Companies and leaders alike are often quick to point to training deficiencies or lack of an established behavioral pattern (habit) as the root cause of accidents. Training seems to become the easy solution; or, worse, it is viewed as some sort of magic potion. Safety training can certainly be an answer, but is it the right answer?
APA-The Engineered Wood Association has successfully revamped its safety program to generate enthusiasm and improve performance. Here's how it was done.
The general consensus of those responsible for on-the-job safety is that unsafe acts cause most all on-the-job injuries. The safety field recognizes that companies with world-class safety have a certain culture in which people do not engage in the unsafe acts that result in an actual loss. Because most injuries result from human actions, the key battle in the safety war is for the minds of the workers.
Members of the Safety Equipment Distributors Association are bound for downtown Baltimore this month and the association’s 2010 Safety Leadership Forum in better spirits than a year ago. The event kicks off with a June 15 reception at 6 p.m., less than three hours after the expo of ASSE’s annual meeting has closed, which allows distributor members who exhibited there to attend the SEDA meeting economically, said Kaymie Thompson Owen, SEDA’s associate director.
If you're aiming for sterling results in safety performance and culture, it's high time to promote No Fear Safety. Sure, on a basic level, Safety is about reducing fears — such as anticipating losing something you currently have or being blocked from getting what you'd want in the future.
Throughout my 27 years spent working in manufacturing, I've worked with electricity in some way or another. I've been a maintenance mechanic, maintenance supervisor, equipment technician, appliance repairman, TV/VCR technician, and more. Although I've been extremely fortunate never to have encountered a fatality that was caused by electricity, almost everyone I've worked with has been zapped, tingled, or shocked at some point in their lives, either on or off the job.
"The company's intentional disregard for its safety and health responsibilities put its workers at risk, and more egregiously, led to an unnecessary loss of life,” said Labor Secretary Hilda Solis.
The 2009 downturn didn’t stop W.W.Grainger, Inc. from hosting two “Total MROSolutions” events in Orlando for thousandsof customers in January 2010, and the companyliked what they were saying. “Wethink it’s a great time for Grainger topick up share for a lot of the reasonsthat David mentioned,” GraingerChairman, President and CEO JamesT. Ryan said after the second event’sJan. 21 keynote speaker, David Manthey,focused his remarks on consolidationamong distributors and signs ofa slow recovery.
"The employer knowingly operated high-pressure vessels even after being warned of the potential for a catastrophic failure due to material design and fabrication defects," said OSHA's Dr. David Michaels. "This simply is unacceptable, and OSHA will use the full extent of the law to ensure the company is held accountable for its actions."
The event will include subcommittee and taskforce meetings on government, education, and construction industry performance, as well as an exclusive reception at Cincinnati's Newport Aquarium.
“OSHA needs to bring more attention to the worst actors among employers, but not at the expense of encouraging employers to be as good as they can be in managing occupational safety and health,” said ASSE President C. Christopher Patton, in a letter to Congress on Friday expressing concern over the proposed cutting of OSHA’s VPP and MSHA’s Small Mines Office.
The inspection was initiated under the agency's Construction Hazards Emphasis Program when an OSHA inspector observed employees working at heights of more than 14 feet without the use of fall protection.
The OSHA leader and Dr. John Howard, director of NIOSH, are working together on a broad front to make important changes in OSHA's approach and effectiveness, they said Wednesday in a joint AIHce appearance.
The leading cause of home structure fires, civilian fire injuries, and unreported fires continues to be cooking equipment. Forty-one percent of home fires started in the kitchen area and caused 15 percent of home fire deaths and 36 percent of reported fire injuries.
“The industry survey confirms that there are readily available safe alternatives to using flammable natural gas for pipe cleaning,” said CSB Investigator Dan Tillema, P.E. “At the same time, a disturbing number of companies continue to use natural gas which creates the serious risk of a fire or explosion.”
The agency needs nominees with experience and expertise in construction-related safety and health issues to fill two employee, two employer, one state safety and health agency, and two public representative seats to advise DOL on developing standards affecting the construction industry.
Following a thorough investigation, the agency issued two willful and 12 serious citations with total proposed penalties of $135,900. The alleged violations include arc flash hazards, insufficient hand protection, and industrial truck training deficiencies.
The nine health care facilities located in seven states "put profits ahead of sound medical judgment," said Tony West, assistant attorney general for DOJ's Civil Division.
Thirty-four percent of respondents said they have an infection control plan to increase interventions in the event of an outbreak of CDI, a condition frequently associated with previous antibiotic use and most commonly contracted by the elderly and those with recent exposure to hospitals, nursing homes, and other health care institutions.
The 2010 IFMA conference will take place in late October at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta. Alexis Herman, who was secretary of Labor during Bill Clinton's administration, is the keynote speaker.