Tag: Workplace Safety

Ask the Expert: Leading Edge Retractable Compliance Guidelines for Roofers

In our latest installment of Ask the Expert, brought to you by the team of industry experts at EHS Hero®, we look at a recent question from a subscriber asking if there are leading edge retractable compliance guidelines for roofers. See what the experts had to say. Q: Are there leading edge retractable compliance guidelines […]

4 Back-to-Office Safety Risks to Address This Summer

Having spent months on end in multiple lockdowns, many workers around the world are now starting to make a gradual return to the office and restoring a sense of day-to-day normalcy back into their lives. However, while this is an incredibly exciting transition for a lot of people, the coronavirus pandemic hasn’t exactly gone away. […]

Back to Basics: Creating a Fatigue Risk Management System

Back to Basics is a weekly feature that highlights important but possibly overlooked information that any EHS professional should know. This week, we examine how to create a fatigue risk management system. Worker fatigue is a serious problem that can lead to dangerous work conditions, lower productivity, injuries, and even death. According to OSHA, employers […]

Joint Commission Issues New Workplace Violence Standards

The Joint Commission, which oversees accreditation of hospitals and other healthcare facilities, issued new and revised workplace violence standards that take effect January 1, 2022. The workplace violence prevention standards will apply to all Joint Commission-accredited hospitals and critical access hospitals. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and many states, along with private insurers, […]

Report: Increase in Federal COVID-19 Workplace Inspections in the South

Recent federal inspections looking for COVID-19 hazards in the workplace are on the rise in southern states, but have declined in the Northeast and Midwest, according to a Bloomberg Law review of recent Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) data. OSHA conducted more inspections in most southern states, including Texas and Louisiana, from May 1 […]

OSHA Launches Confined Space Enforcement Programs

Two regional offices of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) launched regional emphasis programs (REP) to enforce the agency’s permit-required confined spaces standard (29 CFR §1910.146) in the transportation and tank-cleaning industries. OSHA’s Region 5 office (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin) initiated an REP effective August 2, and the agency’s Region 6 […]

NIOSH: Work-Related Deaths in Alaska Remain High After 15 Years

Researchers with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) recently published their findings that workers in Alaska have a higher risk of dying on the job compared to workers in other states. Work-related deaths in Alaska are three times higher than in the rest of the United States, according to NIOSH-supported research published […]

The Way to The Egress: A Guide to Workplace Evacuations, Part 1

Sometimes your employees just need to leave. Workplace emergencies can range from isolated chemical spills, fires, toxic gas releases, and active shooter incidents to local flooding; hurricanes; tornados; and, more rarely, terrorist attacks. Workplace lockdowns or sheltering in place may be the appropriate response, but sometimes you need to evacuate your facility. But first, you […]

OSHA, OSHA regulatory agenda, safety and health concepts

Avoiding Safety-Based Workplace Retaliation Claims

We’re finally beginning to see light at the end of the dark COVID-19 pandemic tunnel. Case numbers are decreasing while the vaccination rate is climbing. Given the positive developments, even the most coronavirus-cautious employers are looking forward to bringing employees back on-site in 2021. With the push, however, employers face a number of obstacles in […]

COVID-19, Wildfire Smoke, and Ventilation

Are you prepared to fully reopen your facilities during an ongoing, if waning, pandemic and the threat of wildfires this summer? States and localities are rolling back pandemic precautions as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccinations roll out across the United States–President Biden pledged May 4 that 70 percent of American adults would receive at least […]