Safe Workplace and Safety News

There once was a nail without a job.
He'd done his duty proudly for years.
Then one day it was taken from him.
He was sure someone would notice and put him back to work.
But no one did.
Hope turned to despair.
Finally he decided he would be ignored no longer....

This innocent sounding introduction leads to serious head injury in a safety video titled "Nail" produced by the Extreme Group, in Halifax, Canada. It is one of three videos showing how safety hazards that are ignored can result in injury.

You can view all three videos at:

http://www.extremegroup.com/work/42

The Extreme Group, along with the Workers' Compensation Board of Nova Scotia , Workplace Health, Safety and Compensation Commission of Newfoundland and Labrador, and the Worker's Compensation Board of PEI took home a Bronze Lion in the Product and Service, public health and safety category for the "Nail" television commercial at the 2008 Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival.

Labels: Safety Training, safety videos, workplace safety

California's Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) Distributes Winning Teen Video Public Service Announcement to Theaters Statewide

The following is a press release from DIR. The video produced by Jose Villasenor, Jr., a high school student, is impressive. To view the video visit http://www.dir.ca.gov/youngworker/PSAcontest08.asp.

California's Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) announced the release of the winning video public service announcement (PSA) created by California teens, between the ages of 14-17, as part of a workplace safety contest. The PSA will be shown at theaters statewide.

"The purpose of the contest is to encourage California teens to take an active role in learning about safety and health and labor requirements in the workplace," said DIR Director John Duncan. "The contest raises much needed public awareness of workplace safety and child labor laws."

The winning 2008 PSA was created by Jose Villasenor, Jr., a student of Lindhurst High School in Olivehurst who creatively delivered his message with unique visual effects focusing on workplace safety and health.

Sponsored by DIR’s Divisions of Occupational Safety and Health and Labor Standards Enforcement, as well as the Commission on Health and Safety and Workers’ Compensation, the contest was opened to all California teens under 18, challenging them to create a 30-second video PSA centering on workplace safety and/or child labor laws.

Villasenor’s PSA will be aired during movie previews at Cinemark Theater in Yuba City, near his home town of Olivehurst, and at theaters through out California from June 27-July 24, which are peak months when parents and teens attend movies most frequently. The PSA will be seen on well over 60 screens averaging 370,000 monthly viewers.

Working teens must also know their employment rights on the job. Teens under 18 are required to obtain a work permit from the schools or school district; cannot perform dangerous work specified under the child labor law guidelines, and they must be paid the minimum wage of $ 8 per hour.

According to DIR’s Division of Labor Standards Enforcement over $450,000 in penalties have been issued to businesses for violations of child labor laws last year. Nearly 90 percent of those fines were employers who failed to have work permits for the minors they employed.

DIR was established to improve working conditions for California's wage earners, and to advance opportunities for profitable employment in California.

Labels: safety videos, workplace safety

Here are some brief stories that caught my eye today...

Which OSHA Requirement Would You Toss? - This is an article in Occupational Hazards by David K. Ermer in which he proposes eliminating the requirement that MSDS's be retained for 30 years.

Occupational Health & Safety reports today that the International Labour Organization calls the declaration that came out of a meeting that preceded the 18 World Congress on Safety and Health at Work as a "'Major New Blueprint' for Global Safety". "The declaration says governments should consider ratifying the ILO Promotional Framework for Occupational Safety and Health Convention, 2006, as a priority, and should ensure workers are protected by an adequate system of enforced safety and health standards."

Is A Handgun Considered PPE? - The police union at Princeton University filed a complaint with OSHA because the University did not provide them with handguns they felt they needed to protect themselves. Read this Daily Princetonian article to find out how OSHA ruled. (OSHA said "no".)

New ASTM Task Group Works on Standard for Safe Handling of Annealed Glass - "Recent accidents involving annealed glass along with requests from OSHA have led ASTM International to form a new task group that will work on the development of a proposed standard guide for the safe handling of annealed glass."

Labels: OSHA, osha information, safety politics, safety regulations

Last week the Huffington Post blog had a commentary about construction injuries that pointed out:

"Last week, the House Education and Labor Committee held a hearing to address whether OSHA is adequately enacting and enforcing construction safety rules. "

"With as many as 1,250 deaths each year, construction workers face death on the job 20 times more often than miners and 10 times more often than police officers or firefighters. While 8 percent of the U.S. workforce is employed in construction, construction workers suffer 22 percent of workplace fatalities."

With the recent crane related deaths and injuries in New York, Las Vegas, Miami and Dallas, there is a growing focus on construction related injuries and deaths, in particular crane related injuries and deaths.

If you'd like more information about tower cranes, one resource is the SMART Association web site. SMART is an association of Washington State businesses who work together to provide companies with the resources necessary to manage and control risk.

Labels: Construction Safety

OSHA cites Medley, Fla., manufacturer with 12 safety violations and proposes more than $64,000 in penalties.

OSHA finds the company willfully endangered employees by ignoring fire department warning

OSHA is proposing $64,250 in penalties following an inspection of Konie Cups International's Medley, Fla., manufacturing plant, which revealed 12 alleged safety violations.

OSHA is proposing one willful violation with a $49,000 penalty. Despite an earlier warning given to the company by local fire officials, OSHA discovered during its inspection that an exit door was locked and the key not easily accessible to all employees in case of an emergency. OSHA defines a willful violation as one committed with plain indifference to or intentional disregard for employee safety and health.

The company is receiving seven serious safety violations with penalties totaling $12,750. Employee safety was at risk because liquid propane tanks were stored near an exit route and too many tanks of the explosive gas were stored inside the building. Other problems included electrical hazards, slip and fall hazards, lack of eye protection, lack of a hearing conservation program, exposing employees to amputation hazards and lack of an established lockout/tagout program to prevent machines' unintended startup.

OSHA also has cited Konie Cups International for four other-than-serious violations with proposed penalties of $2,500.

"If a fire occurred in this plant, employees could die because this employer chose to ignore basic safety precautions," said Darlene Fossum, OSHA's area director in Fort Lauderdale.

The company has 15 business days to contest the citations and proposed penalties before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. The site was inspected by staff from OSHA's Fort Lauderdale Area Office, 8040 Peters Road, Building H-100, telephone 954-424-0242.

Labels: OSHA Citations, OSHA Fines