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General Safety Issues

WHY YOU SHOULD LEAVE FURNACE REPAIR WORK TO THE PROFESSIONALS (GUEST POST)

For the savvy DIY home-owner, no project seems too big to tackle on your own. Plumbing, roofing, landscaping, and flooring may have all been conquered, and even some basic electrical work isn’t too frightening if you take the proper precautions. But there are a few projects that even die-hard DIY’ers should steer clear of, and working with your home heating system is one of them.

Here are a few of the many situations in which working with your furnace can end badly, and why you should just call out the professionals in the first place.

If It’s Not Done at All

If you’re not a trained expert, you don’t know what problems you may be looking for when you do the recommended annual check. If you don’t know what your furnace should look and sound like, you won’t know what isn’t supposed to look or sound like either.

If a problem isn’t caught in time, any number of dangerous situations could occur, including carbon monoxide leaks, fires, and explosions…all of which can be potentially fatal. So if you don’t know the parts of your furnace well enough to tell if they’re damaged or functioning properly, don’t try to diagnose the problem yourself. Call in professionals or your local heating company and have them perform the annual maintenance check on your furnace instead.

If It’s Diagnosed Wrong

If you hear strange noises coming from your furnace or start smelling gas, you’ll know there’s something wrong, but that doesn’t mean you’ll know what. Diagnosing the problem right the first time is essential when you’re dealing with your heating. If you guess wrong, you’ll be tampering with gas lines and parts that might be functioning perfectly, and damaging them will only lead to more extensive, expensive problems.

Further, while you’re busy trying to repair something that isn’t broken (or trying to fix the broken part but going about it the wrong way), the real problem may only be getting worse. Delaying proper care only increases risks of fire and CO2 poisoning, which kills over 200 people every year, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

If It’s Done Improperly

Even if you manage to get the diagnosis right, there’s no guarantee that you’ll be able to fix it. Furnaces are complicated machines—it’s not as simple as unclogging a toilet or landscaping a flowerbed. With many DIY projects, there are multiple ways to fix the problem. With other projects, you don’t have as much freedom. With a furnace, there is one right way to fix each problem. And if you don’t do it right, you’ll only compound the problems. At best, you’ll only delay the need for real maintenance. At worst, you’ll ruin your entire furnace and have to replace it completely.

If It’s Too Much to Handle

Getting halfway through a project and not knowing how to finish can be one of the most frustrating problems to run into as a DIY’er. And some projects are definitely more complicated than others. Furnace repairs will be one of those times you wish you had just called in the professionals—it might not seem like challenging work at first, but it’s more complicated and risky than it looks.

Some potential problems with your furnace include:

  •                   Dirty Burners
  •                   Leak in Gas Line
  •                   Cracked Heat Exchanger
  •                   Poor Venting
  •                   Failed Thermocoupler

If you’re like most of the world, you probably don’t even know what each of those parts is, much less where they’re located or how to fix them. Don’t risk getting stuck with a furnace that’s half-taken apart with no way to put it back together.

Signs to Watch Out For

If you’re not in the habit of checking your furnace regularly, here are a few signs to watch out for that might indicate that it needs maintenance.

  •         The furnace isn’t producing as much heat as it usually does
  •          Funny clicking or rattling noises
  •          The pilot light goes out consistently or won’t light at all
  •          The burner flame is yellow instead of blue
  •           Your gas or electric bills are going up
  •           Your furnace is over 20 years old          

Some projects can be done by the average homeowner; however, others need more professional care to avoid potential hazards that could severely damage your home or health. So if you suspect that your furnace needs maintenance, call your local Los Angeles or Edmonton furnace repair and get it checked out—don’t try to do it yourself. The risks aren’t worth it.  

 Connor Adkins  enjoys helping people stay fit and healthy. He also enjoys DIY projects, landscaping his yard, and spending time with his wife and three children.  Connor wrote this article for Always Plumbing and Heating.

General Safety Issues

ELECTRICAL SAFETY – ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW (GUEST POST)

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By Grace Beckett 

Electricity is almost everywhere. It is never good to come in contact with it, as it always looks for a way to reach the ground. If you are in its way, it will most definitely pass through you. It is better to take precautions than to face a fatal situation. Here is all that you need to know about making your your environment electricity-proof. 

In your yard 

  • Make sure your house is not built adjacent to any transformer. Always have a front yard and backyard to give your house some distance from the power lines.
  • Keep all the tools in a safe area like a garden shed or a garage far away from any electric lines.
  • Position all the satellite dishes, television and radio antennae in an area on the roof where there would be no interference with any power line.
  • While using metal ladders, make sure you work away from any overhead lines. If you work on an aluminium ladder that is in contact with a power line, you might get electrocuted. Use wooden ladders if possible.
  • Do not attempt to rescue objects or animals from power lines on your own. Call for help from the electricity department or the fire department.
  • Trees can conduct electricity when in contact with any power line. So remember not to climb trees close to transformers or power lines and educate your kids on this.
  • While landscaping, make sure that your trees, plants and shrubs do not interfere with power lines and transformers.
  • Electrical circuits and outlets that are present outdoors need to be protected with a Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter (GFCI). 

Within your walls 

Keep testing all your electric outlets and appliances for any damage or break. Replace defective electrical parts when necessary. Install all electrical outlets higher up on the wall away from a child’s reach. Another reason for this is because outlets closer to the ground may cause dangers if there are water spills near the electrical circuit. Keep all electrical appliances away from water. Make sure there are no hair-styling equipments like blow dryers, straighteners, dehumidifiers, etc., in your bathrooms or near the kitchen sink. 

Water is an excellent conductor of electricity, so keep away all electric cords from damp places. Avoid overloading any electrical outlet. Keeping checking all the circuits and wiring for any defects and get them fixed immediately. Always switch off an outlet before unplugging the cord. Unplug unused electrical appliances and keep them in a safe place till you need to use them again. Do not keep any electrical appliance or cord on any cloth like curtains, carpets, table cloth, etc. All electrical appliances release heat and this may sometimes lead to a fire. Use tested and certified appliances and electrical equipment (Ex: Underwriter Laboratories certified.) 

Grace is an expert associated with PASS training courses. Feel free to visit their website http://www.pat-testing-course.com/training-courses/liverpool.php for more details on the training courses they offer.

General Safety Issues

UNVEILING #8 AND #10 ON TOP TEN OSHA VIOLATIONS – 2010

We have been talking about the Top Ten OSHA violations for fiscal year 2010, and the only two left to cover are #8 – Powered Industrial Trucks, general industry (29 CFR 1910.178), and #10 – Machines, general requirements, general industry (29 CFR 1910.212).  On the OSHA website, violations are listed, along with the amounts that companies paid.  Many of them pay for repeat violations.  It seems that it would be better to fix the problem than to keep paying fines.  After all, human lives are at stake, and employers are not supposed to put their employees at risk. 

Powered industrial trucks, (forklifts or lift trucks), are used primarily to move materials.  They can be used to move, lift, lower, or remove large objects or a number of smaller objects onto pallets or in boxes, containers, or crates.  The operator of a powered industrial truck may be moving steel around the job site, and must be trained in its safe operation in order to avoid exposing employees to being struck or crushed by the vehicle.  An example of an expensive violation was OSHA’s determination that a certain manufacturer had twenty (count ‘em) violations for failing to properly train workers who operated powered industrial trucks.   Also, for failing to protect workers from other workplace hazards, the company was fined a total of $274,500.  OSHA states that failing to train, monitor and evaluate employees’ skills puts workers at unnecessary risk. 

Both formal and practical training for operators must be provided.  Formal may be by lecture or video.  Practical includes demonstration and practical exercises.  Employers must also certify that each operator has received the training and evaluate each operator at least once every three years.  The employer must evaluate the operator’s performance prior to operating the truck, and determine the operator to be competent to operate a powered industrial truck safely.  If an operator demonstrates a deficiency in the safe operation of the truck, refresher training is needed.  

Last, but not least, coming in at #10 on the list is Machines, general requirements, general industry (29 CFR 1910.2120.  Oddly enough, the same company that had fines for failing to properly train powered industrial truck operators, also received citations for alleged willful violations to fail to ensure machinery guards were in place at points of operation.  A willful violation is one that is committed with intentional, knowing or voluntary disregard for the law’s requirements, or plain indifference to employee safety and health. 

Another company was cited for alleged willful, repeat and serious violations of workplace safety and health standards following the death of a worker who was pulled into a machine.  The company failed to guard various moving parts on the machine against employee contact.  Not guarding moving machine parts has the potential to cause severe workplace injuries, such as crushed fingers or hands, amputations, burns, or blindness.  Safeguards are necessary to protect workers from these preventable injuries.  The point of operation of a machine whose function exposes an employee to injury, shall be guarded.  The guarding device shall be in conformity with any appropriate standards, therefore, or, in the absence of applicable specific standards, shall be so designed and constructed as to prevent the operator from having any part of his body in the danger zone during the operating cycle. 

This same standard violation (machine guarding), was also listed as #5 on the highest penalties assessed by OSHA in 2010.  Anyone who runs a machine that is not properly guarded should not take the chance on being injured.  He/she should go to their supervisor and the supervisor should take action to remedy the situation. 

This concludes our review of the Top Ten OSHA Violations for 2010.  We will complete the list of Highest Penalties assessed for 2010 in tomorrow’s article.  Again, it is costly to pay fines; but why not correct something that is a known violation of OSHA standards, rather than risk someone’s life?

Source: OSHA

General Safety Issues

REFUSING TO DO DANGEROUS WORK

Have you ever felt that you are sent out to perform a job that may be unsafe?  If so, you need to know what your rights are in the event you feel you must refuse to perform the assigned task.  When you think that conditions of work are unhealthful or unsafe, you should notify your employer.  If your employer fails to correct the hazard or disagrees with you about the extent of the hazard, you may file a complaint with OSHA.  

However, you need to take the right steps to protect yourself.  Refusing to do a job because of potentially unsafe workplace conditions is not ordinarily an employee right under the OSH Act.  (Your union contract or state law may, however, give you this right, but OSHA cannot enforce it.)  Refusing to work may result in disciplinary action by the employer.  However, employees do have the right to refuse to do a job if they believe in good faith that they are exposed to an imminent danger.  “Good faith” means that even if an imminent danger is not found to exist, the worker had reasonable grounds to believe that it did exist.  But, as a general rule, you do not have the right to walk off the job because of unsafe conditions.  If you do and your employer fires or disciplines you, OSHA may not be able to protect you.  So, stay on the job until the problem can be resolved. 

You right to refuse to do a task is protected if ALL of the following conditions are met: 

  • Where possible, you have asked the employer to eliminate the danger, and the employer failed to do so; and
  • You refused to work in “good faith.”  This means that you must genuinely believe that an imminent danger exists.  Your refusal cannot be a disguised attempt to harass your employer or disrupt business; and
  • A reasonable person would agree that there is a real danger of death or serious injury; and
  • There isn’t enough time, due to the urgency of the hazard, to get it corrected through regular enforcement channels, such as requesting an OSHA inspection.

 When all of these conditions are met, you take the following steps:

  • Ask your employer to correct the hazard;
  • Ask your employer for other work;
  • Tell your employer that you won’t perform the work unless and until the hazard is corrected; and
  • Remain at the worksite until ordered to leave by your employer. 

If your employer discriminates against you for refusing to perform the dangerous work, contact OSHA immediately.  Knowing the proper procedures you need to follow in order to protect yourself will ensure that you don’t have to be in danger, or risk losing your job.  Your life is worth more than any job.

 

Source:  OSHA