Who Should Have ANSI First Aid Kits?

05/18/17 By Dana Szymkowiak

When a facility lacks first aid supplies, it puts employees at severe risk. First aid is designed to give immediate care to those with a nonfatal injury. 

There are many answers about what should be included in a first aid kit, but the question remains; who is required to have a first aid kit? The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration requires that first aid kits be accessible for use at work sites with more than five employees.

First aid supplies are found in residential homes, industrial workplaces, and in vehicle fleets. There are now two classes of first aid kits to treat the types of injuries that could happen in a facility.

  • Class A kits are for the most common workplace injuries such as minor cuts, abrasions, and sprains. These kits contain 71 items including antibiotic ointment, hand sanitizer, burn treatment, bandages, tape and more. 
  • Class B kits are for more high risk environments. They contain many of the same elements mentioned above in the Class A kits, in increased quantities, but also include a padded splint and tourniquet as well as other emergency supplies that are needed for heavy manufacturing, foundries, and other high-hazard environments.

Along with requiring facilities across the board with more than five employees, it is also important to appoint a safety manager to oversee the first aid kits. They should review stocking levels as well as expiration dates. It is important to have the right materials on hand when a first aid emergency happens.

Did you know that 3.5 million nonfatal occupational injuries were recorded in 2013, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics?  Most recently the overall incidence rate of nonfatal occupational injury and illness cases requiring days away from work to recuperate was 104.0 cases per 10,000 full-time workers in 2015, down from 107.1 cases in 2014.  In 2015, there were 1,153,490 days-away-from-work cases in private industry, state government, and local government—essentially unchanged from the number of cases reported in 2014.  The median days away from work to recuperate—a key measure of severity of injuries and illnesses—was 8 days in 2015, 1 day fewer than reported in 2014.

If you are looking to add to your first aid line, or become a distributor of first aid products, please contact us today.

Sources: https://ohsonline.com/Articles/2016/04/01/How-ANSI-is-Leading-the-Way-to-Better-First-Aid-in-the-Workplace.aspx
https://www.bls.gov/news.release/osh2.nr0.htm