufacturing facilities still pose serious hazards to workers . . . more »

Best Practices: That's Entertainment? Addressing Common Hazards In the Entertainment Industry
August 2010
There was no audience in the MGM Grand's Hollywood Theater in Las Vegas on May 20, 2009; Tom Jones had recently finished his run. Stagehands were tearing down his set, some of them balancing precariously on a catwalk as they clipped their safety harnesses onto a horizontal lifeline and then crossed a 33-inch gap above a false ceiling on a narrow rigging plank with no guardrails. . . . more »

Trainer's Handbook: Verifying Electrical Lockout/Tagout; Essential Tools And Procedures for Non-Electricians
July 2010
Here's a pop quiz: Who is in greater danger from electricity in the workplace, electricians or non-electricians? An analysis of electrocution deaths over a 10-year period by the Maryland-based Center for Construction Research and Training found that non-electricians were electrocuted at more than double the rate of electricians. . . . more »

Hazard Identification: Special Purpose Particle Accelerators Pose Risk of Radiation, Electrical Shock, and More
January 2010
Just outside Geneva, Switzerland&@8212assuming your definition of "just outside" includes structures located 300 feet underground&@8212you'll find the world's largest particle accelerator, the Large Hadron Collider. At 17 miles around, it's hardly the sort of thing you'd expect to find sitting in your local hospital. But particle accelerators come in all sizes, from tabletop medical accelerators to, well, the Large Hadron Collider. . . . more »

Electrical Safety: Recent Electrocutions Highlight Hazards; Don't Let Your Workers Become the Path of Least Resistance
March 2009
Army Staff Sgt. Ryan Maseth of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, was taking a shower on January 2, 2008, at his barracks in Baghdad when he fell victim to a bad wiring job. The Green Beret was electrocuted, and the Army has charged KBR, the Houston-based contractor responsible for wiring and plumbing his barracks, with negligent homicide. . . . more »

Lockout/Tagout: Keep Workers Safe Even During 'Minor' Maintenance Activities; Understanding the Exception That Isn't
December 2008
Ordinarily, when a piece of equipment is working, all of its potentially hazardous contact points should be fully guarded. Conversely, whenever its potentially hazardous points of contact are not guarded, the machine should be shut down, locked out, and neutralized so that workers are not imperiled while they work in areas that would be dangerous. . . . more »

Compliance Checklist: Lockout/Tagout
COCA Online Exclusive November 2008
Employers whose lockout/tagout programs are incomplete risk serious injuries to workers, and steep fines from DOSH. Use this checklist to make sure that the basic elements of your lockout/tagout program are in place. . . . more »

Electrical Safety: Don't Be Faked Out; Counterfeits Create Workplace Hazards
November 2008
After two nuclear power plants were found to have purchased fake replacement parts, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) warned plant licensees last April about counterfeit parts. The counterfeit c . . . more »

Appeals Board Decisions: Substantial Fines Upheld for Lockout/Tagout Violations That Resulted in Serious Injuries
November 2008
Bertha Garcia, a packaging scheduler for Gold River Mills in Woodland, was told to assist on its rice packaging line on Jan. 6, 2006. This was not unusual for her—she filled in on the packag . . . more »

Best Practices: 6 Tips to Keep Workers Safe During Shutdowns and Startups
November 2008
The end of the year is approaching, a time when many manufacturers take their production facilities out of service for a period to perform annual maintenance. These shutdown, maintenance, and startup operations present unusual safety issues. Shutting down large chunks of a manufacturing operation safely can be a logistical challenge; starting it back up, more so. Additionally, because maintenance workers may perform tasks they don't do very often, the safety precautions they need to take may not be second nature to them . . . more »

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