Editorial Comments

reporting serious injuries and fatalities

Knockin’ on heaven’s door

It’s a sound no one wants to hear in safety – to the harm of protecting workers

April 23, 2019

In 2017, 5,147 workers in the U.S. were killed on the job, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, down slightly from 5.190 in 2016. The fatal injury rate in 2017 was 3.5 per 100,000 full-time employees. Three or four people out of 100,000. Not close to one percent. Meaning most everyone escapes being touched by a work-related death.

Weekly news round-up

April 20, 2019

NIOSH uses robotic arms to test healthcare PPE, teen workers get safety info from OSHA and FairWarning sheds a light on the hazards faced by small farmers in the U.S. These were among the occupational safety and health stories featured on ISHN.com this week.

The danger of taking tiredness for granted

Fatigued? Tell me about it…

Dave Johnson

March 22, 2019

Last month in Seattle the National Safety Council's Campbell Institute held a conference where one of the major topics was, "Fatigue: Managing the Hidden Risk." My question: What's so "hidden" about fatigue? Everyone you talk to in today's 24/7 wired world is fatigued, tired, beat. Just ask them.

Editor's Letter

Out of the loop: Reasons to care about workers who feel alone

Dave Johnson

February 7, 2019

United Kingdom-based newspaper The Guardian recently ran this headline: “UK to tackle loneliness crisis with cash injection. More than 120 projects will receive funding to help those affected and reduce stigma.” This reminded me of a book written in 2000, “Bowling Alone,” by Robert D. Putnam.

Here are ongoing EHS plotlines for 2019

Mission creep & déjà vu

Dave Johnson

January 14, 2019

What’s relevant in 2019 cannot be neatly captured in a news story. We’re talking about issues with origins that stretch back years if not decades, and will have no ending this year.

workers stifle reporting illnesses & stressors

Fear & insecurity stifle reporting illnesses & stressors

Millions of workers suffer in silence

Dave Johnson

December 17, 2018

Chronic pain we know about too well. The opioid onslaught has taught us that. The pressure to work through pain is real, particularly in industries with a macho ethos such as construction and oil and gas. But step back and look at a larger picture — chronic diseases — and the untold millions of adults who work through a chronic illness.

Editor’s Letter

Who “actively cares” for Congolese miners?

Empathy only goes so far

Dave Johnson

November 21, 2018

Just by putting “Congo miners” in the title here will have most readers flipping to the next page. I learned this lesson years ago writing an article about workplace safety, or the lack thereof, in China. “Why did you write this article?” asked a reader. “I don’t read ISHN for articles about China.” Another reader opined: “Everybody knows nobody values life in a country like China.”

The constant pressure for construction workers to work in pain

It’s always been there - will it ever go away?

Dave Johnson

October 4, 2018

Perhaps you read about the NIOSH study published in late August that found construction workers die of drug overdoses (not while on the job) at a rate six times higher than the general work population. Heroin was the main killer, followed by prescription opioids.

Extended Online Edition

OSHA recordkeeping often has little to do with reality

A better way of keeping score

Dave Johnson

September 6, 2018

Dan Petersen, one of the great thinkers in the history of occupational safety, in a 2005 book, “Measurement of Safety Performance,” tore apart the traditional barometers of safety performance, the OSHA total case incident rate, total lost-workday cases, fatalities and other measures.

Is OSHA at its nadir?

The agency has been silent for far too long

Dave Johnson

August 3, 2018

Is OSHA more irrelevant than ever? Many top OSHA officials, careerists, are working in an “acting” or interim basis: the agency’s career deputy assistant secretary position; the head of whistleblower protection; the director of training; and four of the ten agency regional administrators.