Category: Special Topics in Safety Management

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.

Free Special Report: 50 Tips for More Effective Safety Training

NIOSH Looks at Homecare Worker Injuries

Over a five-year period (2015 to 2020), 117,000 homecare workers were treated in emergency departments for work-related injuries, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) announced February 6 in the latest edition of its eNews publication. The recently completed research found that nearly all injured workers (93%) were female. Home health and personal […]

Wisconsin Ice Cream Maker Facing $145K OSHA Fine

AJLS Enterprises Inc. of Madison, Wisconsin—operating as Schoep’s Ice Cream—faces $145,097 in Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) penalties for 12 serious safety violations, the agency announced January 29. OSHA inspected the ice cream plant in response to reports of workers being exposed to anhydrous ammonia. Investigators found that the plant lacked sufficient process safety […]

Back to Basics: Head Protection

Back to Basics is a weekly feature that highlights important but possibly overlooked information that any EHS professional should know. This week, we examine guidance on head protection. It’s no revelation that workplace head injuries are a major safety concern. Are you providing the proper head protection for your employees? The hard hat has been […]

Musical Instrument Maker Facing $273K OSHA Fine

Conn-Selmer Inc., an Eastlake, Ohio, musical instrument manufacturer, is facing $273,447 in Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) penalties for three repeat and three serious violations, the agency announced January 24. On July 14, 2023, a worker suffered a fingertip amputation while setting up a machine die inside a press used to manufacture sousaphones. Investigators […]

OSHA Cites Illinois, Ohio Manufacturers for Mechanical Hazards

Last week, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) cited Illinois and Ohio manufacturers with lockout/tagout and machine guarding violations. Both employers are facing six-figure penalties. An Itasca, Illinois, custom manufacturer faces $298,453 in penalties for one willful and 13 serious violations—all involving required machine safety procedures—following the agency’s investigation under its National Emphasis Program […]

Back to Basics: How’s Your Powered Industrial Truck Compliance?

Back to Basics is a weekly feature that highlights important but possibly overlooked information that any EHS professional should know. This week, we examine compliance with powered industrial truck safety standards. You need to be mindful of the hazards posed by forklifts and other powered industrial trucks and federal enforcement efforts focused on those hazards. […]

NSC: Large Companies Better at Managing MSD Risks

Larger organizations—ones that have more than 1,000 employees—are generally more effective at mitigating musculoskeletal disorder (MSD) risk, according to a new report compiled by the National Safety Council (NSC). On January 10, the NSC announced the release of its first “MSD Solutions Index Pledge Community Report,” surveying 52 organizations that joined the NSC’s MSD Pledge. The […]