OSHA 1910.157(c)(1) The employer shall provide portable fire extinguishers and shall mount, locate and identify them so that they are readily accessible to employees without subjecting the employees to possible injury.

OSHA 1910.157(c)(4) The employer shall assure that portable fire extinguishers are maintained in a fully charged and operable condition and kept in their designated places at all times except during use.

As an employer not only is it our duty to provide portable fire extinguishers, it is also our duty to see to it they are all fully operable. Take the time to set a reminder in your calendars, we personally check our extinguishers Quarterly. Below is a helpful video in how you too can save time and money by inspecting your own Fire Extinguishers.

The reason we investigate accidents is to find out why they happened so that we can prevent them from happening again in the future.

Accident investigation is a process during which we try to capture facts and details about the accident. One method of investigating accidents is root cause analysis. This method defines the problem throughly by finding out who was involved, exactly what happened, when the accident occurred, when contributing events occurred, and where people and equipment were located. Evidence, like pictures, test results, and witness statements, is collected to support these answers. The situation, contributing factors, and results are then tied together by cause and effect to create a complete picture of the accident. The investigator's final task is to propose solutions and changes that will prevent a re-occurrence.

The accident scene can provide a great deal of helpful information. After the injured have been taken care of and the scene is safe, it should be secured.
Watch the video below to understand Near Misses and Accident Investigation:

The two-hand squat and stoop lift method:
1) Get close to the load and grasp firmly, hugging it.
2) Set your stomach muscles as if you were doing a pelvic tilt. This helps prepare them to support the load.
3) Keep your back upright with a slight backward arch as you use your leg muscles to life the load.
4) Set load down smoothly.

The assisted one-hand lift method:
- As you bend over the container, rest your free hand on the edge of the container for support, and use the other hand and to lift the object or part. As you come out of the lift, push down with your free hand on the container edge to push your back and object up. When there is no container to rest your free hand on, use the area right above your knee as an anchor point.
This is a way of lifting that is shared by the shoulder muscles, which are more developed than lower back muscles. Keep in mind this does have it's limitations and is best if the weight to be lifted does not exceed 15-25 pounds.

Each year, phone use results in about 1.6 million crashes, hundreds of thousands of injuries and thousands of deaths. Many people incorrectly believe that using a hands-free phone is safe. But actually, using a hands-free phone is just as dangerous. It's not the phone in your hand; it's the conversation that causes something called "inattention blindness." This temporary condition means that while your brain is focused on your conversation, it's not processing what you see through the windshield the same way; it's not safely analyzing your surroundings, it's not identifying potential hazards, and it's not able to quickly respond to unexpected situations. Your reaction and response times are slower, just as if you had been drinking.

It is our policy at Anaya Welding & Lease to prohibit the use of cell phones while driving company vehicles and discourage employees from using cell phones from their personal vehicles as well.