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August 12, 2024How OSHA’s New Heat Rule Impacts Employers
Attorneys urge employers to use it as a general model for their own practices.
In the midst of a series of record heat waves throughout the United States this summer, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently proposed indoor and outdoor workplace regulations aimed at combating heat illnesses and injuries that occur among the nation’s workforce.
Although these rules are not yet in effect and the proposal may not survive in its current form, the agency has been making the issue a priority for quite a while, focusing special attention on it under its current regulatory regime. In 2022, OSHA launched a National Emphasis Program (NEP) targeting heat-related problems at various workplaces across the country in a wide range of more than 70 specified industries, including general industry, construction, maritime and agriculture.
In the absence of a formal rule being in place, the agency -
August 12, 2024A merica's Safest Companies 2024: United Engineers and Constructors
A culture of safety excellence is evident at every level for this construction and engineering company.
Nicole Stempak
Editor's Note: The 2024 class of America's Safety Companies will be recognized Tuesday, August 27 during the Safety Leadership Conference. More information about the conference, including registration, can be found at www.safetyleadershipconference.com.
United Engineers and Constructors
Mount Laurel, New Jersey
Construction and Engineering
500 Domestic Employees | 10 Domestic Sites | 6 EHS Professionals
United Engineers and Constructors has 500 employees, and every single one has completed OSHA’s 10-hour Construction Safety Course; 100 employees have also taken the 30-hour safety course.
It’s just one example of how seriously the nuclear, fossil fuel and renewable energy contractor takes safety.
Another -
July 16, 2024Most workers come to work dehydrated and end their shifts more dehydrated than when they started.
In the demanding environments of industrial workspaces, heat stress emerges as a formidable adversary against worker safety and productivity. Heat stress, exacerbated by high temperatures and humidity, can severely impair the human body’s ability to regulate temperature, leading to dangerous health conditions such as heat exhaustion and heat stroke. And unfortunately, this challenge to employees and employers alike is only expected to become a greater challenge in the years to come.
Worker Productivity
Should a worksite stay open during a day’s heat wave if the labor productivity for that day is at 50%?
These kinds of questions are becoming increasingly relevant, particularly as the number of heat waves is expected to continue to rise, globally. -
July 16, 2024The National Safety Council (NSC) recently released Safety Technology 2024, which examined trends in workplace hazards and safety technology implementation since 2020.
Key findings include:
Increased exposure to risks: Both employers and employees reported an increased likelihood of exposure to all workplace risks included in the survey – such as fatigue, heavy equipment operation and working at height – with the most significant increases reported by employees.
Fatigue remains the top risk across industries and the largest contributor to injuries in the workplace. While workplace violence is considered the least likely exposure, concern over these incidents significantly increased from 2020 to 2023.
Enhanced technology applicability and consideration: Across all surveyed technologies, employers reported these solutions to be relevant -
June 24, 2024Construction workers have the highest rates of death from drug overdoses, especially opioids including heroin and fentanyl.
A new report, Construction Working Minds Whitepaper 2024, sheds new light on the ongoing efforts to raise awareness of the unique mental health challenges faced by construction workers.
“[The report] offers evidence-based and evidence-informed approaches to address workers’ mental health challenges and will help advance development of effective programs and initiatives to support workers' well-being and reduce tragedies like addiction, overdose, and suicide,” said Cal Beyer, one of the report's co-authors, in a statement.
Construction workers are at particularly higher risk when it comes to opioid addiction and overdose deaths. Studies consistently show that compared to workers in other fields, construction -
June 24, 2024Analyzing data on workplace injuries, the National Safety Council found that workers of color face more work-related injuries and illnesses. Given that the most common injuries in general are musculoskeletal disorders, or MSDs, the group released on June 10 a new report The Intersection of DEI and MSDs: Ensuring Equitable Outcomes.
"At the National Safety Council, we believe fostering diversity, equity and inclusion is not only a moral imperative but also essential for creating safer and healthier work environments for all,” said Lorraine Martin, NSC president and CEO, in a statement.
The research paper identifies workplace factors that can lead to inequitable MSD outcomes and provides solutions for mitigation.
Key findings center on:
Work organization: Shift work, long hours and part-time employee status can impact the prevalence -
April 01, 2024Organizations globally have increased their attention on safety culture: trying to figure out what it really is and the aspects that are necessary to develop and sustain it. And while this debate continues, there appears to be almost unanimous agreement on one thing: developing a strong safety culture is a good thing for business.
The truth is there’s no ‘one size fits all’ model to develop a strong safety culture. However, it’s been observed that most organizations that achieve safety culture success do so by knowing how to:
Show leadership’s commitment to safety in the workforce
Increase employee participation and engagement in safety
Measure and accurately assess progress toward safety excellence
Let’s take a quick look at how organizations can achieve each goal, while also understanding how they can leverage technology to support -
April 01, 2024Industrial Robots Can Reduce Injuries
One standard deviation increase in robot exposure (1.34 robots per 1000 workers) reduces work-related injury rates by 1.2 injuries per 100 full-time workers.
I will admit I have a fascination with industrial robots. It stemmed from observing them in manufacturing plants across the globe. While initially they performed singular functions, today the breadth of range of motion and ability is amazing.
Watching this video the other day about how Mercedes-Benz is using a humanoid robot called Apollo (from Apptronik) lift and carry heavy boxes, put things on shelves and generally perform tasks that are not only less than ideal for people to perform, but can also lead to injuries, reinforced the positive safety aspect of robotics.
Looking for data that concludes robots in the plant can reduce injuries I found -
February 26, 2024Safety Tips for Aging Construction Workers
In 2022, 45% of construction workers were 45 and older.
As is the case for most businesses, the age of the average construction worker continues to increase as well. According to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics in 2022 the median age of construction and extraction occupations workers was 41.2. And 45% of construction workers were 45 and older.
The Center for Construction Research and Training (CPWR) notes that many in this age group will continue to remain on the job due to financial pressures as well as job satisfaction.
To help companies keep this population safe, in October of 2023, the group developed a variety of resources. One of these resources, the Aging Workers Data Dashboard examines the U.S. workforce by the numbers, including the number of workers 55 and older in construction, along with the average worker -
February 26, 2024EHS Professionals are Going Beyond Compliance
"EHS&S is driving shareholder value in setting and supporting ESG goals and strategies," says Nicole Wilkinson of NAEM.
In The National Association for Environmental, Health, Safety and Sustainability (EHS&S) Management (NAEM) blog, Nicole Wilkinson, executive director of Corporate Health, Safety and Environment at CVS Health, and board member of NAEM, talks about the expanding role of the profession. “Post pandemic our profession is further elevated, and our companies rely more on us now than ever.”
She outlines some new opportunities that are evolving in the profession. Here is an excerpt of three of those.
EHS&S is driving shareholder value in setting and supporting ESG goals and strategies. Many of us have responsibilities to setting or delivering on our company’s science-based targets
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