UNDERSTANDING SIGNS, LABELS, AND MSDSs

Transcription

1 LEADER S GUIDE 1129-LDG-E UNDERSTANDING SIGNS, LABELS, AND MSDSs Part of the BBP Safety Series "Quality Safety and Health Products, for Today...and Tomorrow"

2 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 INTRODUCTION 2 PREPARATION 3 INTRODUCE THE VIDEO 4 LEAD THE DISCUSSION 5 CONDUCT THE QUIZ 6 CONCLUDE THE MEETING 7 QUIZ 8 ANSWER KEY

3 INTRODUCTION Your organization and others like yours are filled with written warnings, including safety signs, chemical container labels, and material safety data sheets (MSDSs). Their purpose is to alert workers to potential hazards; provide vital information about how to work safely with machinery, equipment, and chemicals; and warn employees about what not to do. Unfortunately, even with the benefit of such warnings, nearly 11,000 workers are killed and 6.2 million are injured on the job every year. Why? There are probably a variety of reasons. Employees may simply stop seeing the safety signs around them after a while. Perhaps they don t completely understand the information provided in MSDSs. Maybe they don t take the time to read that chemical container s label. They may even think that the information on MSDSs, safety signs, and labels isn t really that important. No matter what the reason, such behavior can be changed by appropriate training and reinforcement on the job. This video training session can help you reinforce the essential role that reading, understanding and following written warnings plays in helping your company s employees protect themselves and all those around them. PREPARATION Participants will get the most out of this training session if you take the time to prepare for the meeting. Here s a suggested plan: Preview the video, noting any specific information you d like to emphasize during the discussion Review this leader s guide. This guide covers the video s main points and contains a discussion outline and a reproducible quiz that will help you lead an effective safety training session. Consider what department- or company-specific safety information employees should know. Write this information in the appropriate spaces throughout this leader s guide so that you will be prepared to discuss these important points during the meeting.

4 Gather what you ll need for the safety training meeting: VCR and video entitled Signs, Labels, and MSDSs Flip chart and makers Copies of any company-specific policies and guidelines that employees should have on hand Copies of the Understanding Signs, Labels, and MSDSs quiz from this guide Samples of some typical safety signs from your workplace Samples of containers labels for chemicals commonly used in your department and/or organization as a whole Copies of an MSDS for a chemical that many employees often use in your department and/or organization. INTRODUCE THE VIDEO You may choose to begin your video meeting session by reading or paraphrasing the following speech, or you may want to use an introduction you create yourself. Safety signs, chemical container labels, material safety data sheets: Our organization is filled with written warnings and their purpose is an essential one: to protect everyone s safety by alerting us to potential hazards and outlining the steps we should and shouldn t take when working with certain machinery, equipment, or chemicals. Yet, with the benefit of all these written warnings, why are nearly 11,000 workers killed and more than 6 million injured on the job every year? There are probably several reasons. Maybe the employees in question simply stopped seeing the safety signs around them. Perhaps they didn t understand all the information in an MSDS for a chemical they d be working with and didn t ask their supervisor to explain those areas they were uncertain about. Maybe they didn t read a label, thinking the information there probably wasn t that important. But no matter what the reason, the result was the same: serious accidents and injuries. The video we re about to see points out the important written resources available to you here at work and reinforces why it is so essential to read, understand, and follow these written warnings.

5 LEAD THE DISCUSSION After participants have watched the video, you re ready to begin your discussion session. The purpose of this discussion is to review and reinforce the key issues dealt with in the video. Encourage all employees to participate in the discussion. You may choose to write on separate pages of you flip chart each of the video s main points, which are listed in bold in the discussion that follows. Then include any information concerning these areas that you consider particular important for your department or organization. Use the spaces provided throughout this section to focus your discussion on the specific written warnings found at your workplace. 1. Safety Signs Pay attention to all safety signs. Ask if you have questions. Don t obstruct signs. Safety signs communicate their warnings with the help of three components. Can you name these three communication tools? Answers: - Standard words - Standard colors - Standard symbols Why are colors used on safety signs/ Answer: Each color that is used identifies a specific type of hazard and that can help workers recognize essential safety messages at a glance during emergencies. Let s quickly review what each color signifies. What type of hazard does the color red identify? Answer: Red stands for danger. These signs identify and immediate hazard that will cause serious injury or even death. What type of hazard does the color orange identify? Answer: Orange stands for warning, which means there is a hazard present that could cause serious injury or even death.

6 What type of hazard does a yellow safety sign indicate? Answer: Yellow means caution. These signs identify hazards that could cause minor or moderate injury. Employees should therefore be aware and work slowly and cautiously. What do green signs signify? Answer: The color green represents safety information. For example, a green sign may indicate the location of an eyewash station or an emergency shower. What type of hazards do purple signs indicate? Answer: Purple indicates a radiation hazard. Why is it important to ensure that you understand the symbols and colors represented on safety signs? Answer: You must be familiar enough with them to be able to recognize the safety message they re communicating at a glance especially in the case of an emergency situation. If a sign seems confusing or you don t understand the necessity for certain precautions, what should you do? Answers: Don t assume that you can ignore the sign. All posted safety signs are there to preserve your safety and therefore contain messages that must be adhered to. Ask your supervisor to explain the sign s message and why it is posted in that particular area. Discuss the safety messages communicated by safety signs posted in your department and/or the organization as a whole. (If any employees speak English as a second language and you have additional safety signs posted in their original language(s), include such signs during your discussion.) During this section of your meeting, be sure to cover the following areas: - Point out the colors on signs and quickly review what they represent - Ensure that employees understand the meaning of any symbols or pictures on your signs. - Emphasize what you specifically want employees to remember bout their safety messages.

7 Sign/Color Symbol Written Message Sign/Color Symbol Written Message Sign/Color Symbol Written Message Sign/Color Symbol Written Message Sign/Color Symbol Written Message Sign/Color Symbol Written Message Sign/Color Symbol Written Message

8 Why is it so important never to block a safety sign? Answer: Safety signs are posted not only to protect employees working in a particular department, but also anyone who might enter the work area, including employees from other departments and visitors. Review the guidelines employees should follow if they discover that a sign has in fact been blocked. 2. Labels Read labels carefully. Ask questions. Don t open a container if the label is missing, torn or not readable. The law requires labels on every container of hazardous materials in the workplace. What information must labels contain? Answers: - The identity of the hazardous chemical inside the container - How the chemical may be hazardous - What precautions you must follow with the chemical - The name and address of the chemical manufacturer, importer, distributor, or other party responsible for the labeling Stress the importance of carefully reading and understanding a chemical container s label before beginning any work with the chemical. Discuss the types of information covered on the labels of chemicals commonly used in your department or company as a whole (using the container label samples you brought to your discussion). Review or clarify the meaning of any terminology employees may not completely understand. Review the steps employees should follow if a label contains information they don t understand.

9 What should you do if you discover a chemical container that is missing a label or has an unreadable label? Answer: Don t open the container and report the problem immediately. Review any company/department guidelines employees should follow in such a situation. 3. Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDSs) Refer to the MSDSs Ask if you have questions. Know the location of the MSDSs If you need more information than what is provided on a chemical container s label, you should consult its material safety data sheet (MSDS). What general information does an MSDS provide? Answer: - Chemical product and the name, address, and phone number of the chemical manufacturer, importer, employer, or party responsible for preparing or distributing the MSDS - Composition and ingredients - Potential physical and health hazards - First-aid, firefighting, and accidental release measures - Handling, storage, transportation and disposal guidelines - Exposure controls and personal protection - Toxicological information - Physical and chemical properties - Stability and reactivity - Ecological information - Regulatory issues

10 Review the information covered within the MSDS of a chemical commonly used in your department or company. (Distribute copies of the chemical s MSDS so that participants can refer to it for this part of the discussion.) Review or clarify the meaning of any terminology employees may not complete understand. Review or clarify the meaning of any terms commonly used in your company s MSDSs as a whole that employees may not completely understand. MSDS Term Definition Review the steps employees should follow if an MSDS contains information they don t understand. Ensure that everyone knows where the MSDSs are located and emphasize that any employees who handle, transport, store, and/or dispose of chemicals should be regularly referring to the MSDSs.

11 CONDUCT THE QUIZ At this time, distribute copies of this guide s quiz to all participants. (Permission to duplicate the quiz is given to you as purchaser of this program.) Explain that the quiz s purpose is to reinforce the important information attendees have learned during your safety meeting. Allow approximately 5 minutes for them to take the quiz. Read the answers to the quiz. Ask if there are any questions Answer any questions by referring to and reinforcing the appropriate information in the video and this meeting guide. If you are planning to use the completed quizzes to document that training has taken place, you may want to collect the quizzes and have them placed in the employees personnel files. CONCLUDE THE MEETING Conclude your session by reading or paraphrasing the following speech or one that you have created. Thank you for your interest and participation today. Keep the lesson of this safety meeting in mind as you return to work. Never take MSDSs, labels, or safety signs for granted. Read them, ensure that you understand them, and most important of all, adhere to them. After all, all the written warnings we ve discussed today are there for one reason only: to protect you. So value the information they offer. Doing so could save your life.

12 QUIZ UNDERSTANDING SIGNS, LABELS, AND MSDSs Name: Date: 1. During an emergency, it s not absolutely necessary to refer to signs in the work area addressing such a situation; it s more important to act quickly, using your instincts. True False 2. A red safety sign a) means possible danger. b) may indicate the location of an eyewash station. c) identifies an immediate danger that will cause serious injury or even death 3. A yellow sign signifies a radiation hazard True False 4. What is the purpose of colors and symbols on signs? a) They reinforce the written message on the sign. b) They communicate information at a glance which can be essential in an emergency situation. c) Both A and B. 5. It s okay to obstruct a sign if you re only going to do so temporarily and you warn all employees in the area of your actions. True False 6. If you spot an unlabeled chemical container, a) open it carefully, identify the contents, and label it. b) ask your co-workers if they know what the container s contents are. c) don t open the container and report the situation immediately.

13 7. If you understand most of the information on a chemical container label, a) try to determine what the unclear terms mean by the context of the rest of the label. b) ask your supervisor to clarify any terms you don t understand before working with the chemical. c) it s okay to work with the chemical at this point, as long as you re only uncertain about a few terms 8. Your organization is required to have an MSDS for a) every hazardous chemical that enters the company. b) any chemicals that employees must use on a regular basis. c) only those chemicals that the organization may need to dispose of. 9. Physical and chemical properties, toxicological information, personal protection measures, exposure controls, and first-aid and emergency measures are all covered by a chemical s MSDS. True False 10. To determine the proper handling, storage, transportation, and/or disposal of a particular chemical, employees should contact the chemical s manufacturer. True False

14 ANSWER KEY 1. False 2. C. 3. False 4. C. 5. False 6. C. 7. B. 8. A. 9. True 10. False