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757 Laboratory Safety
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Interim Measures

When a hazard is recognized, the preferred correction or control cannot always be accomplished immediately.

maintenance worker servicing ceiling ventilation unit
Interim measures, as well as preventive and corrective maintenance are effective solutions.

However, in virtually all situations, interim measures can be taken to eliminate or reduce worker risk. These can range from taping down wires that pose a tripping hazard to actually shutting down an operation temporarily.

The importance of taking these interim protective actions cannot be overemphasized. There is no way to predict when a hazard will cause serious harm, and no justification to continue exposing workers unnecessarily to risk. By the way, OSHA believes there is always some kind of interim measure that can be used to temporarily reduce or remove a hazard.

Maintenance Strategies to Control Hazards

What two general types of maintenance processes are needed?

  • Preventive maintenance to make sure equipment and machinery operates safely and smoothly
  • Corrective maintenance to make sure equipment and machinery gets back into safe operation quickly

Knowledge Check Choose the best answer for the question.

3-9. When a hazard is recognized, what can the employer do in virtually all circumstances?