Ladder Safety Rules 101: A Comprehensive Approach to Working Safely at Heights

Falls are one of the leading causes of serious injury and death in the workplace, and OSHA is serious about preventing them. Four of the agency’s 10 most cited standards in 2023 were related to fall prevention, including the rules for ladder safety.

Graphic of construction workers on a ladder while constructing a building.

In 2020, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were 161 fatal work injuries from which ladders were the primary source. While this is a 5.8 percent decline from 171 deaths in 2019, it could be related to pandemic shutdowns and might not represent real progress.

Meanwhile, there were 22,710 nonfatal injuries related to ladder safety in 2020, which was a 1.7 percent increase from 22,330 injuries in 2019. These nonfatal ladder injuries resulted in at least one day away from work. Workers in installation, maintenance and repair occupations faced the highest number of ladder-related injuries, followed by construction and extraction occupations.

Ladder Safety MonthRead more...

Holiday Safety Tips for the Workplace

A frontline worker and a fork lift at a warehouse during the holiday season

The holiday season, marked by joyous celebrations, brings a unique set of challenges for workplace safety. As weather conditions change and people socialize in smaller spaces, it’s essential to navigate potential hazards and prioritize the well-being of employees. From difficult road conditions to the impact of fatigue and distractions, employers and frontline workers alike must be proactive in maintaining their safety systems.

In this Q&A guide with Intelex VP of Health and Safety Scott Gaddis, we delve into specific safety considerations and insights during the holiday season. Reflecting back on years of experience, Gaddis notes that there was always a spike in injuries and illnesses going into the holidays as workers were eager to take time off and enjoy the festivities, leading to costly distractions.

Let’s explore key questions surrounding workplace safety and discover proactive measures to ensure a safe and joyful holiday season for all.

Julia Guerra Slater: Are

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7 Organizations Focused on Improving Safety Culture 

tools to improve safey culture

Table of Contents

Over the past year, we’ve had the chance to listen to some of our customers, celebrate their successes and learn about their thoughts on the future of health and safety in the workplace. This article is a roundup of what we’ve learned from working on customer case studies throughout 2023. We’ll look at their achievements in reducing workplace accidents and how EHS management system software from Intelex has helped them work towards their safety goals.

Customer Needs and Safety Achievements in 2023

Reducing manual workflows and using data to get deeper insight into the organization top the list of most significant customer needs in 2023. Many organizations used manual processes and spreadsheets for incident reporting and had poor communication between frontline workers and … Read more...

How to Use AI for Workplace Safety with Intelex and Protex AI

Artificial intelligence (AI) is changing how we manage workplace health and safety. As safety management becomes increasingly complex, AI can reduce the burden of collecting, logging and analyzing safety data. It can be beneficial for managing data associated with leading indicators, which can help prevent incidents before they happen.

Computer vision with AI, deep learning and CCTV analyzes the PPE of two frontline workers

The partnership between Intelex and Protex AI marks a new stage in the evolution of workplace safety. Protex AI uses computer vision (CV) with AI, deep learning and closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras to identify a range of safety hazards and events. It automatically categorizes events by hazard type, severity and more and then logs them in Intelex with all the key details. This allows safety leaders to capture events they would otherwise miss and streamlines the tedious task of incident and hazard reporting. Users can customize the event categories to determine which events they want Protex AI to send to the … Read more...

Workplace Accident Rates Still Aren’t Low Enough: What You Can Do To Reduce Fatal and Nonfatal Injuries

Workplace accident rates across the United States have been in decline for many years as a result of the dedication of health and safety professionals. However, those rates seem to have bottomed out over the last few years, stubbornly refusing to move any lower. This blog looks at those areas that have the highest rates of workplace accidents and what you can do to improve safety in your organization.

Workplace Accident Rates Still Aren't Low Enough: What You Can Do To Reduce Fatal and Nonfatal Injuries

Highlights

The Role of Data and Leading Indicators
The Role of the Frontline Worker
Takeaways: What You Can Do To Reduce Workplace Accidents
How Intelex Can Help

Today’s U.S. workplaces are safer than they’ve ever been. Thanks to the tireless work of safety professionals creating strong safety cultures supported by cutting-edge technology, fatal and nonfatal workplace accidents have declined drastically over the last few decades. In addition, strong enforcement actions from regulatory agencies like the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) … Read more...

What is ISO 45001 and How Can Your Organization Benefit From It?

ISO 45001:2018 is the international standard for occupational health and safety management systems (OH&S). Its purpose is to provide the requirements for organizations looking to assess conformity of an existing OH&S management system, to create a new one or to integrate one into another existing management system. It defines the responsibilities for protecting the physical and mental health and safety for workers and anyone else affected by the activities of the organization.

What is ISO 45001? Intelex blog article

Highlights

A management system is not a software application. According to ISO, a management system is “a set of interrelated or interacting elements of an organization to establish policies and objectives, and processes to achieve those objectives.” … Read more...

Slips, Trips and Falls Prevention: Using the Hierarchy of Controls and Continuous Improvement

Fall protection has been OSHA’s most frequently cited safety and health standard for 13 consecutive years. In 2023 alone there were 7,271 violations. These seemingly innocuous incidents can lead to serious injuries, impacting both the well-being of workers and the operational efficiency of organizations. To address this critical issue, organizations must adopt a proactive approach, leveraging strategies such as the Hierarchy of Controls and embracing continuous improvement methodologies.

In this three-part series dedicated to fall prevention strategies, Scott Gaddis—Vice President, Global Practice Leader, Safety and Health at Intelex Technologies, ULC—provides his expert insight into the risks associated with pedestrian safety in the workplace and what employers need to do to mitigate them. Part I looks at common types of slips, trips and falls and how they occur. Part II discusses how risk assessment can help prevent slips and trips in the first place. Part III below examines how the hierarchy … Read more...

How Risk Management Can Prevent Slips, Trips and Falls

Graphic of a frontline worker putting away a cable that could trip someone in the workplace

Fall protection solutions are essential to keep workers safe and ensure productivity. In 2020, the National Safety Council reported 127,680 work-related injuries that required days away from work. These are preventable injuries that are emotionally and financially debilitating for workers, and result in a financial loss for organizations and the wider economy.

In Part I of this series, Scott Gaddis, looks at how falls on the same level happen in the workplace and the impact they can have on workers. In Part II here, Scott examines the role of risk assessments in helping to prevent slips, trips and falls. Part III examines how hierarchy of controls can contribute to continuous safety improvement in fall prevention.

Risk Assessment to Prevent Falls on the Same Level

The objective of risk assessment and analysis is to understand the level of risk associated with the hazards found in the work environment as well as … Read more...

President Biden Installs Two Deputy Assistant Secretaries at Workplace Safety and Health Agency to Jump-Start Agenda

Deputy Assistant Secretaries

(Reposted with permission from the GT Alert newsletter from the law firm of Greenberg Traurig.)

On Jan. 19, 2020, the day before President Joe Biden was sworn in as the 46th president of the United States, his transition team announced that James Frederick will be appointed deputy assistant secretary of labor for occupational safety and health, a non-Senate confirmed position. In this role, Mr. Frederick will run the Occupational Safety and Health Agency (OSHA) until President Biden nominates someone for assistant secretary of labor for occupational safety and health and the Senate confirms the nominee.

Since September 2019, Mr. Frederick has been a part-time consultant for ORC HSE Strategies, LLC, where he provided member employers with, among other things, advice on and assistance with regulatory and legislative matters and assessment and integration of health and safety management systems. Before that, he was assistant director of the Health, Safety & … Read more...

8 Checklists for 2020: A Quick Way to Check In and Level Up Your EHSQ Programs

These checklists from Intelex offer practical advice about managing aspects of safety like slips and falls and electrical hazards, help you touch base with employees during these stressful times, offer insight into your organization’s preparedness planning, provide guidance on quality issues like voice of customer and 5S, and much more!

Don’t Be Shocked – A Checklist for Electrical Safety – While the objective of protecting the safety of their employees continues to be a strong focus for employers, there still needs to be more checks in place to reduce injuries.

Embrace the New Age of Digital Learning: Training Management in the Age of COVID-19 – Learning and training is more important than ever. When the world moves quickly, sometimes in unexpected ways, we need to make sure our training can keep up and give our teams what they need to survive and thrive.

Back to Work Checklist for Mindful Leaders – While strategic vision … Read more...