As discussed in our previous blog post, contents of a First Aid Kit can vary depending on who puts together the kit, or whom the kit is going to treat. However, if you are a business owner, there are rigid legal guidelines that mandate you to have required items in your business’ kit. On June 17, 2016, these guidelines changed significantly for the first time in the past seven years, which made for – quite suddenly – many noncompliant companies.
Some background:
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) was created with the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, which aimed to create healthy and mindful working environments for men and women. While OSHA encompasses far beyond the contents of a business First Aid Kit, it is still a very important aspect as it aids in helping to protect employees and employers from hazardous working conditions. For more about OSHA, you can read here.
The American National Standard Institute (ANSI) is a non-profit organization that has worked closely with the government from the early 1900s onward in order to create a standard of conformance that all American businesses are to follow. The goal of ANSI is to “provide a neutral forum… while helping to assure the safety and health of consumers and the protection of the environment (citation)”. For more about what ANSI does for businesses, you can read here.
Now fast forward to a little over a year ago, June 17, 2015 to be exact, when the ANSI published a new standard of regulation (titled ANSI Z308.1), which details new required content to be kept inside of business’ first aid kits. When a new standard is published, employers have one year to comply with the new set of standards before inspection. Now, depending on what type of business and what class it is in, employers could need to purchase anywhere from 25 to 145 new first aid items to stay in compliance with ANSI standards. This could be a large expense for some business owners.
If you are a business owner, be sure to read the new standard on ANSI’s site so as to provide your employees with a safe and mindful work environment.
Other sources: QSR Web, Are ANSI Standards Really Voluntary?
