Engineering Controls

THIS IS AN ALTERNATE WEEKLY SAFETY MEETING IF YOUR COMPANY DOES NOT USE RESPIRATORS.

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SAFETY TOPIC: Engineering controls: are physical changes or modifications to work stations, tools, or equipment that make it easier for employees to handle materials. They may also improve material handling by using equipment or tools in areas where they weren’t used in the past. An example would be using a hand truck to move bags of flour from a pallet to a mixing area, rather than manually carrying them. Another example of an engineering control would be raising the height of a work surface to reduce the amount of bending forward required by the employee to work on materials.  Use engineering controls before resorting to PPE.

SUPERVISORS: Review tasks associated with your work and brainstorm ways to make the tasks easier using engineering controls.

SAFETY MEETING QUESTION (answer required as attendance at this Safety Meeting): Are engineering controls implemented before or after PPE?

Text this answer to your supervisor if participating in text safety meetings.