Safe work practice procedures, development

As discussed in Chapter 2, The Toller Selection Process, evaluating the site s safe work practice procedures should have been a part of the review during the toller selection process. Still, new materials may indicate a need to revise or develop special procedures to address unique chemical and physical hazards. New hazards such as vacuum, ciyogenics, ultra-high pressure, or new rotating equipment could be introduced. Medical monitoring requirements or special handling and spill response procedures for the toll s raw materials and products may indicate a need to write or revise safe work practices. 

Hazard controls include engineering and administrative controls and PPE. Hazard characterization is a tool that is used to develop hazard controls and safe work practices and procedures and to make sure that the appropriate PPE is selected for each job. 

This tragedy emphasizes the importance of safe work practices especially for situations that have not previously been encountered. A contingency plan should have been drawn up to address the possibility of the solid mass releasing from the wall. Complacency, inexperience, and desire to get the job done may have overshadowed the need to develop safe work procedures. 

Assist in or oversee the development of a system for consistent and fair enforcement of rules, procedures, and safe work practices... 

Safety rules may also apply to specific jobs or tasks and may involve specific procedures for accomplishing a particular job or task— for example, development of job hazard analyses as described in Chapter 15. Safe work practices are generally derived from job hazard analyses. From a detailed job hazard analysis, you may determine that safe work practices must be changed or that a training program must be conducted. 

Specific procedures are an important aspect of safety management and are useful in managing employee safety as well. A number of serious injuries occur while employees are performing non-routine tasks. This is something that we must understand. A concentrated effort must be made to plan and develop safe work procedures for such tasks. Remember that safe work practices should be used in conjunction with, not as a substitute for, more effective or reliable engineering controls [3]. 

Safe work practices apply to specific jobs in the workplace and involve specific procedures for accomplishing a job. To develop these procedures, you conduct a job hazard analysis. This process is clearly described with examples and illustrations in OSHA Publication 3071 (Revised 1992), Job Hazard Analysis, and summarized in Chapter 15 [2]. 

What is a job hazard analysis (JHA) Can it work for you You may have heard other terms, for example, job safety analysis (JSA) or task analysis. No matter what you call the process, a JHA can be used to help you to develop safe work practices or procedures. 

Generally, these safe work practices will be standard procedures, analogous to the development of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) discussed above. 

Know your objectives. Developing effective safety and health procedures requires a clear idea of what the procedure is to accomplish. Some objectives may be to provide a basis for discipline when safety rules are ignored, establish safe work practices for certain tasks, or to define how your organization will comply with safety regulations. 

Operational solutions involve the development and introduction of appropriate procedures for carrying out risk-critical tasks, as well as improving the effectiveness of personnel in these tasks. Thus safety procedures, safe working practices, contingency plans and safety exercises (drills) can be included. Such solutions address efficiently human error factors and ensure the existence of uniformity of the adopted safety standards. 

The leadership team may or may not be sensitive to these influences and allow the creation of conditions that effect the safety of employees, the environment, and the overall organization. Implementing a safety system helps to provide a structure that monitors a full range of activities from risk assessment, hazard identification, and correction tracking to develop consistent rules, procedures, and safe work practices. 

The Occupational Safety and Health Administrations (OSHAs) Laboratory Standard requires laboratory employers to develop and implement a chemical hygiene plan (CHP). This plan must (1) set forth procedures, personal protective equipment (PPE), safety equipment, and safe work practices that will protect laboratory workers from the health hazards presented by hazardous chemicals used in the laboratory and (2) keep exposures below the OSHA permissible exposure limits (PELs). 

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration s (OSHA s) r ulation for Occupational Exposures to Hazardous Chemicals in Laboratories, 29 CFR 1910.1450 (the standard), requires that each facUity engaged in the laboratory use of hazardous chemicals develop and implement a written program known as a Chemical Hygiene Plan, which sets forth procedures, equipment, personal protective equipment, and safe work practices that will ... 

Administrative Controls Processes developed by the employer to control hazards not eliminated by engineering controls (e.g., safe work policies, practices and procedures, job scheduling or rotation, and training). 

These controls can reduce hazard exposure through development of standard operating procedures. Another important work practice relates to conducting training and education about the safe use of tool and equipment. Practices can also include knowing emergency response procedures... 

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