Occupational Safety - Articles - Page 123

Winning business through Safety

A Seattle company leverages its Total Safety Culture

February 3, 2020

One sweeping glance across the Seattle skyline is enough to see that something is happening in the area. If a region’s tower crane count is any indication of economic growth, then companies should pay attention to the Pacific Northwest.

For ladder safety, focus on surroundings, job hazards, height needs

Balancing Act

David Francis

February 3, 2020

Accidents happen for millions of reasons, but the truth is, they are all preventable. Three major causes are common in almost all accidents; not using the right tool for the job; using a damaged tool that hasn’t been inspected; and not following the basic safety guideline for that tool.

Asking questions leads to improved performance

Closing Time

Asking questions leads to improved worker performance

T.H.A.N.K.S. for the feedback

Timothy Ludwig Ph.D.

February 3, 2020

We had just witnessed a large toolbox talk at a mining construction site in Africa. It wasn’t a bad session; the safety officers were loud and lively in their statements, there was some humor and even the safety manager from the general contractor stepped in to say a couple words.

Researchers: Take-home workplace contaminants are a public health hazard

February 3, 2020

Workplace toxins that are inadvertently tracked by employees into their homes serve “as an intriguing example of how occupational conditions can have broader public health consequences,” according to scientists who’ve studied the problem. In Eliminating Take-Home Exposures: Recognizing the Role of Occupational Health and Safety in Broader Community Health, researchers reframe the problem as one arising from unsanitary worker behavior – the current thinking – to a larger issue that needs to be viewed through an ecosocial lens in order to institute effective prevention.

Steel plate falls from crane, injuring worker

“Aluminum Shapes continues to disregard their legal responsibility to comply with safety and health standards"

January 31, 2020

OSHA has cited Aluminum Shapes LLC for workplace safety and health hazards after a crane operator was injured in August 2019 at the aluminum manufacturer’s Delair, New Jersey, foundry. The company faces $169,524 in penalties for these violations.

A NIOSH Science Blog post

U.S. Surgeon General highlights the value of worker well-being and the NIOSH Total Worker Health® approach

Emily Norton BPH Maria Lioce MD Chia-Chia Chang MBA, MPH Donjanea F. Williams EdD

January 31, 2020

In a recent article in Public Health Reports, the U.S. Surgeon General, Vice Admiral (VADM) Jerome Adams, MD, MPH, recognizes the important relationship between employment and health. The article, “The Value of Worker Well-being,” also highlights the efforts of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), the NIOSH Office of Total Worker Health®, the NIOSH-funded Total Worker Health (TWH) Centers of Excellence, and NIOSH TWH affiliates.

Alarming silicosis rate in Australia brings calls for urgent action

January 31, 2020

Australia’s largest union representing workers in construction, forestry, maritime and mining and energy is demanding urgent national action on silicosis after revelations that 1-in-5 Queensland stone workers tested positive to the potentially fatal disease. The Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU ) says the severity of the risks associated with engineered stone products calls for a nationally coordinated approach rather than piecemeal regulations and health monitoring programs.

ACGIH® Board ratifies 2020 TLVs®and BEIs®

January 30, 2020

ACGIH® announced today that its Board of Directors ratified the 2020 Threshold Limit Values (TLVs®) for Chemical Substances and Physical Agents and Biological Exposure Indices (BEIs®). The Board also approved recommendations for additions to the Notice of Intended Changes (NIC).

Flight attendants: Limiting onboard support animals will help keep us safe

January 30, 2020

Flight attendants are applauding the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) bid to restrict the types of animals allowed in cabins, saying emotional support animals have threatened the safety and health of crew members as well as passengers. Amid a surge in passengers claiming that their emotional support animals – of many species – must fly with them in the passenger areas of planes, the DOT has released a notice of proposed rulemaking that seeks to amend the definition of a service animal in air transportation.

What to expect from OSHA in 2020

January 30, 2020

OSHA stayed busy in fiscal year 2019. The agency trained a record 1,392,611 workers on safety and health requirements through its various educational programs. OSHA also helped small employers identify 137,885 workplace hazards through its On-Site Consultation Program, which OSHA estimates protected 3.2 million workers from potential harm.