News You Can Use
Construction Supervisor Fined for Trenching Violation
A Saskatoon, SK, construction supervisor has been fined more than $7,000 after pleading guilty to an Occupational Health and Safety (OSH) Act charge related to failure to provide competent and sufficient supervision to workers.
Travis Brunner of Brunner’s Construction Ltd. allowed workers to be in a 3.3-meter (nearly 11-foot) deep trench that was not properly shored.
The charge was laid following a routine inspection by a Saskatchewan Labour Relations and Workplace Safety official.
Related stories:
City of Surrey Fined in Fatality
OSHA Publishes New Trenching Safety Materials
Construction Superintendent Sentenced for Misleading Investigators
A construction site superintendent from South Dakota has been sentenced to six months’ house detention with electronic monitoring for willfully violating an Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulation with regard to the fatal fall of one of his workers.
The 29-year-old victim, Carl Beck, fell 42 feet (nearly 13 meters) while helping install a motel roof in the Pittsburgh, PA, area in 2009.
Superintendent Robert Christopher Kennedy, 60, pleaded guilty to a charge of failure to protect employees with anchored safety lines attached to harnesses. He also directed another person to put fall protection on the roof after the fatality, to make it look as though fall protection measures had been in place prior to Beck’s fall.
When an OSHA investigator arrived on the job site to interview Kennedy about the death, Kennedy misled him to believe that fall protection was properly secured to the roof before the accident occurred, by using pictures of the roof taken after the fall protection gear was placed there.
Christopher Franc, of C.A. Franc Construction—the company for which Beck worked, was fined $539,000 by OSHA. Franc himself was sentenced to three years’ probation, including six months of home detention. He was also ordered to cover Beck’s funeral expenses.
Related stories:
OSHA Embraces Global Chemical Labeling System
The US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) says that its plans to align its Hazard Communication Standard with the United Nation’s Globally Harmonized System of Classifying and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS) will benefit workers by reducing confusion about chemical hazards.
Once fully implemented in 2016, OSHA expects that the alignment will prevent an estimated 43 work-related deaths and 585 worker injuries and illnesses each year, along with boosting US productivity by an estimated $475.2 million.
To facilitate understanding of the new system, the new standard requires that workers be trained by Dec. 1, 2013 on the new label elements and safety data sheet format, in addition to the current training requirements.
Canada is also working to align and synchronize its adoption of the GHS with its international partners, according to Gary Holub of Health Canada’s Regulatory Communications and Media Relations Division.
“The GHS will help protect human health, facilitate international trade in chemicals, and assist countries and international organizations in effectively managing chemicals,” says Holub. “As this work progresses, Health Canada will continue to consult with affected stakeholders with respect to the adoption of the GHS for workplace chemicals and for consumer chemical products.”
OSHA Administrator Dr. David Michaels says the 1983 Hazard Communication Standard gave workers the right to know, while, “This update will give them the right to understand as well.”
Chemical hazards will be classified according to their health and physical hazards and establish consistent labels and safety data sheets for all chemicals made in the US and imported from abroad.
The revised hazard communication standard still requires chemical manufacturers and importers to evaluate the chemicals they produce or import and provide hazard information to employers and workers by putting labels on containers and preparing safety data sheets.
However, whereas the old standard allowed chemical manufacturers and importers to convey hazard information on labels and material safety data sheets in whatever format they chose, the modified standard provides a single set of harmonized criteria for classifying chemicals according to their health and physical hazards and specifies hazard communication elements for labeling and safety data sheets.
OSHA says the updated standard will also reduce trade barriers and improve productivity for American businesses that regularly handle, store and use hazardous chemicals, as well as providing cost savings of $32.2 million for American businesses that periodically update safety data sheets and labels for chemicals covered under the standard.
“Exposure to hazardous chemicals is one of the most serious dangers facing American workers today,” says Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis. “Revising OSHA’s Hazard Communication Standard will improve the quality, consistency and clarity of hazard information that workers receive, making it safer for workers to do their jobs and easier for employers to stay competitive in the global marketplace.”
Related stories:
Trace Amounts of Leukemia-Causing Chemicals Found in Chip Factories
CDS Issues Warning on Bath Refinishing Chemical
Unusual Incident Claims Worker’s Life
The construction industry experiences a large number of struck-by injuries and fatalities, but an unusual incident recently took the life of a young father of two children.
Victor “Bo” Towery, a 34-year-old heavy machine operator employed by A & A Grading and Hauling in Bessemer City, NC, died after being struck by an excavator set into motion by a large pipe that bumped one of its control levers.
Towery, of Clover, NC, was standing in front of the five-ton excavator when it moved, crushing him. He was alive at the scene, but died later in hospital. He had worked for A & A Grading and Hauling for six years.
OSHA is investigating the fatality. It notes that struck-by incidents are a leading cause of construction industry fatalities.
Related stories:
Best Practices Around Mobile Equipment
Hazard Alert Issued After Worker Fatally Crushed
Pick 6 – May 2012
Odds of winning the lottery: 1 in 135,145,920 (multi-state, mega millions jackpot)
Lifetime odds of being killed by a lightning strike—or being in Mother Nature’s Line of Fire: 1 in 5,000 (Reality Check: Odds of Dying)
1 way to help keep workers out of the line of fire is to perform a job hazard analysis (JHA) to identify job hazards and recommend the safest way to perform a job.
2 elements that put workers in the line of fire are being in the wrong place and being there at the wrong time.
There is a danger from flying objects when the 3P activities—pushing, pulling or prying—may cause objects to become airborne.
Materials stored in buildings under construction shall not be placed within 6 feet of hoist way/floor openings. (Occupational Health & Safety Administration)
16.5% of traumatic brain injuries in the US are caused by struck by /against events. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
75 percent of struck-by construction workplace fatalities involve heavy equipment such as trucks or cranes. (Occupational Health & Safety Administration)
Related stories:
Stop, Look and Move Out of the Line of Fire
Best Practices Around Mobile Equipment
Your Safety Program: Are you “Making It Work”?
Millions of people will be celebrating safety during North American Occupational Safety and Health (NAOSH) Week, May 6 to 12, 2012.
The goal of NAOSH Week is simple: To focus employers, employees, partners and the public on the importance of preventing injury and illness in the workplace, at home and in the community. That goal is realized through many events, ranging from occupational safety and health conferences and speaker presentations, to poster displays, to safety and health training sessions across North America.
“During NAOSH Week, people across Canada and throughout North America will take time to reflect on this year’s theme “Making It Work,” noted Peter Sturm, President of the Canadian Society of Safety Engineering (CSSE). “Through the collective and dedicated efforts of many individuals in a number of organizations, and with the support of regional and national partners, attention will be drawn to the need to plan for safety and “Making It Work” all day, every day of the year. We must always strive for the answers and execute the solutions that will make things safer for ourselves, our families, our organizations and our communities.”
The first NAOSH Week was observed in Mexico, Canada and the United States in 1997. The idea was raised during North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) talks, when workplace safety was being discussed by government representatives from the three countries. The Canadian representative noted that Canada had been observing Canadian Occupational Health and Safety Week (COHS) since 1986 and suggested that the US and Mexico might wish to consider holding similar recognition weeks.
Thus, NAOSH Week was born. The logo, featuring three linked hands forming an equilateral triangle, symbolizes joint venture, cooperation and commitment to common goals shared by all occupational health and safety partners throughout North America.
NAOSH Week is a great opportunity for your company to demonstrate its commitment to occupational safety and health. According to the NAOSH website, participating in NAOSH week has been shown to:
- Improve attitudes towards safety;
- Foster a safety-minded culture;
- Increase cooperation;
- Raise awareness; and
- Improve communication between employees, safety committees and safety professionals.
“This year … I would like to encourage you to continue your commitment to safety planning and your tireless dedication to making those plans work within your workplace and at home,” said Dawn Perrin, Chair of the Canadian NAOSH Week Committee. “Involve everyone in the planning process, provide adequate training and regularly review safety plans and programs. As circumstances change, revise the strategy to ensure it is relevant and that you are “Making It Work.”
Make your safety program work with the training and reporting resources in SafetySmart. You can also use the safety awareness tools–such as, posters and puzzles–for your own NAOSH Week activities
Ten Ways to Get in Trouble with OSHA: Part 2
Last month, we presented the first five of Washington, DC Attorney Arthur Sapper’s 10 Ways to Get in Trouble with OSHA. Here are the last five recordkeeping errors or misconceptions that can land you in trouble with OSHA, along with five important missteps that can lead to willful recordkeeping citations.
6. Applying or being influenced by non-OSHA criteria: The problem is that often the same person is required to apply different concepts—compensation and OSHA—to the same cases and they get confused.
There’s a misconception that non-OSHA criteria for work-relatedness, aggravation and restriction can be used. Criteria for OSHA recordability are often different than those used for compensation.
Sapper says physicians are commonly asked whether a case or aggravation is work-related. While this is fine if the question is whether the job played any role in the condition, or tipped it into recordability, physicians often respond that the “preponderant” or “major” cause was non-occupational.
“The lesson is, be alert for signs that physicians are failing to apply OSHA’s definition or approaches to recordkeeping,” he says.
7. Common-sense first aid can be medical treatment: The misconception is that treatments that are considered first aid in common parlance are “first aid” in OSHA parlance.
The truth is that if a treatment is not on OSHA’s first aid list, it is recordable medical treatment. View the first aid list here.
One example is a workplace that used Silvadene, a prescription burn ointment, to apply to workers’ burns. Silvadene is not on OSHA’s first aid list. Therefore, application of Silvadene is considered medical treatment and is recordable.
8. Using non-prescription drugs prescribed at prescription strength. The error is overlooking that a non-prescription drug, such as Naproxen Sodium (Aleve), prescribed by a physician at prescription strength (a dose above 220 mg) makes the case recordable because it is considered “medical treatment” for recordkeeping purposes.
9. Unringing the bell: The misconception here is that second opinions from physicians may always be relied upon.
OSHA says an employer cannot consider a conflicting recommendation once medical treatment, including prescribing of prescription drugs, days away from work or restricted activity have taken place, even if the subsequent doctor’s recommendation is more authoritative.
“In these cases, you can’t unring the bell,” warns Sapper.
10. Not tracking later events: Failure to track events after the initial injury or initial doctor’s visit can lead to big problems.
“Often, attention is given to an injury when it first occurs, but many things happen later,” says Sapper. “Employees go to doctors for follow-ups without company knowledge and records from subsequent doctor visits do not always get received by the employer.”
OSHA 300 logs are “evergreen” and must be kept updated. “If a document is in your files or can be obtained from a doctor or workers’ compensation administrator, it will be used against you,” he says.
Here are five important missteps that Sapper says can lead to your company or organization being hit with “willful” recordkeeping citations:
1. Company policies that may discourage recording of injuries, such as awards programs tied to the number of recordables.
2. Intrusion into provision of healthcare, such as by having a supervisor follow the employee into the examination room or offering suggestions on how the doctor should diagnose or treat the worker’s injuries.
3. Disciplining employees because of an injury. You can discipline a worker for bad behavior, but not for an injury.
4. Going the extra mile to avoid a recordable injury. “Don’t latch onto weak excuses to not record. When in doubt, record, perhaps with an asterisk, and a note at the bottom of the log stating “of doubtful recordability” or “work-relatedness unclear.”
5. Making numerous recordkeeping errors, even though your recordkeeper was trained in OSHA recordkeeping.
Related stories:
Mine Superintendent Charged With Conspiracy to Commit Fraud
Gary May, a mine superintendent at the Upper Big Branch Mine in West Virginia, has been charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States by impeding a federal agency.
In the worst US mining disaster since 1970, a methane explosion claimed the lives of 29 Upper Big Branch miners on April 5, 2010.
May is accused of ordering workers to falsify record books and speaking to them in code as a warning that mining inspectors were coming. The warnings allegedly enabled workers to cover up hazards that would otherwise have resulted in charges.
May is also charged with meddling with the mine’s ventilation system so that areas of the mine being inspected would have better air than they did when inspectors were not present. Finally, he is accused of ordering that a methane monitor be rewired to defeat a required shutoff system.
Hand Washing is Important in Any Work Setting
WHAT’S AT STAKE
Hand washing is the best way to prevent infection and keep you from becoming ill. It protects you against the flu and common cold and also helps prevent the spread of gastrointestinal infections.
WHAT’S THE DANGER
An estimated 40 percent of North Americans either do not wash their hands or do not do so for long enough, using soap and water for at least 15 to 20 seconds.
Depending on the type of work you perform, you can also put yourself and others at serious risk by not washing your hands. The worker who handles hazardous chemicals and then eats or smokes before washing his hands is ingesting those chemicals with every bite of food or puff of a cigarette. And medical personnel who do not regularly wash their hands can pass potentially deadly infections on to patients who may not be strong enough to survive.
EXAMPLE
In the pre-antibiotic 1840s, many women admitted to hospital to deliver babies died from a bacterial infection called childbed fever. A Hungarian medical student wanted to know why the death rate from childbed fever was much higher when women delivered babies in hospital instead of at home.
He learned that doctors who had been performing autopsies were not washing their hands before examining women in labor. Once doctors began washing their hands with soap and water, the childbed fever death rate in hospitals plunged.
HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF
You may not be delivering babies or preparing meals for workers, but hand washing is vital no matter what type of work you do. It’s easy to find soap and water in most workplaces, but if you are working outdoors in remote areas, it’s more challenging to practice good hand hygiene.
Here are some hand-washing tips you can use while working in remote areas:
- In places without running water, some employers bring in water in large containers and provide soap for hand washing.
- Other employers provide an alcohol-based hand sanitizer for workers to use.
- If no hand washing facilities are provided, you should bring your own alcohol wipes or hand washing solution for your personal use.
- You should be washing your hands frequently with soap and water or an alcohol-based hand wash solution for at least 15 to 20 seconds. This is especially important before eating or handling food and after going to the bathroom.
Other times to wash your hands include after handling animals or using tools, machinery or computer keyboards. - Wash both the fronts and backs of your hands and between the fingers and under the nails.
- Rinse well with water and use a paper towel to dry your hands.
- If your hands are visibly soiled, it’s best to use soap and water, but if an alcohol-based hand wash or hand wipe is all that’s available, try to wash your hands with soap and water at the earliest possible time.
- When using an alcohol-based hand solution, keep rubbing your hands until they are dry.
FINAL WORD
Whether you are simply trying to avoid getting the flu or a cold, or are trying to avoid a gastrointestinal illness, washing your hands at least five times per day is your single best defense. If your work takes you to places without running water, an alcohol-based hand sanitizer can help you practice good hand hygiene.
TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE
- Nearly everyone practices proper hand washing hygiene.
True False - Five seconds to lather up and rinse your hands gets the job done.
True False - Failure to properly wash one’s hands can lead to serious health consequences.
True False - An alcohol-based hand sanitizer is an effective alternative to soap and water.
True False - You should be especially careful about washing your hands frequently if you are sharing items such as computer keyboards, telephones or equipment.
True False
What Would You Do?
You and your fellow crew members are driving to a remote worksite and the group decides to make a quick burger stop at a drive-thru restaurant. Your hands are dirty from handling materials and when you go to the restaurant’s bathroom to wash your hands you find there’s a lineup. Your crew is getting impatient but you don’t want to eat without washing your hands. What should you do?
________________________________________________________________
Answers to Quiz:
1.) False, 2.) False, 3.) True, 4.) True, 5.) True
Before The Talk – 7 Preparation Tips
- Plan to remind your workers how easily cold and flu germs are passed from person to person as a result of people coughing and sneezing into their hands and then touching objects. Tell your workers that washing your hands several times a day can prevent you from picking up others’ viruses and illnesses.
- Does your workplace provide sanitary facilities and hand cleaner for employees working in remote areas? If not, you should be doing so.
- Your workers probably aren’t going to be honest if asked if they always wash their hands after using a toilet, but you might ask for a show of hands indicating how many do so before and after handling food. Explain how easy it is for people to become ill after, for example, handling raw chicken and then touching other food without thoroughly washing their hands.
- Whistle, hum or sing the Happy Birthday song twice. Your workers will wonder what’s going on. Then explain that whistling Happy Birthday twice while washing your hands will ensure that you are spending the required 15 seconds getting your hands clean.
- Bring in some alcohol-based hand sanitizer and wipes and demonstrate the proper use of both.
- Tell workers that they might be good at washing their hands, but their children may need frequent reminders to do so. If others in your home aren’t careful about hand washing, they can pass on illnesses to other family members.
- Remind workers that using paper towels to turn off taps and open bathroom doors after washing their hands will prevent them from picking up nasty germs on the way out of a public bathroom.
Your Reaction Can Trigger an Animal’s Attraction
WHAT’S AT STAKE
Every year across North America, about 40 people die from dog attacks. Up to 100 others die after being stung by bees and about seven people have died from bear attacks in Canada and the United States since 2010.
Many other people suffer injuries after being attacked by everything from deer and moose to cougars and dogs.
WHAT’S THE DANGER
Anyone working outdoors, whether delivering mail or logging in remote areas, is at risk of an animal encounter, whether it’s with someone’s pet or a wild creature.
The attack risk is greatest if a worker such as a letter carrier is entering private property being defended by a dog, but there are many other chances of an animal attack in any setting. How a worker reacts to warning signals can make all the difference to the outcome.
EXAMPLE
A 40-year-old worker who was part of a six-worker crew setting recording lines and sensors for a seismic exploration project died after being mauled by a brown bear in Alaska.
The crew was walking along a trail and the workers were unaware that they were close to a bear’s den. The bear attacked and killed one worker in the group.
A co-worker climbed a tree and warned the other workers of the animal’s presence. The bear pawed at the second worker’s foot, but did not cause an injury. The animal then wandered away.
HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF
Whether a dog comes at you in a yard or a bear approaches you on a trail, how you deal with the situation can strongly affect what happens next.
Most people who see a mean dog approaching want to run. That’s a bad idea, because dogs can easily outrun humans. And if you have your back turned to a dog, he’ll probably chase and bite you.
If an aggressive dog approaches:
- Don’t move.
- Keep your hands by your sides and don’t make eye contact with the dog.
- The dog may approach and sniff you. Try to stay calm and wait for the animal to leave.
- If the dog leaves, back away slowly, but don’t turn your back and don’t make eye contact.
- If the dog attacks, place a jacket or other object between yourself and the animal.
- If you’re knocked down, curl into a ball and protect your head. Stay quiet and don’t fight back. Hopefully the animal will see you aren’t a threat and leave.
- If the attack continues, fight back by hitting the dog with a solid object, kicking it or putting your fingers in its eyes, while yelling for help.
If working in a wilderness area, carry bear spray and make noise to let wild animals know you are there. They will often leave the area.
If approached by a black bear, avoid eye contact and back away slowly. If the bear charges you, yell and fight back with everything you have, including sticks, rocks, bear spray or your hands and feet.
If a grizzly bear—characterized by the hump behind its head—approaches you, stand up tall, stay calm and reach for your bear spray. Slowly back away. If the bear charges, spray it with bear spray. If the attack continues, drop to the ground on your stomach and assume a fetal position. Protect your head and neck with your hands and play dead.
Here are some other ways to avoid animal attacks:
- If in poisonous snake country, make noise and watch where you are walking. Stick to trails. If walking over logs or rocks, watch where you place your feet. Never place your hands where you can’t see them. If you see a snake, back away slowly and quietly.
- If you see a cougar, make yourself as big and tall as possible. Yell and slowly walk backwards but never turn your back and try to run. If the cougar attacks, fight back with your fists, feet, sticks or rocks.
FINAL WORD
When an aggressive animal approaches, running away is a bad idea. If you work outdoors, ask for training on avoiding animal encounters and what to do if an animal approaches or attacks.
TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE
- Letter carriers are the least likely group to be attacked by dogs while working.
True False - If an animal seems ready to attack you the best thing to do is turn your back and run.
True False - How many North Americans die from dog attacks in an average year?
- 4
- 400
- 40,000
- 40
- Your reaction to an approaching animal can make a life or death difference.
True False - If you are walking in an area where snakes may be present you should stick to trails and make lots of noise.
True False
What Would You Do?
You and a co-worker are walking along a pathway beside a narrow river at the end of your shift and are nearly back at your work vehicle when you spot a bear on the other side of the creek. It hasn’t seen you. Should you keep walking or turn around and take an alternate route that requires a long hike back to your truck?
___________________________________________________________
Answers to Quiz:
1 False, 2 False, 3 D, 4 True, 5 True
Before The Talk – 7 Preparation Tips
- Find pictures of a black bear and a grizzly bear and see if your workers can correctly identify which is which.
- Plan to play an animal attack video for the group. Several are available on YouTube.
- If you are living in an area where workers could encounter a bear, bring an expert in to demonstrate the correct use of bear spray.
- Ask your workers if they have ever had an encounter with a potentially dangerous animal and how the incident turned out.
- Remind your workers about the need to take measures to protect themselves against animal encounters during days off, such as when camping or hiking.
- Talk to your workers about not carrying food which could attract bears or other potentially dangerous animals.
- Bring an air horn and a hiking stick or backpack with a bell to your safety meeting to demonstrate the importance of making plenty of noise to let animals know you are around.
