Well Tom, thanks for joining me today. I appreciate you helping with the quarterly
walkthrough. You guys have been trained, right? Yes last September. Yeah, around the 12th.
Regular safety inspections at your workplace are critical to preventing injuries and illnesses.
The main purpose of these inspections is to identify hazards by examining conditions or
practices in the workplace so needed changes can be made. In this video we'll follow safety
committee members as they conduct an inspection.
Good, so you know what we will be doing. We want to, we've had really good inspections recently so y'know...
When your Safety Committee members conduct their inspection it's important they:
1: Listen to the concerns of workers and
supervisors. Gather input from the people who are directly involved in the work you're inspecting.
2: Learn more about jobs and tasks. Even if you already know a lot about the tasks at your work,
it's good to examine the steps being taken by others to complete the job - you may be surprised at what you'll find.
3: Identify existing and potential hazards. Don't stop at the ones
that you see; go deeper and find hazards that haven't yet come to the surface.
4: Determine the underlying causes of those hazards. Find out what's causing them.
5: Monitor hazard controls that are already in place. This includes personal protective equipment, engineering controls,
policies and procedures. And finally, recommend corrective action. Your effort does
nothing to stop injuries if the hazards aren't fixed. Make recommendations and follow-through to
ensure they are corrected. To demonstrate these concepts let's watch safety committee members
as they conduct an inspection.
Okay, all right, well good! I think we are ready to begin. Alright!
A good practice is to begin by walking through aisles looking for out of place items and trip
hazards. Make sure exits aren't blocked and clear signage is in place. In this case, the exit sign
isn't turning on when tested. The members of the group will then document this as part of
their inspection. Investigating electrical hazards are always a priority in a safety
inspection like this and this includes ensuring that outlets are working properly. It looks like
this one has reversed polarity which creates a possible shock hazard. It's something that
can't be repaired immediately so the documentation will note that it must be followed up on. Another
important point is to inspect fire extinguishers: confirm the extinguisher is visible, unobstructed,
and in its assigned location. It's on the floor, so it must be placed in the correct location.
This is an example of a hazard that can be fixed immediately. Verify the locking pin is intact and
the tamper seal is unbroken; confirm the pressure gauge or indicators in the operable range or
position; and lift the extinguisher to ensure it's still full. Examine the extinguisher for obvious
physical damage, corrosion, leakage, or a clogged nozzle. Make sure the operating instructions on
the nameplate are readable and facing outward. Check the last professional service date on the
tag to make sure the manufacturer recommendations are being followed for routine inspections.
Since this company has forklifts in their operation, it's necessary to check with drivers and ensure
that operating procedures are being followed correctly. One of the things our team will be
reviewing is the operator checklist. A few things to check are brakes, steering, seatbelts, lights, and
engine maintenance. A vehicle walk-around should be done which is a visual examination of tires and
wheels, hydraulics, data plate, and general overall condition of the vehicle. There's a lot to cover when it
comes to forklifts, so we're not going to go into all those details in this video. But the Oregon OSHA
website topic page for powered industrial trucks has additional information. There's a link in the description below.
If machinery is part of your workplace, it should be included in your safety
inspection. You want to make sure that all the proper machine guarding is in place and that
it's in good condition. You'll want to talk with the operator to find out if lockout procedures
are being followed when the guards are temporarily removed to conduct maintenance. Make sure proper
signage is being used to communicate hazards to employees. In this case, it's about communicating
electrical hazards. You may want to consult the manufacturers manual to make sure the machine
is being used correctly and maintained by the employees. Another important aspect is
verifying that employees working with the machine are properly trained in its usage
and wearing the appropriate personal protective equipment. Next to this machine there's a shadow
board so it's a good practice to make sure the tools are in good condition and in the
correct place. The inventory list will have an up-to-date listing of the tools on the board
to make sure nothing is missing or incorrectly placed. Certain industries are required by Oregon
OSHA to have eye-wash station equipment. Here, our team is inspecting one of their eye-wash stations.
This is a plumbed eye-wash station so they're checking to ensure its properly capped. The
water flows clear and it's running hands-free. If you have a portable eye-wash station, you'll
want to check a few different things like verifying the fluid is changed on schedule.
I just thought we'd do a quick briefing and we'll let you get out of here. So I made
some notes and then you can fill in anything that I might have missed.
After you've finished your inspection discuss the problems, hazards, or accidents that could generate from
the team's findings. Prioritize which ones are most important to repair first and develop a clear plan
of action. In this example, we have several topics the group needs to address.
That emergency light and exit sign into the door was not working - I'll write a work order on that so we'll give
it someone to fix that's probably a battery.
When writing your inspection report, state exactly what
was found and accurately identify its location. The more detailed you are, the more effective
it will be. It can be beneficial to assign a priority level to the hazards to indicate the
urgency of the corrective action that's required. An example of this would be using a system like
this: so "A" is major, "B" serious and "C" minor. When you assign priorities to hazards, it helps
management to identify them and evaluate them to reach decisions faster. After listing each hazard,
specify how to fix them and create deadlines if possible. Each inspection member should review the
report for accuracy, clarity, and thoroughness. As well as addressing the current hazards,
remember to review and monitor the progress of previous recommendations.
... have that put back in place, just do a memo to management about, keep an eye on that. Be sure their fire extinguishers...
Workplace safety is a continual improvement process that requires commitment to the well-being
of employees. Oregon OSHA has many resources to help, including a sample safety inspection
report. There's a link in the description to our hazard identification topic page
where you can access these resources. If you want guidance in developing a safer work environment,
please consider our free and confidential consultation service; there's a link to our
consultation page below. Thank you for taking the time to learn more about safety and health.