Tag: Workplace Safety

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 […]

OSHA Begins Regional Emphasis Program for Noise

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) Region V office in Chicago recently established a regional emphasis program (REP) of targeted outreach and enforcement of the agency’s occupational noise exposure standard (29 CFR 1910.95) in Midwest manufacturing facilities. OSHA Region V includes the states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin. “Earning a living […]

Grain Bins

Grain Bin Fatality Results in Six-Figure OSHA Citation

A Wisconsin milling facility is facing a proposed $676,808 in penalties for health and safety violations following a fatal grain engulfment accident; it took emergency services 9 hours to recover the body of the 52-year-old manager. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) cited Didion Milling, Inc., of Cambria, Wisconsin, with 4 willful and 10 […]

OSHA Relaxes COVID Guidance for Fully Vaccinated Workplaces

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is easing its COVID-19 recommendations for fully vaccinated workplaces, but the agency is still advising employers to take steps to protect any unvaccinated workers. On June 10, OSHA announced updated guidance along with new rules for frontline healthcare employers. The latest word from OSHA reflects new guidance from […]

OSHA concept

OSHA Issues Updated COVID-19 Guidance for Employers

On June 10, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) updated its employer guidance regarding workplace COVID-19 exposures. The agency also announced it will issue an emergency temporary standard (ETS) for healthcare and healthcare support services employers.

Spray Painting

Ask the Expert: Do Spray Painting Operations Require Eye Protection?

An EHS Hero® subscriber is having trouble persuading painters to use eye protection during spray painting operations, who claim that the PPE gets in the way of the task. This led the subscriber to ask our experts: Is eye protection a compliance requirement for spray painting? See what they had to say on the matter.

Training Session

Safety Training Should Actually Make the Workplace Safer

When we look at the safety training our organizations deliver, we ask if we are compliant. We ask if we are going to get citations. We may even ask if the attendees liked the training. But there is one uncomfortable question that is not asked: Are we wasting everyone’s time?

Fatigue

NIOSH Marks First Anniversary of Fatigue Research Center

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) is marking the first anniversary of its Center for Work and Fatigue Research (CWFR). The center pursues NIOSH’s long-standing interest in the workplace health and safety effects of nonstandard work hours, such as long hours and shiftwork.