Beware of Counterfeit PPE

So. Let's say you're making improvements to your safety program. You've accepted that you need to start stockpiling a new type of PPE for employees. Maybe it's respirators because you can't confirm a work site or client property doesn't contain asbestos. Or cut gloves with more dexterity to make it possible to manipulate hardware with them on. Maybe your harnesses are looking a little worse for wear and it's time to replace them.

You've allocated funds to budget for the purchase, and you're ready to go. Google search says there's a great deal on Amazon or Walmart. Click purchase. You're done! Another item checked off the to do list.

Except, as with many things in the compliance world, it's not that simple.

Many sources, especially those that fulfill orders from third party sellers, have a problem with counterfeit products. Safety critical equipment especially is a tempting one for counterfeiters. A large portion of overhead on PPE and other safety critical equipment is taken up by testing the equipment to make sure it's in compliance with required standards.

Depending on what it is we're talking about, PPE and safety critical equipment can be subjected to thousands of pounds of load testing (think ladders and fall protection equipment), thousands of degrees of heat in a simulated arc blast (FR and arc-rated equipment) and slicing blades (cut-resistant workwear).

[Check out this video on how electrical gloves are tested -- yes, they dip them in water and then run electrical current through them.]

So it becomes an easy decision for counterfeiters to cut costs by eliminating all testing protocol. Counterfeiters may also use inferior materials that wouldn't be obvious to the consumer, such as impure alloys for harness hardware or inferior fibers in FR or cut-resistant workwear.

End consumers became more aware of this issue during the pandemic with some 3M respirators found to be counterfeits. Popular technical PPE manufacturer Petzl also has come out with resources to help end consumers determine whether the Petzl equipment they have is genuine.

Here's some tips to protect yourself.

1. Don't buy PPE used. Maybe your brother's company is upgrading harnesses, and they're offering you what they had. Tempting! Don't do it. It's hard to know where or when the product was purchased, and you can't verify what conditions it was used or stored in.

2. Order directly from the product manufacturer or their authorized distributors. Any company that fulfills third party orders may use a process called 'commingled inventory' -- meaning that genuine and counterfeit products may be stored together and employees may pull from this common stock to fulfill orders.

3. Always register your PPE if that option is available. Many companies send their products with a blank form for you to add your contact information and send back to them. While this may feel like data mining, these companies are actually obligated to contact you with any issues with the product down the line. This may also include anything that comes out about counterfeit products.

Remember, the lower price may be tempting, but counterfeiters don't use any resources to subject their products to testing and will use any material as long as it looks like the genuine product once in consumers' hands. Make sure you're getting your PPE through a verified channel. You don't want to trust your health and life to subpar products.

 

DOT Paperwork: MCS-150 and Third Party Filing Services

If your company has a DOT program, you probably already know how much paperwork that entails. Much of the specifics about DOT filing and driver files can be confusing, especially if you're wearing other hats within your company.

There's lots we could go over within this space, but this post is going to outline a simple tip: There's no need for a third party to file your biennial renewal with DOT. You can do it for free directly on the FMCSA website.

Every other year, FMCSA requires that companies who must maintain a DOT number file what is called the MCS-150 form. The form itself asks basic information about your company, drivers within the company, and whether you transport hazardous materials. Overall the part that must be filled out is only three pages long.

However, there are companies out there that offer to do your filing for you for a fee. These companies will make it seem like it's a scary undertaking, while also making it seem like it's a requirement to have them do the filing. It's not! They've just found a way to make the regulations seem intimidating. 

If a company is sending you scary notices about filing your DOT renewal, check first of all if it's coming from a .gov email. If not, it's likely that it's a third party asking for a hefty fee from you so that they can take the filing off your hands. Don't do it! Some of the time these third parties will even send you notices about renewal after you've already recently renewed. They don't have up-to-date information, and they're just trying to make a quick buck by making the filing process seem intimidating.

Filing the MCS-150 every other year directly with the FMCSA is free and simple. You can find your renewal deadline by looking at your assigned DOT number. The second-to-last digit on your DOT number tells you which years you must file. If it's odd, then you must file on odd years (so 2023, 2025, etc). If it's even, then you should file on even years (it's up for this year if that's the case, then again in 2026, etc). The last digit of your DOT number tells you which month you must file by. For instance, if the last digit of your DOT number is '3', then you must file by the end of March.

Here's a diagram:

 

This site gives you a total rundown of how to file:
https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/registration/form-mcs-150-and-instructions-motor-carrier-identification-report

 As always, as member companies you can call us up for help with MCS-150 filing or whatever other safety or compliance issue you may be dealing with.

You should know: Your company is responsible for contractors

In November, TT&S held a training on contractors and OSHA's multiple-employer citation policy. It can be some pretty dry stuff, but the gist is that when your company hires a contractor, there's a lot of ways you're also responsible for that contractor's safety. There are a few variables involved in your particular risk profile when it comes to contractors, but here's a few main takeaways regardless of your situation:

• Employers must create and maintain a workplace free from hazards for both their own employees and any contractors' employees that come on site.
  
• If a contractor creates a hazard for your employees, you can be cited, depending on your knowledge of the hazard and whether you took reasonable steps to discover hazards.
• When working with contractors, just recognizing and informing them of a hazard or safety violation is not enough. To protect your company, you should have a graduated system of enforcement (first violation consequence, second violation consequence, etc), and you need to follow through while documenting each step.

 A lot of this headache can be alleviated by a couple things:

1. Having a strong safety program implemented in your company
2. Implementing a contractor vetting system to ensure your contractors also take safety seriously.

If you'd like to learn more specifics and get some examples of a contractor vetting program, let us know. We have a recorded training on this and would be glad to help you get started.

The Numbers are in: TT&S in 2023

 2023 was a busy year for TT&S.

We started the year by beginning this blog and setting up an account with Moodle, the LMS (learning management system) for our online courses. We didn't have any online courses available yet.

Now this will be the 45th blog post, and we have 11 online courses available. Just in December, we've also made those courses available for purchase for outside companies.

We also began a whole host of other new initiatives over the past year. Check out this list:

• Games at the conference / job fair for high schoolers
  
• Safety manual annual updates: added policies for Incident Investigations, Stop Work Authority, Contractor Management, and Heat Illness Prevention 
• SHRM recertification credits available
• Created program for new hire trainings for non-member companies
• Subscription program for non-member companies to access our training materials
• Held the first ND Telecom Development Management Training 
• Developed five new training courses
  

On top of all this, we held down the fort with all the other activities that TT&S has taken on over the years. Here's some numbers from those activities:

• Trainings held in 2023 (including technical trainings and self-study): 146
  
•  Employees trained this year: Around 729
•  Blog posts published: 43
•  Views of blog posts: 2,875
•  Online courses published: 11
•  Safety leadership trainings held: 6
•  Employee training hours from 2023: 8,234
•  Online courses taken: Approximately 200
  

It's been a big year, and we can only imagine 2024 will have the same leaps and bounds. Thanks to everyone who helped us accomplish these goals, and we can only keep striving through the next year to reach new heights.

Online Safety Training Available for Purchase

 

TT&S has recently gone live with online courses available for purchase right on our website. This means that non-members have access to the same great content we provide to our members. The courses currently available are common ones necessary for new hires in the broadband world but also apply to other industries:

- Confined Spaces

- North Dakota Dangerous Animals / Insects / Plants

- Defensive Driving

- Electrical Safety & Overhead Powerlines

- Fire Extinguishers & Fire Safety

- Hazard Communication

- Ladder Safety

- Personal Protective Equipment

- Respiratory Protection, Asbestos Emphasis

- Sun & Heat Risks

- Trenching & Shoring Safety

- Intro to Work Zone Safety

If you're not a current member and are unsure what your training requirements are as an employer, feel free to contact us to find out more. These trainings are a great, OSHA-compliant general overview of each topic, and we're glad to offer them conveniently and at a competitive price.

Happy Holidays from the TT&S Team

For all our blog readership, we hope you have a wonderful holiday season, and cheers to another year of being proactive about employee safety!

The More You Know: The Myth of "OSHA-approved" Training

Have you ever seen a safety course advertised as "OSHA-approved?"

If you did, you stumbled upon a sales gimmick that holds no water.

OSHA doesn't approve safety courses. There's no vetting system that training courses must pass in order to have the approval of OSHA. The OSHA regulations set requirements for training which must be followed, but beyond that, they do not comment on specific training courses.

That's why here at TT&S, we don't describe our courses as OSHA-approved, but what we can guarantee is we do the homework to ensure our courses are OSHA compliant down to the every word in the regulation. We keep up with regulation changes and update our training programs accordingly.

You might see some courses advertised as "OSHA-authorized." This is a valid term, but all it means is that the training center is eligible to offer OSHA 10- and 30- hour trainings. These trainings are valuable and can give employees a good foundation for understanding a wide array of hazards, but follow up training is still required from the employer, as many topics require repeat trainings at specific intervals set by law.

If you see someone advertising an "OSHA-approved" training, you can be sure of one thing. They're not familiar enough with how safety training is regulated to know not to say this, or they want your business with little thought to ethical practices.

The more you know!

Christmas List: PPE that really rocks

PPE gets a bad rap.

Thought of as clunky, uncomfortable, and uncool much of the time, PPE probably won't make too many Christmas lists. But there might be a few who change their tune after seeing some of the new generation of PPE, which combines comfort, convenience, and style to update older, less-loved versions.

**TT&S as an organization doesn't endorse or receive affiliate income from followed links. We just think this stuff is cool and deserves a look.

Here's a few of the new products that we've learned about recently.

1. ISOTunes - Hearing protection is often not fun to wear, but it's so important to protect your hearing. Unlike many other injuries, hearing loss isn't something that can come back after therapy or treatment. Once it's gone, it's gone.

Enter ISOTunes: an innovative company that's combined hearing protection with bluetooth headphones. Available as earbuds or over-the-ear headphones, these will protect your hearing while providing you with your favorite music or podcasts. Earbuds are everywhere anyway, so why not protect your hearing while you're at it?

Check it out here.

Thanks to Melanie for finding this one.

2. Fire Blankets - While technically not PPE (and not all that new), these fire blankets are very effective at putting out small, contained fires. And they have several advantages over fire extinguishers. They're easy to deploy (just throw the blanket over the fire), you don't have to deal with the cleanup of fire extinguisher discharge, and they're reusable. Anyone should be excited to find one of these in their Christmas stocking.

Credit to Keith for sending this tip our way. Check out this short video on how they work.

3. Xena Workwear - Xena Workwear offers an excellent selection of women's steel toe footwear. You'd never guess their boots are steel toe since they look like a pair you'd buy from any clothing store. Gone are the days clunking around in bulky, hard-to-lace boots. A pair of Xena Workwear boots will take you from the office to the field and back again, keeping your feet protected with every step.

Kyla has a pair of these, and they've been great to wear for safety inspections that take her into manufacturing, shop, or field environments.

Here's the website to take a look.

These are just a few examples. Expect more innovation from the world of PPE, as companies work to provide options that integrate more easily into work and home life.

 

Good Safety is Good Business

Did you know that for every $1 invested into a safety and health program, the estimated return is $4 - $6? It's also estimated that an effective safety and health program can also reduce your injury and illness rate by 20%. (Source)

Most small businesses likely implement safety programs because it's the right thing to do and because they care about their employees. These are the right motivations, and it's part of what can build loyalty to the workplace and a positive company culture. However, these days you can also quantify your safety program, and in the fast-paced data-driven world of business, making a good financial argument for safety can only help to build support for implementing a safety and health program.

It's easy to think of your safety program as a pure cost to the business since the financial benefits are harder to quantify. But there are areas where a strong safety program will reduce costs and produce benefits.

Here's some areas of cost reduction:

- Decreased medical and property damage repair costs due to incidents

- Decreased staff turnover, which in turn decreases hiring, onboarding, and new employee training costs

- Reduced worker's compensation and other insurance premiums

- Reduced risk of OSHA citations and fines

And there's also areas where you can see benefits:

- Increased profits from improved or maintained good company reputation

- Improved productivity

- Increased employee morale

- Improved company reputation

OSHA also has an online tool that calculates the total costs of specific injuries, so companies can see the real impact incidents could have to their bottom line. For instance, one case of carpal tunnel syndrome is estimated to cost an employer a total of over $64,000. You can find the calculator here.

So many businesses think of investing in safety as an afterthought. However, thoughtfully employing safety best practices is not only a better outcome for employees, but to a company's bottom line.

ND Telecom Management Development Training

In a joint venture with BAND and DCN, TT&S held the first ND Telecom Management Development Training this week. Employees from across the state joined us for this opportunity. Attendees learned about a variety of topics important to supervisors:

- Interviewing new candidates

- Performance management

- Engaging employees

along with many more!

Here are some photos from the training, which included lunch and learn sessions with Carissa Swenson, Executive Director of BAND; Seth Arndorfer, CEO of DCN; and Kyla Bratz, Director of TT&S.

 

We'll be holding another training in January, which is also currently full. Stay tuned for other opportunities to catch this great intro to a management role!