New Engineering Controls Resource Takes Aim at Workplace Hazards

Machine guards and their proper usage are a
key engineering control for
keeping workers safe from mechanical hazards.

Recently NIOSH, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, created an online resource page focused on helping employers and employees in workplaces where hazardous conditions are present. By removing hazards or creating physical separation from them, engineering controls can prevent both occupational injury and disease. 

Visitors to this new page can read about a variety of engineering control topics in blogs, articles and other publications. Some might best begin by taking advantage of the chance to request a health hazard evaluation. A few of the other tools and resources available here are:

• A hierarchy of engineering controls, including a gauge of their effectiveness
• Hazard prevention through design
• The technique of control banding (assessment and management of workplace risks)

Readers can even delve into the details of how NIOSH has thus far and continues to conduct its research in the realm of engineering controls. The examples of projects and grants in this section highlight the wide range of how controls can be applied in different occupational sectors- medical patient lift equipment, dust capture in mines, noise control for roof bolters. This could easily be the place where you find your next solution for job hazards be they known or not.

• Visit the main NIOSH Engineering Controls page
• Learn about the hierarchy of engineering controls mentioned here
• Browse industrial hazard signage at ComplianceSigns.com