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Why is OSHA important and why should I take an OSHA course?OSHA, or the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, is important because it establishes safety guidelines for U.S. businesses. These guidelines ensure that companies follow safe work practices, provide hazard and safety training, and provide protective equipment for employees. The agency enforces these guidelines through inspections and investigations of injuries and accidents. OSHA gives workers the right to a safe workplace, information on hazardous chemicals and to present safety concerns to management without fear of discrimination or termination. OSHA also gives workers the opportunity to report any safety violation directly to the agency while keeping their identities anonymous from their employers. OSHA inspections ensure that companies are providing a safe workplace for employees, and the agency can issue citations and fines to companies that have safety violations. Inspections occur on a regular basis, but inspections also occur after an accident at the location or a worker complaint. OSHA has been credited with decreasing the number of workplace fatalities by more than 65 percent since 1970.
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How can you replace your lost 10-hour OSHA card?The only way to obtain a replacement 10-hour OSHA card is to contact the outreach trainer who performed your original training. This is because OSHA does not keep a database of all.
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When an injury should be reported to OSHA?A work-related injury or illness is recordable if it meets any one of the following basic requirements: death, days away from work, restricted work or transfer to another job, medical treatment beyond first aid, or loss of consciousness.A significant injury or illness caused during normal working hours must also be recorded under OSHA if a physician or other certified medical practitioner diagnoses it. This injury or illness need not meet any of the aforementioned basic requirements.Many workplace incidents may look like recordable injuries but they do not meet the criteria. One of the criterion for recordable injuries is that the work-related injury must require medical treatment beyond first aid.For example, a work-related rash is treated with non-prescription ointment and the employee continues with his normal work, so the injury is not recordable under OSHA. The non-prescription ointment is considered as first-aid as per OSHA regulations.