The first image that comes to mind when you think about first aid may be a kit stuffed with bandages, over-the-counter pain relievers and ointment.
Depending on your workplace, it may be mounted on a wall next to an AED, or automated external defibrillator, that delivers electric shocks during cardiac arrests.
Such supplies and equipment are only part of an effective first-aid program, however. Using them to treat co-workers’ injuries and, in some cases, provide lifesaving care until medical professionals arrive, requires proper training, says Mickey Parker, industrial account manager for Medique Products.
While such training is mandated under the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s Standard 1910.151, the agency’s benchmark rule on first-aid programs, it isn’t thoroughly defined.
Nor is the type or quantity of first-aid supplies that businesses must provide, with the agency instead relying on employers to determine what’s appropriate for the level of risk in their workplaces.
That lack of specificity can leave employers with tough questions. When businesses ask Medique Products what they should be providing, the answer varies depending on what managers want to accomplish, Parker says.
“If they just want to check a box for basic regulatory compliance, then first-aid kits may help do that,” he says. “If their goal is keeping employees happy and sending them home safely at the end of their shift, the solutions become more complex.”
Founded in 1974, Medique provides a broad range of medical supplies, from single-dose over-the-counter drugs to fully stocked kits that comply with American National Standards Institute (ANSI) guideline Z308.1-2021 on first aid.
The ANSI standard, to which OSHA often refers industrial safety managers seeking guidance on first-aid program specifics, was updated in 2021 to include two types of kits.
First-Aid Kit Classifications
Class A first-aid kits are designed for minor workplace injuries such as small cuts and scrapes that might occur in an office or commercial business while Class B kits are meant for higher-risk work environments such as manufacturing plants and construction sites, says Paul Slot, Medique’s marketing director. They contain a broader range and larger quantities of first-aid supplies.
Neither the ANSI guideline nor OSHA specify how many first-aid kits a business should have, however.
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To determine what’s needed, employers are generally expected to evaluate the types and frequencies of on-the-job injuries using records such as OSHA’s Form 300 logs or reports from their workers’ compensation insurance provider.
“If you’ve been logging lots of burns,” for example, “then you would want to have adequate supplies for treating those burns,” Ray Chishti, workplace safety editor at safety consulting firm J.J. Keller & Associates, says in a webinar on the American Society of Safety Professionals site.
Ensuring first-aid programs match workplace needs is taking on heightened importance amid an increase in on-the-job injuries nationwide.
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