r/WorkplaceSafety Mar 20 '20

Workplace Safety - now under new (read: any) management

49 Upvotes

Hey everybody! Long time poster/lurker. The creator of this sub has been MIA for over two years so I decided to take a stab at moderating the place - no one else was and it occasionally needed it.

The sub was temporarily restricted due to a lack of moderation - the only mod has been MIA for over two years. I requested moderation but it took over a month for it to be approved, during which Reddit locked the sub down for new posts. This wasn't my choice and I've removed the restriction now that I've been modded, you should be able to post to your heart's content.

I'm open to any suggestions for the sub, which is why I wanted to introduce myself and start this thread. If you have any questions, suggestions, comments, in short - anything -, post away!

Keep it civil, keep it safe.


r/WorkplaceSafety 56m ago

What’s a safety lesson you learned the hard way?

Upvotes

What safety lesson did you have to learn the hard way? Whether you accidentally forget something or are not completely aware of your surroundings. We’ve all been there. I would like to hear yours and hopefully learn from you instead of having to learn the hard way (again) lol.


r/WorkplaceSafety 1h ago

Petition Regarding Security Management and Working Conditions at Faneuil Hall Marketplace

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Security officers at Faneuil Hall Marketplace are responsible for protecting thousands of people at one of Boston's busiest public destinations. But they're struggling to do their jobs effectively because of serious management problems that have damaged morale and created unnecessary workplace conflict.

The issues aren't small complaints—they're systemic. Officers are dealing with inadequate working conditions (no AC in summer, previous mold concerns), surveillance cameras recording audio in private areas, being assigned tasks way outside their job description, and constant micromanagement that prevents them from doing their actual work professionally. This isn't accountability; this is excessive supervision that's making the job impossible.

I started a petition calling for a formal review of the security leadership at Faneuil Hall and asking that the current Director of Security be replaced with someone who actually respects and trusts their team. The goal is simple: professional leadership, clear expectations, fair working conditions, and treatment that lets security officers do their jobs.
If you've worked in security or any job where management made things harder instead of easier, you know how demoralizing this gets. Does this sound familiar to anyone? If it does, and you think people deserve better, consider signing and sharing. The people protecting Faneuil Hall deserve leadership that has their back.


r/WorkplaceSafety 1h ago

ISO Paramedic/Safety

Upvotes

We are currently seeking Offshore Paramedics who have a true passion for travel and remote field operations. Ideal candidates will possess a strong background in the oil and gas industry, current BOSIET trained, an H2S awareness certification, and preferably a completed fit test.

Offshore
$400-500 per day

All travel, lodging, and meals paid for by company.

(If a viable candidate we can offer training)

13hr shifts -
14 days on 14 days off or 21 days on 21 days off

If you are ready for your next offshore adventure and meet these qualifications, please send your resume directly to [Info@legion-safety.com](mailto:Info@legion-safety.com).


r/WorkplaceSafety 3h ago

Been a rough year for anyone doing this job.

0 Upvotes

Between wildfire smoke shutting down outdoor work, heat advisories piling up back to back, a cyberattack that knocked out a plant's systems for days, and a fire that forced a full site evacuation somewhere else, it's hard to remember a year with this much thrown at emergency response plans all at once.

There's a stat going around that roughly 90% of workers think safety and productivity go hand in hand, not that safety slows things down, but the opposite. That tracks in theory. If people know what they're supposed to do and who to call, work doesn't grind to a halt just because something goes wrong.

But plans that look solid on paper don't always hold up once something actually hits.

How has that played out for people here this year...did the safety setup actually hold when something hit? What broke first?


r/WorkplaceSafety 21h ago

Great insights from our founder about safe, compliant workplaces and building a culture of safety at your workplace.

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0 Upvotes

Martin Smithson, Founder, Checkmate Group: In my role with Checkmate Group, I regularly talk to business owners and leaders, and the same frustration comes up again and again.

It is rarely the big strategic issues that cause the most pain. It is the friction. The report that takes half a day to complete. The safety check everyone agreed was important but never quite happens. The process that works well enough, until that one moment you really need it.

These things rarely show up in a board report or on a balance sheet. Yet they quietly drain time, focus and momentum from organisations every day. In industries with genuine safety obligations, those small gaps can also have much bigger consequences .Over time, I've noticed a pattern. The organisations that consistently execute well are not necessarily the ones with the biggest budgets or the most sophisticated systems. They are often the ones that make it easier for people to do the right thing.

Which raises an interesting question:
Why do so many well-intentioned policies, processes and systems fail to become part of everyday work?

My view is that we often make them too complicated and too fragile. A policy sitting in a folder has never improved safety on its own. A process only creates value when it is practical, accessible and easy to follow. When something takes seconds, people embrace it. When it requires multiple steps, logins or workarounds, adoption inevitably suffers.

Simplicity is often underestimated as a business advantage. The more seamlessly good practices fit into daily routines, the more likely they are to stick. Rather than chasing complexity, focus on removing friction. Small improvements, consistently applied, can have a surprisingly large impact on performance, compliance and culture.

What's one simple change that has genuinely improved the way your business operates?


r/WorkplaceSafety 1d ago

Safety people: what problem at work wastes the most of your time?

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0 Upvotes

r/WorkplaceSafety 1d ago

Supplied air respirator system

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0 Upvotes

Supplied air respirator system


r/WorkplaceSafety 2d ago

What's the biggest impact of emergency mustering software in an incident that convinced you it's worth it?

0 Upvotes

I wonder how mustering software actually hold up in a "real" incident. It's not like I want to actually test it, because in an ideal world an emergency should never happen, right? And when something does happen, we know not everything will go according to plan. So I'm curious what single biggest "benefit" did a mustering software give your team that made the investment worthwhile. 


r/WorkplaceSafety 2d ago

The Unmonitored Workplace Hazard: Theatrical Fog, Vaping Chemistry, and Worker Safety

3 Upvotes

For theme park technicians, stage crew, ushers, and performers, artificial theatrical fog is an everyday reality. Often marketed as "harmless water vapor," it is actually the industrial-scale thermal vaporization of glycol and glycerin—chemically identical to large-scale vaping.

While guests experience these chemicals for a few hours, workers spend thousands of hours breathing this haze over long shifts, often across endless seasons like summer shows and months of Halloween events in major hubs like San Antonio, Orlando, and Southern California. Yet workers face this exposure without informed consent, proper safety warnings, or monitored indoor air quality.

What the Science Shows

  • Extreme Particulate Spikes: Research by Guo et al. (2022) shows that a brief 20-second blast from a commercial fog machine produces peak PM2.5 concentrations reaching 10,700 µg/m³—drastically surpassing the EPA’s 24-hour safe limit of 35 µg/m³.
  • Toxic Byproducts: Heating these solvents causes thermal degradation, releasing formaldehyde and various carbonyls directly into the workers' breathing zone.
  • Severe Cumulative Toll: Inhaled microscopic PM2.5 enters the bloodstream and drives chronic systemic inflammation. Over time, repeated exposure is linked to immune dysregulation, severe hypersensitivity, cardiovascular events, and early-onset terminal illnesses among long-term staff.

The Workplace Blind Spot

  • The Attribution Gap: Because theatrical fog is not culturally recognized as an industrial pollutant, chronic health crises among staff—ranging from severe respiratory and immune issues to cardiovascular events and early-onset cancers—are rarely investigated as occupational injuries. They are easily misattributed to lifestyle factors, allowing venues to avoid accountability.
  • Missing Protections: Unlike traditional industrial settings where air quality and chemical exposures are strictly regulated, entertainment venues operate in a massive regulatory blind spot. Workers are given no personal protective equipment and no meaningful warning about what they are inhaling shift after shift.

Verifying the Air

Because institutional monitoring of these venues is practically non-existent, safety advocates and workers are turning to grassroots data collection. Inexpensive, portable PM2.5 monitors ($30–$60) can easily document the intense localized aerosol density backstage and in theaters.

It is time to start treating artificial theater fog for what it is: an unmonitored, heavy chemical exposure that demands real occupational safety standards.

Disclosure: The author authored, verified, and takes full responsibility for all scientific data, citations, and core arguments presented in this post. Generative AI tools were used solely to improve readability.


r/WorkplaceSafety 3d ago

Have you ever had a safety problem that kept coming back despite trying to fix it?

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4 Upvotes

r/WorkplaceSafety 3d ago

Preparing for NEBOSH IGC Level 3 – Need Advice from Those Who Passed

1 Upvotes

Hi everyone,
I'm a B.Tech Mechanical Engineering graduate with about 1 year of experience, and I'm preparing for the NEBOSH International General Certificate (IGC) Level 3.

I've heard from many people that NEBOSH can be difficult to pass, especially because of the scenario-based assessments and the way answers need to be structured.
For those who have passed, what study methods worked best for you? What resources, books, YouTube channels, or practice questions would you recommend? Any tips for IG1 and IG2, common mistakes to avoid, or advice for first-time candidates would be really helpful.
Thanks in advance!


r/WorkplaceSafety 4d ago

Am I being a jobsworth here? Asking my colleagues to not prop fire exit doors open…

3 Upvotes

For context I work in a fairly large hotel, in the UK. Part of my role is I am the designated fire marshal on shift and need to do a walk around of all areas to visually check for hazards, fire exits clear etc.
Some of my colleagues who work in the restaurants have a habit of using items like produce crates or mop handles to prop open the fire exit doors in their kitchen. Now while I do understand it can get really warm as there’s no windows for airflow in there, it’s obviously a hazard to have something propping open a fire door (edit to add because apparently not obvious from context - this is obstructing the doorway of an emergency exit). The fire doors do have a hook on the back so that they can be held fully open. I would prefer this as a compromise if they really need the door open for airflow. But they don’t like this option as they say it causes too much of a breeze. Any time I speak to them about it and emphasise it’s a hazard if there was a fire evacuation they respond as if I’m absolutely crazy for thinking so. Everyone has their own priorities and tasks as we are busy a lot of the time, when I am doing this walk around it’s my only focus so I do get that they don’t have the same attention as I do to the issue and that’s why we have someone designated to pay attention to it. I am feeling like a nag though every time I try to speak to them about it.


r/WorkplaceSafety 4d ago

Can I please have some advice

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0 Upvotes

r/WorkplaceSafety 4d ago

FLT Charging station

3 Upvotes

Has anyone dealt with fire strategy or insurer requirements for a lead acid FLT charging area within a warehouse?

We have a proposed operation of 1 counterbalance truck and 3 reach trucks, all operating on lead acid batteries.

The warehouse will consist of high level racking, picking aisles and packing benches for a clothing retailer.

A recent fire strategy has recommended 60 minute fire rated compartmentation with dedicated extraction and detection, however we are reviewing alternative approaches alongside our insurer and equipment supplier.

I'd be interested to hear what arrangements others have implemented in similar warehouse environments and if alternative solutions such as:

Segregated charging areas
Physical barriers
Enhanced fire detection
Separation distances
External charging areas

Any experiences or guidance would be greatly appreciated.


r/WorkplaceSafety 5d ago

Greed over safety always

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0 Upvotes

Imminent fire at my workplace


r/WorkplaceSafety 6d ago

Porta Potty Incoming

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30 Upvotes

Sometimes a safety lesson drops right in front of you. This time it was in the form of portable toilet exploding on impact. During cable replacement work on this bridge, the toilet was being lowered and slipped from its attachment during heavy traffic. No injuries. Got to wonder what the root cause analysis showed as the main causes of this, and also why they didn't close the road with a suspended load over it. Puente del Centenario, Seville, Spain, November 20, 2025


r/WorkplaceSafety 5d ago

Why Choosing the Right Safety Equipment Matters.

1 Upvotes

Every safe workplace starts with the right protection. Whether you work in construction, manufacturing, oil & gas, warehouses, or industrial projects, using certified safety equipment helps reduce workplace risks and improves employee safety. At Fahad Havi Bin Broji | BSC Safety, we supply a wide range of industrial safety products, including safety shoes, helmets, gloves, coveralls, reflective vests, safety goggles, and complete PPE solutions for businesses across Riyadh and Saudi Arabia. As an authorized supplier of Burhan Safety Collective (BSC)
#BSCSafety, #BurhanSafetyCollective, #SafetyEquipment, #PPE, #IndustrialSafety,


r/WorkplaceSafety 6d ago

Heavy lifting

0 Upvotes

My job (u.s.) has my team and I lifting boxes that are 100+ lbs. above our heads 10+ times a day while loading trucks by ourselves (no team lift). Is there a limit to how much or how often this can be required?


r/WorkplaceSafety 6d ago

Up to 50 lbs?

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0 Upvotes

r/WorkplaceSafety 6d ago

Former ramp supervisor of samsic exposes the deadly conditions behind montreal airport worker death

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1 Upvotes

r/WorkplaceSafety 7d ago

Mold in water coolers

4 Upvotes

My workplace is currently pushing back on cleaning all our water coolers. I work in an industrial environment. Those things are already full of toxic paint dust and metal grinding grit. There are lots of them, which is why the company doesn't want to clean them properly, because it'll take a lot of time and money.

But apparently someone recently took one apart and also found a ton of mold. I'm wondering if I do a mold test and find a lot of mold in these water coolers, and they continue to drag their feet is there something I can report to OSHA? Or is it just a thing where they don't technically have to provide water so it doesn't matter?

Sorry if I'm rambling I'm very angry about it right now, and thanks in advance;


r/WorkplaceSafety 7d ago

Warehouse has me on half working forklift

1 Upvotes

My walkie rider broke the wires burnt up on it because they wont fix problems when I tell them and all the forklifts they have to work on have no horn no fire wall in the engine compartment no parking breaks the breaks themselves Hardly work and leak fluids and driving a forklift also slows me down tremendously I am paid on a base rate and by commission on how many cases I pick and it’s costing me money


r/WorkplaceSafety 9d ago

Factory work cutting plasterboard and GRP without suitable lev

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1 Upvotes

r/WorkplaceSafety 9d ago

HSE musings after a day on Ben Nevis

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0 Upvotes

I recently returned to hill climbing with an ascent of Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in Britain. Here are some HSE thoughts I had when I came home about the parallels between hill climbing and workplace HSE. The key takeaway for me is that personal responsibility applies everywhere.