Tag: Safety

Virginia state flag on a facemask

Virginia Is First State to Adopt Emergency COVID-19 Standard

In a break with the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Virginia became the first state to adopt an emergency temporary standard (ETS) for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Virginia’s COVID-19 ETS applies to every employer in the state, unlike California’s Airborne Transmissible Disease (ATD) standard, which only applies to correctional facilities, funeral homes and […]

California and COVID-19

Cal/OSHA Urges Employers to Follow Its COVID-19 Guidance

The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) urged the state’s employers to carefully review and follow the agency’s guidelines on protecting employees from COVID-19 infections. An expanded statewide order on indoor closures was issued July 13 by California’s Statewide Public Health Officer and Director of the California Department of Public Health (CDPH). The […]

Motor vehicle accident

NIOSH Releases New Strategic Plan for Motor Vehicle Safety

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) released its 2020-2029 strategic plan for its Center for Motor Vehicle Safety (CMVS). The plan implements priorities from the institute-wide strategic plan for fiscal years 2019-2023 with input from other sources.

EHS manager, calculations, experience modification, management, data

Is Your Organization Getting the Message? How to Get Safety Program Buy-In

When it comes to communicating your safety goals to an entire organization, do you know how to “tip your message”? This idea of the tipping point, defined by author Malcolm Gladwell as “the moment of critical mass, the threshold, the boiling point,” can be hugely beneficial when initiating safety culture within your organization. This idea […]

Beryllium on periodic table

OSHA Issues Final Rule for Beryllium in General Industry

On July 14, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued a final rule amending the general industry standard for beryllium (85  FR 42582). The final rule revises an “eleventh-hour” Obama administration rulemaking issued on January 9, 2017.

Facemask in heat, summer work

Summer Hazards—Including COVID-19—Are in Full Swing

Employers now must address a host of summer workplace hazards while continuing to protect workers in an ongoing pandemic. Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), a respiratory illness caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, is widespread in most U.S. communities and considered a workplace hazard.

Drive Safe

NIOSH Reveals Keys for Improving Driver, Fleet Safety

Corporate fleet safety management practices like driver training, fatigue risk management, in-vehicle monitoring systems (IVMSs), and strong mobile phone policies can reduce the number and severity of motor vehicle crashes, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) found in recently published research.

Safely Reopening During a Pandemic: A Q&A with Eric Glass, Senior Risk and Safety Advisor for Building Life and Safety Technologies at UL

For many years, the role of environment, health, and safety (EHS) managers was mainly behind the scenes. For EHS managers, simply developing and overseeing their organization’s safety programs reduced risk, but COVID-19 has changed the stakes, with risks played out center stage. Eric Glass, senior risk and safety advisor at UL, a leading global safety […]

OSHA regs and enforcement concept

OSHA Enforcement Roundup Shows Citations, Fines Continue During Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has altered the nature of work in many industries and brought renewed attention to the importance of workplace safety, but OSHA continues to carry out inspections and issue citations to employers that expose workers to hazardous conditions. We’ve summarized some of the key enforcement cases from the past few months for a […]

Disinfectant cleaning

NIOSH Compiles Disinfectant Safety, Health Hazard Info Amid COVID-19

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) recently collected safety and health information on cleaners and disinfectants that employers can use in their hazard communication programs. The NIOSH material includes a table of health hazards and protective measures for chemicals used as disinfectants.