However, there are other considerations to make when planning for welding to occur within a facility or job site.  Not only should the worker directly involved in the welding be afforded the proper tools and training to perform his or her job safely, but the surrounding area and all other employees should also benefit from the same level of protection.  This means taking into consideration a number of different factors that can impact the security of a welding site.

To begin with, any area where welding is planned to occur should be well marked so as to ensure that any workers who might be sharing the same space – whether as a result of performing their own tasks, or while in transit – are aware of the activity that is taking place.  This is especially important with regards to repair work that might be performed in an area where welding is out of the ordinary.  Not only does this fight through the sense of routine that can cause people to be blind to items they do not customarily encounter during their day to day responsibilities, but it also alerts them to the presence of heat and sparks which could interact negatively with any volatile substances being transported.

The latter concern can be expanded to include the effect of sparks and heat on the immediate environment.  Obviously, a shower of fire is an unwelcome proposition in almost any working situation, but in areas where combustible dust, chemical vapors or sensitive electronics are also present it can easily spell disaster.  This is part of the reason why the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requires that some type of shielding be used to separate a welder’s work area from the rest of the facility or job site.

This shielding often takes the form of a heavy curtain that is draped around the welder’s equipment and the items being worked on.  The advantage of a curtain is that it can be easily adapted to the shape and size of the work area, and it can also be placed over delicate gear in order to add an extra degree of protection from sparking.  Some curtains, such as those available from Wilson are manufactured in such a way as to be transparent.  Made of a special type of vinyl, they protect the eyes of passersby from the potentially harmful light frequencies produced by certain types of welding but they also allow for employees to know if a worker or equipment is present behind the curtain.  In addition, they promote the ability of light to pass through into the work area and improve the visibility of the welder, which can be critical in situations where a workspace is too cramped for supplementary lighting to be introduced.

Welding curtains are a simple, yet effective method for ensuring the safety of welders, other workers and the environment around them without having to resort to disruptive shut downs or take chances with the effects of sparking or excess heat.

The uneven terrain frequently encountered during outdoor logging operations can make it quite difficult for those operating vehicles to maintain a clear line of sight around them.  By the same token, loggers working on site may not always be able to detect the presence of machinery until it is close enough to potentially do them harm.  For this reason, managers must be careful to orchestrate tree clearing, transport and other vehicular operations so that sectors of a job site where personnel are clustered are protected from accidental intrusion.

The loading of logs, which can create unstable piles on the vehicle being loaded as well as destabilize stacks from which these logs are selected, is a particularly dangerous activity.  During loading operations, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requires the area to be cleared, in order to prevent injury from falling logs or from the machinery actually performing the task.  Those involved in loading operations themselves must remain inside their vehicles, which additionally need to be reinforced to resist the impact of a log drop.  If equipment needs to be left onsite overnight, or if the operator needs to leave the cabin for any reason, the vehicle’s parking brake must be applied and all elements of the vehicle must be grounded.  It is not enough to assume that the terrain where the lifter, loader or truck is operating will provide enough stability and friction to keep a vehicle in place, particularly since shifting ground could easily upset the balance of improperly parked machinery.

The unpredictable nature of forest terrain also poses a problem for workers using power tools, particularly when felling trees.  In addition to the dangers associated with using chainsaws or even non-mechanical blades such as axes and saws, forestry workers must deal with the fact that a misstep could cause them to fall or injure themselves due to the rocks, brush or even water around them.  OSHA has mandated a specific list of personal protective equipment (PPE) designed to prevent accidental injury related to chainsaws (such as lacerations or severe limb injury) as well as injuries which could occur as a result of a woodland environment.  PPE such as head protection, special leg protection, water repellant and cut-resistant boots as well as gloves are all required to be worn while felling trees or otherwise using a saw or blade while logging.  Hearing protection is also part of the overall PPE package, due to the excessive levels of noise produced by chainsaws.

Risk managers must take a proactive approach to dealing with logging safety.  The open-ended nature of a forestry job site provides many temptations for workers to skirt around the edge of safety policies, whether because of a perceived lack of supervision or the desire to get a job done in a quicker and possibly less secure way.  Adequate training and frequent inspections can be useful tools in preventing these behaviors from resulting in tragedy.

Risk managers should be cognizant of the fact that awareness is often one of the best tools for preventing forklift-related injury.  Both operators and workers sharing space with forklifts need to be educated as to the practices and habits that can help save lives and reduce incidents on the job.  Right of way should be clearly ceded to those on foot at all times, and for those behind the controls of a forklift this means understanding the traffic along a particular route and staying alert as to the possibility of pedestrians in the path of the vehicle.  Operators should be comfortable using their horns to alert others as to their presence, and rotating lights or other bright identifiers can help to make forklifts more visible to other personnel.  This in addition to the standard backup alarm that signals to everyone in the vicinity that the forklift is traveling in a direction where visibility is less than ideal.

For their part, workers who find themselves often in the presence of forklifts must be educated as to their operation and how to protect themselves from a vehicle-related injury.  Unlike other motorized carts or trucks, forklifts are not designed to come to a rapid stop in an emergency, as the stability of cargo has to be taken into account.  This means that workers need to give forklifts as wide a berth as possible, and make sure that operators have seen them before traversing their paths.  These vehicles also swing around in a wide radius while turning, which can make the rear of a forklift as dangerous as the front.  Finally, ducking under a load which has been raised into the air is never a safe decision to make.  Always take the long way around – no shortcut is worth risking tragic consequences.

Risk managers themselves can identify high traffic areas where forklifts and other personnel often share the same space, and train workers to keep these areas free from clutter or other obstructions.  They can also help to keep sight lines clear along these corridors, ensuring that both operators and other workers alike can spot each other in time to prevent a problem.  The use of convex mirrors can help to improve visibility at intersections as well.  Whenever possible, separating pedestrians from forklift travel routes by means of a guardrail or walkway should be considered.

However, human nature being what it is, it’s also important for risk managers to prepare for instances where employees do not remember these basic precautions.  This is especially true in any industry that makes extensive use of automated machinery.  Not only are the hazards of equipment that can be turned on remotely immediately obvious, but the electrical current that is required to power these machines is also usually of a voltage that could cause serious injury should workers come into contact with an unexpectedly charged circuit.  The greatest risk of this occurring comes when maintenance or repairs are being performed, as not only does this interrupt the standard routine that most workers are used to, but it also places service personnel in the most vulnerable possible position.

It was for exactly this reason that lockout/tagout was created.  Lockout/tagout is a system of physical blocks that make it impossible to energize a switched circuit.  In this way, injuries related to either an electrical shock or the unexpected operation of a piece of machinery are avoided.  In addition to electrical gear, lockout/tagout can also be used to control hydraulic and pneumatic systems, as well as a number of other energy sources

The type of safety devices employed by a lockout/tagout system are varied.  For electrical systems, they might consist of circuit breaker lockouts which fit over the breakers in question and make them impossible to flip without unlocking, or lockouts that fit directly over wall switches to prevent accidental equipment activation.  Gas and fluid flow can be controlled via valve wheel lockouts.  For facility-wide implementation, it is possible to purchase specialized kits that are meant to provide a number of different lockout/tagout blocks designed to cover an entire system, end to end.

Of course, as with any safety system lockout/tagout only works as long as employees are educated as to how to properly implement it.  Barring an unexpected line incident, workers should never be surprised to arrive at their station and discover that its functionality has been locked out.  Instead, a training program explaining the utility of lockout/tagout, combined with a site-wide program explaining the facility’s policies is a critical aspect of this safety tool.  Written procedures that cover how equipment should be locked and unlocked, as well as who has the authorization to initiate either state are a must.  Training on these policies should not be restricted just to those who will be responsible for performing the lockouts themselves – it should be extended so that all employees who come into contact with a particular pierce of machinery are aware of the details surrounding the process.

Forklifts are rated to carry specific weight loads, but this rating is based on a well-centered load distribution.  These vehicles are very sensitive to improperly balanced loads, which can make them dangerous to operate if a driver is uninformed as to the capabilities of the machine or the nature of the load itself.  As a result, it is always preferable to make multiple trips than to attempt to move too much cargo at once.  Any load should have its weight centered as close to the wheels of the forklift as is possible, without any severe overhangs protruding from the machine’s forks.  Risk managers must train their employees in the proper interpretation of a forklift’s maximum load capacity, which is often posted based on the use of a standard – and short – mast length.  If using a longer mast, allowances must be made that reduce the maximum load weight in ratio to the amount extra extension involved.

After a load has been positioned on a vehicle’s forks, operators should double check to ensure that proper height clearance exists over their machine in order to facilitate safe lifting.  If any snagging or resistance is encountered while cargo is being raised, instead of forcing the issue workers should lower the payload to the floor and determine what is causing the problem.  Once lifted, loads should be carried with the forks tilted backwards in order to position as much of the weight as possible against the frame of the vehicle.

Avoiding abrupt changes in speed, direction or orientation can go a long way towards minimizing the forces that can cause a forklift to lose its equilibrium or toss its cargo onto the loading floor, potentially injuring workers in the immediate vicinity.  A low mast carrying height also decreases the chance of tipping while the forklift is in motion, especially if any elevation changes are encountered between the cargo’s origin and destination.  When it is time to lower cargo into its new location, the mast should be returns to its vertical position and the forklift immobilized in order to maintain stability.

Forklift operators should also make sure to take steps to protect both their hands and ears from the effects of extensive exposure to this type of heavy machinery.  Ear protection is essential for preventing hearing loss, whether it be in the form of muffs or plugs.  Likewise, gloves such as those offered by Ergodyne can absorb the vibration caused by a forklift’s engine and suspension system and help to lower the chance of wrist or hand injury associated with continuous operation.