The Coronavirus and Your Workplace | Precautions to Take
Amidst news of the coronavirus (COVID-19), employers across the globe are taking precautions to protect their workforce from the potential impacts of this disease. Since the media seems to have varying opinions about the virus, our team at Optimum wants to encourage you and your organization to view information from reputable sources such as the […]
OSHA Releases NEP on Respirable Crystalline Silica
On February 4, 2020 the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) released an updated National Emphasis Program (NEP) focused on silica exposure. Since the updated respirable crystalline silica standard became effective in June of 2016, OSHA has continued to focus on this issue across various industries. The updated NEP will further allocate resources to addressing […]
OSHA’s NEP on Amputations in Manufacturing – And How it Will Affect Your Facility
In December of 2019, OSHA issued an updated National Emphasis Program (NEP) focused on amputation hazards in manufacturing industries. The intent of this NEP is to reduce or eliminate amputations across the manufacturing sector through increased enforcement of OSHA standards. This increases the likelihood of an OSHA Inspector arriving at your facility – which means […]
The Real Cost of a Workplace Injury
We all know injuries can be expensive, but how many people know exactly how much an injury costs? Finding the real cost of a workplace injury not only shows the financial implications but forces us to think about the auxiliary effects of an incident. When a worker gets injured, what are the effects on production, […]
What You Need to Know About Cal/OSHA’s New Incident Reporting Requirements
In 2019 The Division of Occupational Safety and Health in California – better known as Cal/OSHA – updated the incident reporting requirements for severe injury. These changes have caused many California employers to update their procedures for navigating a workplace injury. However, there are still many employers who are unaware of the changes and the […]
Should You Reward Your Employees for Following Safety Guidelines at Work?
Deciding whether to incentivize safety in the workplace can be tough, especially if you’ve been struggling with employee injuries and accidents. However, the Environment, Health, and Safety organization, or EHS, has some handy tips that can help you decide on the best course of action for your place of business. The Trouble with Existing Incentives […]
Ongoing Risk Assessments Are the Only Way to Ensure the Longevity of Your Safety Culture
Risk assessments are foundational processes found in every successful safety culture. They identify hazards, provide safe solutions, and improve productivity organization-wide. Unfortunately, safety cultures are not mechanized – they require a healthy amount of ongoing maintenance to remain legitimate and effective. Safety cultures can quickly become investment dumps for companies that do not take the […]
Safety Management Programs Should Be Audited Yearly
Safety audits are designed to collect key information regarding the effectiveness of a company’s safety management programs. These audits are crucial to ensuring compliance with safety legislation – like OSHA regulations, for example. However, these audits serve far more important purposes; like monitoring the health of a company’s workforce, identifying weaknesses in safety programs, guiding […]
Continuous Improvement Is Crucial for Safety Program Success
Work is demanding. In the high-risk industries we specialize in, that work can demand more than just an employee’s effort – it can oftentimes demand their bodies, as well. Back pain, collision injuries, falls, lung poisoning, chemical exposures, burns, bruises, and blemishes alike; employees place their bodies under tremendous tension with their lives at risk […]
Training Employees Is Crucial When Implementing an Employee Safety Program
Let’s imagine you were given an unknown, brand-new tool to construct a wooden wall with. Without instructions, you could try to figure out how to use this new tool through a process of trial-and-error. You might even determine the correct way to use the tool eventually, but not after making many mistakes along the way. […]
How to Create a Successful Employee Safety Program
Creating a successful employee safety program within your own organization is a daunting task. You need to create a real program that actually keeps your employees safe… while simultaneously maintaining a tight budget. Which, oftentimes feels like an impossibility, leading to stalls in program implementation due to uncertainty. The day to create a safety program […]
How to Get Employees Excited About Company Safety Programs
Safety programs are crucial for your employee’s development company-wide; a strong safety program keeps your employees safe, fosters leadership skills, and dramatically improves infrastructural procedures and workflows. There’s just one problem… most safety programs are just not exciting. Employees can quickly transition to dragging their feet on the way to safety meetings, toning out during […]
