How safe is the workplace these days? We don’t really know, since given the nature of the federal government’s data-crunching capabilities, it’ll take another year for us to get the statistics on workplace incidents in 2022. But we do finally know how safe the workplace was at U.S.-based employers in 2021, but there’s not much good news in the numbers:

• Nonfatal injuries and illnesses were down in 2021 by 1.8% over 2020.


• Fatal work injuries were up by 8.9% year-over-year.


• The impact of COVID-19 on the workplace in 2020-2021 was significant but exactly how significant is not yet known.

Why leaders should expect a "tonne of new work" added to their responsibilities

As we kicked off 2023, wise words were shared by last year’s CSEA Safety Leader of the Year, Lee-Anne Lyon-Bartley, who warned occupational health and safety professionals could see many other designations, certifications, and acronyms added to their titles and professional requirements. This idea was expanded on in detail during a recent webinar hosted by Matthew Allen.

“The future of health and safety programming will go far beyond the traditional regulatory and physical worker safety model. It will become far broader in its reach and far more all-encompassing,” says Allen, regional vice president at RINA Services.




From mental health initiatives to the principles governing diversity, equity, and inclusion, social responsibility, the environment, and even cyber

SATURDAY, Feb. 11, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- In 2021, U.S. emergency rooms treated more than 193,000 burn injuries caused by an array of products, ranging from cooking devices to fireworks and space heaters.

Most of these burns were preventable, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

Children under age 10 are especially vulnerable, accounting for 26% of all burn injuries in 2021, according to a commission news release.




Here, the CPSC offers some tips for staying safe from burns:

Keep children away from the cooking area. Keep flammable items, such as potholders and bags, away from the stove and oven.

Keep clothing away from flames or ignition sources. Loose clothing can catch fire easily.

Leave at least 3 feet between a space heater and a person. Keep hands and fingers away from it. Don’t leave loose flammable i

From training to encouraging safe practices, there are many ways employers can increase safety.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were 5,190 fatal work injuries in 2021, up 8.9 percent from 2020, and 2,607,900 recorded cases of nonfatal injuries and illnesses in the private sector. Workplace safety issues and accidents can occur in any organization, which leads to fatalities, loss of goodwill, lawsuits and hefty fines.

However, workplace safety should be a priority for every type of business. It’s the employer’s responsibility to provide a secure environment for all the team members under OSHA regulations. Implementing a safety program in your facility prevents injuries, improves productivity, reduces costs associated with workplace accidents and boosts employee morale.

In this article, we’ll look at some techniques you can use to improve efficiency and workplace safety.

Winter isn’t coming; it’s here.

That means more hazards for employees, including the risk of slips and falls. There have been reports of employees slipping on ice, resulting in injuries or death.

In Maine, from January 2012 to June 2013, 1,035 workers filed “lost-time injury claims” from incidents involving workers slipping and falling on ice and snow, according to the Maine Department of Labor.




Although these incidents occurred across multiple industries, the transportation and material moving industry and the office and administrative support industry saw the most ice or snow-related slips and falls. Across all industries, they mainly occurred on parking lots and ground surfaces and resulted most often in sprains, strains and tears.

To avoid incidents like these happening, there are steps employers and employees can take.

Arlington, VA — The inclusion of a long-awaited Mine Safety and Health Administration proposed rule on respirable crystalline silica in the Department of Labor’s Fall 2022 regulatory agenda represents a milestone for which MSHA administrator Chris Williamson wants to “underscore the significance.”

Speaking during a Jan. 25 conference call for agency stakeholders, Williamson spoke of the long path the proposal has taken since first appearing in the Spring 1998 regulatory agenda. MSHA forecasted a proposed rule on silica would be in place in December 1998, Williamson noted.

The latest agenda, issued on Jan. 4 by the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, lists April as a target date for publication of a proposed rule.




Although the interagency review process is “out of our hands,” Williamson said, he remains optimistic about the advance

The world, and the world of work, has changed a lot over the last three years. In many ways, both have become more unpredictable, with supply chain disruptions, economic concerns and geopolitical volatility becoming part of our daily lives. Yet through it all, frontline workers have been there to keep the machinery of the global economic engine moving. As a result, it's never been more important to keep them safe while improving the way they work and the impact that work has on the planet.

Increasingly, corporate leaders are taking note of the relationship between environment, health and safety(EHS) and environmental, social and governance (ESG). EHS and ESG are moving from critical to strategic priorities for every organization, not only for regulatory compliance and worker safety, but also as part of the bigger business picture.

The vast majority (86%) of the 450 EHS professionals recently surveyed by Intelex as part of the research report “Big Ambitions. Complex D

Is it your company’s slow season? Are workers idly pushing brooms just because the production line is down for routine maintenance? Then it’s the perfect time for safety training.

Why, you may ask? Because:

• most safety training is required by OSHA anyway and must be completed at some point


• safety training leads to fewer injuries, which will save the company money, and


• safety training can’t really be considered downtime since it’s both a necessary and constructive activity.

OSHA’s thoughts on the value of training

Findings from a report show that a majority of respondents think physical safety needs to be an employer priority.

The Workplace Safety Report from Ansell Inteliforz™ addressed elements of worker health and safety such as physical safety, training and technology.

The results show almost 95 percent of the more than 500 respondents described the employer priority of physical safety as “very important,” according to a news release on the findings. Only six percent said it is “somewhat important,” per the report. More than three in four even said if an employer prioritizes this, they would be “more likely to join or stay with an employer.”




In the report, Head of Commercial Strategy and Business Development for the Americas, Ansell Inteliforz, Beemal Vasani said, “People are choosing where they work based on the culture that they see there. Your safety program

Even through uncertainties—and there has been no shortage of them in recent times—innovation in technology is maintaining its relentless pace.

Setbacks in past years have called for unprecedented ways to adapt and improve more conventional practices. As we begin to settle into the new normal, there has never been a better time to push through and explore new ideas within the manufacturing industry.

The old proverb reminds us that necessity is the mother of invention. The saying has never been more relevant than in the shift of global production and safety demands.




2022 saw a lot of promising trends that could define (or redefine) the future of the manufacturing industry. We hope these trends continue to gain traction in the new year. Now is the perfect opportunity to take a step back and assess these ideas, which might not yet be fully embraced and