Today's Safety News

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As a leading authority on machine safeguarding, Rockford Systems, LLC returns in 2018 with a comprehensive seminar schedule for professionals in the EH&S, plant management, insurance and metal fabrication industries.

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) published new data today showing a record-high 221.7 million licensed drivers in the U.S. in 2016, including 41.7 million – or almost one in five – who are 65 years or older. This age group is growing faster than any other, and is far outpacing their teenage counterparts. The largest single-year percentage increase in licensed drivers that year was among those who are between 75-79 years old, increasing by 4.98 percent over the previous year. Except for five states – Michigan, Oklahoma, South Dakota, West Virginia and Wyoming – the nation saw increases among licensed drivers in 2016 compared to the previous year.

Substandard conditions in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey have impacted workers’ health and safety on the job, as well as their wages according to a devastating new report from from the National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON) and University of Illinois Chicago that surveyed 360 workers. The report also offers recommendations for improving working conditions during post-disaster recovery operations. Hurricanes and other disasters present a major challenge for OSHA and other local and national government agencies dedicated to protecting workers during recovery operations.

A Pennsylvania company willfully exposed its workers to confined space and fall hazards, according to OSHA, which has assessed US Environmental Inc. proposed penalties of $333,756 for a dozen safety violations. The Downingtown company is an integrated industrial energy services firm that serves the energy, petroleum, natural gas, petro-chemical, power, chemical, manufacturing and engineering sectors. Investigators inspected the facility on May 31, 2017, and found that the company failed to implement rescue procedures for employees in confined spaces; provide protective equipment when working in confined spaces; and provide employees with fall protection training and equipment.

Scott Mugno, President Trump’s choice to head the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, will go before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee next Tuesday at 10:00 am for his confirmation hearing. Mugno is Vice President for Safety, Sustainability and Vehicle Maintenance at FedEx Ground in Pittsburgh and was formerly Managing Director for FedEx Express Corporate Safety, Health and Fire Protection in Memphis. You can watch it LIVE here.

The American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) is seeking a new Executive Director (ED), a position based in Park Ridge, Illinois and one that reports to the organization’s President and its Board of Directors. Founded in 1911, ASSE has a global membership of more than 36,000 safety, health and environmental practitioners worldwide. ASSE advocates on behalf of its members while also providing robust professional development, training and networking opportunities. ASSE has an annual budget of approximately $18M, staff of 75, and operates a robust network of 152 chapters in the United States and internationally.

A traffic accident in Brooklyn, New York last week took the life of a young worker and forever changed that of the driver who killed him. News sources reported that 14-year-old Edwin Ajacalon, who was making restaurant deliveries on his bicycle, was struck by a car and killed on Saturday evening.