You rely on your steel fabrication company for quality results, but how safe are they? This question may prove vital when it comes to the long-term integrity of your build as well as the safety of workers and guests during the construction process. The Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) is tasked with inspecting and ensuring a safe and healthy working environment for American citizens through high-quality training, education, and outreach. This entity provides guidance and inspections across numerous industries to generate a consistent and safe place for individuals to work and thrive. When it comes to the construction industry, OSHA regulations can have far-reaching inspections and follow-up visits. You rely on your steel fabrication team to generate quality results, but are they OSHA-compliant?
Sanilac Steel is here to set the standard for industry safety. Our structural steel fabricators in Michigan have the experience, training, and proven processes to generate quality results for every jobsite. We specialize in steel structure design, fabrication, and erection, and will be happy to work with you to create an ideal fit for all of your project needs.
Keep reading to learn about the value of working with a company that abides by industry and OSHA standards. Doing so can help to provide serious peace of mind for your project!
Awareness of Hazards
Metal fabrication is an inherently hazardous profession, necessitating safety standards to keep everyone involved safe from harm. OSHA’s Hazard Communication Guidelines provide the means for employers to communicate potential dangers and health risks to employees. All workers have a right to know what hazards they are working with, and should be defended accordingly to provide protection from a variety of industry-specific hazards. Most workers will face dangers from toxic gases and fumes. Ongoing exposure to dangerous metal components can cause sore throat, dizziness, nauseous, and cancer concerns.
Steel fabrication companies looking to garner long-term success can create training materials and provide equipment to minimize these environmental risks. Labeling area-specific dangers, for example, can instruct employees on proper equipment usage and where to use it. Regular cleaning and maintenance can also help to reduce the chances of introducing an unwanted byproduct into the air. Proper ventilation is also important to keep toxic fumes and other contaminants away from your workers. The best way to empower employees to stay safe is to train them on job-specific hazards as well as a variety of nearby dangers. Sanilac Steel focuses on creating the best practices, and our team engages on a regular basis to reinforce the importance of safety.
Equipment Expertise
Proper protection and equipment handling are essential in maintaining a safe and effective workplace. OSHA requirements center heavily around protecting individuals from equipment-related injury. In applications such as grinders and saws, this focus turns to machine guarding to protect individuals from hazards including rotating parts, nip points, flying debris, and so on. OSHA is serious about this process, handing out more citations last year for machine guarding than nearly any other violation.
Sanilac Steel focuses on the best equipment training and safety practices to generate ideal outcomes both in our steel fabrication shop and on your project site. We concentrate on creating safe and cost-effective results for each phase of the process, thus creating a clean, organized work area to minimize the risk of injury. Our steel fabricators are up to speed on all training and practices, including the proper use of personal protective equipment (PPE), approved welding techniques, correct usage of machine guarding, and more. We know how important it is to focus on safety when deploying heavy machinery or completing complex processes, and will work with our clients to ensure that everyone is happy with the result.
Hearing Protection
OSHA requires workers to wear hearing protection at 85 decibels for an eight-hour shift and recommends against exposure to noise levels of 110 decibels or more for more than 15 minutes. To give you an idea of what this means, an average vacuum cleaner runs around 75 dB while a motorcycle can reach upwards of 100 dB. Loud noises are acceptable for short periods of time, but sustained exposure can lead to damage. When it comes to steel fabrication, workers have numerous OSHA regulations to adhere to. You can expect a chainsaw to be around 115 decibels, meaning that processes such as rolling, bending, and cutting can all create a loud environment.
Sanilac Steel knows how to keep your employees and their hearing safe. Our steel fabrication contractors are trained to create the safest results on any project, and will ensure that everyone in the vicinity:
- Rotates as needed. Too much time in a noisy space can be damaging. Steel fabricators know to alternate tasks as needed to take a break.
- Wears needed PPE. If ear protection is needed, it is for a good reason. Don’t forget to keep your hearing safe!
- Disperses the noise. Louder processes can be moved to large, open spaces or near entrances to allow the soundwaves to disperse.
- Minimizes equipment noise. Loud, unbalanced machines can generate a lot of unnecessary dBs. Keep your equipment lubricated and in quality working order to minimize this rattle.
Contact Us Today
Next time, we’ll continue this topic by discussing the importance of emergency preparedness and the value of ongoing training in keeping in line with OSHA regulations. Doing so can keep your workers safe and save you from steep penalties and fines.
If you’re ready to benefit from a leading structural steel fabrication company in Michigan, Sanilac Steel is here and ready to help! Our structural steel fabricators understand the importance of safety, and focus on creating the safest and most effective solutions possible to address any need. Contact us online to learn more, and be sure to request your no-hassle project quote!
