Occupational Safety and Health

Construction Safety

Construction exposes workers to many hazards and is the highest-risk activity occurring at NASA centers, and falls are one of the top causes of fatalities in construction.

The program aims to prevent accidents and keep agency personnel and contractors safe. NASA Construction Safety and Fall Prevention professionals review applicable policies, share Construction Safety concerns, and identify and create practices to resolve those concerns.

The program also works to incorporate into NASA construction projects a relatively new idea in the safety arena — prevention through design. The root of this philosophy is to construct new facilities so that fall protection is never, or at least rarely, necessary. This is achieved through methods such as installing a proper parapet around the roof so that when maintenance or inspections occur there is no need for a full body harness, lanyard, anchor point or connecting device.

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Control of Hazardous Energy (Lockout/Tagout)

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration defines hazardous energy as “Energy sources including electrical, mechanical, hydraulic, pneumatic, chemical, thermal or other sources in machines and equipment…” To prevent injury or death, it is essential to control hazardous energy when performing work.

Lockout/Tagout procedures protect employees from hazardous energy. Locks are used to isolate physically a piece of machinery or equipment, while tags inform affected employees about the isolation. Every NASA center and facility has specific Lockout/Tagout procedures to protect employees.

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Electrical Safety

The NASA Electrical Safety program is designed to prevent electrically related injuries and property damage. This program also provides for proper training of employees to ensure they have the requisite knowledge and understanding of electrical work practices and procedures.

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Emergency Management and COOP

Emergency Management and Continuity of Operations Plans (COOPs) are guided by requirements in NPR 8715.2, NPR 1040.1 and NPD 1040.4. It is NASA policy to ensure that the agency maintains a comprehensive and effective continuity capability composed of programs designed to ensure the continuous performance of essential functions under all conditions. Furthermore, the agency must have emergency management programs, plans and procedures that work within the protocol of the National Response Framework and the National Incident Management System.

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Facility System Safety

Facility System Safety applies a System Safety approach to the life cycle of facilities. It’s more than design and construction — it involves using System Safety logic to approach safety and creates a way to provide configuration control for facilities' safe operation.

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Fall Protection

NASA requires all centers to implement a Fall Protection Program and appoint a center Fall Protection Program administrator to develop, implement and manage the program. The program focuses on eliminating, mitigating and controlling fall hazards before an individual is exposed.

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Fire Protection

NASA’s Fire Protection Program oversees fire prevention, detection, control and suppression through engineering, inspection, training and firefighting. The program aims to protect human life, property and the environment from fire-related hazards.

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Hazardous Materials

According to NPR 8715.3, Section 3.7 — NASA General Safety Program Requirements, Hazardous Material Transportation, Storage, and Use — NASA is responsible for protecting persons, property and the environment from exposure during the transportation, storage and use of hazardous materials.

Hazardous materials are substances or materials in a quantity and form that could pose an unreasonable risk to health, safety or property when transported in commerce. Typical hazardous materials are those that may be highly reactive, toxic, poisonous, explosive, flammable, combustible and corrosive; produce contamination or pollution of the environment; or cause adverse health effects or unsafe conditions. Materials include nanomaterials, cryogens, and hazardous material leaks or spills.

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Hazardous Operations

Hazardous Operations refers to any operation without implementation of proper mitigations or that has a high potential to result in the loss of life, serious injury to personnel or public, or damage to property as a result of the material or equipment involved or the nature of the operation or activity itself. Hazardous Operations is covered in NPR 8715.3, Chapter 3.

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Laboratory Safety

Laboratory Safety, covered in NPR 8715.3, Chapter 3, is responsible for protecting personnel and property in lab environments. This discipline also includes certain equipment, repair and calibration operations, as well as processing of materials.

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Mishap and Close Call Reporting, Investigating and Recordkeeping

Mishap investigations allow NASA to understand the root cause of incidents and make adjustments to prevent recurrence. NASA conducts mishap investigations in accordance with NASA Procedural Requirements for Mishap Reporting, Investigating, and Recordkeeping (NPR 8621.1), which describes the procedure for reporting, investigating and documenting mishaps, close calls and previously unidentified workplace hazards to prevent similar occurrences in the future.

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Motor Vehicle Safety

It is NASA’s responsibility to ensure that motor vehicle operations comply with federal, state and local regulations. To do so, the agency implements continuous duty time for operators, policies that ban handheld communication devices while driving and require the use of seatbelts, formal operator training, vehicle safety inspections, and traffic control devices on NASA property. Although Motor Vehicle Safety covers bicycles and powered carts, it does not apply to aircraft, spacecraft, vessels, watercraft or lifting devices that are in motion while completing a lift.

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Occupational Safety

Occupational Safety requirements in NPR 8715.1 ensure that employees are furnished with a place of employment that is free from recognized hazards that cause or are likely to cause death or serious harm. It is NASA policy to implement a comprehensive Occupational Safety and Health program consistent with the OSHA Act of 1970, Executive Order 12196 and 29 CFR 1960.

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Operational Safety

Operational Safety focuses on the prevention of operations-related safety hazards. It includes all areas of industrial or occupational safety traditionally found within the industry, and each of these areas are governed within Chapter 3 of NPR 8715.3C, NASA General Safety Program Requirements.

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Personal Protective Equipment

NASA is required to provide Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to all NASA employees in situations where engineering controls, management controls or other corrective actions have not reduced the hazard to an acceptable level or where use of engineering controls, management controls or other techniques is not feasible. Protective equipment, including PPE for eyes, face, head and extremities; protective clothing; respiratory devices; and protective shields and barriers are to be provided, used and maintained in a sanitary and reliable condition wherever it is necessary by reason of hazards of processes or environment, chemical hazards, radiological hazards or mechanical irritants encountered in a manner capable of causing injury or impairment in the function of any part of the body through absorption, inhalation or physical contact.

Center directors must ensure non-NASA, contractor and non-contractor personnel at their centers provide the appropriate training, fit testing and compliance with other federal, state, local and NASA PPE requirements.

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Product Safety

Product Safety ensures the safety of products in their intended applications through product stewardship programs and compliance with requirements.

Safety Training and Certification

Safety Training and Certification oversees requirements for establishing safety training programs and the minimum training certification levels necessary for personnel involved in potentially hazardous NASA operations. Much of this training is available online. Instructor-based courses are available through the NASA Safety Training Center and SATERN.

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Test Operations Safety

Test Operations Safety manages requirements for protecting personnel and property during test operations, for both human-controlled and unoccupied or robotic tests. Testing includes hazardous training activities and demonstrations of test hardware or procedures. The requirements apply to test facilities, test equipment located within or attached to test facilities, equipment being tested, test personnel, test conduct, and test documents.

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Underwater Operations

Underwater Operations pertains to NASA neutral buoyancy facilities, equipment, personnel and operations involving underwater activities, including the simulation of a weightless environment and NASA personnel participating in underwater operations at non-NASA facilities. It also pertains to vessels, watercraft and submersible vehicles.

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