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November 2014

Play It Safe

10 tips to ignite and enhance your safety programs.

Written by Hans W. Hauschild M.S | 0 comment

Safety programs often become stagnant when they have not been reviewed on a regular basis. That can become a problem when the OSHA compliance officer shows up and finds holes in the company safety program. Those holes may have led to an injury that brought the compliance officer in the first place.

Here are 10 tips for effective workplace programs. Some stem from the 10 most-cited OSHA standards in 2013, and others reflect OSHA standards cited at resorts in the recent past. They are all worth reviewing.


1. Hazard Communication Standard

The hazard communication standard was the most frequently cited standard for general industry. It was recently updated to more closely align with global standards, and it is important for all employees to understand the potential hazardous substances in the workplace and what to do if they have been exposed. That requires training. A key part of that training includes understanding all 16 sections of the Safety Data Sheets (SDS), which were previously called Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS)—and recognizing the labels on hazardous substance containers and their relation to the SDS.


2. Fall Protection

Fall protection was the most-cited standard in the construction industry in 2013, and resorts have had several incidents related to falls. The consequences of falls in the workplace are far-reaching for both the employees and employer.


Incidents involving fall protection citations have stemmed from falls during lift work, during building maintenance, and during improper snow removal from roofs. The last of those led OSHA to issue a “Hazard Alert” related to employees removing snow from roofs and elevated surfaces. Fall protection also includes work tasks on chairlifts, tramways, light poles, and snowmaking towers.


When does fall protection come into play? Workers in general industry must be protected from falls four feet or higher, and in the construction industry, from six feet and higher.


The best way to prevent falls is to avoid placing employees at heights to begin with. This can be accomplished by design: equipping a lift tower with guardrails, or installing lights that descend for service.


When employees must work at heights, employers must provide workers with fall protection equipment, and have a rescue plan in place. They must also train workers to understand fall hazards and in the use of fall protection equipment.


3. Control of Hazardous Energy— Lockout/Tagout (LOTO)

The control of hazardous energy, commonly called lockout/tagout (LOTO), is applicable to any task where the release of stored energy could injure an employee. Those stored energy sources could be electrical, mechanical, hydraulic, pneumatic, thermal, or gravitational.


Important note: this regulation requires a written procedure for each machine, such as a lift, that requires LOTO for service. Additionally, employees must be trained on those procedures, and employers must conduct regular, documented inspections of employee performance using the LOTO procedures.


4. Electrical Equipment and Wiring

Resorts typically have miles of wiring running through them for operating the lifts, snowmaking, lights, and buildings. Over years of use and changes, electrical outlets and connections may have been added, or changed and potentially neglected. There are many ways things can go wrong: a cover is left off a box, a piece of grooming equipment hits snowmaking conduit, extension cords are used as permanent wiring, or employees decide to just remove the knockouts from the electrical box in their work area. So, review all electrical runs, terminations, boxes, and receptacles to make sure everything is fully enclosed.


Another common issue: supplies stored in front of electrical boxes containing breakers or disconnects and blocking access in an emergency situation. Keep these areas open.


5. Personal Protective Equipment

Personal protective equipment (PPE)—anything that provides protection for eyes, ears, face, head, and body parts, such as glasses, ear plugs, clothing, respirators, hard hats, and protective barriers—should be the last option for protection. If possible, investigate engineering controls to protect employees first. Still, there are instances where PPE may be the only solution. The type of PPE needed for any job task should be determined by doing a job hazard assessment.


PPE must be supplied by the employer, except for non-specialty shoes. The employee must be trained to know when the equipment is necessary, what equipment to use, how to properly use it, the PPE limitations, and proper care and life of the equipment.


Non-specialty shoes include rubber boots with steel toes, static dissipative safety toe boots, or metatarsal foot protection. If the employee can wear the footwear home and it is not a specialty shoe required to do the work, then the employee must purchase it. If it is required for the work, if it must remain at the workplace, or if it would not normally be worn outside of work, then it may be categorized as a specialty shoe.


6. Excavations

OSHA construction regulations apply to any open hole or trench over four feet deep, such as resorts might have for running electrical wire and snowmaking pipe. OSHA takes these situations seriously; it sees excavations and trenching collectively as one of the most severe occupational hazards. The consequences of a cave-in can include death or severe injury. It’s essential to properly protect an excavation—via proper sloping or benching of the opening, or installing a shield system such as a trench box.


7. Cold Stress/Heat Stress Injury

Due to weather conditions, this is an obvious concern. Protection requires training employees about the effects of heat and cold stress and how to protect themselves. This includes the use of proper clothing in winter and proper hydration in summer. Employers should provide water for both heat or cold stress, as dehydration can occur in both cases.


8. Vehicles

Use of any motorized vehicle on or off the resort property is a key area for attention: Auto accidents are the number one cause of all worker-related deaths, and there have been a number of snowmobile, all-terrain vehicle, and golf cart-related deaths and injuries at resorts. The best practice is to have a comprehensive training program for each vehicle type and to retrain regularly. Any operator of a motorized vehicle should have a valid driver license. (Note: Powered industrial vehicles, such as forklifts, are covered under their own regulation applicable to specialized industrial trucks, and also require specific training.)


9. Fire protection

OSHA almost routinely cites resorts (and many businesses) for lack of proper fire extinguishers, expired fire extinguishers, and blocked extinguishers. It’s easy to correct these deficiencies, too: on a regular basis, inspect extinguishers for suitability, expiration date, and access.


10. Bloodborne Pathogens

Housekeeping and ski patrol employees (and volunteers) are at risk of exposure to potential bloodborne pathogens such as HIV and hepatitis B. All employees and volunteers must be trained on these potential exposures. If an employee is exposed to blood, the employer must make a hepatitis B vaccination available, unless the employee has received the vaccination previously. If employees decline the vaccination, they must sign a statement declaring that.

The above 10 tips can enhance your worker safety programs, but this is only the tip of the iceberg. These tips are meant to assist your safety team in creating comprehensive safety programs. Many of the tips include training because that is proven to work. OSHA has found that lack of training is a cause of many accidents. Remember, also, to document all the training your resort conducts.