OSHA Certification Protects Everyone In The Workplace

Jan 6
09:34

2012

Andrea Avery

Andrea Avery

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In a company, OSHA certification can be a measure of protection. This valuable credential ensures maximum safety in the workplace.

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OSHA certification is designed to help everyone stay safer including the employees,OSHA Certification Protects Everyone In The Workplace Articles managers, business owners and customers. OSHA is a governmental agency that was organized back in the 1970s to curtail injuries or dangerous situations in the workplaces around the nation. In the early days of our country, there were many unsafe or inhumane conditions that individuals were placed in. This includes men, women and children who were toiling in factories, mines, fields and more. Even today, with strict guidelines and regulations in place, there are still way too many workplace injuries and even fatalities. The initials O.S.H.A. stand for Occupational Safety and Health Administration but it has become widely known and referred to by its acronym of OSHA. Acronyms have become so common in the business and commercial world that many people think of the initials as an actual word like "McDonalds" without ever knowing what the letters actually stand for. Having these nicknames is helpful, however, because remembering long names with multiple words would be confusing for many people. Becoming a safer workplace is a way of protecting everyone involved.

How & Why Agency Began

Because so many workers were being injured on the job, there began to be an uprising of concern. Employees were losing limbs, hands, eyes and lives in machinery. They were being exposed to toxic chemicals and developing serious, chronic or fatal diseases. In 1970, when the president of the United States was Richard M. Nixon, it was brought to his attention about the need for increased safety regulations. Together with the Congress, Nixon and the congressmen and women enacted the Occupational Safety and Health Act. Although Nixon eventually left the presidency in disgrace after being caught in the Watergate Scandal, this was one of the positive aspects of his leadership. The goal of this agency is to provide training, inspections, rules and regulations to keep workers from being killed or hurt on the job. Some of these rules are voluntary while others are required by the law.

Safety Measures That Took Place

Training, protective equipment and inspections are all part of the measures that have been mandated or promoted on a voluntary basis. Training and certification can be done on the job site, online or in a classroom. Management can be trained and pass on the information to workers or everyone can be instructed in shifts. Some of the protective equipment that is now worn includes safety goggles, masks, gloves, boots, uniforms, bulletproof vests, helmets and more. Having workers do some types of work in pairs or for a maximum number of hours can also help reduce risks. Inspections can be a way of noting hazardous conditions that may or may not have been noticed by the workers or supervisors. Sometimes when employees gets accustomed to seeing and doing things a certain way, they don't even realize there's danger.


When it comes to OSHA certification, learning about the Occupational Safety & Health Administration can lead to a safer and healthier environment for all concerned. No one wants injuries or fatalities to occur at a place of employment. With training and information, these calamities can be reduced.