November 4, 2009 by Fred Hosier
As new labor and safety leaders in the Obama administration have shown they would like to require companies to address ergonomics for employees, support for government regulation comes from a safety and health organization.
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Tags: AIHA, ergonomics, Jordan Barab, musculoskeletal disorders
November 2, 2009 by Fred Hosier
OSHA has proposed $87.43 million in fines against BP for the company’s failure to correct hazards uncovered after the 2005 explosion at its Texas City, TX, plant that killed 15 people and injured 170 others.
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Tags: 2005 explosion, BP, largest OSHA fine, Texas City plant
October 30, 2009 by Fred Hosier
October 22, 2009 by Fred Hosier
Now that OSHA is keeping an eye out for incentive programs that discourage workers from reporting injuries, what can you do to encourage safe practices?
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Tags: encourage safe practices, incentive programs, report injuries
October 21, 2009 by Fred Hosier
The construction industry knows it’s a frequent OSHA target. Now we know that darkness won’t keep OSHA inspectors from their rounds.
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Tags: construction, night construction, silica
October 20, 2009 by Fred Hosier
A restaurant faces a $50,604 fine in the death of a 17-year-old employee who was parking cars. But this fine wasn’t from OSHA.
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Tags: child labor, death of 17-year-old, FLSA, parking valet death
October 18, 2009 by Fred Hosier
October 14, 2009 by Fred Hosier
A dust explosion at a plant in Florida sent four workers to the hospital. One had to be airlifted to a burn center for critical injuries.
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Tags: combustible dust, dust explosion, serious burns
October 13, 2009 by Fred Hosier
OSHA has fined a waste processing company $207,800 after an investigation prompted by a fatality at the facility.
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Tags: fatality investigation, OSHA citation, rescue team
October 9, 2009 by Fred Hosier
Next time you want to address proper ladder use and fall protection with workers, you might want to use this story about a man who fell to his death when he was trying to reach a light fixture.
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Tags: died from fall, fall protection, jury-rig
October 7, 2009 by Fred Hosier
It’s long been a subject of debate among safety pros: Do safety incentive programs reduce injuries, or do they encourage workers not to report when they get hurt? It seems OSHA has weighed in on the issue, buried within a directive for its inspectors.
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Tags: national emphasis program, Recordkeeping, safety incentive programs
October 6, 2009 by Fred Hosier
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is questioning President Obama’s choice to head OSHA.
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Tags: David Michaels, OSHA nominee, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
October 5, 2009 by Fred Hosier
Several business groups, including the National Association of Manufacturers, have filed a lawsuit challenging OSHA’s per-employee penalty policy for safety gear violations.
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Tags: lawsuit, National Association of Manufacturers, per-employee violation, PPE, safety gear
October 2, 2009 by Fred Hosier
Imagine this: Someone finds one of your employees on the ground, conscious but incoherent, in your company’s parking lot. He dies two days later in the hospital. Cause: blunt trauma to his head. Is this death reportable to OSHA?
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Tags: blunt force trauma, OSHA reportable, parking lot, work-related employee death
October 1, 2009 by Fred Hosier
Conveyor belts and tracks too often prove to be the source of serious employee injuries. Those injuries attract OSHA’s attention and wind up as fines.
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Tags: conveyor, foot injury, repeat violation
September 30, 2009 by Fred Hosier
Labor Secretary Hilda Solis and OSHA interim administrator Jordan Barab have said that a new combustible dust regulation is one of their rulemaking priorities at OSHA.
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Tags: combustible dust regulation, Hilda Solis, Imperial Sugar explosion, Jordan Barab
September 28, 2009 by Fred Hosier
A government agency says the February 2008 explosion and fire at the Imperial Sugar plant in Port Wentworth, GA, that killed 14 workers and injured 36 others, was caused by poor equipment design, maintenance and housekeeping.
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Tags: Chemical Safety Board, combustible dust, dust explosion and fire, Imperial Sugar explosion, poor housekeeping
September 24, 2009 by Fred Hosier
A retailer faces a hefty OSHA fine for exit hazards. This citation also shows how the safety agency is currently using repeat violations against businesses with multiple locations.
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Tags: exit hazards, repeat violations, Toys R Us
September 23, 2009 by Fred Hosier
September 21, 2009 by Fred Hosier
An employee of a government contractor was laid off shortly after expressing safety concerns to upper management at his company. Now OSHA is getting involved.
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Tags: Bering Sea Eccotech, Camp Pendleton Marine base, whistleblower
September 17, 2009 by Fred Hosier
Conservative and business groups are expressing their disapproval with President Obama’s choice to head OSHA. David Michaels’ past writings may be used against him at his confirmation hearing.
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Tags: Doubt is Their Product, National Association of Manufacturers, OSHA nominee David Michaels
September 15, 2009 by Fred Hosier
September 3, 2009 by Fred Hosier
Process safety management fines are commonly tied to chemical manufacturers or refineries. But this case shows any company with refrigeration units can be hit with process safety penalties.
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Tags: anhydrous ammonia, process safety management, refrigeration
August 31, 2009 by Fred Hosier
Once OSHA finds significant safety violations at one facility, it’s likely to go after other locations owned by the same company.
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Tags: fast moving machinery, OSHA fines, Sims Bark, Sims Stone, struck by equipment
August 19, 2009 by Fred Hosier
A Tyler, TX, construction company has been fined for the February death of an employee who was electrocuted while working on underground electrical lines.
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Tags: employee electrocution, rubber-insulated gloves, underground electrical lines
August 18, 2009 by Fred Hosier
Now, if OSHA decides to come to your facility to perform an inspection, it’s much more likely to be comprehensive instead of one just focused on a single problem.
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Tags: construction industry, general industry, OSHA inspections
August 17, 2009 by Fred Hosier
The head of Oregon OSHA has suggested raising fines for serious workplace safety violations. But some large companies say higher fines won’t make them any safer.
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Tags: ConAgra, higher OSHA fines, Oregon OSHA
August 13, 2009 by Fred Hosier
OSHA will issue willful violations when it believes a company has ignored well established regulations.
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Tags: ammonia storage, Sinton Dairy Foods, willful violation
August 3, 2009 by Jim Burger
OSHA is doing something it hasn’t done in a long time: The federal agency has formed a task force to investigate a state workplace safety agency.
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Tags: Jordan Barab, Nevada, OSHA
July 30, 2009 by Jim Burger
Does OSHA work for working people? No way, says David Michaels — the man President Obama will nominate to run the agency.
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Tags: agenda, David Michaels, OSHA
July 21, 2009 by Fred Hosier
Ever wish you could have someone translate an OSHA standard into plain English? You’re not alone.
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Tags: drive safety managers crazy, OSHA standards, safety and health questions
July 21, 2009 by Fred Hosier
New regulations; accidents with multiple fatalities; the President-elect’s take on what OSHA should be doing. What is the top safety story of 2008?
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Tags: new regulations, Obama, OSHA, top 10
July 20, 2009 by Fred Hosier
A federal investigation appears to show that Imperial Sugar Co. didn’t train many workers at its Port Wentworth plant about how to escape during an emergency.
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Tags: federal investigation, Imperial Sugar explosion, OSHA investigation Imperial Sugar
July 17, 2009 by Fred Hosier
Which fine is larger: One from OSHA involving two worker deaths or a Gaming Control Board fine against a Las Vegas casino for underage drinking and drug use?
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Tags: Las Vegas Sun, Nevada OSHA, OSHA fine
July 15, 2009 by Fred Hosier
When Congress overturned OSHA’s ergonomics standard in 2001, the agency was also barred from issuing a similar rule in the future. However, that hasn’t stopped OSHA from handing out citations for ergonomic hazards.
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Tags: ergonomics, ergonomics citations, OSHA ergonomics standard