With all the changes in the Regulatory Compliance World, it is quite easy to feel smothered by the burden of keeping up with it all. One of the changes is the promulgation of the Globally Harmonized System (GHS). In 1992, the United Nations (UN) issued an international mandate to implement a harmonized system for classifications and labeling of chemicals on a global level - this gave rise to the GHS. In 2003, the first edition of the GHS was approved and published by the UN and a second revision was published in 2007.

Japan, Korea, and New Zealand have already adopted GHS and are transitioning to the new classification and labeling methods now. The European Union (EU) adopted the proposed act that aligns the EU system with GHS in June of 2007. Once finalized, companies will be given 3 years to transition to the new system for pure substances, and another 5 years for mixtures.

In preparation for this domestically, OSHA has reviewed their current Hazard Communications Standard (HAZCOM) and as planning to adopt the New GHS Standard into it. The tentative time for the final rule will most likely come in 2009.

One of the major changes United States companies can anticipate has to do with Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS).  The MSDSs will under go an extensive change once the GHS is adopted.  There will also be modifications on labels, signal words, pictograms and hazard statements all designed to enhance communication for all that handle chemicals.

Finally, training must be modified - educating employees on the label and MSDS changes due to the updated product classifications, pictograms, signal words, and hazard and precautionary statements will represent the greatest training challenge. Delivering a consistent and timely training message to your employees that can be easily tracked will be critically important to the success of your GHS rollout.

This is a story from Wayne Burgess, a self-employed Electrician.

"A maintenance man was working on a 480 volt roof top air conditioning unit at an industrial complex. The maintenance man decided that this job was more than he could handle. So, he called the company that I worked for and requested a technician. We sent an electrician with over 15 years of experience to the job site. The electrician after reaching the roof, realized he had left his tester in the truck.  Rather than go back to the truck to get the tester, he yelled to the maintenance man to ask if the breaker for the unit had been shut off. He replied "yea it's off, you're all set." The electrician put his hand behind the electrical attachment point to check connections, the 480 volts from the unit that was still on burnt his hand severely. He was taken to the hospital where he underwent surgery to try to repair his hand. The Electrical Company had a very strict safety policy in place, the electrician not only was injured that day, but he also lost his job!

 Remember this story the next time you don't want to take 20 minutes to walk down and get your tester.

Here is a classic example of why people need to use Lockout/ Tagout. This situation could have been avoided a few different ways. First, test it for power...wait, it was downstairs.  Second, check the breaker yourself. Then you would know for sure that the correct breaker had been turned off. Third, use the OSHA Lockout/ Tagout procedures. Create a safer working environment.

Thanks to Wayne for sharing this story with us. I think everyone can apply these same practices to many different situations. Remember, it's your life. Safety Matters. Take the time. It could save your life. 

This next story comes to us from Linda Turgeon from Inspiring Solutions Staging & Redesign.

"A few winters ago my daughter Raelyn and I were very excited to get our tubing gear out after many, many inches of snow. We packed everything up and headed for a hill that everyone loved to sled on. On the ride there we talked about our lunch plans and what we would do for the rest of the day. When arriving at the hill it looked perfect for tubing. There were several families there that were just as thrilled about all the snow we had gotten. We bundled up and got our gear out of the car and heading for the top. I don't remember how many runs we got in going side by side, but the last one we decided to hold on to each other tube. It started out fast and continued to pick up speed. This certainly was the fastest run yet! There was no stopping us when we hit a plowed snow banking and went up and over. We were both airborne, my daughter hit the icy pavement first and I landed across her. A scream came from her that sent chills running up my spine. I got up and told her not to move until I could understand what she was screaming about. Calmly, I spoke to her and repeated that she look directly at me and tell me where she was hurt. It was her leg, one look at it; I knew by the way it was off to one side, it was broken. I took off my jacket to cover her and sweater to put under her head. I calmly told her that I was going to run to the car to get my phone. She began crying and asking me not to leave her. At this point a woman had come over to see if we were alright. I ask her to stay with Raelyn so I could run to get my phone. As it turned out she had her phone close by. I ask her to please call for help. The words that came out of her mouth next shocked me. Lady: "Who should I call?" Me: (Thinking in my head,  is she serious?) "911" Lady: "What do I say?" Me: "Tell them someone got hurt sledding and you need an ambulance." Lady: "Where are we?" Me: "PLEASE GIVE ME THE PHONE" I gave 911 the information, the ambulance came and off to the hospital we went. After a couple of operations, screws in her ankle and a cast for months, she recuperated perfectly. She only carries two small scars on her ankle! The scars that I carry, are inside me forever.

 One of the things I have learned from Safety Trainers since this accident; be a better communicator with the person who has the phone and the 911 operator. What I should have said was "call 911 explain to them what happened." "Make sure you give them your phone number in case you get cut off." "The address is.....

 We never expect to encounter situations like this, but take the time to prepare yourself, because when they happen, they happen fast and the only way to be in control is to be prepared with Safety Trainers expertise."

This story can teach us two lessons. First, the proper way to handle a situation. Linda did a great job of staying calm and keeping her daughter calm. She assessed what the problem was and knew she needed to call for help. Also, using people around you USUALLY will help the situation.

Second, The importance of making a 911 call and knowing what to say. The individual that had the phone seemed completely clueless on how make a 911 call. That is the most important thing to do in all emergences, call for help.

Thanks to Linda for sharing this with us. I hope that everyone who reads this can take something from it. I know I did.

Our next story comes to us from Dave McLaren at McLaren & Associates, CPA's.

"In 1991, on my way back from Waltham, I was following a red Ford Probe in heavy traffic about 5:30 on a Friday. All lanes were doing a steady 60 mph. Around Exit 13, where the road curves, I noticed the car in front of me slowly work its way onto the grassy median as if the driver fell asleep. All of a sudden, he swerved back into the fast lane, sending the car into a skid sideways at 60 mph. Suddenly, his rear tires (on the grass) hit a drain, the car swung around, plowed into the guardrail and then bounced off and rolled into the center lane. A trailer truck traveling at 60 mph T-boned the car sending the driver crashing out of his passenger window with his body flipping end over end on the highway as his car disintegrated and shot 100 yards down the highway. The truck never stopped. After stopping my vehicle and calling the police, I was stunned to see this man stand up, white as a ghost, covered in blood, start walking into oncoming traffic as the middle and slow lanes were still going by at 60 mph. I ran out of my car and grabbed him right before another driver hit him. He was in shock and had blood pumping out of his head, arm and leg. I was too afraid to let him lay down as I thought he would die on me. No one stopped for the accident. I ran to my trunk, got a blanket and a first aid kit and covered him and began applying pressure to his severe wounds. An EMT finally stopped to help me after about 10 minutes. The police arrived shortly thereafter. The actions saved his live and he recovered quickly."

I would like to thank Dave for sharing his story with us. Also, I would like to point out that Dave went above and beyond what is expected from a bystander and would like to congratulate him for that.

Our next story comes from Kevin Cantwell from Expert laser Services.

"Several years ago I had a crew clearing some brush and small trees. The guy on the chain saw was not a tree expert, but he was experienced in using a chainsaw and cutting down trees. As he was cutting the tree, another guy pushed on the tree with a backhoe to make sure it fell away from a building. Just as the tree was cut through the pressure made the trunk swing around. A limb hit the tree cutter in the side of his head, causing a severe concussion and months of lost time. He was not wearing a hard hat at the time, although I am not sure if that would have helped. The standard rule of using the right tool for the job might have applied. A backhoe is not the proper method to guide a tree as it is being cut. A tree company might have cost some more money at the time, but nothing compared to what happened to my workers compensation premium!!!"

I think this is important for any homeowner or business owner. It might not be you that has an emergency, but this is a perfect example of how others can effect us. We hire companies to come into our homes to do work everyday, it doesn't take much. Sometimes these workers have deadlines to meet and as a result might rush....this can make a very big difference!

Thanks to Kevin for sharing!

I wanted to share this poem with you.

"I chose to look the other way

 I could have saved a life that day,

 but I chose to look the other way.

 It wasn't that I didn't care, I had the time, and I was there.

 But I didn't want to seem a fool, or argue over a safety rule 

I knew he'd done the job before, if I called it wrong, he might get sore.

The chances didn't seem that bad,

 I've done the same, he knew I had.

So I shook my head and walked on by,

 he knew the risks as well as I.

He took the chance, I closed an eye, and with the act,

 I let him die.

 I could have saved a life that day, but I chose to look the other way.

Now every time I see his wife, I'll know I should have saved his life.

That guilt is something I must bear, but it isn't something you need to share.

 If you see a risk that others take, that puts their health or life at stake.

The question asked, or thing you say,

could help them live another day.

 If you see a risk and walk away,

 then hope you never have to say,

 I could have saved a life that day, but I chose to look the other way."

                                 Don Merrell

Simply look out for yourselves and for each other.

This next story comes to us from Paul Ceccarelli. How he dealt with his First Aid situation.

"It was a nice fall day in October of 2004 when I decided to tackle my next homeowner project. It was time to replace the windows in the front of my house. Now, this is a project that seemed relatively easy to me, since I had been doing carpentry work on and off for over 25 years.

So, out come the old windows, then time to get ready to put in the new ones, but wait...the new windows are a little bit smaller. No problem, I'll just cut a few 2 x 4's and back in business.

So I have a 2 x 4 on the saw ready to cut,then a second later my arm is in the chop-saw getting cut! It only took a second and now I had an arm that was cut clear to the bone. Since I have been through First Aid Training, I did not panic and put direct pressure with a towel immediately. I called for my wife to grab more towels and to stay calm. I had no use of my hand at this point, but we managed to control the bleeding.

I was rushed to the hospital where I received over 35 stitches. After months of rehab I now have 98% use of my hand."

Thanks to Paul for sharing this story with us. I want to add a personal note to this story. If you don't know, Paul is my father. When I received the phone call I was on Cape Cod working. I had to drive 110 miles home to install windows so they could come home from the hospital to a weather tight house. I kept all my appendages!

So recently I have asked some associates, friends and fellow net workers to offer stories of their personal experiences dealing with or wittnesing a First Aid Emergency.

So this first story comes to you from Joe Holm:

"Last November, I was coaching my son's elementary school basketball team, and one of the players was cut pretty badly over the eye. As we were scrimmaging, one of the players who had not played before, and confused football for basketball in the rules dept, fell on top of one of the players, driving his face into the hardwood floor. The player who had his face  planted, happened to be wearing Rec spec's ( thankfully, not his glasses ) and they were driven into his eyebrow. After he sat up, there was a little blood dripping down his face, but not too bad. I removed his rec spec's and the flood began! He had a slice right across his eyebrow!! And oh by the way, it was my son... I panicked for a quick second, then reached for my "medical kit"... which consisted of one icepack, and some gauze... I went through the gauze in about 30 seconds, and had paper towels and the icepack on it to keep the swelling down and try to stop the bleeding. I was the only adult in the gym, so I had to get someone back to the gym to finish the practice so I could take my son to the hospital. He thankfully required no stitches, just glue, which he proudly showed off the next day at school with his black eye. I think the experience was more upsetting for me than it was for him. "

First off, thanks to Joe for sharing this story. Sounds like Joe did a great job handling this situation, especially because it was his own kid. Parents often time have that initial "freak-out" reaction which does not help the situation. I am happy to hear your son is ok and thank you for sharing.

The American Heart Association has released some facts and statistics that are directly related to out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. I want to share some of these facts with you. For the complete list you can visit the AHA site.

About 75 to 80 percent of out-of-hospital cardiac arrests happen at HOME. This means having someone trained in Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) can make a substantial difference for the survival rates of a loved ones.

Approximately 310,000 of all annual adult coronary heart disease deaths in the United States are suffered outside the hospital setting and in hospital emergency departments. Of those deaths, about 166,200 are due to sudden cardiac arrest.

These are some very important reasons why we still need people to have CPR training. With response times for medical professionals, EMT's and Paramedics, taking anywhere from 6 to 20 plus minutes, depending on location and time of day, it now becomes vital for a bystander to help with CPR.

 In addition, the use of Automated External Defibrillators (AED's) have also been playing a vital role in saving lives due to sudden cardiac arrest. This is why many companies and communitieshave introduced AED's to their safety programs.

 In closing, I ask that you ask yourself one question, and if the answer is NO than please consider going through a training course.

 If someone collapsed in front of you right now, would you know how to react?

No matter how neat and orderly your warehouse may appear, the trained safety eye can see that it is rife with opportunities for accidents and injuries.

 For example, stacking materials improperly or lack of forklift experience could lead to injuries and fines. You don't know what you don't know. Proper training is key in anywork place to prevent hazards.

A warehouse poses many different jobs and tasks that you need to be prepared for any potential accident or injury. Warehouse operations are governed by numerous OSHA standards including rules for walking and working surfaces, regulations governing the selection and use of personal protective equipment (PPE), and material handling and storage rules.

Here are some basic tips to safety:

--Make safety a priority in everything you do while working in the warehouse.
--Wear appropriate PPE, such as gloves, safety shoes, eye protection, and hard hats.
--Keep alert to hazards, and correct or report them when you see them.
--Pay attention to warning signs and signals-and obey them.
--Watch where you're going and focus on what you're doing.
--Pay attention to what others are doing as well. Especially keep an eye out for forklifts and other hazardous equipment.
--Stack and store materials properly so they're stable, secure, and don't create any kind of hazard-including a fire hazard.

I feel that one of the issues that indirectly affects safety in the warehouse environment is good housekeeping. Here is a list of good rules to follow:

--Don't leave items in aisles, on the floor, or perched insecurely on a surface.
--Clean up all spills immediately.
--Don't block sprinklers, fire exits, or fire extinguishers.
--Put items in their assigned places immediately rather than moving them from one stopping point to another.
--Don't leave box cutters or other sharp tools lying around. Retract their blades into the handles if the tool's design permits it.
--Keep cords and wires off the floor.
--Report loose or damaged flooring or other tripping hazards you can't fix.
--Dispose of all trash immediately in proper containers.

If you follow some of these simple guidelines you will create a safer workplace for everyone.