Joe Woodman Joins Life and Safety

Life and Safety is proud to announce the addition of Joe Woodman to our group of safety minded professionals.

Joe is a 38-year veteran of the emergency services and has served in that career as a firefighter, paramedic, technical rescue specialist, and rescue instructor. 

He received his bachelor’s degree in emergency health services in 1990 from the University of Maryland and his Master of Public Administration degree from Clemson in 2000.

He has developed and taught courses over a 20-year period for various schools including Greenville Technical College, UNC-Charlotte, The Tennessee Association of Rescue Squads Rescue College, and the South Carolina Fire Academy.

Joe has worked in extremely dangerous situations, participated in challenging and highly realistic training, and has far too often seen the consequences people experience when safety is not given proper emphasis. 

He has retired from that line of work and misses its challenges but looks forward to making a difference on the prevention side of the equation.

Life and Safety Presenting at WNC Safety and Health School Conference

Life and Safety Consultants is proud to announce that three of our own have been selected to present at the Western NC Safety & Health School Conference beginning on November 4th at the Biltmore Doubletree in Asheville, NC.

Our President, Don Snizaski, will speak on Surviving an OSHA inspection Monday afternoon. What to expect, what to provide the inspector, and how to respond to the findings are just a few of the topics that will be discussed.

Vice President, Jeff Spicher, is scheduled to speak on the Best Practices for Integrated Management Systems. Identifying key requirements, implementing the system, and maintaining the process are some of the key points that will be presented during this session.

Bobby Olsen, Senior Consultant and Arc Flash Manager, is presenting on the Arc Flash 2018 Standard. If you have questions or need insight on the changes to the NFPA standard then this session is for you.

FMCSA Clearinghouse For Drug Testing Results

Highways are about to get safer with a new DOT drug screen results online database. This Website will allow employers, law enforcement, and state driver’s license agencies to efficiently identify those who are not legally allowed to operate commercial motor vehicles due to their drug and alcohol program violations. The program will then provide drivers with the steps they need to take to get back behind the wheel. We have been told early enrollment will begin in October and mandatory enrollment begins January 6th, 2020. Stay updated on the requirements with their website: https://clearinghouse.fmcsa.dot.gov.

QR Codes For Safety

Making sure your workplace is safe, is not only a tedious task but can cause employees to lose work hours to the paper process; walking around with a clipboard, reviewing the findings, sending it in, and filing.  Businesses are constantly looking for ways to better the work environment to make it efficient and safer. With our technology you can now access your contractors training transcript by scanning a code on their badge instead of relying on paper wallet cards or verbal confirmation. Skygana has introduced the QR code, which wipes the paper process away and lets personnel complete tasks like those described with a simple swipe of their phone. Read more in the article that our President, Don Snizaski wrote in EHS Today

https://www.ehstoday.com/safety-technology/qr-code-s-new-role-gathering-safety-information

Fall Protection Competent Person Training in July

Life and Safety is delivering two separate fall protection competent person training classes on July 23-24 and again on July 30-31. Training will be located at the Michelin Training Center with lunch provided both days.

Enrollment for these classes will begin on July 1st at which point we will update this post with registration information.

Registration is now open:
http://lifeandsafety.com/enroll/#!/Instructor-Led-Training/c/5663028/

Course Summary

This two day course covers the information needed to properly training you to be a fall protection competent person. The course will begin with a talk of the walking working surfaces update an how the change to the rule may affect your workplace. After the walking working surface discussion you will learn about fall protection. This portion of the training includes lecture, video, and hands-on scenarios. On the last day of training you will witness a live drop demonstration and see how various fall protection devices function.

Full Course Description

Walking Working Surfaces Update
Falls from heights and on the same level (a working surface) are among the leading causes of serious work-related injuries and deaths. OSHA has issued a final rule on Walking-Working Surfaces and Personal Fall Protection Systems to better protect workers in general industry from these hazards by updating and clarifying standards and adding training and inspection requirements.

The rule affects a wide range of workers, from painters to warehouse workers. It does not change construction or agricultural standards.

The rule incorporates advances in technology, industry best practices, and national consensus standards to provide effective and cost-efficient worker protection. Specifically, it updates general industry standards addressing slip, trip, and fall hazards (subpart D), and adds requirements for personal fall protection systems (subpart I).

OSHA estimates that these changes will prevent 29 fatalities and 5,842 lost-workday injuries every year.

Fall Protection Competent Person
The Competent Person training enables the attendee to be responsible for the immediate supervision, implementation, and monitoring of a managed fall protection program. Upon completion of this course, you will receive a certificate recognizing you have completed the training required to meet OSHA and ANSI requirements as a Competent Person.

This course includes in-class lectures including slides and video and hands-on scenarios applying theory discussed to practical workplace situations. This Competent Person training is a pass/fail program incorporating both written and practical examinations and is based on the requirements of the OSHA regulations, ANSI Z359.2 standard as well as local requirements that will be discussed and reinforced. Attendees will learn practical solutions to difficult fall protection problems using appropriate tools and equipment.

Topics Discussed

  • Regulations relating to all fall protection topics
  • Fall hazard elimination and controls methods
  • Fall hazard surveys and fall protection procedures
  • Responsibilities of Competent Persons
  • Detailed inspection of equipment components and systems
  • Fall protection system assessments and determining when a system is unsafe
  • Fall protection rescue procedures
  • Selection and use of non-certified anchorages
  • Fall hazard surveys

Live Drop Demonstration
A drop demo using a 220lb. weight and 6′ shock absorbing lanyard to show forces generated in a fall and resulting impacts.

Demonstrates how the energy absorber works, resulting in a reduction in Max Arrest Forces, and easy stop with no recoil. In addition, the drop with 6′ lanyard illustrates total fall distance and a minimum clearance of 19′ required to use a 6′ lanyard.

We will then drop a 220lb. weight using a self- retracting lifeline. This will demonstrate the lesser total fall distance and fall clearance, as well as the importance of choosing the appropriate connecting device when working at heights below 19′.

The Boys are Back in Town!

Life and Safety is happy to welcome back Bobby Olsen to head up our Arc Flash services with the assistance of TC Gore.

Robert Olsen

Robert Olsen started with Life and Safety Consultants, Inc. back in 2009 and after a brief hiatus last year returned to us earlier in the year. He has experience in industry, construction, all trades/crafts with a focus in the electrical field. Robert’s industrial experience includes small shops to national and international companies across the United States and Canada. Robert’s construction experience consists of equipment ranging from hand held tools up to heavy construction and mining equipment. Robert has functioned with all trades during all phases of construction and is familiar with trade specific processes. Robert has assisted companies with implementing Arc Flash and electrical safety programs and training at over 100 locations throughout the continental United States and Canada. He gained experience helping people in medical emergency situations while working with the largest EMS system in South Carolina. He is now focused on training employees how to respond to and act during an emergency.

TC Gore

Life and Safety is proud to welcome T.C. Gore who brings 27 years of medical experience to the team. TC began his career at the age of 15 as a Junior Fire Fighter for a small fire department outside of Atlanta where he learned the skills necessary to provide first aid and CPR. At 16 years old he was awarded the certification of medical first responder. At 18 he joined the United States Navy and worked as a hospital corpsman for 4 years active and 4 years reserve. During that time, he earned his paramedic license and was a technical rescue specialist and dive team leader. After completing his time with the Navy TC moved to Greenville and started working for city of Greer fire department and Greenville County EMS where he also acted as an independent duty paramedic.

With this type of medical experience, TC brings a unique perspective to safety and compliance which allows us to utilize his skills as a certified flight paramedic of which, at this time, there are only about 6000 in the world. With these skills combined we can now provide our clients with expert level knowledge on aviation safety and how it complements and applies to OSHA compliance.

 

Respirable Crystalline Silica Competent Person Training Online

Become compliant with our online services and follow the requirements for 1910.134 or 1926.1153 by taking our respirable crystalline silica competent person training online.

The rule took effect on June 23, 2016, after which construction and general industry have one to two years to comply. Construction must comply by September 23, 2017 and General Industry has until June 23, 2018.

To meet this new requirement you must provide the appropriate level of training and protection to your employees. We now offer both employee and competent person online training for the new respirable crystalline silica standard. You also have the option to complete the medical evaluation online.

TRAINING
Our respirable crystalline silica competent person training comes with all the tools you will need to create and maintain a successful silica program. When you sign up for this course you will have access to training documents, forms, files, and templates that you can use to create your silica program and successfully train your people.

Training topics include:
Respirable Crystalline Silica
OSHA General Duty Clause
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
Hazard Communication with GHS
Respiratory Protection
Respirator Fit Testing for Supervisors

Sign up here!
http://lifeandsafety.com/enroll/#!/Respirable-Crystalline-Silica-Competent-Person/p/95094025/category=4405370

MEDICAL CLEARANCE AND FIT TEST
Before being fit tested and able to effectively use a respirator a medical evaluation must be performed. Life and Safety is able to offer doctor reviewed online medical evaluations with approval often available in less than 24 hours. The medical evaluation is an optional add on for the training.

Once the medical evaluation has been successfully completed each person must be tested on the respirator(s) they are to use. This fit testing can be performed at our home office located in Greenville, SC or one of the 5000 partner clinics located across the United States.

For fit testing in the Greenville, SC area please call our office at 864.297.4521. For all other areas please contact our partner Occu-Med.

http://www.occu-med.com/how-to-reach-us/

Solar Eclipse Safety

As you all know, on Monday the 21st there will be a total solar eclipse that will cross the entire country and SC is in the path of totality.  If you decide to watch the eclipse we want to ensure you do so safely.  We hope you have fun watching the eclipse but most importantly, keep your eyes safe by wearing the protective glasses.

Instructions for safe use of solar eclipse glasses:

  • Always inspect your solar eclipse glasses before use; if scratched, punctured, torn, or otherwise damaged, discard it. Read and follow instructions printed on the solar eclipse glasses.
  • If you normally wear eyeglasses, keep them on. Put your eclipse glasses on over them.
  • Stand still and cover your eyes with your eclipse glasses before looking up at the bright Sun. After looking at the Sun, turn away and remove your filter—do not remove it while looking at the Sun.
  • Do not look at the Sun through a camera, telescope, binoculars, or any other optical device while using your eclipse glasses—the concentrated solar rays could damage the filter and enter your eye(s), causing serious injury.
  • If you are inside the path of totality, remove your solar filter only when the Moon completely covers the Sun’s bright face and it suddenly gets quite dark. Experience totality, then, as soon as the bright Sun begins to reappear, replace your solar viewer to look at the remaining partial phases.
  • Outside the path of totality, you must always use a safe solar filter to view the Sun directly.

Life and Safety Attending Greenville SHRM Conference at Hyatt on August 23

Life and Safety will be attending the 2017 Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) conference in Greenville, SC next Wednesday August 23 at the Hyatt Regency.
Life and Safety, Dental Sleep Medicine, and True Sleep Diagnostics will demonstrate the health benefits of adequate, quality sleep as well as the potential hazards of fatigue in the workplace.
Effects of fatigue can include slower reaction time, more errors and decreased cognitive ability. Fatigue can occur in all industries and with these new partnerships Life and Safety, Dental Sleep Medicine, and True Sleep Diagnostics aim to educate and mitigate the risks associated with fatigue.

Life and Safety Consultants, Inc.

Life and Safety Consultants, Inc. has been operating out of Greenville, SC since 1997 under the direction of President Don Snizaski. Once an OSHA Compliance Officer, Don has been a leader in the field by providing companies in the upstate with expert environmental, health, and safety regulatory compliance, risk management, and comprehensive safety management systems.

Dental Sleep Medicine

Dr. Lindner has received specialty training in the field of sleep apnea and sleep disordered breathing. Dr. Lindner is a member of theAmerican Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine, a professional dental organization dedicated to the treatment of sleep related breathing disorders such as snoring and sleep apnea through the use of oral appliance therapy working in conjunction with a Sleep Physician.

True Sleep Diagnostics

While delivering treatment options and patient education above and beyond that of competing services, Total Sleep Diagnostics presents a more involved approach to sleep medicine. Home sleeptesting, in-lab sleep studies, presentations on sleep wellness, and consulting are our specialties. Ken Hooks is a respiratory therapist and registered sleep technologist who provides consultation to medical and dental professionals. He often speaks to increase awareness of the dangers of compromised sleep and and the benefits of sleep medicine.

Life and Safety President Joins Editorial Board of Upstate Business Magazine

SC Manufacturing MagazineLife and Safety president, Don Snizaski, joins the editorial board for South Carolina Manufacturing magazine.

As a leading safety professional in South Carolina Mr. Snizaski has over 25 year of industry experience. Once an OSHA Compliance Officer, Don has led the field in providing companies in the Upstate and beyond with expert environmental, health, and safety regulatory compliance, risk management, and comprehensive safety management systems.

Founded in 2015 South Carolina Manufacturing is the only trade publication and website dedicated to providing content, news and information exclusively for the manufacturing community in South Carolina via print and electronic communications.

Manufacturing is a critical component of the South Carolina economy. South Carolina Manufacturing provides insight and perspective not available in other places. The magazine is supported by an editorial board that encompasses many aspects of manufacturing including:

  • Workforce Development and Education
  • Economic Development
  • Manufacturing Lending
  • Manufacturing Programs and Advancement
  • Aerospace
  • Manufacturing and Patent Law
  • Private Equity and Investment for Manufacturing

[SCMFG Editorial Board]