When it comes to the newly revised Hazard Communication Standard (HCS) from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the countdown is on to comply with a long list of important new requirements—which means, yes, more acronyms!
The new requirements started with mandatory employee training that had to be completed in December 2013, and the remaining requirements will be phased in over the next several years with the final deadline in June 2016. OSHA has adopted the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling Chemicals (GHS), and as a result there are significant changes that all employees need to know about.
If you’ve missed the initial training deadline, don’t panic!
Our EHS department has published a number of resources to assist members with complying, including a concise training video covering the topics required in the initial training and a customizable PowerPoint presentation for a more in-depth training session.
To help make this a more streamlined process, we’ve put together the “Who, What, Why, When, and Where” of OSHA’s Hazard Communication requirements to give you a clear explanation of what you need to do and when to do it to remain in compliance. There is also a dedicated members-only webpage to help our industry members through this process. You’ll find a free online guide full of critical information, sample program material, forms, and more downloadable tools. Now is the time to prepare your operation and start making the required changes.
For more information on the steps you need to take to remain in compliance, look at part two of this story here.