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Safety is a process, and as such, needs to be managed. This section offers resources to create a viable safety program, sell it to senior management, train supervisors and employees in using it, and then track and report your progress. Look also for ways to advance your own skills in these areas, both for your current job, and those that follow.
Two regional offices of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) launched regional emphasis programs (REP) to enforce the agency’s permit-required confined spaces standard (29 CFR §1910.146) in the transportation and tank-cleaning industries. OSHA’s Region 5 office (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin) initiated an REP effective August 2, and the agency’s Region 6 […]
Once again, wildfires are a huge problem in the U.S. According to the National Interagency Fire Center, seven new large fires were reported on Sunday, which brings the national total to 91 large fires that have burned 1.8 million acres. Businesses shouldn’t wait for a wildfire to occur before putting in place an evacuation plan, […]
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) plans to issue proposals for new infectious disease exposure, communication tower safety, and tree care industry standards, according to a Department of Labor (DOL) notice published July 30 (86 FR 41242). OSHA also plans rulemaking action in the coming year to address emergency response safety, process safety management […]
With parts of the country suffering record-breaking temperatures this summer, employers know they need to be on guard against heat dangers for both indoor and outdoor workers. At some point, however, those precautions may be formalized into a new standard from the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Currently, OSHA deals with heat dangers […]
Back to Basics is a new weekly feature that highlights important but possibly overlooked information that any EHS professional should know. This week, we examine falls in construction and how to prevent them. Falls are a major safety issue in any industry, but especially in construction, where they are the leading cause of death. According […]
On July 27, AIHA (formerly the American Industrial Hygiene Association) revealed concerns about the federal COVID-19 emergency temporary standard (ETS) in a 13-page letter to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). AIHA urged the agency to closely examine and immediately revise the emergency rule’s provisions dealing with ventilation, physical barriers, and transmission by inhalation […]
As the number of COVID-19 cases continues to rise in the U.S., the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) this week recommended that fully vaccinated people wear masks indoors in substantial or high-transmission areas. This is an about turn from the agency’s May guidance, which said it was safe for fully vaccinated people to […]
While there is still no federal standard on prevention of worker exposure to extreme heat, a bill is currently sitting in Congress that hopes to establish such a standard. In addition, there are federal recommendations and guidance that can prove useful for employers looking to protect workers from heat illness. The Asuncion Valdivia Heat Illness […]
On July 23, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced it is seeking nearly $1 million in penalties from four employers at a poultry processing facility where six OS workers died from nitrogen exposure caused by a malfunctioning freezer. After a shift began on January 28 at a Gainesville, Georgia, poultry processing facility, a […]
In our latest installment of Ask the Expert, brought to you by the team of industry experts at EHS Hero®, we look at a recent question from a subscriber asking how to implement a respiratory protection program. See what the experts had to say. Q: What are the steps to implement a respiratory protection program? […]