Newsletters

The Safety Net is a newsletter published by NETC. The following articles were from the Summer 2003 edition.

From the President....

Wow. It’s hard to believe we’ve reached our 10 Year Anniversary Milestone. As I was on vacation with my family recently I was pondering how we got here. Sure hard work, dedication, long hours, sacrifices galore, etc., etc. Yet as we sat and talked waiting for our dinner, and waiting, and waiting some more, it dawned on me —customer satisfaction. As I became more frustrated with the lack of responsiveness to our primal needs (food) I realized their Team (cooks, waiters, etc) were not working as a Team. This breakdown leads to poor customer satisfaction and lack of repeat business. The one very important part of my business, my employees, are my most my valuable assets, and that they are probably the primary reason we are still here today. Without them I am keenly aware we would not have made it to 10 years. We do have Teamwork, we have dedication, we put in the hours necessary to accomplish our clients needs and requests. It is all of these quality services combined that has not required us to do practically any advertising or marketing. Our work speaks for itself, or better yet, our clients speak it for us. So our goals for the next 10 years (and of course beyond) is to continue to provide the very services you require and demand.

These last 10 years have also brought us both personal and professional growth opportunities. Several staff members are currently working on personal, professional advancements.

I myself have been recently elected as President Elect of the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) covering both CT and Western MA., and was recently named Chairman of the Portland/East Hampton Division of the Middlesex County Chamber of Commerce and am a member of Middlesex Community College’s Advisory Board for it’s Brownfields programs. As a company, for the 2nd year in a row, NETC has been awarded a 2 year grant through Middlesex Community College to provide instruction for it’s Federal EPA Brownfields ‘Environmental Certificate Training Program’. There were only 10 such grants awarded in the US, with only 2 in CT.

We have also recently just completed another project with the College where we created 3 long distance on-line training programs; covering lead and asbestos awareness and 40 hour HazWoper training. So I hope you can see that we (both personally as professionals, and collectively as a company) are striving every day to be the best we can be for you, because that’s what you deserve, and it’s what we demand of ourselves.

I would like to thank you all personally, and on behalf of the NETC Staff, for your continued support and patronage, and may we enjoy many more years of continued business relationships.

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Electrical Safety

Being an electrifying past ten years, I thought it time to review some Electrical Safe Work Practices.

The General Industry Standards (1910) Subpart S sets out the baseline for compliance. Other sections affect safe practice, such as Electrical Protective Devices (1910.137), Control of Hazardous Energy (1910.147) and found within Special Industries Standards as well. If your hazard analysis identifies electrical exposures, then controls are required.

First in line is the electrical system itself. Systems must be compliant to the National Electrical Code (NEC) Standards and OSHA 1910 design systems. Common system issues we see during surveys include circuits not identified at overcurrent devices and disconnects, improper storage in electrical vaults, improper use of flexible cords, and improper use of extension cords. Inspections and maintenance of systems should be established and documented. Do not forget to conduct testing on your GFIC if they are at the receptacle or breaker level. By the way, do you know the correct methods to test a GFIC? Pushing the test button is not correct!

Training is required for employees who “face a risk of electrical shock that is not reduced to a safe level by the electrical installation requirements”. 1910.332 (a) Occupations requiring training are contained in table S-4 and usually include the following: blue collar supervisors, electrical and electronic engineers and assemblers, electrical and electronic technicians, electricians, industrial machine operators, mechanics and repairers, material handling operators, painters, riggers, stationary engineers and welders. As usual, the degree of training is related to the risk. Qualified and unqualified persons have different training requirements spelled out in 1910.332.

Work practices on or near energized equipment or circuits require some special controls. First, what excuse is there for live electrical work? There are correct reasons and excuses. Emergency alarm systems, life support systems, equipment or system designs, set up and testing may require live work. Excuses are many. Remember, circuits that are deenergized but not locked/tagged out are considered live! Deenergized circuits cannot be from interlocks, selector switches, or push buttons alone. A lock and tag are required, although exceptions are allowed. If a tag alone is used due to the design of the device, at least one additional control method must be established. Other energies may be present and require control as well. This is but one reason that a written control procedure is required.

Overhead power lines require much scrutiny. The best practice is deenergized AND grounded in the vicinity of the work. Unqualified persons may not come closer then 10 feet to energized lines. This distance includes any conductive objects that the person may contact!!! Qualified persons must comply with table S-5 for distances or meet the requirements for insulation found in 1910.333 (c) (3) (ii). Vehicles must maintain the minimum 10 feet clearance of non-protected/energized overhead lines. Distances are increased as the energy level increase.

Electrical protective equipment is an often misused and misunderstood requirement. Too often we have found protective equipment that is not used, maintained or trained to correctly. A few requirements to ponder. Insulated material subjected to damage must be protected, such as leather overgloves. Insulated tools are required with potential contact with energized circuits or conductors. Protective shields, barriers or insulating materials are used to protect employees from the hazards of arcing. ANSI has released new Standards regarding protective clothing for arc blast protection. Head gear is required for potential head contact. The Class A or new Class G is proof tested to 2,200 volts. The Class C or new Class E is proof tested to 20,000 volts. These ratings are not indicated to the actual protection level! Remember to protect the eyes and most likely the face as well with eye protection and face shields. Eyewear constructed with metal should be avoided for workers with exposed to electrical hazards. Foot protection is commonly overlooked in electrical protection. Nonconductive footwear should be assessed as part of the controls for employees exposed to electrical hazards. We often find insulating equipment (sleeves, gloves, blankets, etc) that have not been inspected and tested since placed into operation.

Each rubber insulating equipment must be tested according to the table 1-6 under 1910.137. Also, gloves must be air tested and inspected before each use. There are specific methods for all electrical protective equipment to be inspected by the end user. This would be covered under the Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) training you must conduct when such equipment is used.

Use of meters is another area that is often found lacking in an electrical hazard assessment. Are your meters rated for there category of use? Individuals are of course trained. What about replacement parts? Factory replacement parts only! Never substitute fuse types or ratings. Meter use requires training and inspections as well.

During our training sessions, we always link electrical safety to home situations as well. The Consumer Products Safety Commission statistics for 1998 shows 200 electrocutions from consumer products.

Facilities must take an active role in reducing electrical hazards.

So what is the correct method(s) to test a GFIC? If you do not know, or would like further assistance in developing an electrical safety program, give me a call.

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What do you do if OSHA comes knocking at your door?? Your Human Resource Manager wears many hats. The Human Resource manager is the Safety Coordinator, the Workers’ Compensation Coordinator and the benefits person. The OSHA inspector is knocking at your door and the Human Resource Manager is in Disney. What do you do? Do you let them in? Do you have to? Why are they here? Did an employee complain? Or were they just in the neighborhood?

Just to let you know, OSHA does not normally call in advance to let you know that they are coming to visit. They may, on some occasions FAX a letter notifying you of an employee complaint and request a written response within 5 days. If OSHA does not receive a response when requested, they may follow-up with a visit.

When an inspector comes to the door the first thing to do is ask them for their credentials and identification. You want to be sure the person is who they say they are.

Ask them why they are visiting you? If it is because of an employee complaint, they will give you a copy of the complaint and you must post it for employees to view. If it is due to your incidence rate and it is a targeted inspection they will probably ask for evidence of a safety program and culture at your facility.

What is OSHA looking for?

The OSHA Compliance Officer will probably ask for some typical information such as:

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 Security Requirements for

The Department of Transportation, the Environmental Protection Agency, and other government agencies if they haven’t already, are in the process of proposing changes to hazardous materials handling, transportation, and site security issues.

The DOT is proposing training requirements for hazardous material companies and their hazardous material employees. The employee training must include the recognition and identification of hazardous materials, the specific regulatory requirements for the jobs performed, and they must be knowledgeable about the emergency response information, steps to self preservation and accident prevention.

The training DOT is proposing must include the physical security of hazardous materials and ways to prevent vandalism and theft. The HazMat employees must be trained to the specifics in the company’s security plan and how to handle recognized breaches in security. The hazmat employees must also be trained to the security issues associated with the hazardous material. The HazMat employees must be aware of the transportation methods and methods to enhance transportation security.

Hazmat employee security awareness training must be conducted at the next scheduled DOT training, but no later than March 24, 2006. All new employees must be trained within 90 days from the date of hire. This training cycle was approved due to the DOT training requirement of every three years.

There are requirements specific to the shipping and receiving personal and material handlers.

A good way to address the security component is to include this as part of the facility Emergency Response Plan and incorporate it into the facility refresher training.

This effects those that ship and transport hazardous materials. The plan may be a component to your facility’s existing Emergency Response Plan. The DOT recommends that the security awareness training be conducted for all HazMat employees to be able to recognize the security issues associated with the hazardous materials transportation and methods of how to recognize a security threat. The employees should be trained in how to respond to a security threat. The DOT inspectors will be looking for security plans and training records related to security.

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