SAFEANDCOMPLIANT.NET BEGAN AS A SERVICE FOR Stone and Tile PROS, we found that many of the contractors we were servicing did not have an adequate Safety / HazCom program in place. We were getting more and more calls for urgent help.
So, we put our collective heads together and came up with a program that removes the guesswork and reduces the time and effort spent, helping you to become an OSHA Safe and Compliant company, quickly, and easily. We also wanted to make this program accessible to all, so we made sure to offer it at a very low cost.
CHANGES TO THE PROGRAM:
New changes to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) Hazard Communication Standard are bringing the United States into alignment with the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS), further improving safety and health protections for America’s workers. Building on the success of OSHA’s current Hazard Communication Standard, the GHS is expected to prevent injuries and illnesses, save lives and improve trade conditions for chemical manufacturers. The Hazard Communication Standard in 1983 gave the workers the ‘right to know,’ but the new Globally Harmonized System gives workers the ‘right to understand.’
Hazard Communication Standard
In order to ensure chemical safety in the workplace, information about the identities and hazards of the chemicals must be available and understandable to workers. OSHA’s Hazard Communication Standard (HCS) requires the development and dissemination of such information:
- Chemical manufacturers and importers are required to evaluate the hazards of the chemicals they produce or import, and prepare labels and safety data sheets to convey the hazard information to their downstream customers;
- All employers with hazardous chemicals in their workplaces must have labels and safety data sheets for their exposed workers, and train them to handle the chemicals appropriately.
Major changes to the Hazard Communication Standard
- Hazard classification: Provides specific criteria for classification of health and physical hazards, as well as classification of mixtures.
- Labels: Chemical manufacturers and importers will be required to provide a label that includes a harmonized signal word, pictogram, and hazard statement for each hazard class and category. Precautionary statements must also be provided.
- Safety Data Sheets: Will now have a specified 16-section format.
- Information and training: Employers are required to train workers by December 1, 2013 on the new labels elements and safety data sheets format to facilitate recognition and understanding.
What is a Safety Program?
A Safety and Health program is designed to keep you and your staff safe in the workplace. This includes making your employees aware of safety hazards, and health and accident prevention. The proper safety program should be in a written manual that is distributed to or easily accessible to each and every employee. It will include stringent prevention and control measures in the workplace. Regular scheduled safety meeting are also part of this program.
The value of having a proper safety program in place may seem obvious, but there are additional benefits as well. For example, many general contractors and building owners are requiring a written program to be submitted with all proposals. This is a growing trend and those that don’t have an adequate written program will not be awarded a contract.
ABOUT OUR SUPPORT TEAM
Our support team consists of OSHA Certified personnel with years of experience as a safety officer and consultant capacity, including holding monthly safety meetings, writing safety programs, etc.
