OSHA Employee Alerting / Alarm System Regulations
Many VoIP telephone systems sold by carriers such as Comcast or Verizon do not have overhead paging capabilities. We will provide the Comcast or Verizon VoIP paging interface and install a 10,000 sf coverage paging system (one big horn) for a flat $295.00 parts and labor.
You already comply with the OSHA if you have fewer than 10 employees OR every employeee can hear your audio paged instructions from your phone system [ALL PAGE] feature .
OSHA 1910.38 & 1910.165 – 10+ employee worksites required to have an audible alerting system
www.osha.gov states employers with 10 or more employees are required to have an employee alarm system with power backup to insure a fully operational status. A VoIP telephone system with both a voice paging feature as well as an integrated overhead paging system best satisfies the OSHA requirements.
What fails the OSHA requirements ?
- Office uses just softphone apps installed on employee cell phones/computers. These apps can’t audio page.
- Your VoIP system can’t ALL PAGE reliably.
- Microsoft Teams is your only phone system.
- A system that does not have a reasonable power backup system such as a UPS.
- Systems that are not tested periodically such as a bell or horn. We install VoIP telephone systems and encourage regular use of the [ALL PAGE] feature for normal business operations to meet the OSHA alarm testing requirement.
From www.osha.gov. (search on section 1910.xx section listed)
- 1910.38(d) – An employer must maintain an employee alarm system. The employee alarm system must use a distinctive signal for each purpose and comply with the requirements in 1910.165.
- 1910.165 (b) (3) – The employee alarm shall be distinctive and recognizable as a signal to evacuate the work area or to perform actions designated under the emergency action plan.
- 1910.165 (b) (4) – The employer shall explain to each employee the preferred means of reporting emergencies, such as manual pull box alarms, public address systems, radio or telephones. The employer shall post emergency telephone numbers near telephones, or employee notice boards, and other conspicuous locations when telephones serve as a means of reporting emergencies. Where a communication system also serves as the employee alarm system, all emergency messages shall have priority over all non-emergency messages.
- 1910.165 (b) (5) – The employer shall establish procedures for sounding emergency alarms in the workplace. For those employers with 10 or fewer employees in a particular workplace, direct voice communication is an acceptable procedure for sounding the alarm provided all employees can hear the alarm. Such workplaces need not have a back-up system.
- 1910.165 (d) (2) – The employer shall assure that a test of the reliability and adequacy of non-supervised employee alarm systems is made every two months. A different actuation device shall be used in each test of a multi-actuation device system so that no individual device is used for two consecutive tests.
- 1910.165 (d) (3) – The employer shall maintain or replace power supplies as often as is necessary to assure a fully operational condition. Back-up means of alarm, such as employee runners or telephones, shall be provided when systems are out of service.
What test do I need to perform ?
- Overhead paging = test every two months. Overhead paging is “unsupervised” in that a break in an amplifier or speaker can go undetected until you try to use it.
- Telephone set based paging = No specific test. Telephone sets are a “supervised system” in that failures to a telephone set are easily detected in the course of normal use.
How does OSHA enforce the Employee Alarm System standards?
Any business facility can be inspected at any time to ensure compliance with Federal Safety Regulations. OSHA and/or State Officials employ approximately 2,380 agents to enforce these rules and regulations. At last count, there were over 6.5 million business facilities (approximately ½ of the buildings in the US) that had been inspected by these agencies