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This material is for training purposes only. Its purpose is to inform employers and employees of best practices in occupational safety and health and general OSHA compliance requirements. This material is not a substitute for any provision of the Occupational Safety and Health Act or any standards issued by OSHA.
COURSE INTRODUCTION

The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 requires that each employer "...furnish to each of his employees employment and a place of employment which are free from recognized hazards that are causing or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm..." (29 U.S.C. 651, Sec. 5(a)(1)).

Basic Employer Responsibilities

The employer should see that workers are properly instructed and supervised in the safe operation of any machinery, tools, equipment, process, or practice which they are authorized to use or apply. This should not be construed to require a supervisor on every part of an operation nor to prohibit workers from working alone.

The employer should take all reasonable means to require employees:
  • To work and act in a safe and healthful manner;
  • To conduct their work in compliance with all applicable safety and health rules;
  • To use all means and methods, including but not limited to, ladders, scaffolds, guardrails, machine guards, safety belts and lifelines, that are necessary to safely accomplish all work where employees are exposed to a hazard
  • Not to remove, displace, damage, destroy or carry off any safety device, guard, notice or warning provided for use in any employment or place of employment while such use is required by applicable safety and health rules.
Every employer should be responsible for providing the health hazard control measures necessary to protect the employees' health from harmful or hazardous conditions and for maintaining such control measures in good working order and in use.

Employers should inform the employees regarding the known health hazards to which they are exposed, the measures which have been taken for the prevention and control of such hazards, and the proper methods for utilizing such control measures.

Basic Employee Responsibilities

All employees should conduct their work in compliance with their employer's safety policies and rules. Employees should report all injuries immediately to the person in charge or other responsible representative of the employer. Employees should make full use of safeguards provided for their protection. It should be an employee's responsibility to abide by and perform at least the following hazard identification and control requirements:
  • Do not operate a machine unless guard or method of guarding is in good condition, working order, in place, and operative.

  • Stop the machine or moving parts and properly tag-out or lock-out the starting control before oiling, adjusting, or repairing, except when such machine is provided with means of oiling or adjusting that will prevent possibility of hazardous contact with moving parts.

  • Do not remove guards or render methods of guarding inoperative except for the purpose of adjustment, oiling, repair, or the setting up a new job.

  • Report to the supervisor any guard or method of guarding that is not properly adjusted or not accomplishing its intended function.

  • Do not use hands or any portion of the body to reach between moving parts or to remove jams, hangups, etc. (Use hook, stick, tong, jig or other accessory.)

  • Do not work under objects being supported that could accidentally fall (such as loads supported by jacks, the raised body of a dump truck, etc.) until such objects are properly blocked or shored.

  • Do not use defective tools or equipment. No tool or piece of equipment should be used for any purpose for which it is not suited, and none should be abused by straining beyond its safe working load.

  • Do not remove, deface, or destroy any warning, danger sign, or barricade, or interfere with any other form of accident prevention device or practice provided which they are using, or which is being used by any other worker.

  • Do not work underneath or over others exposed to a hazard thereby without first notifying them and seeing that proper safeguards or precautions have been taken.

  • Do not work in unprotected, exposed, hazardous areas under floor openings.

  • Do not carry or move long or unwieldy articles unless adequate means of guarding or guiding are provided to prevent injury.

  • Report hazardous conditions or practices observed at any time as soon as practicable to the person in charge or some other responsible representative of the employer.

  • Warn coworkers observed working in a manner which might cause immediate injury to either themselves or other workers.

  • Before the end of work, correct correct, or arrange to give warning of, any condition which might result in injury to others unfamiliar with existing conditions.
If your employer does not courrently have general formal/written safety rules like those above, please begin now to make sure these rules and other specific to your workplace are written and communicated to employees.

Safety Inspections

Employers should make sure their workplaces are inspected by a qualified person or persons as often as the type of operation or the character of the equipment requires. Defective equipment or unsafe conditions found by these inspections should be replaced or repaired or remedied promptly. Make sure a written and dated report, signed by the person or persons making the inspection, is completed and used to provide information to improve the safety management system.

Course Objectives

This online course will cover some of the basic principles and concepts related to hazard identification and control. More specifically, if you complete the reading and assignments, at the end of the course, you will be able to:

  • identify the 14 general workplace hazard categories
  • describe the four primary procedures used to identify hazards
  • discuss the various accident types that might result if hazards are not corrected
  • describe possible engineering and management hazard control strategies
  • discuss various problem-solving techniques to help control hazards
  • prepare an effective recommendation

GO TO MODULE ONE

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