Encouraging worker involvement in company safety committees sometimes can be a challenge. Even so, to create a workplace that fosters employee engagement, morale and safety, workers must have a voice.

Depending on the specific workplace, some managers may face an uphill battle in achieving active employee participation in safety committees. Pressure to increase production, a temporary or short-term work force and overall lack of motivation can contribute to the difficulties of creating a productive safety committee at work. (more…)

No one knows for certain why Michael Smith was trying to go up the down escalator at the Powell Street BART station in San Francisco on April 19, just as no one knows what caused him to fall. But once his hair and clothing became caught in the escalator, he couldn’t escape.

Emergency responders shut down the escalator, cut Smith free, and performed CPR, but to no avail. He was declared dead at the hospital. (more…)

A transportation advisory board is recommending that all commercial drivers be forbidden from using cell phones while driving, whether the devices are hand-held or hands-free.

The recommendation from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) comes in connection with a report on a truck crash in March 2011 that killed 11 people in Kentucky. (more…)

ANDOVER, Mass. – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited Spincraft in North Billerica for 38 alleged violations of workplace safety standards. An inspection was opened after OSHA learned that a worker sustained serious eye and facial injuries when the grinding wheel of the portable grinder he was operating ruptured and kicked back in his face. Inspectors found that the grinder was not guarded or set up properly, and steps had not been taken to ensure that it was operated at the proper speed. The metal fabrication plant faces a total of $175,500 in proposed penalties. (more…)

Reason 1

A 25-year-old worker at a concrete pipe manufacturing facility died from injuries received while cleaning a ribbon-type concrete mixer. The victim’s daily tasks included cleaning out the concrete mixer at the end of the shift. The clean-out procedure was to shut off the power at the breaker panel (approximately 35 feet from the mixer), push the toggle switch by the mixer to make sure that the power was off, and then enter the mixer to clean it. (more…)

NIOSH, which has studied shiftwork safety issues for years, suggests these seven practical strategies to improve the safety, health, and productivity of shiftworkers.

1. Keep the schedule regular and predictable. Shiftworkers should know their schedules well ahead of time so that they can plan their sleep and rest periods. Past studies of train accidents show a correlation between irregular schedules and accidents. (more…)

With more prescription and OTC drugs on the market than ever before, and more people taking these drugs, there’s an increased risk of employees coming to work impaired by medications.

While the dangers of alcohol and use of illegal drugs in the workplace have been much discussed and well documented, little attention has been paid to the effects of prescription and over-the-counter (OTC) medications. Yet, some of these drugs can cause serious impairment problems and could interact with other drugs or foods in ways that can jeopardize workplace safety. (more…)

In the case of Freitick v. SMS Rail Lines, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania had to determine whether the company was negligent and, if so, whether negligence caused the employees injuries.

In addition, the court had to decide whether the employee knew before the accident that he was required to wear gloves while setting railroad spikes and whether the company’s actions or inactions, resulting in his lack of knowledge, were the cause of his injuries. (more…)

September 9, 2011
Contact: Office of Communications
Phone: 202-693-1999

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued its annual inspection plan under the Site-Specific Targeting* 2011 (SST-11) program to help the agency direct enforcement resources to high-hazard workplaces where the highest rates of injuries and illnesses occur.
(more…)

WASHINGTON – The Occupational Safety and Health Administration today issued a directive on Enforcement Procedures for Investigating or Inspecting Incidents of Workplace Violence. The directive establishes uniform procedures for OSHA field staff for responding to incidents and complaints of workplace violence and conducting inspections in industries considered vulnerable to workplace violence, such as healthcare and social service settings, and late-night retail establishments. (more…)