The Tech Box

The Tech Box – May 2021


Safety risks still relevant even in the face of new challenges

Early this year, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) released the


top 10 most frequently cited workplace safety standards


for fiscal year 2020. The standards that were cited did not change from 2019, but their relative positions did.

Focus on workplace safety was raised even higher, this and last year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and now, vaccine availability. This top 10 list is a good reminder that we need to continue to address safety risks, in many areas, even as we face new challenges.

See the top 10 list below:

  1. Fall Protection, construction (


    §1926.501 Duty to have fall protection


    )
  2. Hazard Communication Standard, general industry (


    Subpart Z—Toxic and Hazardous Substances, §1910.1200


    )
  3. Respiratory Protection, general industry

    (

    Subpart I—Personal Protective Equipment, §1910.134


    )
  4. Scaffolding, general requirements, construction (


    Subpart L—Scaffolds, §1926.451


    )
  5. Ladders, construction (


    Subpart X—Stairways and Ladders, §1926.1053


    )
  6. Control of Hazardous Energy (lockout/tagout), general industry (


    Subpart J—General Environmental Controls, §1910.147


    )
  7. Powered Industrial Trucks, general industry (


    Subpart N—Materials Handling and Storage, §1910.178


    )
  8. Fall Protection–Training Requirements(


    Subpart M—Fall Protection, §1926.503


    )
  9. Eye and Face Protection (


    Subpart E—Personal Protective and Life Saving Equipment, §1926.102


    )
  10. Machinery and Machine Guarding, general requirements(


    §1910.212 General requirements for all machines


    )

Fibre Box Association (FBA), through the Safety and Health Committee, provides


useful resources


on many of the above topics. We also use this Tech Box column as an opportunity to share updates and changes that could affect you and your workers.

Currently, the committee has two reminders to bring to your attention:

  • OSHA includes combustible dust as a hazardous chemical in their Hazard Communication Standard (HCS). This means that combustible dust must be included as part of your Hazard Communication training. FBA’s


    sample Safety Data Sheet


    (SDS) is still a good resource.
  • The


    October Tech Box


    discussed the 2021 edition of the National Fire Protection Association’s (NFPA) 70E Standard for Electrical Safety in the Workplace. The NFPA 70E (Standard for Electrical Safety in the Workplace) is the consensus standard for electrical safety in the workplace. OSHA uses it to establish electrical safety regulations. Thus, an electrical hazard analysis

    must

    be performed prior to employees working on or near exposed energized electrical conductors and circuit parts operating at 50-volts or more. Make sure your plants are staying current with NFPA 70E’s changes and have performed audits, as appropriate, and according to the


    IEEE


    engineering standard (IEEE 1584-2018). This article in

    Electrical Safety in the Workplace

    ,


    Update: Changes to NFPA 70E 2021 Edition


    could help with grasping the changes and the scope of applying them to your plant.

Thanks,

Mary Alice


# # #


Mary Alice Drain is the Director of Technical Services at Fibre Box Association (FBA). If you have technical questions about the corrugated industry, you can reach her direct at


mdrain@fibrebox.org


.