Fire Safety in the Workplace

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration, better known as 

OSHA, is the government agency responsible for enforcing safety and health legislation in the workplace. OSHA was created in response to the Occupational Health and Safety Act of 1970 in order to help employers provide a safe working environment for thei

r employees. Since OSHA’s establishment, injury and illness rates in the workplace have dropped 60 percent, and occupational deaths have dropped to their lowest annual number since 1992.

OSHA Standard 29 CFR 1910.38(a) requires that every worksite have a specific Emergency Action Plan, outlining employee and employer actions during an emergency evacuation. This prepared plan will ensure that employees are organized and well informed in these situations, which will reduce confusion, injury, and damage to the facility.

Creating an Emergency Action Plan is easy, and the benefits make it a worthwhile task. The firs

t step is to complete a Workplace Evaluation. In order to do this, imagine possible emergency situations and then assess whether your facility is properly equipped for such an event. Areas to consider include design and construction requirements for exit routes; maintenance, safeguards, and operational features for exit routes; emergency action plans; fire prevention plans; portable fire extinguishers; fixed extinguishing systems; fire detection systems; and employee alarm systems.

It is also important to envision how employees will react to various situations, and if your facility is equipped to handle diverse emergencies. Take into account the layout, structural features, and emergency systems. Consider the existing safety signs around the facility and whether they clearly identify exits and fire equipment.

OSHA requires that the plan contain minimum requirements that include a means of reporting

 fires; emergency evacuation procedures; emergency escape route assignments and procedures to be followed by employees who remain to conduct critical plant operations before they evacuate; procedures to account for all employees after an emergency evacuation has been completed; rescue and medical duties for those employees who are to perform them; and names or job titles of people who can be contacted for further information or explanation of duties under the plan.

Once your evacuation plan is created, it is easy to meet each requirement above. Seton.ca has a variety of fire evacuation signs, labels, and identification tags available to clearly mark exits and escape routes, outline evacuation procedures, identify fire safety equipment, and much more.

Visit www.Seton.ca to browse their large assortment of quality custom fire evacuation products, as well as Glow-in-the-Dark custom signs and labels, to meet all OSHA defined standards and regulations. Many safety products are available for same day shipping and ordering is quick and easy.

How to Meet OSHA Standards

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration, better known as OSHA, is the government agency responsible for enforcing safety and health legislation in the workplace. OSHA was created in response to the Occupational Health and Safety Act of 1970 in order to help employers provide a safe working environment for their employees. Since OSHA’s establishment, injury and illness rates in the workplace have dropped 60 percent, and occupational deaths have dropped to their lowest annual number since 1992.

OSHA has a set of requirements that each employer must follow to comply with legislation. Employers are required to uphold or adopt the necessary practices in order to protect workers on the job. They must be well versed and compliant with standards relevant to their establishment and enforce the use of personal protective equipment in the workplace that is required for safety and health purposes.

In order to accomplish these goals, OSHA has issued standards for most workplace regulations. Current legislation covers workplace hazards, requiring the use of safety signs and identification tags to label toxic substances, harmful physical agents, electrical hazards, fall hazards, trenching hazards, hazardous waste, infectious diseases, fire and explosion hazards, dangerous atmospheres, machine hazards, and confined spaces.

There is also legislation that covers areas where there are no specific standards. In this case, employers must comply with OSHA’s General Duty Clause. Under this act, each employer must “furnish ... a place of employment which [is] free from recognized hazards that are causing or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm to his employees.”

It is vital that employers comply with all of OSHA’s standards at all times. Statistics show that almost 5,200 American workers die each year from workplace accidents. Nearly 50,000 employees die from workplace illnesses, and as many as 4.3 million people endure non-fatal workplace injuries and illnesses. Occupational injuries and illnesses result in more than $156 billion per year.

These accidents and costs can easily be avoided. There are companies, such as Seton.com, that offer safety products to meet every aspectmany apsects of OSHA’s legislation. Seton has a full product line of industrial safety products, industrial security products, and facility maintenance products that can be customized to your exact specifications, guaranteed to meet OSHA standards as well as your own company needs.

It is easy to customize OSHA approved signs, identification tags, labels, safety products, security products, pipe markers, and much more with a company logo, colors, specific wording, material, and size. Seton’s Design Your Own feature allows the customer to select size, material, color and wording to customize the product online, and then instantly view it on-screen in order to proof it and make changes before placing the order. Ordering is quick and easy, and many custom products ship same day.

Visit www.Seton.com for more information, or to customize OSHA approved signs and products.