It's a smart move on your part to stay out from under suspended hooks and loads. There's always a chance that during a lift, the load could shift and fall. It may be a slim chance because of the good rigging techniques we use. But once is all it takes to cause a serious injury or a fatality. Also, stay clear of swinging loads. That big "I" beam can squash you like a bug if you get in the way.
Read MoreThe proper treatment of a burn is determined by the seriousness or degree of the burn.
Read MoreIt's a terrible thing to realize that hardly a workday goes by without a construction worker falling off a scaffold to his death. And those who survive scaffold falls are often crippled for the remainder of their lives.
These tragedies are sometimes caused by faulty design or poor construction. But in most cases, the basic cause is poor maintenance or improper use - something that you can do something about.
Read MoreWhen you hear this request at a service station, you can be pretty sure the job will be done safely. Service station operations and equipment are designed with safety in mind. But what happens when you fill up that front-end loader or portable generator on the job?
Read MoreNo materials or mechanical equipment can be stored outside the warning lines. And workers outside the warning line area must be protected by guardrails, personal fall arrest system, or a safety monitoring system.
Read MoreWe’ve all had dust and dirt in our eyes. Some of us have been hit in the eye by chips of wood, concrete, and stone. A little bigger, a little faster—these particles could leave us with limited sight or none at all.
Read MoreA 70-lb metal beam fell from the seventh story of a condominium development and struck a worker on the head, face, and torso. The man was taken to hospital in serious condition but survived. Police credit the man’s hard hat with saving his life.
Read MoreThe best tools we have are our hands. We need to protect them on the job.
Manual work exposes our hands to many different hazards, from cuts to chemicals, from pinching to crushing, and from blisters to burns.
Read MoreWhen storing dangerous chemicals in the workplace it is important to know about the hazards of chemicals that are volatile when exposed to others. The types of chemicals listed below are incompatible with other industrial chemicals.
Read MoreRigging may seem to be an easy operation, one that doesn't seem to require any particular skill or experience. But don't be fooled. Many people who've thought that "anyone can do it" have lost fingers or hands, or suffered more serious injuries.
Read MoreWe work on exposed roofs, in the summer months with hot materials. It's a good bet that some of you have been burned or seen a coworker burned. Burns from asphalt or coal tar pitch are painful and sometimes disfiguring. The hot materials we work with every day will stick to anything and burn anybody. The material continues to burn until it cools. The burns are very painful and difficult to clean.
Read MoreEach year many workers on construction sites suffer electric shock using portable electrical tools and equipment. The nature of the injuries, including those caused by ground faults, ranges from minor injuries to serious secondary injuries. There also is the possibility of electrocution. A secondary injury occurs when a worker recoils from an electric shock and, as a result, sustains an injury. Depending largely on the surrounding physical conditions, such an accident can result in a bruise, a broken bone, or a fatal fall.
Read MoreDo you know there's a killer on this job that you probably meet face-to-face every day? I'm talking about the common, ordinary ladder. Ladders are involved in many accidents, some of which are fatal. Your life literally can depend on knowing how to inspect, use, and care for this tool. Let's spend a few minutes talking about ladders.
Read MoreEach year, fifty-five construction workers are killed by electrocution from contact with overhead power lines. Over 90 percent of the contacts involved overhead distribution lines. These are the same lines that run in the alleys behind our houses and through our job sites.
Read MoreHave you ever done anything stupid, something that you know puts you at an increased risk of injury? When you realize how stupid you were, whether you got hurt or not, do you ask yourself, "Why did I ever do that?" For your own future preservation, this should be a very important question for you to answer yourself.
Read MoreWorking under the influence of alcohol is strictly prohibited. This means more than just not drinking on the job. Tests have shown that alcohol can still have an effect on your body up to 18 hours after you have stopped drinking. Alcohol use is a legitimate on-the-job safety issue - and not just an attempt to control off-the-clock lifestyles
Read MoreIt's tough to imagine modern society without machines hard at work all around us. New and improved machinery leads to increased productivity, higher quality, and more affordable production. But misused machines can be as harmful as they are helpful. Machines that cut metal can cut off fingers. Machines that punch through steel can punch through flesh.
Read MoreWould you know what to do if an emergency occurred while you were on the job? Do you know what actions to take if a co-worker was seriously injured, a fire ignited, or a structure collapsed? Are you prepared to react?
Read MoreThe proper treatment of a burn is determined by the seriousness or degree of the burn.
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