March 2020 | ISHN Magazine

Among the articles in the March 2020 issue of ISHN Magazine, we feature a special report on musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) and ways to prevent, we look at the 'fatal four' top causes of construction worker fatalities, read the Q&A with Robin Fleming, CEO of ANVL, about giving frontline workers a voice, and much more.

Four tips to prevent & reduce musculoskeletal disorders

How to avoid the “walking wounded”

Nancy Moorhouse, CSP, ARM, CHSM

March 2, 2020

No magic pills make musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) disappear, yet risk, human resources and safety departments continue to buy into programs and systems that do not affectively aid in helping employees deemed the “walking wounded.”

Safety cannot be reverse engineered

No quick fix

Cory Worden M.S., CSHM

March 2, 2020

Lagging indicators are simply rates of injuries that have already happened. If we know how and why these incidents occurred, we can transfer this knowledge into our continual hazard analysis, improve our hazard controls, communicate them and begin to validate their use.

Rethinking Traditional Safety, Part 4

Skill vs. luck, reflexes and serious injuries & fatalities

Larry Wilson

March 2, 2020

Hi, and welcome back. In the last issue, we looked at risk assessments and why our most serious injuries didn’t come from the most dangerous things we’ve done.

How to monitor workers in a confined space

Is anybody watching?

Jason Fry

March 2, 2020

With technology incorporated in nearly every aspect of our lives, you’ve probably wondered more than once whether someone was watching your every move.

Acoustic panels reduce the roar at a solids dewatering plant

Absorbing the noise

Vince Cavaseno

February 25, 2020

The Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority in Albuquerque, New Mexico operates a 76-million gallons per day (rated capacity) wastewater treatment plant that treats a daily average of five million gallons of sewage from New Mexico’s largest city and its surroundings.

Training is key when working at height

Shortcuts don’t pay

Lisa Alsdorf

March 2, 2020

No fall protection equipment — regardless of how effective — can save an employee who is not properly trained in its use. Therefore, to maintain a safe and productive environment for workers at height, proper fall protection training is the first and most important step in your fall protection program.

Keep your oil and gas PPE program current

Time for review

Scott Francis

March 2, 2020

Now that flame resistant (FR), arc rated (AR) fabrics have lightweight and breathable performance features which can greatly benefit workers in the oil and gas industry, the first quarter is a good time to consider incorporating innovative FR/AR fabrics into your personal protective equipment (PPE) program.

Avoid shortcuts to improve battery safety

Take Charge

Karen Hamel

March 2, 2020

Each day that they are in use, forklifts and other types of powered industrial equipment must be inspected prior to operation. But often, not nearly as much thought is given to the battery charging stations that keep many of these essential machines running.

You need to know your gas monitor testing instruments are reliable

Bump test basics

Rick Pedley

March 2, 2020

Modern day portable gas detectors are quite reliable and accurate. For enhanced worker safety and to be fully compliant there is a little known concept called bump testing. Bump tests are crucial when it comes to protecting your workers from hazardous gases and other air-borne toxins.

Construction’s toll on workers

Investments are key to avoiding the “fatal four”

Jim Arabia

March 2, 2020

During a 45-year career, there is a one in 200 chance that a construction worker will die from a work-related incident. That’s a pretty scary statistic.

Workers play a greater role in managing risks

Real time Reporting

Bill Murphy

March 2, 2020

Mobile EHS software is improving workplace health and safety programs by disseminating critical tasks – like incident reporting – and making EHS a part of everyone’s job. Now every employee has the ability to feed real-time information on workplace risks directly into a centralized location.

Digital Edition Exclusive

Call it proactive incident prevention

See a hazard, say something

Doug Pontsler

March 2, 2020

If you have been following our work at COVE, you know that we are all about the importance of Seeing the Whole PICTURE® so that we can be more effective in our safety processes. It is by Learning to See that we can improve our ability to interpret the environment around us and the things that we are doing so that we can identify hazards and understand risk.

Digital Edition Exclusive

The OSHA “willful” mysteries

Often there is no explanation for the charges

Edward Stern

March 2, 2020

Many of the OSHA cases that cite “willful” violations present mysteries. The mysteries are why the alleged violations were categorized as willful. These charges are not a mystery to OSHA, but they are mysteries to readers of citations. Since the penalty for a willful violation can be over $130,000, there should not be any mystery about such charges.

The benefits of strategic safety planning

It’s about predictions, not certainties

Dan Markiewicz, MS, CIH, CSP, CHMM

March 2, 2020

Markets are disrupted at a quicker pace than ever before. Welcome to the 2020s. Tesla is valued at more than Ford and GM combined. The combustion engine and its complementary industries have reached their peak and have nowhere to go but down. Jobs in heavy production are being eliminated by automation. The Coronavirus races across the globe.

Denying executive accountability is too common

Throwing safety under the bus

Dave Johnson

March 2, 2020

Sad but true. In 2020, OSHA celebrates its 50th anniversary. Safety’s sage, Dan Petersen, published “Safety Management, a Human Approach” in 1975. Lessons haven’t been learned.

Giving frontline workers a voice: Q&A with Robin Fleming, CEO of ANVL

March 2, 2020

Why is ANVL’s product called an analysis and communications platform? Because it is a software solutions product with mobile apps in the hands of front line users, an app web-based for managers, and the back-end part is a platform to analyze data from workers. It’s a logic engine.

Identify & mitigate combustible dust dangers

Know the warning signs

Brian Richardson

March 2, 2020

Recognizing dangerous combustible dust situations in manufacturing plants and processing facilities helps you to quickly observe and recognize an unsafe situation in everyday work environments, evaluate whether you and your coworkers are in harm’s way, and decide what steps are necessary to make the area safe.

Closing Time

Tools for serious injury & fatality prevention

Seeing precursors

Glenn Murray

March 2, 2020

In the last decade or so many organizations have been placing more of a focus on Serious Injury and Fatality prevention (SIF). The theory behind the traditional “Safety Pyramid” (or Heinrich Safety Triangle) says if we reduce incidents at the “base” of the pyramid, it follows we will reduce incidents at the top of the pyramid at an approximately proportional rate.