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:
It’s safety advocates v. DOT in long-disputed issue
March 15, 2013
A new battle in the long legal war over truckers’ hours of service (HOS) is taking place in a federal appellate court in Washington, D.C. today. Nonprofit consumer advocacy group Public Citizen is attempting to force the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) to require what it calls “meaningful limits” on the hours truckers may drive – limits that Congress called for nearly 20 years ago, in an effort to improve transportation safety.
National Safety Apparel has overhauled its FR high visibility line of protective clothing for 2013. The fabrics used in producing the hi-vis shirts and sweatshirts have been upgraded to be an even brighter, more visible shade of fluorescent yellow.
Could architects & designers collaborate in the U.S.?
March 15, 2013
The Access Industry Forum (AIF) has introduced a dedicated work at height information helpline for DIOHAS, the Designer’s Initiative on Health & Safety, whose members include professionals from the major architectural practices, other construction disciplines and the Health & Safety Executive (HSE).
I recently received the following inquiry: “We're getting ready to perform safety coaching sessions with some of our frequently injured employees. Do you know of anyone who might have a script to outline the dialogue?”
OSHA defines a willful violation as “one committed with intentional knowing or voluntary disregard for the law's requirements, or with plain indifference to worker safety and health.” Of the 21 healthy and safety violations earned by Smithville Manufacturing Co. in Ohio recently, only one was willful – but it was the one related to the traumatic amputation of a worker’s finger by an unguarded press machine.
From climate change to a statute of limitations on OSHA citations to cleaning jobs and asthma, here are the week’s top OEHS-related stories as featured on ISHN.com:
Komatsu America Corp. facility had similar hazards last year
March 8, 2013
OSHA has cited Komatsu America Corp. in Peoria, Ill. with four safety violations, including two repeat, after a worker at the company’s truck manufacturing plant was injured while testing hydraulic cylinders for leakage.
There’s no doubt about it: fogging of safety goggles can be a dangerous nuisance. A study in Accident Analysis & Prevention magazine* researched the factors influencing workers’ use of safety eyewear. A group of men and women in the construction, manufacturing, service/maintenance, and healthcare industries were asked what factors determine their personal decision whether to wear their safety glasses or goggles.