JEFFERSON CITY – Beginning January 3, 2012, commercial motor vehicle drivers are banned from using hand-held mobile phones and push-to-talk cell phones while driving.  The ban is being implemented by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration after research indicated drivers distracted by hand-held phones pose a safety risk to themselves and other motorists. (more…)

After attending a dinner purportedly sponsored by her employer, an airline employee got into a car accident with another vehicle, killing herself and the other driver. The administrator of the other driver’s estate sued, claiming that the airline was vicariously liable for the employee’s intoxicated driving. The employer claimed that Illinois law preempted it from any alcohol-related liability.

What Happened (more…)

One of the first challenges trainers face is a resistance to training from both employees and management. Employees are frustrated about taking time away from their jobs, and managers aren’t convinced that time spent training is time well-spent. So you need to be able to effectively answer the question: “Why Train?”

In order to remain competitive in today’s global marketplace, it is vital that your company’s workforce maintains the best skills and know-how to produce the best products and services. That means initial training to get up to speed and continual training in all new technologies, systems, or methods that bring more efficiency, more features, and better services. (more…)

Earlier we discussed basic electrical safety requirements, in this blog we discuss special systems and methods.

To protect employees from electrical injuries and to prevent electrical fires in your workplace, electrical wiring systems must be well designed and well maintained by competent, certified personnel.

Today, in addition to wiring systems, we’ll also review requirements for special electrical systems such as emergency power systems and fire alarm systems. But let’s start with wiring. (more…)

U.S. OSHA’s electrical safety rules for general industry workplaces (29 CFR 1910, Subpart S) cover electrical safety requirements that are necessary for the practical safeguarding of employees in the workplace.

To achieve that important goal, the regulations include: (more…)

Many people fear activities that involve heights because of the chance of falling. Heights can be scary for people even if they are safe in a building or an airplane—or even if they’re doing home projects, like painting or cleaning out gutters, from a ladder or the roof.

On the construction job site, the same fears exist. In 2009, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that 816 construction workers died on the job, with 34% of those fatalities resulting from falls.

There are many questions in the workaday world when it comes to fall protection equipment, such as if and when it’s needed and how to use the equipment when it is needed. It can be confusing. Below are five fall protection myths and the truth surrounding them.
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Ball caps, jackets, logoed merchandise, pizza, points, gift cards, and discounts… the list goes on. Whatever the reward, the idea is generally this—employers give workers something in exchange for desired behavior or action.

The use of incentives isn’t limited to safety, of course. They’re also used to improve productivity, participation, loyalty, attendance, and health status. But when it comes to safety, the practice is particularly controversial because, critics say, employees may hide injuries in order to get the reward. (more…)

A report from The Center for Construction Research and Training (CPWR) suggests that the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) occupational injury and illness data may underestimate the actual number of construction injuries that occur, particularly among smaller construction establishments.

The report, “Injury Underreporting Among Small Establishments in the Construction Industry,” published in the American Journal of Industrial Medicine, points out that BLS data does not include the self-employed or federal workers, who constitute approximately one-fourth of the nation’s construction work force. OSHA recordkeeping changes in 2001 and 1995 also may have contributed to the decreasing injury statistics in the construction industry. Finally, small construction establishments are more likely to underreport injuries (or not report injuries at all). (more…)

If you received a ticket for driving faster than the posted speed limit, would that change your driving behavior in the future?

According to assistant OSHA administrator Jordan Barab, penalties can result in significant change. Speaking at the NIOSH-sponsored National Occupational Research Agenda Symposium on July 13, Barab recounted how a “fairly large” traffic ticket he once received changed his driving behavior. He cited his experience as an example of how OSHA’s enforcement actions can lead to positive changes among employers, and argued for greater statutory limits to the fines OSHA can impose.
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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…)