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Technology Congestion is a not a recent phenomenon but the urgency around Digital Innovation and Digital Transformation has brought it front and center. Technology Congestion is a point in the Digital Journey where multiple technology initiatives, executed in parallel become entangled with each in a state where none of the initiatives, hampered by inter dependencies, prioritization, and cost, is able to complete, make progress and deliver business value. Modern Experiences Require Multiple Technologies Building a consumer driven, customer centric experience that truly delights and moves business KPIs requires several technologies to come together in almost a magical experience. This means that not on boarding and deploying multiple technologies is not an option or possibility. Enterprises have to build competencies in multiple technologies (and they have multiple strategic options to do so) and this can be a daunting task. Managing Technology Dependencies Often, an app-centric methodology requires a complete focus on the user and customer's experience. Delivering that experience can requires technologies that leverage each other or are inter-dependent on each other. Inter-dependencies can be sequential i.e. Technology A is required to be installed and operational before Technology B can be initialized. Inter-dependencies can also be matrixed i.e. a service X might require service Y to be complete and Service Y requires Technology B. Inter-dependencies can also be circular where System M feeds information into System N and System N, in turn, provides feedback to enable System M to iterate and improve. Innovation To A Screeching Halt Technology congestion can stall innovation. Sorting out dependencies can delay innovation and new product development and cause the enterprise to become anti-app-centric. The net impact is lost time and energy in technology installation and deployment with less than ideal focus and attention on customer value and user experience.

There are many areas in life in which we employ little tactics to help improve safety. For instance, we wear our seat belts to help stay safe while traveling in a vehicle and we also make sure our shoes are tied so we don't trip and fall while out and about. These safety actions are almost automatic as many people don't even have to think about doing them, they just happen out of pure habit. Not only do these little safety practices help to keep us safe, but they also add to the safety as others as well. For instance, if a person working in a warehouse is walking around with untied shoes, he or she could slip and fall and essentially bump into and take down another employee as well. Safety practices when done correctly really have an impact on almost everyone, especially in the workplace. There are many different small safety practices or items that can be done or utilized to help greatly improve the safety for everyone. It is important to remember that safety isn't always expensive. Sometimes safety is just about keeping a shoe tied, or hair pulled back. Here are some safety tips that won't break the safety bank: · Training - This one is my favorite. The truth is, we can add all the PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) we want but it won't really mean much unless the employees have been properly trained about safety. Employee training should always be the first line of defense against workplace hazards. Furthermore, training is cheap and can often times be 100% handled right in house. · Add Some Gloves - It is estimated that nearly 25% of workplace injuries involve the hands and fingers. Avoid this type of injury through the utilization of proper safety gloves. Gloves are effective as they provide a barrier between the hand and harmful elements such as chemicals, high temperatures, and items which may cause cuts or lacerations. Gloves are very cost-effective and are often an easy practice to implement. · Goggles aren't just for Swimming - I

Safety Myths We Could All Live Without Safety MythsI'm going to level with you today: There's a lot, and a mean a metric ton, of misinformation when it comes to safety in the workplace. The more experience you have, the more and more you discover which of the things you've been told actually seem to hold up to the action of a real workplace, and which advice becomes clearly idealistic and less useable. That said, why can't we just skip past the clutter? Why do myths about the nature of safety and accident prevention continue to circulate when experienced practitioners know them to be complete bologna? To be honest, I can't answer that, but hopefully what I can do is more useful; in this article, we're going to go over some common workplace safety myths and dissect them so that, with a whole lot of luck, they won't leave anyone's lips ever again. Accidents Happen Safety Myths AccidentsFirst of all, yes, accidents do happen… but the statement itself is dismissive, and suggests that some things are just out of our control. The problem with this sentiment is twofold. First of all, it's a slippery slope: If you decide one thing is out of your control, it's easier to accept that another thing might be as well. Before you know it, you're leaving too much up to chance and not enough up to your problem solving skills. The second problem is that the idea that accidents just "happen" of their own accord is silly and untrue. There is always something you can do, and you should always be actively improving your safety by finding these things as they come along. One counter example to this that people sometimes come up with is a case in which an employee does something really boneheaded and gets themselves into a dangerous situation. "Isn't that kind of out of my control?" one might ask. Actually, there are two possible situations here: 1. The worker deliberately put themselves in harm's way for some unknown reason. In this case, a resu

Lean systems are meant for producing the best products and services with little or no wastage of various kinds of resources. Lean supply chain management purports to create a well designed supply chain management system where all the resources are effectively utilized. The people, processes, technologies and suppliers will be optimized at the beginning of the implementation and it will be an ongoing process. The best of the best features will be implemented and there will be no room for waste. Lean supply chain helps companies deliver high quality products quickly and efficiently. What is expected from lean supply chain management? In fact, lean supply chain management is a new way of thinking to understand the supplier networks. It is required to have cooperation with various suppliers and should be able to balance it with the competition present in the market. There is a great deviation between lean supply chain management and traditional methods. There will be less number of structures in lean model whereas they are more in traditional systems. Most of the lean supply chain management principles are derived from the basic lean principles. How companies will be benefited by the lean implementation? By implementing lean methods in a systematic way, companies will be benefited to the greatest possible extent. The winning business strategy realizes the importance of the relation between the supply chain management and the overall financial status of the company. By streamlining the supply chain management with all the other core aspects of the company, the business will emerge into a profitable enterprise and will be able to deliver cutting edge solutions. Strategy for lean supply chain management In order to implement the lean supply chain management in an effective manner, it is required to build the core infrastructure and should be collaborated internally and should be executed externally as well. The next step would be the selection of the right kind of

So here's how today started out… We got an email from a guy who took issue with one of our recent infographics, 10 Astonishing Facts About Arc Flash. Here's what he wrote: "Have you seen the commercial for the insurance company that uses the premise "If it's on the the Internet, it must be true"? I have still not seen the source of these statistics. The Capschell report is what all of these websites, all of which involved in the business of Arc Flash for profit ($$$$), including yours, use without merit. […] Even NFPA 70E does not not cite the source of the statistic regarding "2000 injuries per day". Don't just give me another website that says that again, show me source (ie the study) that produces those statistics. I am not, by any means, attempting to reduce the importance of arc flash, arc flash studies or PPE. I just have a problem when companies use these types of statistics without regard to the source or veracity of the information. Fear Mongering is the term that come to mind. It's on the internet so it must be true." I believe whole-heartedly that our marketing team did a significant amount of research on Arc Flash prior to creating this infographic, and I don't believe the intent of our marketing team to promote or perpetuate bad information. However, I can understand this person's sentiment, and I wanted to know myself what the real numbers were. So, the hunt for accurate data began. Before I go further, it should be addressed that our infographic says that there are 2,000 injuries each year, not every day. Still, where did this figure come from? I started searching to uncover where the 2,000 injuries per year came from. I asked the marketing team for their source, and they provided me with the official NFPA 70E 2012 Handbook. In Annex K(3), it states plainly that 2,000 people a year are injured as a result of arc flash. But, as our accuser points out, there is no citation. Because this is NFPA, a standardization or

In 2018, Email marketing is more popular to promote products, to interact with customers by sending latest information. This is a very important aspect of Blogging and online marketing. Are you planning to start the email marketing to get in touch with your blog readers and to promote your products? This article is for you.

This year, Creative Safety Supply is hosting a scholarship competition for college students. Students currently enrolled in a college, university, or technical school who have a minimum 3.0 GPA and are United States citizens are eligible to apply. Those interested can find full eligibility details, as well as two essay questions, here: https://www.creativesafetysupply.com/scholarship/ Creative Safety Supply developed this scholarship program to support students pursuing higher education. On a daily basis, we work to help businesses achieve their goals and we wanted to help students achieve their goals, too. The winner of the competition will receive $1,000 to be applied toward educational expenses in 2017. As part of the application process, we're interested in hearing from students about their career goals and about ways they have used creative thinking to achieve academic or personal success. Finding creative solutions to common safety, compliance, and productivity problems is what we do, and we believe this kind of thinking plays an important role in any endeavor, whether that endeavor is in the workplace, education, or personal life. Since we launched our scholarship program this summer, we've seen a positive response from students across the country. If you are or know an interested student, there's still time to apply: the deadline for the scholarship is next Thursday, December 15th. A winner will be selected in January. Contact scholarships@creativesafetysupply.com with any questions.

I read an interesting article today about safety by Mari-len De Guzman on Cos-Mag.com, an occupational safety e-magazine for Canadian manufacturers. At the CSSE (or, Canadian Society of Safety Engineering) conference in Niagara Falls this week, Los Alamos National Laboratory safety expert, Todd Conklin, spoke about how many manufacturing and industrial companies look at safety issues. He pointed out that, rather than continually blame operator-error for most failures and safety problems, it is more systemic, stating that: workers get hurt when they find themselves in situations where it's hard to be safe and easy to get hurt. With that in mind, he offered several potential causes for failure or safety incidents and ways to combat them. First, he said that humans make mistakes, so he advised that it is important to anticipate those potential mistakes and have several levels of defensive safety measures. Next, he suggested that companies should anticipate that unforeseeable events can happen, and WILL happen, so employers and safety managers need to keep this in mind. Learning is another tip Conklin pointed out. Whenever something bad happens, the best defense next time is to learn as much as we can from the event. We can learn many things, like defenses, unsafe speeds, too much load, proximity to dangerous equipment or products, etc. Finally, he also advised managers to approach safety or failure issues (and the operators involved) with caution. He warned that being positive and asking things in a proactive manner can give a much better reply or response, as follows: Instead of asking a worker, "what have you done, now?" ask them, "how do we set this up so failure doesn't happen again." By asking the right question, employers can get a more operational-centric answer. I really thought this was great info. It might seem like common sense to some, safety matters and needs to be one step ahead of the production line. I also more or less agree with Con

Confined Space Entry Permits - Safety Guidelines Hidden In The Cracks Dangerous, confined spaces are the stuff of horror films and cringe-worthy moments on screen, and there's a reason. Depictions of people trapped in a confined space not only play on a natural human tendency toward claustrophobia, but they also reflect a very real danger in the workplace. As such, OSHA has implemented a system of "confined space entry permits," hoping to help increase worker awareness and avoid common types of injury and death associated with working in a confined space. In this blog post, we'll cover everything from the definition of a confined space, to the details of a fully developed entry permit system. What Is A Confined Space? While the question may seem elementary, OSHA does adhere to strict definitions for confined spaces; this is important to know as a safety professional, as you'll need to be aware of which spaces require you to adhere to OSHA protocol and which don't. Basically, a confined space has to be a place that's large enough for a person to work and perform their job within, but is not intended for long term occupancy by workers. The third and final criteria is that the space has limited means of entry and exit. In short, the space is a place that someone can fit and work in for a limited time, but which impairs mobility and might be difficult to enter and, more importantly, exit quickly. What Is A Confined Space Entry Permit? Sometimes, confined spaces have additional potential risks and hazards that go above and beyond just their shape and size. In these cases, OSHA requires that permits are filed before a worker enters the space. Here are OSHA's additional criteria that indicate the necessity of a permit: The space contains or could contain a hazardous atmosphere The space is comprised of or contains a material that could engulf a worker who enters. The space has any kind of "internal configuration" that might present an additiona

A swimming pool is a very good addition to any home as they add luxury and a place to cool off during hot sunny days. You should note, however, that swimming pools are just as dangerous as they are fun if the proper safety supplies are not implemented during use. One can easily drown in a swimming pool if you are not careful enough to follow good guidelines such as not swimming alone, and not diving headfirst into any pools that are not extremely deep and allow for diving. This holds especially true if you are not a good swimmer. You should therefore make sure to have safety products and supplies on hand at all times when using swimming pools. It is also wise to ensure that there is some form of supervision when the pool is being utilized. You can employ the services of a professional life guard or have a grown up look after children who are using the pool. You should note that the life guard should also implement the use of safety products and supplies irrespective of how good they are at swimming. Safety supplies for swimming pools start with exterior elements that ensure the pool is safe for use. You can start by putting up a fence and gate. Such steps to ensure the safety of small children who might wander into the vicinity of the pool is especially important. As well, safety supplies are very effective in restricting access into the swimming pool for others who might not appreciate the dangers. This will ensure that unauthorized persons who are not well experienced in swimming can not access the pool without authorization. You can also opt to put a cover over your pool. This will ensure that your pool is not contaminated by debris. It also prevents people from falling into the pool when it is not in use. Other safety supplies include floatation devices. Floatation devices can either be worn or used separately, such as when one holds onto the device and/or lays atop of the floatation device. Floatation devices come in very many shapes and sizes all dependin

On the A Lean Journey blog, Tim McMahon offered up the reins to Lean Six Sigma writer, Kathryn Thompson, about a case study in lean manufacturing and six sigma. Inappropriately titled "The Successes of Lean Manufacturing and Six Sigma: A Case Study," Thompson's post is sparse on details and any data backing up the claim that Midlake Products is a decent model for lean and six sigma. No disrespect intended toward Ms. Thomson, but this article is NOT a case study. It reads more like a press release for Midlake Products. Thompson's post gives a summary of this company's lean six sigma background and links to their website which, for all intents and purposes, is devoid of any significant examples of how they implemented lean or six sigma and what the pros/cons included. A case study is something that gives a reader some indication of a need for improvements, the processes implemented, and results. They are important documents for anyone who is contemplating starting a program and looking for basic firsthand perspectives from professionals in their industry or comparable production models. If one were to desire a real case study on the matter, I'd recommend this one from Lean Enterprise Institute for starters. It lays out the information in a more traditional way.

Since the inception of factory production in the industrial revolution, safety has been a concern. However, safety today looks nothing like it did back then. We now have OSHA and other government groups, unions, and lobbies that safeguard the safety of workers and make sure that they are adequately provided for. In addition, workers themselves have more rights in suing an employer over unsafe conditions and receiving compensation in the event of an incident that leaves them injured. Especially if an injury prevents them from providing for their family. The point is, a lot has changed over the past few hundred years in workplace safety, and those changes have unanimously been in the best interests of the workers that inhabit those workplaces. However, just as changing times caused safety evolution in the past, it is important that this trend continues now with the advent of things such as the internet, tablets, smart phones, and more. Safety is no longer limited to physical seminars and training sessions. That being said, let's take a look at exactly how you can use technology and engagement to enhance your safety efforts. eNewsletter to Employees One way that employers are reaching their employees both in a new way and outside of the physical confines of the work area is through email newsletters. The vast majority of working adults (and most every demographic, for that matter) are online these days and employers need to make sure they are taking advantage of that online time and platform. Formatting an email newsletter is great because it can be easily sent out to every single employee in your workforce. This can be used for general company news and the like, but can also be used to send out weekly safety lessons or reminders for employees about any witnessed unsafe behavior. To get started down this round, you'll need to make sure your emails get opened and engaged with. Here are a couple of ways to do that: 1. Keep your subject lines short but catchy. Sub

Signs are everywhere! Whether you are shopping in a large mall, visiting a zoo, or simply driving in your car, there are signs helping to guide you along your visit or journey. However, one place that signs are highly utilized is within the workplace, especially within industrial work environments. With all the safety hazards possible in different types of jobsites, appropriate workplace signs are a must to help ensure safety. View our "10 Tips For Safety Signage Part 1" Slideshare Presentation Common Signs in the Workplace Signs can convey all sorts of messages from helpful directional arrows guiding employees and visitors to a specific location all the way to urgent, danger zone messages that require people to stop and use extreme caution. Let's discuss some of the most common types of workplace signage. Restriction Signs - These signs often refer to restricted areas or zones, restricted speeds for forklifts, or restricted weight amounts. When a restricted sign is used there are often certain limits in place. Danger Signs - Signs that warn employees of danger are often high-contrast and feature the colors of black, white, and red. These signs can warn of electrical shocks, toxic materials, or any other dangerous situation. Fire Signs - This type of signage is usually white and red and can either warn employees about fire hazards or provide information on where fire safety equipment can be found. Mandatory Signs - Mandatory signs are signs requiring that certain precautions be taken before entering or utilizing an area or piece of equipment. Some mandatory signs may require employees to wear certain protective clothing before entering. Hazard Signs - Often times these signs feature the colors yellow and black. Hazard signs warn employees and visitors of potential hazards in the area. Hazard signs may warn about forklift traffic, slippery floors, or radiation risks, among many other things. Guide Signs - This type of signage is often used

How to Create Bumper Stickers for Your Sticker campaigns For everything from political campaigns to social causes and beyond, cars adorned with bumper stickers are a regular sight across the country. Regular stickers, even more common, are a staple of our world from a young age, and an easily recognizable object for even children. Have you ever wondered how they're made? Sure, there are many companies that print stickers and the like in bulk for a third party, but there are also countless custom sticker campaigns floating about with highly customized messaging, some of which sprang up nearly instantaneously from their creative parties. These aren't cheap, flimsy creations either, some of them are the backbones of grass roots organizations that have changed the way we think and live our lives. Whatever your idea or needs, you're reading this because you want to create your own stickers, labels, or some other similar creative piece with professionalism and reliability. Let's take a look at exactly how you might get that done. Step One - Get Your Printer Especially if you're going to be producing large quantities of whatever you're making, it will be important that you have a reliable printer that isn't going to break down on you. For this reason, I'd suggest a thermal printer. Thermal printers have relatively few moving parts compared to traditional printers. Thermal Printers 101: The primary way in which thermal printers differ from traditional inkjet type models is that they use heat to transfer or even produce text and images. There are two subtypes: thermal transfer and direct thermal. Thermal transfer printers heat an inked ribbon which is then rolled over a paper or high-graded vinyl, transferring an image. Direct thermal printers work with thermal-chromatic paper, but do not require any ink. A heating element is pressed against the paper in the pattern of the text or imagery desired, and the paper responds by changing color in those places.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration, or OSHA, is a government body tasked with regulating safety for workers, primarily in physical labor occupations, across the United States. They set the rules for transporting materials and chemicals, operating machinery, and other such guidelines to keep workers safe and to give them a voice when conditions might not otherwise be up to par. OSHA is your friend as a business owner, but there are certain situations in which interaction with OSHA can be a bit nerve-wracking for a company's management. OSHA Investigations OSHA investigations usually stem from serious injuries, fatalities, and large-scale catastrophes that occur in the workplace. Especially in the case of fatalities, OSHA is there for both the worker and for the company. For the employee and their family, and by extension the safety of other employees, OSHA will look into the circumstances surrounding the death or injury and determine if the company or its policies were fully or partially to blame for the incident. On the other hand, as long as you have adhered to OSHA guidelines, the investigation can help protect you from legal action if it is concluded that your company was not at fault. Re-opening OSHA Safety Sign Guide A Guide to OSHA Safety Signs This Guide to OSHA Safety Signs walks you through the recent updates to OSHA and ANSI sign requirements. You'll learn the required components of OSHA safety signs, including tips for formatting and posting your signs. Get Free OSHA Safety Sign Guide However, OSHA does have the right to re-open an investigation, even if it had previously reached a conclusion and closed it. This can be a bit worrying for management who have already been told that they were in the clear. However, the re-opened investigation must be concluded within six months of the original incident, so there is a fairly small statute of limitations on this re-opening period. For example, in June of 2013, a veteran mechanic worki

In the video below, we take a GoPro camera ride along with a tower climber as he scales to the top of a 1768 foot tall antenna. The worker slowly climbs on increasingly smaller and precarious looking ladder rungs, all while toting a 30 pound tool bag behind him, occasionally assisted by his climbing partner. The video, aptly titled "The most dangerous job in the world," is stirring up a lot of controversy, especially because it has simply shed light on a profession most people didn't even know existed. Tower climbers are often hired by cell phone companies to adjust antennas and mechanisms located at the top of their cell towers; they are often required to climb thousands of feet into the air. However, the even scarier part is that in many cases, they do not even use any sort of safety cable. In the video, a voice over remarks that OSHA regulations allow for this type of "free climbing" method. As it turns out, most experts are confused as to where the video makers got that idea, as there's nothing to be found in the OSHA guidelines that condones such procedure. In fact, to the contrary, OSHA has published findings highlighting the lethality of this particular profession and method, noting that AT&T alone has had 15 cell tower workers die from falls since data started being collected in 2003. What's even worse is that sanctions against cell companies have been nearly non-existent, and not once has OSHA gone after the larger providers, despite their high mortality rates. Part of this may be due to a loophole (indeed perhaps the very same one that the video cites as "allowing" for such a dangerous climb) that won't hold companies liable for the unsafe behavior of independent contractors if they don't have knowledge of it. In short, a contractor, knowing full well their workers will be free climbing, can simply not communicate to a cell company as such which in turn gives them plausible deniability. Why Should You Care As A Business Owner? ​No

Lean manufacturing is a method used in factories to enhance productivity. As part of lean manufacturing, 5S strategies are quite common sense and you would expect the posters to be easily accepted in an organization. However, it is not that easy to change working habits. As a result, factory managers may decide to use lean posters to make the employees understand the need for lean practices. What is 5S? This is a strategy from the Japanese that stands for Sort, Systematically Organize, Shine, Standardize and Sustain. For a successful lean program in any organization, the management must make sure that all stakeholders understand the process. The best way of educating people about lean practices is through lean posters. After the workers have adopted the practice, the posters act as reminders as well. There are many types of lean posters that management can use in factories. These posters are very essential for reminding everybody about the 5S program. Let us look at some of these posters. Management may use strategic lean posters with the aim of encouraging the workers to work towards a common goal. These posters mainly focus on employee behavior; how to change it for the better. For the best results, it is important for management to align such posters with the organization culture. Do you have programs or initiatives that the poster is promoting? If not, you might as well not bother because the poster may not benefit you much. Posters can also be used to motivate the workers as they continue with their duties. These types of posters have been around for many years, and they are quite effective. However, the effectiveness of such posters depends on whether they are relevant to the people. For a factory that is implementing lean practices, using lean posters is a cost-effective way of educating the workers and reminding them of the firm's commitment to reach its goals.

Many businesses need and even require the use of safety signs to warn employees and customers of potentially hazardous areas. However, the task of finding the right signs to portray the right message, along with finding a reputable company to provide the signs may be more difficult than originally intended. We are here to ease some of that burden with 10 helpful tips for finding the right safety signs to satisfy your business needs. 1. Identify Areas that May Need Safety Signs Before even beginning a search for a safety sign supplier, the first step in the process should be to accurately identify any areas within your facility that may be in need of safety signage. Think of all areas used by employees and/or customers such as aisles, walkways, fork lift zones, hazardous waste areas, potential slippery surface areas, etc. The key here is to identify all the locations that could pose hazardous conditions so proper signage can be created. 2. Pinpoint Potential Safety Hazards. Once certain areas have been designated as potentially hazardous, the next step would be to determine the actual safety hazards in the area that pose risks. An example of this could include an area where liquids are routinely transported. In this case, a spill may be likely which could endanger employees or customers due to the enhanced risk of a slip or fall. 3. Determine the Message to be Conveyed by the Signage Signs are posted everywhere, from "Watch Your Step" signs to "Employees Only" signs. However, for a sign to be truly effective it must convey a clean and clear message that can be understood easily by nearly anyone. For instance, in a work environment that includes welding, safety signs warning of potential arc flashes may be needed. In this case, a sign should be posted instructing anyone who enters to wear proper protective gear, this sign could read "Warning: Arc Flash Zone Proper Protection Required." 4. Consider the Conditions where the Signs will be Located Now

An arc flash is a dangerous situation in which an electrical current leaves its intended path and leaps through the air from one conducting source to another, or even sometimes the ground. Many times the transfer of electrical energy resembles and arc, hence the term arc flash. However, it is important to never underestimate the power behind an arc flash. An arc flash can vaporize metals, plastics, and even flesh. Many times arc flashes cause irreversible damage and harm to people and surrounding objects. In fact, most people injured in arc flash situations often never return to the same quality of life due to severe injury stemming from heat and burns. The heat of an arc flash has been calculated to be near 35,000 degrees Fahrenheit which is four times as hot as the sun's surface! What Causes an Arc Flash? There are many possible contributors towards an arc flash, which makes it difficult to really fully stop one from occurring. Some common culprits that may add towards the probability of an arc flash include dust, condensation, corrosion, material failure, faulty construction, dropping a tool, or simply accidental touching. National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Boundaries In an attempt to help protect employees and visitors from electrically charged equipment possible of creating arch flashes, certain safety boundaries have been put into place by the NFPA. The boundary resembles a target and in the middle is the energized equipment, and then there are four outer rings around the center with each ring labeled and specified for safety. The first ring, closest to the center (energized equipment) is called the prohibited approach boundary, then the next ring further out is called the restricted approach boundary, the next ring is called the limited approach boundary, and the furthest ring out from the center is called the flash protection boundary. Let's quickly describe each boundary. Prohibited Approach: Being within this boundary during an arc flash

The safety of employee's remains one of the top priorities of many businesses. Without clearly defined safety guidelines, the health and wellbeing of employees is at risk. In order to ensure that employers provide the protection necessary, OSHA provides the guidelines needed to develop a safety plan. Many states have enacted their own rules for safety plans; in fact at least 24 states have enacted their own state mandated safety plans. Furthermore, many businesses choose to turn their safety plans into one detailed safety manual that can be utilized by employees in nearly any work position. Reasons for an OSHA Safety Plan OSHA safety plans are written documents that outline the processes and procedures to help avoid health hazards and injuries, as well as identify the proper steps that should be taken if an accident does occur. This is especially important when it comes to hazardous work environments such as construction sites, factories, mining caves, and long shoring. For example, when a new construction project is being started, an OSHA safety plan will be implemented. First, the employer will need to thoroughly assess the project site for potential health hazards. Each hazard should be accounted for. Once the hazards have been identified, remedies should be sought or provided to either lessen or remove the hazard completely. When looking to reduce a hazard, steps such as providing personal protective equipment or using a special type of safety scaffolding for employees working at heights of more than 6 feet should be implemented.