Petroleum refineries are laden with various thermal and chemical hazards. Adequate personal protective equipment (PPE) is instrumental in providing a safe work environment for employees to complete the task at hand.
A starkly worded tweet from the New York City Fire Department (FDNY) spelled out the fate of a construction worker buried under rubble last Wednesday: “The incident is transitioning from a rescue to a recovery.” The tweet came after first responders dug for three hours in heavy rain through a mixture of mud and concrete for hours in an effort to find the worker who disappeared when a retaining wall cracked and collapsed.
Contractors identify strong safety programs as means to address skilled labor scarcity and substance abuse
September 10, 2018
A shortage of skilled workers is the number one factor affecting jobsite safety, according to a report by the Q3 2018 USG Corporation + U.S. Chamber of Commerce Commercial Construction Index (Index). The report revealed a widespread concern among commercial construction businesses about anticipated labor shortages over the next three years, with 88 percent of contractors expecting to feel at least a moderate impact from the workforce shortages in the next three years.
A construction worker was among those killed in the Cincinnati bank shooting; pedestrian fatalities in the U.S. continue to increase and some surprising data on young people who use marijuana every day. These were among the top stories featured on ISHN.com this week.
OSHA has several ways in which it interacts with companies in programs that address industry-specific hazards or that help enhance worker safety on specific projects.
The OSHA Strategic Partnership Program (OSPP) focuses on focus on improving safety and health in major corporations, government agencies, at large construction projects and private sector industries where OSHA has jurisdiction.
Working at road construction sites can be dangerous. Between 2011 and 2016, 532 construction workers lost their lives at road construction sites, an average of 89 workers each year. CPWR's Data Center recently explored road construction fatality trends and causes using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Two Colorado construction companies have been cited by OSHA after an employee fell to his death at a Greenwood Village worksite.
The worker fell while installing metal roofing panels on a storage unit building. OSHA cited Hammers Construction Inc. and Montes Construction LLC for failing to use adequate fall protection and restrict employees from standing on the mid-rails of scissor lifts.
Wearable sensors could monitor stress, physical demands and even risk perception
August 27, 2018
The construction industry, by its nature, can be dangerous. SangHyun Lee, an associate professor in the University of Michigan’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, says wearable sensors can can improve construction worker safety and also reduce costs through better data on worker health. He answers questions about his research.
Welding and welding safety are nothing new to us all. While welding equipment today has dramatically improved, the fumes generated remain hazardous and are classified as a carcinogen. Has respiratory protection for welders improved to the same degree?
Roughly 38 million people will commence with a digging project this year without first having underground utility lines marked, and a line is damaged once every nine minutes because someone started digging without first calling 811.