Practical EHS Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
Modern safety management goes beyond covering traditional workplace accidents to now being equally concerned with illnesses caused on and even off the job. This section will explain what you need to know to avoid both injuries and illnesses, and to track your progress in reaching this goal.
Statistics tell us that 8 out of 10 people experience back problems at some time during their lives. We also know that back injuries affect millions of American workers every year and cost billions. Overexertion is a leading cause of lost-time injuries. And a significant number of workers in most industrial workplaces and construction sites […]
You go up a ladder. You go down a ladder. What’s the big deal? According to safety statistics, at least 100,000 people fall from ladders each year and injure themselves, while 300 will die in falls from ladders. Let’s look at the dangers involved with a ladder. These are based on actual incidents that have […]
Yesterday, we talked about foot protection. Today, we focus on common workplace foot hazards and injuries. The feet are among the hardest working parts of the body. Feet are busy all day long, standing, walking, or climbing. Feet endure hundreds of pounds of pressure while they work, and the heavier a person is the more […]
Yesterday, we answered questions from safety professionals about OSHA reportable injuries. Today, we conclude with a couple more questions and more information about how you can become a Safety.BLR.com subscriber and get all your safety questions answered. A. Based on the OSHA excerpt from a letter of interpretation below, this case appears to be an […]
Even the most experienced safety professionals sometimes have questions about OSHA requirements. Here are some questions recently received by safety experts at Safety.BLR.com. Q. If an employee is seen by a doctor and the only treatment was administering oxygen, would this be recordable under OSHA’s recordkeeping requirements? A. Administering oxygen is considered medical treatment and […]
Burns are a common workplace injury with hundreds of cases reported daily across the nation. Identify risks in your workplace and take action to protect employees. A study of workplace burns conducted a few years back by the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries found that of the 350 workers hospitalized because of work-related […]
Making sure employees lift safely and avoid back injuries is an ongoing process. Good training supplemented by frequent feedback is a winning combination. Let’s say there’s this workplace that is experiencing a high rate of back injuries. The safety manager knows that most of the injuries are a result of unsafe lifting. The company has […]
One in five lost-work-time incidents is a slip, trip, or fall. Control this common hazard with some no-nonsense, easily implemented strategies. Most falls on a level surface don’t result in a recordable injury but merely a bump, some bruises, or perhaps scattered papers and spilled coffee. But sometimes these falls can and do cause more […]
The good news is that there are fewer workplace injuries and illnesses than there used to be. The bad news is that there are still too many. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports that nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses among private industry employers declined in 2009 (the most recent year for which statistics are […]
Amputations are among the most severe and disabling workplace injuries, and amputation risks are widespread in industry. The risk of amputations is unfortunately widespread in industry and involves a variety of activities and equipment. Bureau of Labor Statistics data from a few years back indicate that there were some 8,400 non-fatal amputation cases in private […]