How to Safely Store Flammable Liquids
If you use or store flammable liquids in your place of business, you are required to follow OSHA guidelines. Failure to do so may result in a hefty fine, and may very well put your employees and property at risk. Every year, one of the main reasons for fires in the workplace is the improper storage of flammable liquids. It is estimated to cost in the billions of dollars for facility losses alone. So, assuming you decided to stay in compliance, what is required of you becomes the question.
According to OSHA (Occupational Safety & Health Act), all flammable liquids must be stored in appropriate containers when not being used at that moment. Inside storage rooms for flammables must be fire resistant, liquid tight, have self closing fire doors, 4” sills and a ventilation system that changes the air over at least six times per hour.
If your quantities do not justify a storage room, then you can store them in safety cabinets that are designed to NFPA standards. OSHA relies on NFPA (National Fire Protection Association) to set the standards for how a safety cabinet must be made. When purchasing a safety cabinet, make sure it meets the NFPA code and is FM approved. If it is FM approved your insurance inspector will consider it appropriate and so will the OSHA inspector.
Basic characteristics of a compliant safety cabinet include
- Doors that manually close tight (Note: Auto closing doors are required in California)
- All welded double wall 18 gauge steel construction
- Twin 2” flame arrestor vents
- Adjustable leveling feet
- Grounding connector
- Safety signage visible from 30 feet away
- Leak proof sill to contain leaks
- OSHA compliant
- NFPA code 30 compliant
- FM approved
There are standard colors for differing materials for these cabinets. Yellow is for flammable liquids, red is for paint, green for pesticides and blue for corrosives. Each must have a bold label on the front stating the class of ingredient stored inside. These safety cabinets come in all sizes, from 2 gallons to hundreds of gallons and are a good choice if you want to avoid building a block room for the purpose of storing flammables.
You can locate these from any good industrial supply house like Grainger, MSC etc. If you need additional information, read my blog at www.safewayservicesinc.com
Tom Lynde has been in the manufacturing business for 25 years. He is the previous owner of Safeway Products, which is one of only three companies manufacturing safety cans in the USA. Tom currently owns Safeway Services of Rockford Inc and is a distributor and wholesaler of safety cabinets, service carts and generally anything that is used on the shop floor for storage and transportation.
OSHA Compliance & Recordkeeping
by Tom Lynde
Employers subject to OSHA recordkeeping include all businesses in the private sector who have at least one employee. Volunteers are generally not considered employees if they receive no compensation. If they are paid something though, they are generally considered employees. Charitable organizations that employ people to perform tasks, are also required to keep OSHA mandated records. Employers who had less than 10 employees for the prior year are generally exempt from keeping injury and illness records, except when a fatality occurs or multiple employees are hospitalized. Some states, however, require that even those employers must still maintain the log. You must consult your state OSHA office to see if you are exempt from the recordkeeping clause.
Only two forms are used for OSHA recordkeeping in regards to injury and work related illness. The first one is the Log For Occupational Injuries & Illness (OSHA No. 200) and the second one is the Supplementary Record of Occupational Injuries & Illnesses (OSHA No. 101). Both of these can be obtained from your state OSHA department or the US Department of Labor.
OSHA No. 200 is used to record and classify injuries and illnesses and for noting the outcome of those injuries and illnesses. The forms are to be filled out with each occurrence and at the conclusion of the occurrence. Employers must maintain at each establishment the log for all injuries and illnesses that are recordable for that establishment and must maintain the log for five years following the end of the calendar year. The log entry must be made within six working days from the event. The log is not required to be maintained for any year in which there is no recordable injuries or illnesses. At the end of the year a summary must be posted in a conspicuous place that lists the totals from the log, calendar year, establishment address and must be signed by the responsible person for the log. Even if there were no recordable incidents, the summary must still be posted with zeros on the totals line. This summary must be posted by February 1 of the next year. Failure to post the summary and maintain the log are punishable offenses and OSHA will issue fines when an inspection occurs.
Find more information about safety in the workplace at Safewaysite.com
Top Ten Violations For OSHA
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration released its top ten list regarding work place violations for 2009.
- Scaffolding- There were 9,093 violations under the scaffolding category. Anything form improper planking, to railing, to improper ground support.
- Fall Protection- There were 6,771 violations under this category. Many of these were related to railing violations. OSHA announce several years ago that fall protection was going to be a point of emphasis for the near future.
- Hazzard Communication- Accounted for 6,378 violations. These are mostly related to having MSDS sheets available to employees and providing signage and communication about them and what to do in case of spills.
- Respiratory Protection- Accounted for 3,803 violations. Many of these were related to no respiratory devices provided, improper fit and not testing to be sure employee is healthy enough to were a mask.
- Lockout/Tagout- Accounted for 3,321 violations. Many of these were for not having a specific program and not communicating the program to employees to lock out machines when they are being repaired, or deemed unsafe.
- Electrical Wiring-Accounted for 2,556 violations. Anything from not hasving the neautral wired properly to having outlets too close to fire hazards.
- Ladders-Accounted for 3,072 violations. Many of these were for having ladders available that were deemed unsafe.
- Powered Industrial Trucks-Accounted for 2,993 violations. Many for excessive carbon monoxide discharges, horns, brakes and back up alarms.
- Electrical-Accounted for 2,556 violations.
- Machine Guarding-Accounted for 2,364 violations. Mostly for having guarding that still allowed operators to be in harms way.
It is likely that when OSHA performs a visit, these are the areas that they will look for first. For additional information, contact the US Department of Labor.
What is an OSHA recordable case of injury?
In previous articles, I talked about OSHA record keeping in regards to job related injuries and illnesses. In this article, I will present guidelines for what is a recordable case and what is not. You are not required to keep the log for cases which are not deemed recordable. Recording an injury or illness does not necessarily imply the anyone was at fault or that an OSHA standard was violated. It also does not imply that the case is compensable under workers compensation laws.
It must first be clear, that record keeping of injuries and illnesses must be done in good faith. It is the employer who decides what needs to be recorded and what does not. However, if you are found not to be performing the function of recordkeeping in good faith, you may be found to be out of compliance.
The OSH Act provides basic information on what is, or is not, a recordable case. It must be noted that your criteria for recordkeeping must meet the needs of safety and health professionals to determine if a problem exists. Basically, the Act states the any work related deaths, injuries and illnesses, are recordable, except those injuries and illnesses that are minor, requiring only first aid treatment and do not involve medical treatment, loss of consciousness, restriction of work or motion and transfer to different duties.
The decision making process, in regards as to what cases need to be recorded should follow these steps;
1. Establish whether the case was work related. Did it happen at work, or was it related to the work environment. Some injuries may happen over time and can not be determined to have happened at any specific time, but are none the less recordable. Like a wrist injury that was caused from repetitive motion over a long period of time.
2. Is the case an injury or illness.
3. If it is an illness, record it and check the appropriate box for illness on the log form.
4. If it is an injury, decide if it is recordable based on a finding of treatment by medical personnel, loss of consciousness, restriction of motion or transfer of duties.
For purposes of record keeping, it does not matter who was at fault, even if the employee was at fault due to willful negligence. Cases are also recordable in the following circumstances;
1. Discovered after the employee is no longer employed, for the five year period that would cover the injury or illness.
2. Employee did not report the case at the time of injury or illness. It becomes recordable when it is determined that it happened.
3. Employee had a preexisting condition that made them more prone to injury or illness.
4. The case happened off the premises of the business, but was work related.
Determining if work related injuries are recordable requires you to evaluate if the treatment was medical or first aid. A one time treatment and any follow up treatment for the purposes of observation for minor scratches, cuts, burns and splinters, which do not require medical care beyond observation to ensure an infection does not occur, are generally not recordable. This remains true even if the observation was done by professional medical people. Treatment of 2nd and 3rd degree burns, sutures, treatment for infection, application of butterfly adhesive sutures, removal of foreign bodies in the eye, use of hot or cold soaking therapy during second or subsequent visits, positive x-ray results or admission to a hospital would all generally be recordable.
Types of cases that are generally not recordable:
1. Injuries resulting while using company recreational facilities, like ball diamonds, gyms, etc. are not recordable.
2. Injuries on company owned parking lots are not recordable, unless the employee was performing a work related task in the parking lot.
3. Treatment of first degree burns.
4. Application of bandages during first visit.
5. application of elastic bandages during first visit.
6. Removal of foreign bodies in the eye that are removed by irrigation.
7. Removal of foreign bodies from a wound that are simple in nature, like using tweezers.
8. Negative x-ray results.
9. Administration of Tetanus shot, if that is all that is done.
For additional information
Ergonomic Service Carts
Due to work related fatigue and injuries, service carts used daily by shop employees are now being produced with ergonomically enhanced features. These new handles are designed to relieve some of the stress associated with the standard handles which have been on service carts for years. The new handles are generally angled upward and have a smooth radius. This design allows operators of different heights to find a height that applies less stress on his or her back.
Generally, most service carts are 36” to 39” high. The handle is usually mounted straight off the top shelf. This design does not allow a comfortable grip by employees who are taller. They normally have to bend at the back to push these types of carts around. The design also allows the operator to change his hand position to a vertical position, which allows them to frequently change the stresses on their wrists. By reducing these stresses, the company will save in injuries and loss of production due to fatigue.
With the new style handle, employees of varying heights can find a comfortable height with which to push the cart. This allows them to push the cart in an upright fasion and eliminates undo stress on the back. Here is a link to a standard handle service cart. As you can see, it comes straight off the cart from the top shelf, and here is a picture of a service cart with an ergonomically designed handle.
The good news is, the cost is marginal so many shop owners are electing to switch to the ergonomic handle on future purchases. This may not be terribly important to the occasional user, but for the employee that has to push one around often it is far more comfortable, especially if there is a heavy load on the cart.
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