June 2025
6/2/2025 - Fire Extinguishers
Toolbox Talk: Portable Fire Extinguishers – Make Sure They Remain Ready for Use
It does us no good to be to use a portable fire extinguisher if it is not ready and available for use when needed. So here are a few of the steps we can all take to help ensure we keep all our portable fire extinguishers ready for instant use:
· Do not store pallets, toolboxes, trash cans, or any other equipment or materials in front of a portable fire extinguisher. You must always maintain a clear and unobstructed path to portable fire extinguishers.
· Never use a portable extinguisher as a coat rack, nor should you hang equipment or devices such as extension cords or air hoses over an extinguisher. Although it may sound like an easy way to store these items, it will only serve to slow someone down if they need to quickly gain access to the extinguisher to put out a fire.
· Once a year our extinguishers receive a thorough maintenance inspection and then get tagged by an outside inspection company. Make sure the inspection tags remain attached to extinguishers and report any untagged extinguisher to your supervisor so we can make certain it has been inspected.
· We must also conduct a visual inspection of each extinguisher at least once a month. In addition, make sure the needle on pressure-activated extinguishers is pointing into the green “FULL” portion of the dial, and report any that are not so we can get them recharged.
· Once someone uses an extinguisher to fight a fire, it must be turned in for inspection and recharging. In fact, turn it in even if you only pull out the retainer pin but do not actually discharge the extinguisher. That is because you may have inadvertently broken the seal that maintains pressure inside the extinguisher, which could cause it to lose pressure and not function as intended in the future.
So anytime you see a portable fire extinguisher that is inaccessible, not fully charged, or just looks like it may have been damaged in some way, please rectify the problem or let your supervisor know right away so we can take care of the problem.
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06-09-2025 TBT GHS Label Requirements
OSHA recently revised their Hazard Communication Standard to align with the international “Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals”, commonly referred to as “GHS”. As a result, manufacturers and distributors of hazards chemicals and products standardize their container labels to display all of the following information:
· Product Identifier, which may be the product name or an identifying number that can be cross-referenced to the corresponding Safety Data Sheet (SDS), as well as to the list of hazardous chemicals that we maintain as part of our written Haz-Com program.
· Signal Words, which are used to indicate the relative level of severity of hazard. The only two signal words used will be "Danger" and "Warning"; other words like “caution” or “beware” will no longer be allowed after the effective date. "Danger" is the signal word used for more severe hazards, while "Warning" is used for the less severe ones.
· Hazard Statements, which are a relatively short statement assigned to a specific hazard class and category that describes the nature of the hazard(s) of a chemical, including, where appropriate, the degree of hazard. Examples of hazard statements include “Highly flammable liquid and vapor”, or “May cause liver damage.”
· Precautionary Statements, which are phrases that list recommended measures that should be taken to minimize or prevent adverse effects resulting from exposure to a hazardous chemical or improper storage or handling. One example of a precautionary statement would be “Keep away from heat, flames, sparks. No Smoking.”
· Pictograms, which are icons that appear in a small red box, there are eight different pictograms, and one or more might appear on a label; each one helps you quickly identify the specific type of hazard associated with the product. We will be covering the meanings of the eight pictograms in greater detail during upcoming toolbox talks.
· Name, Address, and Telephone Number of the chemical manufacturer, importer, or other responsible party.
06-16-2025 Lockout Tagout
06/16/2025 TBT: OSHA’s Lockout/Tagout Standards – Why They Affect Everyone
OSHA published their “control of hazardous energy” standard, also known as “Lockout/Tagout”, way back in 1989. This new standard required employers to develop and implement a program that effectively identified all hazardous energy sources so they could be isolated or controlled when one or more employees were performing maintenance or service on equipment or machinery which could be unknowingly started or release stored energy.
Despite this comprehensive OSHA standard, many workers throughout the USA continue to suffer needless injuries, and some even die, because someone purposely takes a shortcut or accidentally commits an unsafe act without fully understanding the potential ramifications.
That is why OSHA requires that ALL workers be informed of their responsibilities when it comes to implementing an effective Lockout/Tagout program. To simplify this task, OSHA has identified three separate classes of employees in their Lockout/Tagout standard. They are:
· Authorized Employees – A person who performs servicing or maintenance on a machine or equipment under the protection of a Lockout/Tagout program
· Affected Employees – An employee whose job requires him/her to operate or use a machine or equipment on which servicing or maintenance is being performed by an Authorized employee under Lockout/Tagout, or whose job requires him/her to work in an area in which such servicing or maintenance is being performed
· Other Employees – An employee who may be in an area where Lockout/Tagout procedures might be utilized by others.
Obviously, the key to us having an effective Lockout/Tagout program that protects everyone is for ALL of us to understand what roles we play, and when those roles could change. That is why we will review in our upcoming toolbox talks how each class of employee has different responsibilities under the Lockout/Tagout program. But just as importantly, we will see how an employee could fall into more than one of these groups, and how our personal responsibilities could change, depending on where we are in the workplace and the work that is being performed nearby.