Safety


Safety association releases 6 tips to prevent worksite injuries

PEM Staff | Aug 23, 2010

Enform, the safety association for Canada’s oil and gas industry, released guidelines to help industry achieve superior site management. The association led a cross-industry team in providing companies with principles, practices and tools that help guide employers and contractors to perform safely and professionally. “Recognizing that one solution does not ...

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MMFX Steel of Canada fined $120K after worker run over

PEM Staff | Aug 23, 2010

MMFX Steel of Canada Inc. in St. Catharines, Ont., was fined $120,000 last week for a violation under the Occupational Health and Safety Act that caused a worker's death. On Jan. 20, 2009, at the company's steel mill and foundry in Welland, a worker was walking across the workplace's yard. While ...

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Maple Leaf fined $100K after pump severs finger

PEM Staff | Aug 11, 2010

Maple Leaf Consumer Foods Inc., in Kitchener Ont., was fined $100,000 at the beginning of August for a violation under the Occupational Health and Safety Act after a worker was injured. On Nov. 13, 2008, at the company's factory in Brampton, a worker was preparing equipment that puts sauce on meat ...

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Inspection blitz targets sprains, strains

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Don Patten | Aug 3, 2010

The Ontario Ministry of Labour has announced that musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) will be the focus of its next safety inspection blitz, in September and October. This means businesses may be visited by a ministry inspector looking for hazards that put your employees at risk for sprains and strains. Inspectors will pay ...

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Ontario safety blitz focuses on musculoskeletal disorders

PEM Staff | Jul 20, 2010

In September and October, the Ministry of Labour will focus on musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). This means businesses may be visited by a ministry inspector looking for hazards that put your employees at risk for sprains and strains. According to the IAPA, "Inspectors will pay particular attention to tasks requiring workers to ...

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Paper mill fined $125K after workers, student injured in arc-flash event

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PEM Staff | Jul 19, 2010

Abitibi Consolidated Company of Canada, owner and operator of a paper mill in Fort Frances, Ont., was fined $125,000 on July 9, 2010, for a violation of the Occupational Health and Safety Act that caused arc-flash injuries to two workers and a student. ...

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3 stages of heat stress and how to treat them

COS Staff | Jul 13, 2010

With Ontario in the grips of a record heat wave, workers who stay outdoors for long periods of time during the day run the risk of succumbing to heat-related illnesses. Sister publication Canadian Occupational Safety recently explained how recognizing the signs and symptoms of heat-related illnesses is important in ensuring ...

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Worker fatally injured during pumpjack maintenance

PEM Staff | Jul 9, 2010

While completing maintenance on a pumpjack in Alberta, a contractor was killed when the arm of the counter weight struck the worker on the side of the head, according to a Safety Alert released last month by Enform, the safety association for Canada's upstream oil and gas industry. No details ...

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Ford Canada fined $850,000 after 2 workers killed

PEM Staff | Jun 22, 2010

Last month, Ford Motor Co. of Canada in Burlington, Ont., was fined $850,000 for violations under the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) after two workers were killed in separate incidents. ...

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Electrical supplier gets new name

PEM Staff | Jun 14, 2010

Toronto's Ferraz Shawmut, a supplier of electrical protection solutions, has changed its company name to Mersen Canada Toronto Inc. to reflect the company's history and its strategic direction. Ferraz Shawmut has been part of Carbone Lorraine, a large international group that specializes in providing high-performance materials for extreme environments and solutions ...

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Chrysler recalls 700,000 vehicles, 33,000 in Canada

PEM Staff | Jun 7, 2010

Chrysler Group announced it was to recall around 700,000 vehicles involving five models worldwide, U.S. safety regulators said on Monday. Chrysler Canada is recalling 29,000 Jeep Wranglers with 2007 to 2010 model years and 4,000 minivans in Canada over safety concerns, according to CBC News. Doors that could catch fire, brakes ...

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Ontario urges workplaces to prevent heat stress

PEM Staff | May 31, 2010

Ontario is encouraging employers and workers to learn how to protect themselves from heat stress this summer. As summer days get hotter, the harm caused by too much heat can become a significant problem in many workplaces.  Workers and their employers must take steps to protect themselves from the effects of ...

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Workers risking injury by not wearing required safety equipment: survey

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PEM Staff | Aug 24, 2010

Nearly all of the safety professionals in a survey released last week said that workers in their organizations had at some point failed to wear the necessary safety equipment while on the job. An exceedingly high 98 percent of respondents who attended the recent American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) show ...

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Avoid explosions with hot-work safety tips

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PEM Staff | Aug 9, 2010

A  bulletin released by the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board identified more than 60 fatalities since 1990 due to explosions and fires from hot work activities on tanks. Hot work is defined as “work involving burning, welding or a similar operation that is capable of initiating fires or ...

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4 common respirator fit-test challenges to consider

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Michelle Morra, COS | May 31, 2010

Respirator technology is light years away from the makeshift devices created during World War I to protect soldiers from mustard gas. Not only have manufacturers learned how to keep out harmful substances and particles, but in their quest for a tight seal against the wearer’s face, their materials have evolved ...

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Avoid arc blasts with safe maintenance practices

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Terry Becker | May 25, 2010

Historically, have we adequately maintained critical electri...

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5 steps to avoid arc flash during maintenance

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Robert Burgess | May 18, 2010

Electrical dangers such as shock, electrocution, arc flash and arc blast will always be present on the job, but safety strategies and proper training can minimize the likelihood of injuries and fatalities. Those at risk are employees who work on or near exposed energized electrical conductors or circuit parts, including ...

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How to properly safety-train new employees

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Fred Matthews | Apr 13, 2010

Over the last couple of columns, we established why having a competent workforce is important and defined how we start to establish worker competency by identifying selection criteria based on qualifications, such as education, training and prior experience. The importance of verifying a candidate’s credentials was also discussed as an ...

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Plan Ahead: Prepare for emergencies

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Ken Bannister | Feb 26, 2010

When an emergency event arises that could cause injury or death to a facility's occupants, an emergency response plan (ERP) is a course of action that's put into effect. Typical scenarios include fire, flood, explosion and oxygen depletion. The type of event(s) you will plan for will greatly depend on the ...

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Keep rolling with caster and wheel selection tips

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André Distel | Feb 4, 2010

Even though the wheel is one of the oldest inventions it is surprising how little influence and thought many people put into it. Casters help you and your company to do the job you have to do faster, safer and more reliably. We encourage you to pass this article on ...

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PERSONAL PROTECTION EQUIPMENT: Prevent high cost of hearing loss in the workplace

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Kelly Martin | Feb 4, 2010

Work-related hearing loss is a critical health and safety issue that affects 30 million American workers (or 25 percent of the workforce) who are exposed to hazardous noise on the job. The good news is that occupational noise-induced hearing loss (ONIHL) is 100 percent preventable when proper preventative measures are ...

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Properly identify and train new employees

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Fred Matthews, CRM, CRSP | Dec 18, 2009

In the last issue of PEM, I spent some time talking about how worker competency was just as important to an employer's safety performance as creating a safe working environment. We identified that competency wasn't only an issue that affected young workers, but mature workers as well. We also defined ...

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Four simple rules to stay safe

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| Nov 10, 2009

One of the oldest and most popular true statements in our language is “Better safe than sorry.” That sums up a lot of situations people face — from driving a car to planning a project — but it’s especially accurate in manufacturing. In terms of all workplace incidents, the US Bureau ...

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Surviving summer - the tragic story of an injured young worker

IAPA | Jun 16, 2009

He wanted to earn some extra spending money. Instead, he earned himself a trip to the hospital, a body full of scars, and a story that no one should have to ...

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Arc-flash detection relay

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PEM Staff | Jun 22, 2010

Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories Inc. (SEL) has announced the availability of arc-flash detection (AFD) capability in the SEL-751A Feeder Protection Relay, providing fully automatic protection against dangerous arc-flash events. Without AFD, the arc flash can cause severe personal injury, extensive equipment damage, and lengthy system outages. In contrast, AFD interrupts power ...

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EasyHeat snow and ice melting mats help prevent costly slip-and-Fall injuries

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Newswire | Feb 22, 2010

ROSEMONT, IL — The U.S. National Center for Injury Prevention and Control estimates that more than eight million people are injured annually in slip-and-fall accidents. Since businesses and building owners are responsible for maintaining safe  premises, they have been held liable for slip-and-fall injuries that occur due to unsafe conditions ...

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Keep your floors clean and safe

Newswire | Feb 22, 2010

Finding the right industrial cleaning product can be a challenge, especially when you have an excess to choose from and a lengthy checklist of cleaning requirements. And in the end, you can still end up with products that don't work the way you need them to. Rob Graham, director of service ...

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Servomotor brakes for accurate, secure holding

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Newswire | Feb 4, 2010

Nexen introduces a complete line of servomotor brakes designed to mount to servomotors up to 20 horsepower. The  Eclipse Servomotor Brake family is comprised of spring-engaged servomotor brakes equipped with a split hub, zero backlash clamp collar for attachment to the servomotor shaft. With superior torque outputs, these brakes provide ...

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Lincoln Electric adds two new models to its Viking Auto-Darkening Welding Helmets Line

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Newswire | Feb 4, 2010

Lincoln Electric has added a second series to its line of Viking auto-darkening welding helmets. The existing 700G Series and new 750S Series helmets are solar powered, light weight and fully loaded with a variety of features and accessories. Both series are built to handle the most demanding work environments. ...

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New cord grips for wet, adverse industrial environments

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Newswire | Jan 25, 2010

ROSEMONT, IL — Standard metal fittings will corrode when installed in areas subject to wash-downs, high humidity or corrosive chemicals, resulting in costly factory downtime and expensive repairs. To assure maximum productivity in challenging environments, Appleton has introduced a new line of stainless steel and Nickel plated aluminum cord grips ...

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Total chip protection for machine tools

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Newswire | Jan 11, 2010

EAST PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Metal chips can cause abrasion and wear in long travel, gliding cable carrier applications. To combat this, igus has developed a horizontal guiding system called “Guidelok”, which is designed to keep the upper and lower cable carrier runs apart. The new solution is ideal for applications ...

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Hose whip restraint for greater safety

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Newswire | Dec 18, 2009

WICKLIFFE, OH — The new Hose Whip Restraint system from Parker Hannifin Corporation, the global leader in motion and control technologies, provides an enhanced measure of safety for operators working around high-pressure hydraulic hose. In the event of an assembly failure, by preventing the “whip” of a pressurized hose, Parker’s ...

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Intrinsically Safe accelerometers

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PEM | Nov 20, 2009

Germantown, MD –– Wilcoxon Research, a Meggitt group company and a supplier of vibration sensors and sensor networks, announces an additional Intrinsically Safe certification in accordance with IECEx requirements for six general purpose accelerometers. The six accelerometers were approved for use in Class I Zone 0 hazardous areas. Tom Smith, Vice ...

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The right choice for different requirements

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| Nov 9, 2009

The new X-plore 1300 is available in three protection classes: FFP1, FFP2 and FFP3. The mask valve and nose clip are color coded to each class and help quickly identify the correct mask. All versions of the X-plore 1300 meet the increased requirements for filter performance of masks in accordance ...

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Cooling Vest for hot environments

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| Nov 9, 2009

Fergus, ON — Cooling products are designed to protect and provide comfort to workers who must function in environments with excessive heat. This standard 100% cotton, cooling product caters to the demands of construction workers, firefighters, welders and factory workers. The Allegro Cooling Vest (8401) is lightweight (2lbs) and provides ...

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Heavy-duty protection

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| Nov 9, 2009

Northflex Nitri Task C5 provides heavy duty mechanical protection without the bulk and restriction of movement that you might expect from a cut level 5 glove. Features and benefits include: ANSI level 4 and EN388 level 5 cut resistance. 10 gage seamless liner contains ...

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Oil Analysis Basics

Editor Andre Voshart goes over best practices when starting or reviewing an oil analysis program at your facility.

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