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Read moreThe study, which used data from over 4,000 journey level plumbers, examined workers’ compensation claim rates.
Can workplace safety be improved by apprentice training? A new study published late last year shows that there may be a relationship.
The study, from the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries’ (L&I) Safety and Health Assessment and Research for Prevention (SHARP) Program, looked at data on 4,036 journey level plumbers (JLP) from 2000 to 2018.
The workers’ compensation claim rates of those who finished apprentice training were 31 lower than those who lacked apprentice training, according to an L&I news release. The adjusted estimates claim rate for JLPs with apprentice training was 73.1 per 1,000 full-time equivalent. For those with no apprentice training, it was 106.4 per 1,000 full-time equivalent.
“This study p -
Read moreFor the eighth time since 2016, federal safety inspectors found the owner of a Martin, Ohio roofing company exposed roofers and other workers to the construction industry’s leading cause of death – falls from elevation – by failing to provide them with fall protection equipment and hazard training.
Altogether Roofing LLC and owner Mike Krueger now face $300,144 in penalties after a U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration inspector observed eight employees working at heights up to 20 feet without fall protection while atop a Maumee residence on June 22, 2022.
Following the June inspection, the agency cited the contractor for five violations – three willful, one repeat and one serious – for exposing workers to fall hazards, failing to use ladders correctly, lacking an accident prevention program, failing to provide training on ladder usage and -
Read moreFor many businesses, daily activities necessitate the use of hazardous substances. To use and store them safely, it is critical to recognize the risks they pose and to meet the highest levels of workplace safety. Occupational safety protocols must therefore account for all hazardous substance handling, storage and comprehensive risk management.
In the UK, such occupational safety precautions are governed by the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) Act. Following an annual review of workplace safety, COSHH emphasizes the need of meeting and routinely refreshing safety procedures in all businesses.
In addition to meeting regulatory safety standards, we will explain below how to correctly store and label hazardous substances in the workplace, as well as outline the safety procedures and regulations you should implement to keep all those on site safe. -
Read moreNine topics every professional should pay attention to
1. Harassment
Merriam-Webster named “Gaslighting” the word of the year. In the ever-expanding wake of Canada’s Governor General resigning over allegations of harassment, more high-profile cases are appearing. Hockey Canada’s board of directors resigned after mounting pressure and calls for answers after evidence emerged of cover-ups and payouts for sexual assault claims. Gymnastics Canada’s funding was frozen when hundreds of gymnasts signed a petition about exposure to a toxic culture, and gymnasts came forward asking the government to step in. The military has had consistent and disturbing cases of harassment and sexual assault. The list goes on. The problems are real, and organizations are being caught out.
Many organizations have inadequate processes and guidance for handl -
Read moreThe National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) is launching a challenge aimed at fit testing evaluation for respirators.
Fit testing is required by OSHA yearly and whenever employees use a new respirator. However, not every employer may be able to meet these requirements. According to a NIOSH news release, resources to do fit testing may be a concern for “small or disadvantaged workplaces.”
In partnership with Capital Consulting Corporation and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, NIOSH announced the Respirator Fit Evaluation Challenge on January 10. The challenge seeks “novel ideas” that could positively influence fit-testing practices for respirators.
“Fit testing is vital to ensure a respirator wearer is receiving the expected level of protection and is wearing a correctly fitting model and size,” said Maryann D’A -
An EHS Today Special ReportRead more
As we near the end of 2022, it’s a fair question to ask: Did anything really change over the past year?
While COVID cases have dropped off considerably over the past year, we’re still in a pandemic, and there’s no clear sign that the World Health Organization (WHO)—which officially declared the pandemic back in March 2020—plans to call it off any time soon.
The predicted “red wave” from the midterm elections turned out to be a mirage, and it sounds like we’re in for two years of solid political gridlock.
And far too many workers are still getting injured and killed on the job and on the highways from safety violations of the industrial kind (e.g., falls from heights, explosions and electrocutions) as well as the psychological kind (e.g., active shooting and suicides).
Rather than sugarcoating th -
Read moreSlip, trip and fall injuries are unfortunately not uncommon in many industries, including mining.
In 2021, there were 771 reported slip and fall injuries in the mining industry out of a total of 3,421 injuries, according to the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).
Many factors can contribute to slips and falls when working in a mine, like equipment, walkways and the conditions. In honor of National Miners Day, which is recognized on December 6, let’s look at ways to prevent the second leading cause of nonfatal injuries resulting in lost time in mining.
Working around or with equipment, especially mobile equipment, can lead to injuries. The most common equipment to cause slips, trips and falls at a mine are “large trucks (haul trucks), loaders and dozers,” NIOSH reported.
How can employers keep workers safe -
Read moreAfter losing some momentum under the Trump administration and making its share of mistakes throughout the pandemic, OSHA has spent much of 2022 flexing its regulatory muscles.
Consider that, so far in 2022, it has started emphasis programs and enforcement efforts targeting warehouses, heat illness, COVID-19 and trenching violations.
At the same time, it has broadened the scope of its Severe Violator Enforcement Program and it is once again using the General Duty Clause to address ergonomics violations.
Speaking of ergonomics, the agency, along with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, is focusing on those violations as part of a broader investigation into multiple warehouse facilities owned and operated by Amazon.
Further, OSHA’s inspector roster grew 19% in fiscal year 2022. The agency added 50 new inspectors in -
Read moreIssue
New HSE research has revealed that respirators/masks which rely on ear loops (including those provided with clips, ‘snuggers’ or other means of tightening the fit of the mask) to hold the respirator/mask in place, do not protect people adequately when used as tight fitting respiratory protective equipment (RPE).
Outline of the problem
HSE has seen an increase in the variety of ear loop respirators/masks, which indicate they offer the protection provided by FFP2 (filtering facepiece respirators or disposable half mask respirators). These products rely on having a good seal with the wearer’s face. For the majority of workers who are required to wear tight fitting RPE in the workplace, this seal cannot be achieved with a respirator/mask relying on ear loops to hold it in place.
HSE does
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Read moreEvery winter, no matter what the industry is or how the work conditions are, slips, trips and falls consistently remains the top cause of workplace injuries and accidents.
These are injuries and accidents that not only impact the team member’s physical and emotional health but require valuable time off and may even involve costly litigation and fines.
It is imperative that the employer has protocols and measures in place to react to dangerous falls promptly and efficiently so that the severity of injuries is as low as possible. While such reactive safety measures are important to any successful safety program, proactive safety measures are even more integral, helping prevent incidents, like slips and falls, from occurring entirely. One of the most impactful, proactive OHS steps an employer can take is to regularly and thoroughly train their people in f
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