For the first time ever, OSHA has made available to the public a decade’s worth of injury and ilness data. A searchable online database of 80,000 employers from the years 1996 to 2007 is now available.

“Making injury and illness information available to the public is part of OSHA’s response to the administration’s commitment to make government more transparent to the American people,” said David Michaels, assistant secretary of labor for OSHA.

OSHA also uses the data to target inspections. The Site Specific Targeting Program helps the agency focus its efforts on the appropriate area and industries.

Sometimes, in safety, people assume. Those assumptions can lead to some very nasty incidents. When it comes to machine guarding, assumptions can be deadly. Don’t let these common mistakes hurt you or anyone at your company:

Mistake #1— People assume that machines are safe when they purchase them.

This is a common misconception that ends up hurting people. Machine manufacturers are not responsible for guarding the machines they create. The consumer who purchases the item must evaluate the machine to ensure that all areas are properly guarded.

A simple, but effective tool is a machine guarding checklist that is used to inspect each piece of equipment in your facility. Use this OSHA resource to create a machine guarding checklist for your facility.

Mistake #2— People assume everyone understands machine guarding.

The idea of safety being common sense is rampant… and wrong. Safety is learned and, if safety is learned, we must educate.

Although many guards are created to prevent any contact with dangerous moving parts, it can still happen if an employee does not understand the equipment. Machine operators must be trained annually on machine guarding and the dangers they face.

OSHA states in their Machine Guarding E-Tool that we should train on the following:

1. a description and identification of the hazards associated with particular machines;
2. the safeguards themselves, how they provide protection, and the hazards for which they are intended;
3. how to use the safeguards and why;
4. how and under what circumstances safeguards can be removed, and by whom (in most cases, repair or maintenance personnel only); and
5. when a lockout/tagout program is required.
6. what to do (e.g., contact the supervisor) if a safeguard is damaged, missing, or unable to provide adequate protection.

Mistake #3— People assume machine guarding is good enough for lockout/tagout.

One type of guard is an interlock, a device which shuts down a piece of equipment when a specific piece of the machinery is moved or opened. This is a great way to guard machinery to prevent injuries.

It is not, however, acceptable for locking or tagging out a piece of equipment. Although the machine has been deactivated, it is not locked out. The threat of restart is still there with interlocks. Always use a full lockout/tagout program when working on equipment. Never rely on machine guarding to protect you.

Remember, machine guarding is extremely important. You could save your employees from losing time at work, losing an arm or losing their life.

At least two times a year, New Pig hosts the American Red Cross Bloodmobile so Piggers have an easy and convenient way to donate blood.

During today’s visit, New Pig surpassed its goal by 4 pints by donating 24 pints of blood to the Red Cross.

Cheryl, a loyal, blood-giving Pigger, waits patiently to donate.

By the way, if any of that blood should spill … here’s how to be ready.

Don’t look now—well, actually, please do look now— but the PIG® brand has gotten some more broadcast love.

Yeah, baby, we’re takin’ over your tube.

This time it was an appearance on Horsepower TV, which appears on Spike TV (insert manly grunt here). To see the clip, click here, and look for “Click Here to Play Video” about halfway down the page. PIG® Absorbent Mat is the dressing on the table of goods in the first minute or so. It makes that cast aluminum intake manifold, 750 cfm remanufactured Quadrajet Carb, Summit hydraulic cam & lifter kit, and Summit double roller timing set look sweet—not to mention lying in wait to catch oil and grease.

I’m just about done updating the New Pig safety manual, but now I’m going to flip back through it to see if it addresses how to properly assault a vending machine.

A man in Illinois recently fractured his hip on the job while ramming a vending machine to dislodge a bag of chips for a coworker. He was judged eligible for workers’ comp because he wasn’t on break, he was coming to the aid of another worker (Illinois law recognizes “Good Samaritan” cases) and the employer knew the machine was faulty (a “reasonably foreseeable” situation in Illinois).

Good Samaritan? Yes. Safe worker? No.

Image © Stephen Finn - Fotolia.com

So, what do you do when you run out of PIG® Mat? Call 1-800-HOT-HOGS® or visit newpig.com, of course.

Any other options? Apparently, yes … yes, there are.

Check out this story about oil spills, cleanups and 18,000 pounds of hair.

Ewww …

Image © ZM Photography - Fotolia.com

Let’s “paws” for a quick reminder that aside from the occasional birthday cake, there is no place for candles in most workplaces. Churches, restaurants, yes. Your workplace? Think about the hazard that you’re introducing.

Happy 65th Birthday, Smokey Bear! Hope you have no plans to retire! Who else would keep the real time wildfire map up to date?

Here’s the list. Bravo.

Related post:

How to feel if a loved one’s death or injury follows shoddy safety training