From oil and gas industry safety concerns to fall-related fatalities to truckers hours of service, here are the top OEHS-related stories of the week as featured on ISHN.com:
A new NIOSH-funded study on fatalities in the construction industry suggests roofers in residential construction are among those most likely to die in falls from roofs. The study, "Fatal falls from roofs among U.S. construction workers," finds that "the odds of fatal falls from roofs were higher for roofing and residential construction than any other construction sector."
Emergency responders in Boston said a construction worker who fell 30 feet was spared serious injury when he landed on bubble wrap, according to UPI. A spokesman for the Boston Fire Department said the 38-year-old worker fell 30 feet off a building and landed in a pile of bubble wrap taken from the construction site`s scaffolding.
Slideshow is for firefighters, homeowners and communities
March 8, 2013
The Fire Sprinkler Initiative, a project of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), has created a presentation highlighting the dangers of lightweight construction and the corresponding benefits of home fire sprinklers. Lightweight construction began to appear 25 years ago.
Topic: Future of technology innovations in construction
March 6, 2013
Industrial Scientific, the global leader in Gas Detection as a Service, announced today that its president and CEO, Justin McElhattan, and Chuck Pettinger, Ph.D., of Predictive Solutions (an Industrial Scientific company) will speak at the 2013 AGC Annual Convention.
Construction sector is one of New Zealand's most dangerous
March 6, 2013
A Wellington, New Zealand company has been fined over a subcontractor's five-and-a-half metre fall at work, according to TVNZ. The worker received a broken pelvis and facial injuries in the fall while installing plant and equipment at Silver Fern Farms' Te Aroha freezing works following significant fire damage in January last year.
Construction companies, small companies overrepresented in program
March 1, 2013
Despite some problems, OSHA says its Severe Violator Enforcement Program (SVEP) is “off to a strong start.” That assessment came in a Severe Violator Enforcement Program White Paperissued this week by the agency.
Last month, Assistant Secretary of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration Dr. David Michaels held an OSHA Employees All-Hands Meeting. OSHA employees who were not able to attend the meeting in person were able to participate through the web.
OSHA has cited SER Construction Partners LLC with one willful violation for exposing workers repairing a water line to excavation hazards at its Conroe work site on State Highway 242. OSHA's Houston North Area Office began its December 2012 inspection as part of a national emphasis program on trenching and excavation.