OSHA has published a new slide presentation on the value of injury and illness prevention programs — a proactive process to help employers find and fix workplace hazards before workers are hurt.

Workplace health promotion programs have the potential to reduce average worker health costs by 18 percent — and even more for older workers, reports a study in the January Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, official publication of the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM).

OSHA has cited the U.S. Postal Service Truman Station in Independence, Mo., with a willful violation for failing to protect employees working in excessive heat. OSHA initiated an inspection in July after a mail carrier developed heat-related illness symptoms, collapsed while working his route and was taken to the hospital where he died as a result of his exposure to excessive heat.

Reflecting on a summer that saw a record number of heat-related weather emergencies across the country, OSHA chief Dr. David Michaels said there’s no way of knowing how many workers are alive and well right now because their employers took steps to reduce the risk of heat-related illness.

Although temperatures have turned frosty in many parts of the U.S., OSHA is not letting up on its effort to raise awareness about the risks of heat illness for outdoor workers.

On the heels of the hottest month in US history, OSHA continues to promote its smart phone-friendly Heat Safety Tool mobile app, which provides vital safety info on heat-related illness prevention.

It’s easy to avoid spreading germs throughout your workplace – yet many people inadvertently do it, nonetheless, due to a variety of reasons.