Water Well Journal
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/681918
It's also important to develop a hazard plan and update it as conditions improve and as the work environment changes. Controls should also be in place to deal with non-routine tasks and emergency situations. Plan to protect workers during non-routine operations and foreseeable emergencies, such as fires and explosions, chemical releases, hazardous material spills, unplanned equipment shutdowns, natural disasters, and weather and medical emergencies. You are also urged to conduct drills to make sure your em- ployees know how to react in emergency and non-routine situ- ations. This will help reduce panic and instill confidence in their ability to handle out-of-the-ordinary situations. Conduct- ing an annual or semiannual audit of these controls will see to it controls are up-to-date at all times. (5) Education and training Someone who has worked as a driller's helper for most of their career probably knows their job well. How- ever, when the driller retires and they must assume the step, will they know what to do? Education and job training are essential to keeping workers safe. The transition time between jobs is often the most critical time as learning new job tasks requires a new awareness of safety issues. Workers must be trained in their specific roles and the identification of the specific hazards and controls that accompany their job tasks. Providing workers with a basic under- standing of hazard recognition and con- trol and actively involving them in the process can help you eliminate hazards before an incident occurs. (6) Program evaluation and improvement Once a safety program has been put in place, the work isn't finished. The program should be reevaluated on a reg- ular basis to ensure it's up-to-date and meets current safety needs. Evaluate the program initially to verify it has been implemented as intended and on a regular basis once it is established. Whenever you identify opportunities to improve the program, make adjustments and monitor how well it performs. This can be on an annual or semian- nual basis, or even monthly depending on the equipment or the issue. If a near- miss or an incident has occurred, that portion of the program should be evalu- ated immediately to find where the breakdown in the system occurred. When new equipment is purchased, new programs should be implemented. New hires should have training that meets their job task and be paired with an experienced employee to ensure safety understanding and implementation. (7) Coordination and communication on multi-employer worksites Working on sites where workers of more than one em- ployer are present can be confusing for employees. Often- times, safety cultures vary from business to business, large to small. Expectations differ as well. Communication is key in helping employees understand what is expected of them. Twitter @WaterWellJournl WWJ June 2016 25 Make your mission easier. Call us for special pricing on missionary packages. lonestardrills.com • 800.227.7515 Y o ur M i ssi on , Our Jo ur n e y The road to clean water is full of challenges. Lone Star Drills are portable, reliable and rugged. Travel over rough terrain with our durable, lightweight trailers, and drill as deep as 300 feet through the clay, sand and hard rock formations. You can rely on us for everything you need from tools to training, because getting you through your mission is our journey every day. OSHA continues on page 26