Practical EHS Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
You want a maximum return on your safety training investment. That means making sure training is properly structured, tailored to the audience, and focused on specific goals. The difference between great workplace training and just adequate instruction can be the difference between health and illness, protection and injury, and even life and death in some […]
If a company conducts a proper accident investigation, it may be used as a basis for collecting data to find causes and prevent recurrences. This goal can only be achieved if the entire procedure is a fact-finding mission rather than a method for placing blame on someone. Avoiding blame is especially important when interviewing witnesses […]
“While OSHA appreciates employers using safety as a key management metric, we cannot condone a program that encourages discrimination against workers who report injures,” says OSHA. In a memorandum for staff, OSHA has detailed its policies regarding employer practices that can discourage employee reports of injuries, which violates the OSH Act. The memo was […]
What do you do with hazardous chemicals for which OSHA has not designated a permissible exposure limit? Absent a PEL, you need other guidelines to protect employee health. But what are they? When there is no specific regulation concerning a hazard, the general duty clause kicks in. But it merely states that employers must “furnish […]
Read about the three winners of the Wellness Council of America’s 2009 Well Workplace Gold Award. Although their programs differ, these employers share a solid commitment to and belief in the value of workplace wellness initiatives. The Milwaukee Public School System pays more than $200 million a year to provide free health insurance for employees, […]
Insurers give their advice on keeping workers’ compensation insurance costs low, including how to spot fraud. Meanwhile, BLR offers an audio conference on how to monitor and control open claims. Yesterday’s Advisor started a discussion of workers’ comp insurance expense. With rates declining, due to a combination of state reform action and lower accident rates, […]
Crushed hands and arms, severed fingers and limbs, lacerations and abrasions—the list of possible machinery-related injuries is long and gruesome. Safeguards are essential for protecting workers from these injuries. Undetected or unprotected machine hazards and insufficient or inadequate training on machine safety features and procedures results in thousands of injuries every year—some disabling, some fatal, […]
Your employees may have diabetes and not know it. Our Safety Training Tips editor says that more than one-quarter of people with the condition are undiagnosed. For this reason alone, it’s important to educate your workers on the dangers of this common condition. Tell employees that people with diabetes are more likely to have: Heart […]
Shiftworkers are at greater risk for health problems than dayworkers. Two of those problems involve the cardiovascular system and the gastrointestinal system. Cardiovascular problems can arise as a result of shiftwork because heart rate and blood pressure follow circadian rhythms, which are upset by the nighttime schedule. Circadian rhythm is the body’s 24-hour cycle, and […]
Complying with a court order, the EPA has published in the Federal Register a decision to not develop federal regulations to control the runoff of stormwater from forest roads. According to the Agency, there are a wide range of state regulatory programs, federal assistance programs, and best management practice (BMP) certification organizations that collectively have […]