subject: Hazard Evaluation Procedures In The Work Place [print this page] Having a hazard evaluation conducted by NIOSH is something which everyone wants to make sure is up to date. The scoring system is one to five like any other, with five being the highest possible to score. With the scores tallied in the end, they will be put up for public comments by the Board of Scientific Counselors. So, what exactly is health hazard evaluation?
The hazard evaluation is tested in work areas for the employee's safety. They want to make sure the environment which the employees are working in is up to code and safe for everyone around. They look for hazardous materials or harmful conditions that the employees could be exposed to. If something is found which is not safe for the individuals around, NIOSH will contact the business and advise them by phone or email how these problems can be resolved before someone gets hurt.
You may also have a NIOSH health hazard inspector walk around with you pointing out the issues they are noticing, so it is much easier for you to fix and realize what they see is hazardous to your employees rather than you looking around for something which may not be as obvious. Depending on the evaluation, it may take a few months to a few years to receive all the information on the evaluation that occurred. You will be aware if something which is extremely hazardous is pointed out that it needs to be fixed immediately.
So, who exactly can request a hazard evaluation in their work place? If you are an employee and you feel that the workplace for some reason is hazardous to your health or even others, you can always call the Health hazard evaluation department (HHE). With a few different signatures of other employees who are feeling the same way, they will come out and inspect the situation you feel is unsafe.
Other higher ups on the management pole can always call in the HHE as well for a report on their business and how else they can make it safer for their employees. Many are scared that if they report their company to the HHE for inspection that they will lose their job. In fact, when there is a call brought into the HHE headquarters it is secure and the employer will not know who called for the inspection. Everything is confidential.
When exactly do you feel that you should call the Health hazard evaluation department? If you notice that an employee comes down with an illness which is unknown and they are not sure where it originated from, other than the average cold, this may be a great time to call the HHE and just have your company inspected a bit deeper. You also want to take into consideration the OSHA laws.
If you feel that these are not being met by the company you work for, you can call HHE and have them inspect this situation as well. If you feel that something is just not right in the company and you feel insecure working in this type of environment, make sure to call Health hazard evaluation department. You will be better off having someone looking at the situation from their perspective rather than something occurring in the long run which could be life threatening if left unattended.
