Business Safety: Does Your Business Need HazCom Training?

Do you run an industrial or pharmaceutical business in the US? Well, if that’s the case, you need to comply with the OSHA standards.

In many cases, it’s not hard to do. However, when you run a business, you have other people working for you, and they often have no idea about such standards. So what you need is HazCom training.

In this article, we will cover what it is, as well as why you need it. 

So, if you want to avoid unnecessary fines and other legal repercussions, keep reading.

What Is HazCom?

In many work environments, toxic chemicals are present and they are necessary for the completion of many tasks. To ensure that these chemicals are used safely by employees in the surrounding environment, there are certain hazardous communications standards in place.

The HCS or HazCom was developed to make it easier for individuals to find information about chemicals. This is very important, if an issue occurs, such as a leak. Being able to respond appropriately and to take critical actions for the safety of everybody is invaluable.

All companies that make use of chemicals need to have these standards followed by anyone who is working for their organization or near it. 

The HazCom criteria has existed for many years and it is continually updated. The standards in place are subject to enforcement in many countries. In the US, OSHA aligned these standards with the Globally Harmonized System of Labeling and Classification of Chemicals.

In Europe, the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work ensures clear communication in all facilities. In Canada, the Workplace Hazardous Information System is applicable. Having as many facilities around the globe following comprehensible and similar communication is important to keeping everybody safe.

These standards allow individuals to move from one work environment to another without complete retraining. This can prevent mistakes and miscommunication from happening, which will often lead to fatalities and serious injury.

Complying With OSHA Standards

For businesses in the US, they must follow and comply with HCS standards. OSHA works hard to ensure that companies maintain compliance, as this ensures the safety of the local public as well.

Companies that want to and need to become compliant can find the necessary resources on the OSHA website. But they can often ask for direct support from them as well. They offer HazCom solutions, mostly for free, to help ensure companies with applicable regulations and laws.

Making an effort to remain compliant is not only good for avoiding fines but also to ensure the livelihood of all entities involved. Programs from OSHA have helped reduce the number of accidents, fatalities, and injuries that occur from chemical exposure.

Eliminating these issues ensures that your facilities can remain operational as long as possible. And it reduces the expenses that will be your obligation as per an unsafe environment. 

Having the information available is not sufficient to be compliant. Facilities must provide training to their employees that cover responses to a safety hazard analysis. This is mandatory if there is a spill or some occurrence.

The training should also cover safety data sheets and warning labels. And, it should cover other information that is part of communication standards. If there are changes or additions to chemicals being used, employers should be aware of them and trained upon their use.

Providing annual re-training is also a great way to ensure compliance. These annual refreshers can be done as a whole, or provide to individual workers by their supervisors. Tracking training is important for compliance, so keep that in mind.

What Is Proper Training?

Employees must go through training at the moment of being assigned work with hazardous substances. The intent of this is to have information before exposure, as only then an occurrence of adverse health conditions can be prevented. The training provisions are not satisfied by giving employee datasheets. 

The training program must act as a forum for elaborating not only on the hazards of the chemicals. But, also on how to use the information that is collected by the communication program.

This can be done in a variety of ways, such as classroom instruction, audiovisual and interactive video. It should include instances for workers to ask questions and they should be encouraged to clarify what is not understandable. 

Training is subject to each specific chemical. And, also on the variety of categories involved, such as toxic agents, carcinogens, and sensitizers. As these are commonly met by workers during the course of their employ. 

Furthermore, the training has to be understandable. If the employees receive instructions in a language other than English, the training is subject to performance under the HCS. And, it is conducted in a foreign language that is comprehensible to the workers.

Proper training is available at various training agencies or directly from OSHA for free (usually). Training agencies often have a fee associated with their training. But they are great for large enterprises that need to cover HazCOM and HCS in a comprehensive manner.

HazCom Elaborated

Now you know what HazCom is, as well as how compliance must be ensured. You are well on your way to make your business fully compliant and safe from the many penalties that can become a nuisance for your enterprise and its workers. 

In any case, you know that if you don’t follow the standards you will face the consequence, so it’s up to you to decide if you need training. However, think about your workers and their families. You need to ensure that they are safe from harm and that’s your job.

If you’re interested in similar articles, feel free to check out the rest of our educational content on the sidebar or below.

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