Online safety series spotlights general hazards

The American Society of Safety Professionals (ASSP) has planned a second installment of its new workplace safety education series called “Stand Up for Standards.” A live two-hour webinar on general industry hazards will take place from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. CT Sept. 28, helping occupational safety and health professionals minimize on-the-job risks to prevent injuries, illnesses and fatalities.

“Stand Up for Standards – ANSI/ASSP General Industry Standards Implementation and Impact for OSH Professionals” will provide an overview of four voluntary national consensus standards and discuss best practices for implementation on worksites across various industries. Safety experts Terry Ketchum, Robert Foster, Deena Ibrahim and Wyatt Bradbury of ASSP’s standards committees will share key insights to help safety professionals develop a better understanding of the standards to address significant workplace hazards and exposures.

“Organizations with true safety cultures go beyond complying with OSHA regulations,” said Ketchum, chair of the ANSI/ASSP Z15 standards committee who has more than 35 years of safety and health experience. “They hold their businesses to a higher standard, better protecting workers while reducing claims costs and reputation damage caused by workplace incidents.”

The safety experts will spotlight the following standards:

• ANSI/ASSP Z15, Safe Practices for Motor Vehicle Operations
• ANSI/ASSP Z117, Safety Requirements for Entering Confined Spaces
• ANSI/ASSP Z244, Control of Hazardous Energy Lockout, Tagout and Alternative Methods
• ANSI/ASSP Z490, Criteria for Accepted Practices in Safety, Health and Environmental Training

The webinar will conclude with a Q&A session. Attendees will earn 0.2 continuing education units (CEUs) and receive 10 ANSI/ASSP safety standards to help their organizations prevent many hazards.

Voluntary national consensus standards provide the latest expert guidance and fill gaps where federal regulations don’t exist. Companies rely on them to drive improvement, injury prevention and sustainability. Since regulatory requirements are slow to change and often out of date, compliance is not sufficient to protect workers. A standards-based approach to workplace safety also improves productivity and boosts a company’s bottom line.

Safety professionals should register online for this second event of ASSP’s new education series, which features a different standards-related topic every quarter.