February 2020 Newsletter

Heavy lifting, repetitive movements and sitting at a desk all day can take a toll on your back. Get the facts about back pain at work and how to prevent it. Whether it’s dull and achy or sharp and stabbing, back pain can make it hard to concentrate on your…

An employee walks down the hall, stepping over an extension cord stretched across his path. He turns a corner and nearly collides with another worker. To avoid the collision, he steps to the side, spilling coffee onto the floor and inadvertently jostling a shelving unit, on which a tool placed…

Maximum OSHA fines bumped up 1.76% as of January 16th, 2020, to adjust for inflation. The new maximums are: $134,494 for willful and repeat violations, up $2,339 $13,494 for serious and other-than-serious violations, up $234 $13,494 per day for failure-to-abate violations The minimum for a willful violation has increased to…

There were 5,250 fatal work injuries recorded in the U.S. in 2018, up from 5,147 in 2017, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data. The fatal work injury rate didn’t change, remaining at 2017’s 3.5 per 100,000 full-time equivalent (FTE) workers, the BLS report states.   Incidents involving contact with…

While OSHA doesn’t have a regulation prohibiting workers from using headphones to listen to music on construction sites, it still doesn’t consider it a good practice, according to a new guidance letter. OSHA answered a question asking if there was a regulation prohibiting worker use of headphones for music on…

Duty to have fall protection is the most cited standard in the construction industry and is one of the leading causes of worker deaths in construction. Employers need to do a better job of assessing job sites and implementing fall protection systems to protect workers. Workers should familiarize themselves with…

The purposes of Certified Safety Director (CSD) and Master Safety Professional (MSP) programs are to establish international standards for certification in the workplace safety profession, to provide recognition of qualified individuals, and to afford a guarantee to employers that certified personnel have attained stated education and experience qualifications. To accomplish…

A hazardous substance splashes onto a chemical plant operator taking a sample. The worker is not seriously injured, and the ensuing investigation focuses on training, personal protective equipment and the particulars of the sampling station. But did anyone ever ask whether the worker needed to take the sample at all?…

The National Safety Council has a team of consultants who travel across the country – and the world – to visit worksites and conduct safety audits. But no matter where each team member is, chances are good that he or she will spot one or more of seven common safety…