IEA services

An injury on the job can be detrimental to both the injured employee and the organization. At the Institute for Environmental Assessment, Inc. (IEA), our consultants help clients develop accident reduction programs that benefit employee and employer alike. We provide these services to schools, hospitals, government agencies and commercial entities in the upper Midwest and throughout the United States.

Ergonomics is the science of minimizing workplace injuries and improving productivity by making workplace equipment fit the worker. At the Institute for Environmental Assessment, Inc. (IEA), our health and safety consultants will review your worksite and work with your staff to ensure that the environment is comfortable and reduces stress, injury and fatigue.

Many falls on the job can be prevented. Several OSHA standards require employers to take steps to prevent workplace falls. At the Institute for Environmental Assessment, Inc. (IEA), we help clients remain in compliance with these regulations.

Employers are required by OSHA regulations to ensure that operators of forklift and powered industrial vehicles complete approved forklift safety training and are not exposed to dangerous levels of carbon monoxide.

Cr(VI) is a recognized human carcinogen that can impact industrial workers in many different occupations. It is present in many different compounds that have a variety of industrial applications, e.g. chromate pigments in dyes, paints, inks, and plastics; chromates added as anticorrosive agents to coatings, and chromic acid electroplated onto metal parts. Cr(VI) can also be formed when performing “hot work” such as welding on stainless steel, melting chromium metal, or heating refractory bricks in kilns. In these situations, the chromium is not originally hexavalent, but the high temperatures involved in the process result in oxidation that converts the chromium to a hexavalent state.

A safety program for users of hoists and lifts includes regular inspections and operator training. At the Institute for Environmental Assessment, Inc. (IEA), our experienced consultants provide customized and budget-sensitive safety training, testing and management to users of hoists and lifts.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) developed a Laboratory Safety Standard to protect employees from hazardous chemical exposure while employed in a lab. This standard applies primarily to research labs, schools and universities, hospitals and other organizations that use a small amount of hazardous chemicals in their work.

The Institute for Environmental Assessment, Inc. (IEA) provides assessment, training and program development regarding lockout/tagout (LOTO) procedures. Training in this area reduces injuries and fatalities on the job. Standards for lockout and tagout procedures, found in 29CFR 1910.147, provide for shutting down (lockout) and/or placing warning signs (tagout) when disabled equipment is being repaired or is not functioning properly. It prevents the mistaken restart or operation of equipment that should not be used.

OSHA and Minnesota OSHA have established standards for machine guarding. The state of Minnesota has placed emphasis on establishing best practices for the installation of machine guarding, particularly for schools. Both employees and students are at risk from unguarded parts of machinery, including belts, blades, fly-wheel shafts, pulleys, ropes, chain drives, gears and other machines.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requires employers to evaluate the need for employees to use personal protective equipment (PPE) on the job. At the Institute for Environmental Assessment, Inc. (IEA), our health and safety consultants assist clients with this effort, leading to improved safety and compliance with OSHA PPE regulations.