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... for Compliance' by calling the OSHA publications office at (202) 219-4667. EMERGENCY RESPONSE In case of emergency, the first question is, What should I do? ' SIC's 140-page EMERGENCY RESPONSE HANDBOOK answers that question and many more, so you don't have to worry. The Handbook indexes more than 2,000 hazardous materials and provides concise guides to isolation requirements, potential hazards (fire or explosion, health hazards), emergency action (fire or spills), and first aid. The contents include: Emergency Action Selecting the Best Response First Aid Guides ID Number Index Emergency Guides Chemical Names Index Many organizations are placing a copy in every vehicle in their fleet, in all receiving and storage areas, and every place where hazardous materials may be found. If you need a copy, ... x No Thanks Loading.. Personal Protective Equipment 4/30/2013 by CompleteMarkets Editor This content has not been rated yet. PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT Hard hats, goggles, face shields, earplugs, steel-toed shoes, respirators. What do all these items have in common? They are all various forms of personal protective equipment. Important safety devices-and yet data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show that most injured workers were not wearing appropriate protective equipment when they were injured. Studies show that: Hard hats were worn by fewer than one-fifth of those workers who sustained head injuries, even though two-fifths were required to wear them for certain tasks at specific locations 99% of approximately 770 workers suffering face injuries were not wearing face protection Less than one-fourth of the workers with foot injuries wore safety shoes or ...

... identification effort 4. Correction and documentation 5. Training for employees and supervisors 6. Reduction of illness and injury The Maine 200 approach has proved cost effective in reducing workplace injury and illness. The program is being expanded by OSHA. Fire Causes The main hazards that result in fire are: Smoking Electrical Poor Housekeeping Grease (cooking, industrial, etc.) Spontaneous combustion Friction-for example, overheating bearings Explosion of vapors, dust, atomized liquids or gases Chemical reactions Fire requires three things: fuel, heat, and oxygen. Removal of any of these will prevent or stop a fire. There are five steps in fire prevention and protection: engineering; planning; training; inspection; and follow-up. ENGINEERING The first step in fire prevention is to engineer the site for fire prevention and protection. ... x No Thanks Loading.. Workplace Fire Safety 4/30/2013 by CompleteMarkets Editor , Bill Grieb This content has not been rated yet. WORKPLACE FIRE SAFETY by Bill Grieb Fire safety is important business. National Fire Prevention Week in October focuses on the importance of fire safety in the home, in schools, and at work. But fire safety in the workplace is the principal focus of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)- and saving lives and preventing injuries due to fire is a key concern. According to National Safety Council figures, losses due to workplace fires exceed $3 billion. Workplace fires result in an estimated 360 deaths every year. There is a long and tragic history of workplace fires in this country. One of the most notable was the 1911 fire ...

... frighten the civilian population. Implementing these recommendations might thwart such an attack … or at least reduce loss of life, injuries, and damage. In closing, I extend my heart and prayers to all the victims of the catastrophe, their families, and the heroic rescue workers. WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION Definition A Weapon of Mass Destruction (WMD includes biological, chemical, nuclear or highly explosive material, or any combination of these perils. Initial Action Steps Notify the proper authorities. Call 911 to dispatch police/bomb-squad and fire/hazmat personnel Contact the FBI Get in touch with the local/regional Office of Emergency Management Contact the local Health Department In most cases, authorities will set up an Incident Command Center upwind of the hazard. Avoid contamination. At the point of release ... Now that air carriers have become terrorist targets, this rule should be strictly enforced. Take special precautions in selecting meeting locations where large groups of managers are to attend. Also be especially cautious about participating in meetings that include large groups of key government officials, business executives, scientists, and so forth. Disaster Planning Your normal Business Continuity/Disaster Recovery Plan remains invaluable; in fact it's more important than ever. The plan must include such precautions as securing vital records, the creation of an Emergency Response Team (ERT), setting alternate meeting locations for the ERT, drawing up offsite employee contact lists and procedures, and implementing security controls. Testing Now that human lives have become deliberate targets of terrorists, testing your plan is more important than ever. Focus on exercising' everyone's ability ...

... , Marcus Covas This content has not been rated yet. These hiring guidelines can help protect your business against the "growth industry" of employment-related litigation. Today, every business faces not only the traditional challenges of competition and rapidly changing technology, but a relatively new category of potential adversary — workers hitting them with employment-related claims. Not-for-profit corporations, public entities, and private businesses alike are experiencing an explosion of litigation alleging: Discrimination Sexual Harassment Wrongful discharge Wage and hour disputes Negligent hiring, retention, and supervision Failure to provide benefits Violations of federal and state leave-of-absence laws Whether companies win or lose such suits, they'll divert time, money, and energy from growing sales and earnings. In one Southern California lawsuit, an openly gay grocery store night manager claimed he was wrongfully terminated because of upper ... relatives with similar traits. Laid-off workers are often experienced, hard working, and grateful for a new opportunity. A staffing firm that screens candidates can be a valuable source for temporary or permanent workers. Cities and local communities may be potential recruiting sources through their workforce and economic development efforts. The Internet has become an increasingly valuable resource for recruiting skilled workers. DETAILED EMPLOYMENT APPLICATIONS One of the most important hiring tools is a careful review of the applicant's background. It's important to use an application with detailed questions. Also, be sure to: Require candidates to answer all questions completely. An applicant who leaves blanks usually has information they don't want to disclose. Ask an applicant why they wrote see resume' on the employment background section of the application. Were they trying to avoid answering any ...

... This content has not been rated yet. DISASTER PLANNING by Bill Grieb Disasters and emergencies can involve a single worker (for example, a heart attack on the job), several workers, or a complete plant or site. Disasters or emergencies can be caused by internal or external factors or natural disasters. Internal causes include: Medical emergency Plant malfunction, collapse, or failure Fire and/or explosion Material spills and leaks Equipment malfunction or misuse Violence or sabotage External factors include: Spills and leaks Transportation accidents Toxic release Fire and explosion Assaults and insurrection Utility malfunction (Electricity, gas, water) Natural disasters include: Fire Flood Earthquake Violence: Among the criminal activities that threaten your workplace safety and health are bomb threats, robbery, assault, hostage situations, and kidnapping. Each organization should ... Any disaster that causes danger to the public-either real or perceived- must be handled effectively. It may be a spill of hazardous materials or a malfunction of manufacturing equipment. Safety measures might even include the recall of contaminated food products. The public must be informed, reassured, and kept abreast of any actions being taken. The penalties for not doing so can be severe. BACK UP It is important to back up irreplaceable records-important documents, customer lists, accounting records, and so forth-at a separate site so they have a better possibility of being spared in the event of a disaster. In the face of disasters that affect a whole region at once, a business should consider storing additional backup in a completely different region; for instance, a west-coast business planning for earthquakes might store duplicate copies ...

... when the MSDS was prepared. 2. Hazards Ingredients/Identity-This section defines the chemicals by common names. Any safe exposure limits that have been defined are given. These include permissible exposure limit and threshold limit value. 3. Physical Chemical Characteristics-this may include boiling point, melting point, vapor pressure, vapor density, evaporation rate, solubility in water, and specific gravity. 4. Fire and Explosion Hazards-This includes flash point, flammable limits, and lower and upper explosive limits. It also defines what type of fire-fighting procedures are appropriate. 5. Reactivity-This includes information on stable vs. unstable, incompatibilities, hazardous decomposition, and polymerization by-products. 6. Health Hazard-This includes hazards from inhaling, ingestion, contact through the skin, etc. It explains whether the effects are acute, chronic, ... hazardous chemicals are present Location and availability of the written program and MSDSs How to use and interpret MSDSs Methods to detect presence of hazardous materials Physical hazards Health hazards Protective measures, including: Work practices Emergency procedures Protective equipment Identifying hazardous chemicals in the workplace UNDERSTANDING AN MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet) When you look at an MSDS, you will see that it has eight basic sections. It is important to understand each one. These sections are: 1. Chemical Identity-This section defines the manufacturer and how they can be reached. It usually states when the MSDS was prepared. 2. Hazards Ingredients/Identity-This section defines the chemicals by common names. Any safe exposure limits that have been defined are given. These include permissible exposure limit and threshold limit value. 3. Physical Chemical Characteristics-this may ...

... Crisis in the same industry Someone else's crisis on your property (guilt by association) Kidnap, ransom, extortion Hostile takeover attempt Key employee starts competing company Management succession Merger/acquisition Murder Negative publicity due to rumors Negative publicity relating to political contributions Reorganization/downsizing Serious cash flow problems Sudden market shift Terrorism Data/telecommunications failure/loss of critical data Design error/issue Sabotage by extremist environmental group Explosion Fire Major utility failure Neighborhood/community group opposition to a project Structural/subsidence collapse Environmental Accidents/Liabilities Groundwater contamination Air quality problem Gas leak Long-term exposure of toxic chemicals to the community Release of toxic chemicals into the air or waterways Employee/Management Misconduct Bribery/kickbacks Disgruntled employee Executive misconduct/fraud/embezzlement Lawsuits from discrimination, sexual/racial harassment Murder Price fixing Sabotage Scandal involving top ... effect on its overall financial condition, its relationships with its audience, and/or its reputation in the marketplace. If that definition sounds abstract, review this list of very real situations to identify those that could knock at your door, or knock a hole in it. (See Exhibit 1) . Keep in mind that the list is by no means complete. It does, however, suggest important questions, such as what else are you vulnerable to and which crises have the greatest potential of occurring? If you checked even one of these events, don't feel like the Lone Ranger. It's what you do with this information that's important. If you've checked a number of situations, create a Top Ten' list ranked from the most-likely crisis, ' which would be numbered as one, ...

... activities, refer to Exhibit 10.2. 10.4 Crisis Management Plan Task Activities Exhibit 10.2 provides examples of task activities in a comprehensive corporate crisis management plan: EXHIBIT 10.2 CRISIS MANAGEMENT PLAN TASK ACTIVITIES Pre-Crisis Contingency Planning Alternate locations Human resources Vital record storage Risk assessment Resource availability News media plan Image enhancement strategy Response Strategy Action Guides Evacuation, including alarm procedures First aid medical emergencies Fire, smoke detection and/or explosion Earthquake Structural collapse Electrical power failure emergencies Utility power failure emergency (non-electrical) Flooding emergencies Severe weather emergencies Violence in the workplace Bomb threats Civil commotion Operations during Crisis Impairment Administration Finance/Accounting Management information systems (MIS) Communications Operations Recovery Plan Restoration Tasks Loss assessment Notice to insurers Legal considerations Credit requirement Equipment replacement Reconstruction Insurance claims Subrogation The previously identified responsibilities and assignment tasks are typical of what is ... and Operating Overview The structured development, formulation, implementation and operating strategy as well as on-going enhancement of a comprehensive Crisis Management Plan typically involves the following five sequential phases: Phase I Crisis Criteria Development Phase II Assessment Analysis Phase III Crisis Management Plan formulation Phase IV Crisis Management Plan implementation Phase V Crisis Management Plan Maintenance The above five sequential steps are expanded in detail in the following sub-section. It is important to note that this is a generic approach and an actual crisis management program could involve either substantially fewer task segments, specialized activities or even more task modules. 10.2 Plan Development and Strategic Operating Summary The following is an overview of a sequential process suitable for formulating and implementing a comprehensive Crisis Management Plan. The sequential process is composed of various phases and task modules. The following summary should not ...

... here in large measure to eliminate the cost of adjusting small claims. Loss adjustment costs in fidelity can be extremely high because of the need for detailed accounting, which may go back many years. Auto. Auto Physical Damage is one area in which almost all companies of any size should retain the risk, using insurance only where many vehicles are stored in a single location subject to a windstorm, explosion, fire, flood, or other catastrophe. Liability. Public Liability has not often been subject to deductibles except for minor deductibles in Property Damage Liability. The rationale is that outside adjusters are necessary to deal with the claimant, and it used to be difficult to employ adjusters without an insurance policy. Now that there are many professional adjusting firms available on a fee basis for self-insureds, this ... of negotiating and supporting property claims. Of course, estimating and recording the losses are needed, as is attention to subrogation potentials. It eliminates much accounting detail for reports of values, payroll reports, audits, and so forth. It focuses attention on the need for controlling losses, enhancing loss-prevention efforts. In the field of liability and Workers Compensation, it allows more flexibility in claims administration. Important decisions regarding your claims are not pre-empted by the insurance adjuster. It allows selection of the most effective claims, loss prevention, and computer loss-reporting services rather than taking all from a single source. Disadvantages The principal disadvantage of a properly planned risk-retention program is that there may be a greater variation of costs from year to year. However, recent chaotic market conditions have demonstrated that even insured programs ...

... . 2. Hazardous ingredients/identity. This section defines the chemical by its common name. Any safe exposure limits that have been defined are given, including the Permissible Exposure Limit and Threshold Limit Value. 3. Physical chemical characteristics. These may include boiling point, melting point, vapor pressure, vapor density, evaporation rate, solubility in water, and specific gravity. 4. Fire and explosion hazard data. These include flash point, flammable limits, lower and upper explosive limits, and define what type of fire fighting is appropriate. 5. Reactivity data. These include information on stability or instability, incompatibilities, hazardous decomposition, and polymerization by-products. 6. Health hazard data. These include hazards from inhaling, swelling, through the skin, etc., and explain whether the ... year. The cost will have decreased to about $113.2 million in the twentieth year. Now OSHA requires that all nonmanufacturing employers with hazardous chemical exposures establish communication programs to transmit information on the hazard to their employees. This will be carried out by means of labels on containers, materials safety data sheets (MSDSs), and training programs. All employers, in addition to those in manufacturing and importing, are responsible for informing and training workers about the hazards in their workplaces, retaining warning labels, and making MSDSs available to discuss hazardous materials. Hazardous Chemical Safety Rules: C - H - E - M - S C - CHECK IT OUT 1. Do not handle or use hazardous materials you are not familiar with. 2. Always read, understand, and follow instructions on the ...