Tag Archives: safety

Workers’ Memorial Day recognized around the world

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Today is Workers’ Memorial Day, one of the biggest days in workplace health and safety, and there will be events around the world (and most likely right in your own community) honouring workers killed, disabled, injured or harmed at work.

As we know, every day 12 American workers go to work and never come home as a result of workplace fatalities. On a global level, as we learned once again from the tragic situation in Dhaka, Bangladesh reminds us, the statistics are disheartening. Basically, someone dies on the job every 15 seconds. That’s more people dying at work than fighting wars.

And as EHS Today points out, the National Council for Safety and Health (National COSH) has released a report in advance of Worker’s Memorial Day. The document links personal stories of workplace tragedy with data on government health and safety statistics to highlight the need for us all to work harder to avoid preventable workplace fatalities.

So today is a great opportunity to take pause and consider what you can do to improve the health and safety conditions of your workplace and to remember those who have been killed or injured at work in the past year. 

(Pictured: Amicus Workers Memorial Tree, with floral tributes, Astley Park, Chorley, Lancashire by Joshthetree.)

Workers’ Memorial Day recognized around the world

Report shows U.S. lags on oil refinery safety, recommends more attention to performance metrics

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Refining oil is a process by which crude petroleum is transformed into more useful products such as gasoline. It is a dangerous process, one that results in hundreds of safety incidents annually that are reported to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). However, while oil refinery incidents like explosions, fires and fatalities have prompted fundamental improvements to safety procedures in other countries, it appears that the U.S. is not catching on quite as quickly.

U.S. refineries sustain far higher financial losses than EU counterparts

The United States sustains financial losses from refinery incidents at a rate that is three times higher than the losses sustained by its European Union counterparts, according to a 2006 report by Swiss Re, the world’s second-largest reinsurer. In 2012 Swiss Re officials reported to the U.S. Chemical Safety Board that the incident gap between U.S. refineries and others across the world had only widened since their 2006 report. In short, U.S. oil refinery safety is moving in the wrong direction.

Richmond refinery incident prompts UC Berkeley report

Swiss Re concluded that flaws in safety procedures and employee alertness were partially responsible, and a new report prepared by UC Berkeley’s Labor Occupational Health Program seems to be in agreement. The report, released March 27, 2013, bases its recommendations on meetings with labor, trade groups and government agencies following the refinery fire of August 6, 2012 that took place at the Chevron Richmond Refinery in California. Deemed a Level 3 incident (the most severe class of incident) it is estimated that following August 6 approximately 15,000 individuals from the affected area sought medical attention for respiratory distress, eye irritation and other symptoms, with the asso

Distracted Driving Kills: Find Out What You Can Do As An Employer

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The National Safety Council (NSC) is promoting awareness of the consequences of distracted driving this month with slogans such as “Hands-Free Is Not Risk-Free” and “On the Road, Off the Phone.”

April was formally introduced to the United States as Distracted Driving Awareness Month back in 2010. There have been initiatives across Canada as well, including an RCMP campaign launched in British Columbia this past February. Yet wherever you are and whatever month you choose to review the statistics, they aren’t good. So what can we do, as individuals and employers, to reduce distracted driving?

Understand the Risk

At the time of writing the National Safety Council estimates that in this year alone 325,389 crashes in the United States have involved drivers using cell phones and texting. To put it another way, one crash approximately every 24 seconds.

Texting while driving increases the risk of a crash by 23 times, according to a study by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute. In British Columbia nearly one in three deaths are linked to distracted driving.

As the National Safety Council reminds us, distractions can come in many forms: even if your hands are on the wheel and your eyes are on the road, your brain is still distracted by a hands-free cell phone.

Change Public Opinion

Janet Froetscher, president and CEO of the National Safety Council, is one of the more prominent supporters of Distracted Driving Awareness month. However, creating awareness is just the first step. “While many understand the dangers, they still use their cell phones when they drive,” she points out.

Many safety advocates argue that drinking and driving was once socially acceptable as well, and they are hoping to eventually see the same shift in public opinion for using cell phones while driving.

“It’s time to start changing the social acceptance of cell phone use while driving,” said Froetscher.

Create A Safety Policy

Employers who want to protect their employees’ safety and encourage them to remain distraction-free while on the job should consider creating a cell phone policy.

Even workers who aren’t driving can benefit from this policy – a few years ago a construction worker in New Brunswick was so distracted on his cell phone that he stepped right in front of a truck and was seriously injured. Similar to jewelry (often banned in industrial workplaces), cell phones can get in the way or interfere with the proper use of personal protective equipment. Think of a worker removing his safety gloves so he can send a text. These are just a few more examples of how cell phone use has the potential to result in a workplace safety incident.

Interested employers can download the free NSC cell phone policy kit here.

Making a formal commitment to an initiative strengthens a person’s resolve to stick to their word. You can also encourage employees to take the NSC pledge to drive cell free at nsc.org/pledge.

Drive safely everyone!

The 80-20 inversion: how we waste time and money when we don’t have automated systems

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Tracking and analyzing near-misses and at-risk behaviours should be central to any preventive health and safety management system. In 2003 ConocoPhillips Marine conducted a study that indicated that for every workplace fatality, there were at least 300,000 at-risk behaviours – basically, activities inconsistent with health and safety rules – and about 3,000 near misses. This applies across organizations of any size and is the basis of the classic Safety Pyramid. And the same essential dynamic also applies in any Quality Management System (QMS), except instead of lost time and fatalities, we’re looking at defects, recalls, rework, and huge brand damage. However, too often businesses fail to track recordable injuries, lost time and fatalities, and in the QMS sphere they fail to track the same kinds of proactive data. 

But tracking near misses, at-risk behaviours, and potential quality issues can be a challenging and exhaustive task for any business, especially when a health and safety program is based on paper documents or disparate, siloed software systems, like spreadsheet programs, word processors, and shared network drives.

Organizations that leverage proven, web-based health and safety software solutions, conversely, benefit from the 80-20 inversion, a dynamic that unlocks frozen time and resources and fosters a greater capacity to track and manage at-risk behaviors and near misses, thereby reducing illnesses, minimizing injuries, saving lives and, quite critically, minimizing costs. Working with standard tools, safety and quality personnel on average spend 80% of their time and resources on data collection and only 20% of time and resources assessing that data. The latter part is key, given only thorough analysis will help health and safety experts identify trends and proactively minimize hazards. 

Companies that shift to a robust, streamlined EHS or quality management solution move to 20% data collection and 80% assessment and prevention. With such systems, data only has to be entered into the system only once in a web form, freeing time and resources to analyze data, identify trends, and implement preventive activities and mechanisms. The net benefit is more time spent on analysis, evaluation, and implementing corrective/preventive actions.

This is, quite simply, the core of a proactive EHS/Quality management system and what every organization ought to be doing to minimize the impact on their bottom lines.

Workers are still dying from carbon monoxide exposure

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OSHA is currently reminding employers to protect their employees from the serious effects of carbon monoxide exposure. This is in the wake of a New England worker who was found unconscious near his workstation, experiencing seizures as a result of carbon monoxide exposure. Within days, a number of other workers at the site became sick as well.

What did the investigation show? All the windows and doors in the facility were closed tightly to conserve heat in the face of winter temperatures, but the real problem was the lack of any sort of exhaust ventilation, and this was a site with a lot of combustion mechanisms indoors — a sure fire recipe for carbon monoxide exposure.

It seems like it ought to be an archaic problem, but every year workers die on the job as a result of carbon monoxide exposure. And it is particularly bad in winter when, as with the example above, many employers seal windows and close doors to keep the cold out.

Some common examples of carbon monoxide sources include things as simple as power tools, space heaters and furnaces, to more heavyweight equipment like gas generators, compressors, and welding equipment. So even though you may not operate within a heavy manufacturing environment, there is still a chance you and your employees can be exposed to carbon monoxide.

That’s why OSHA is asking employers to  install an effective ventilation system, avoid the use of fuel-burning equipment in enclosed or even partially-enclosed spaces, and (quite logically) to install carbon monoxide detectors in areas of concern.

For complete tips on mitigating risk associated with carbon monoxide exposure, check out OSHA’s Carbon Monoxide Fact Sheet.

SVEP program off to a ‘strong’ start, report reveals, Fukushima Emergency Workers’ cancer risk, and much more on EHS This Week

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On this week’s edition of EHS This Week we’ve got the week’s top stories in environment, health and safety news:

  • The results of an internal review of OSHA’s SVEP program. 
  • Learning from safety inspections of dairy farms and agriculture in general.
  • Japan and China’s differing issues with nuclear power, and more.

Remember to write us with your suggestions, questions and comments at paul@ehsthisweek.com. Also, if you are an industry expert and ever want to take part in the program, we’d love to have you. 

Until next week, enjoy the program!

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Oil and Gas leaders need to remain vigilant as Safety Stand Down draws to a close

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The Oil and Gas sector is definitely creating jobs and increasing revenues but it’s also opening up the gates to more injuries and fatalities across North America. In fact, in Texas, it’s been reported that more oil and gas field service and drilling workers were killed on the job than in any other profession from 2007 to 2011, according to an analysis done by the Houston Chronicle. Injuries are also in abundance and range from lacerations to partial amputation of fingers and chemical burns.

That’s part of the reason why OSHA has been taking a stance and sponsoring a Safety Stand Down to promote Safety and Health in the sector. For the month of February America’s leading health and safety authority asked oil rigs in Region 6 to keep Health and Safety at oil and gas sites top of mind, especially as the industry is not showing any signs of slowing down.

Participating companies were invited to take advantage of a variety of OSHA resources during the month-long event, including training materials and OSHA-led assistance. Some employers even voluntarily committed to execute site inspections, document and mitigate hazards, and train workers at their sites.

But even though March has begun and the Safety Stand Down is officially over, that’s no reason to put health and safety on the backburner. In 2010 40 fatal accidents occurred at oil and gas sites in the region, and though that number dropped to 33 in 2011, last year it rose to 40, so leaders in the industry really have to remain vigilant to bring that number down to 0.

Canada-U.S. regulatory alignment progress, OSHA’s app challenge, EPA climate change rules and more on EHS This Week

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On this week’s edition of EHS This Week we’ve got the week’s top stories in environment, health and safety news:

  • The Canada-U.S. Regulatory Cooperation Council continues to align regs between the two countries, OIRA head says. 
  • The winners of an OSHA safety.
  • EPA proposed climate change rules, and more.

By the way, you can access the schedule for GHS/HCS we mentioned in the show here.

Remember to write us with your suggestions, questions and comments at paul@ehsthisweek.com. Also, if you are an industry expert and ever want to take part in the program, we’d love to have you. 

Until next week, enjoy the program!

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China’s staggering coal consumption, GAO report on agency response to public feedback, Chemical Safety Board secutiry and more on EHS This Week

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On this week’s edition of EHS This Week we’ve got the week’s top stories in environment, health and safety news:

  • Government Accountability Office (GAO) report shows lacking response to public feedback on regulations among government agencies. 
  • Chemical Safety Board calls for tighter security.
  • China’s staggering coal consumption stats, and more.

Remember to write us with your suggestions, questions and comments at paul@ehsthisweek.com. Also, if you are an industry expert and ever want to take part in the program, we’d love to have you. 

Until next week, enjoy the program!

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Whistleblower complaints could rise under OSHA proposal

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Filing a whistleblower complaint is about to become a whole lot easier. In line with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) increase focus on whistleblower protection, the agency has proposed a rule to allow for new ways to file a whistleblower complaint, including a web-based form.

Under Labour Code 6310, employers can’t retaliate against workers when they file an OSHA complaint. Examples of retaliation include firing, demoting, or transferring the complainant. Currently, the only way to file a whistleblower complaint is to contact the nearest office of the Division of Labour Standards Enforcement. 

Under the new proposal, a whistleblower complaint would be a much easier affair, with only a few clicks and keystrokes separating an alleged retaliatory action and the submission of a complaint. If it goes through, the rule would have the potential to dramatically increase the amount of whistleblower complaints filed.

But it is not a done deal yet. The public has until March 18th to comment on the proposal. Go here to take a look at the document in the Federal Register and go to regulations.gov if you want to provide feedback.