OSHA Certification Offers Protection

OSHA certification is meant to increase compliance by businesses in terms of the welfare of the company’s employees. OSHA is a governmental agency that falls under the oversight of the U.S. Department of Labor. The initials stand for Occupational Safety and Health Administration. It has been around for forty-plus years and began when Congress penned the Occupational Safety and Health Act. It was created to protect American workers who were being injured on the job due to unsafe working conditions. The president who was in office at that time was Richard Nixon.

There are many areas that are overseen by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration in order to keep working citizens healthier and well. Many aspects of one’s job can be detrimental to wellbeing. Hearing can be damaged by extremely loud noise exposure. Eyesight can be injured by a wide variety of exposures including light, chemicals and sharp objects. Exposure to toxins can invade lungs and bloodstreams and cause illnesses including pulmonary disease, cancer and even death. Working extremely long hours without a break, being put under constant high stress and operating faulty machinery are all examples of typical burdens that can put workers into the line of danger.

One way that OSHA works to help the employees of America is through prevention programs. By preventing injuries and illness, American workforces remain healthier. This has been proven to be true in both private and governmental arenas of employment. Statistics to back this up have been compiled by monitoring accidents and workers’ welfare. Systems to curtail job related accidents, injuries, death and diseases include preventing and controlling hazards, analyzing worksites, training both management and employees. Many of these preventative programs are voluntary. Here are some things to think about regarding these programs:

- Preventing and controlling hazards: By cutting down on possible hazards, lowered numbers of injuries will naturally follow. If loud noises are a part of the workplace, reducing the sound decibels is one option; wearing earplugs is another. If sharp objects are part of the scheme of things, protective gloves and goggles should be worn by workers handling them. Keeping toxic chemicals in appropriately marked containers and out of the way will also prevent exposure to their danger.

- Analyzing worksites: By touring facilities and doing an analysis of the sites, dangerous situations can be sized up and acted upon. Management may be so accustomed to certain aspects of the settings that they overlook potential harm that could occur. By having trained inspectors take a look, problems can be eliminated before accidents happen.

- Training of managers, supervisors and staff: Proper training can go a long way in keeping everyone safe and sound. Managers and supervisors can be trained in how to keep their crews safer. By learning how to respond to certain situations, all staff members can be contributors to creating a safer environment. Training can be accomplished via videos, DVDs, in-person training sessions and via paperwork.

OSHA certification will keep all workers safer and compliance kept in check. By taking voluntary preventative measures, such as controlling hazards, performing inspections of sites, and training managers, supervisors and staff members, regulations will be adhered to more closely.