Reducing workplace accidents, injury, and death is the purpose of Canadian Occupational Health and Safety ("OHS") laws in every province, federally under the CanadaLabour Code, and the Bill C-45 amendments to the Criminal Code ("Code").
There are about 36,000 commercial drycleaning shops in the United States. Most are owner-operated small businesses with fewer than 10 employees. In addition, some drycleaning shops may be owned and staffed by individuals with limited English language skills and/or may be marginally profitable– factors that may create additional barriers for the owner-operator to maintain a safe and healthy workplace.
Working at height remains one of the biggest causes of fatalities and major injuries. Common cases include falls from ladders and through fragile surfaces. “Work at height” means work in any place where, if there were no precautions in place, a person could fall a distance liable to cause personal injury (for example a fall through a fragile roof).
Falls-from-ladders are a leading cause of fall injury and death. In the US, more than 500,000 people a year are treated, and about 300 people die, from ladder-related fall injuries. The estimated annual cost of ladder injuries in the US is $11 billion, including work loss, medical, legal, liability, and pain and suffering expenses.
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health’s (NIOSH) first smart phone application (app) aims to improve extension ladder safety. The Ladder Safety app addresses the major causes of ladder falls by placing a number of interactive and easy-to-use graphic-oriented tools into the hands of the ladder users upon demand.
The death of a sound technician who was shot while working on the television show “COPS” has led to OSHA issuing a hazard alert letter for reality show producers.
Ladder fall injuries are a persistent hazard both in the workplace and at home. There are five major causes for extension-ladder fall incidents: incorrect ladder setup angle, inappropriate ladder selection, insufficient ladder inspection, improper ladder use, and lack of access to ladder safety tools and information.
Falls are a persistent hazard found in all occupational settings. A fall can occur during the simple acts of walking or climbing a ladder to change a light fixture or as a result of a complex series of events affecting an ironworker 80 feet above the ground.
With winter evidently nowhere near being over in much of the United States, winter hazards – like slippery roads and surfaces --remain a concern. OSHA offers tips for employers on how to control hazards at workplaces impacted by winter weather.
Paul Holum from Elk River, Minn. has been named the winner in the National Fire Protection Association’s (NFPA) NEC Challenge– a competition that pits electrical professionals and experts against each other in a test of National Electrical Code® knowledge and experience.