The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is proposing a civil penalty of $153,000 against an airline for operating 17 flights without giving pilots or flight attendants the required minimum amount of rest.

Colgan Air, Inc. is alleged to have scheduled flight duty time for two captains, two first officers and six flight attendants on a seventh day after they had been on duty for the previous six consecutive days. The violations are alleged to have occurred between June 14, 2008 and Feb. 23, 2009.

FAA regulations require airlines to relieve each crew member from duty for at least 24 consecutive hours during any seven consecutive calendar days. One of the captains operated four flights without adequate rest while each of the other flight crew members operated one flight without meeting this rest requirement.

The FAA also alleges that Colgan failed to give three flight attendants a required scheduled rest period of at least eight consecutive hours after scheduling them on flights after their previous duty period. One further allegation is that Colgan scheduled a first officer for flight time when his or her total flight time exceeded eight hours between required rest periods.

A Colgan Air DHC-8-400 turboprop commuter plane stalled and crashed into a home in the Buffalo area on Feb. 12, 2009. The crash killed 49 on board the aircraft and one inside the house it hit.

A National Transportation Safety Board investigation found several causes for the crash, one of which may have involved flight crew fatigue. The pilot responded inappropriately to a stick shaker activation warning of an impending stall. The plane was also flying too slowly and may have been compromised by a buildup of ice on its wings. Also, the pilot and co-pilot failed to adhere to sterile cockpit procedures, which ban non-essential conversations and activities during critical parts of a flight.

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A WorkSafeBC report into a roofer’s fatal fall at former Premier Gordon Campbell’s summer residence in Halfmoon Bay, BC, says the premier, who was prime contractor for a renovation there, failed to provide adequate safety measures.

Weather Tight Supplies roofer David Lesko, 40, lost his balance and fell backwards through a skylight opening to a foyer floor some 5 ½ meters (18 feet) below. Co-workers heard a loud thud and found the worker lying unresponsive on the floor. He died from his injuries the next day in hospital.

While the victim and another roofer had set up two ropes as lifelines attached to two roof chimneys and wore harnesses, investigators determined that neither worker’s harness was being used in compliance with the manufacturer’s instructions.

WorkSafeBC says every worker who performed roof work on the former premier’s summer home was exposed to the hazard of falling from the structure at some time.

According to WorkSafeBC, the homeowner was not aware he was the prime contractor at the workplace or what those responsibilities involved. He became prime contractor because he had not assigned that role to any of several companies renovating his summer home.

“Accordingly, the homeowner did not ensure that the workplace parties’ activities relating to heath and safety were coordinated and he did not have in place any system or process to ensure the parties at the workplace complied with the Act or Regulations.”

Campbell later said that although he doesn’t agree with the ruling that he was the prime contractor, he won’t appeal it. WorkSafeBC will not be seeking a penalty against Campbell.

Because there was the potential for a fall of up to 7.5 meters (25 feet), a written fall protection plan was required, but this was never completed.

WorkSafeBC says the employer, Weather Tight Supplies, failed to establish consistent safe work procedures for covering or guarding skylight openings and other roof openings. A sheet of polyethylene was tacked down at the four corners to cover the opening.

Supervision of workers to ensure their health and safety was also inadequate at the time of the incident, according to WorkSafeBC.

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Don’t Let Your Safety Slip Away

Researchers have found a link between lung cancer deaths and heavy worker exposure to diesel exhaust in non-metal mines in the United States.

Scientists from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) studied 12,315 workers at eight non-metal mining facilities in Missouri, New Mexico, Ohio and Wyoming.

They determined that the risk of developing lung cancer among underground miners who were heavily exposed to diesel exhaust was five times that of workers with the lowest diesel exhaust exposures.

For underground miners who had never smoked, but had the highest levels of diesel exposure, their risk of dying from lung cancer was seven times greater than that of non-smokers in the lowest exposure category.

The investigators chose underground mines for their study setting because heavy equipment used in those mines frequently runs on diesel fuel.

“In the fairly enclosed environments of these mines, exhaust builds up in the air to levels considerably higher than those found in other occupational settings, like trucking depots or shipyards, and many times higher than the air inhaled by the general population,” states an NCI news release.

The investigators selected non-metal mines because they characteristically have low levels of other exposures that may be related to lung cancer risk, such as radon, silica and asbestos.

They quantified exposure for each worker by collecting thousands of measurements of constituents of diesel exhaust in the air at each mine and combined those data with historical exposure information.

“This landmark study has informed on the lung cancer risks for underground mine workers, but the findings suggest that the risks may extend to other workers exposed to diesel exhaust in the United States and abroad, and to people living in urban areas where diesel exhaust levels are elevated,” says Dr. Joseph F. Fraumeni, Jr., director of the Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics at the National Cancer Institute.

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The Indonesian Embassy is calling for a ban on outside window cleaning by Indonesian maids after eight women fell to their deaths from high-rise towers in Singapore between January and early May 2012.

The embassy is also calling for a ban on maids hanging laundry from high-rise apartments because of the potential for falling.

“It’s upsetting. These are human beings dying for nothing,” Indonesian Embassy Counsellor Sukmo Yuwono told the Associated Press.

Of an estimated 200,000 maids working in Singapore, half are from Indonesia.

One employer has been fined the equivalent of $4,000 and banned from hiring domestic workers after a maid fell five floors to her death while standing on a stool and cleaning outside windows.

Singapore media have published pictures of maids squatting on windowsills, crawling on ledges or reaching dangerously to the side while cleaning outside windows on tall buildings.

One woman who employs Indonesian maids told Associated Press that they are often eager to please employers and may not say anything when asked to perform a dangerous task.

Read the full story here: www.thestar.com/printarticle/1174755

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Don’t Let Your Safety Slip Away

As workers age, they deal with declining vision, hearing, strength, agility and reduced ability to process information. But there is one more factor that can amplify the deficits relating to aging—being overweight or obese.

Drew Bossen, an Iowa City, IA, physical therapist specializing in ergonomics and aging workers, says someone in the US turns 50 every seven seconds and by 2015, about 20 percent of the workforce will be age 55 or older.

According to Bossen, about one-third of the US population is obese, that is being more than 20 percent above one’s ideal rate, or having a body mass index or BMI (the relationship of body weight to height) of 30 or higher.

Being significantly overweight not only increases one’s risk for developing heart disease and stroke, but also adult-onset diabetes and certain forms of cancer. And significantly overweight workers are also more likely to suffer injuries on the job.

For example, an obese person using a computer keyboard is more likely to suffer an ergonomic-related injury as a result of having his or her elbows and arms “out like a bird” on each side of the keyboard, according to Bossen.

That person’s hands and wrists will be in the incorrect position, leading to increased likelihood of an ergonomic-related injury. Bossen says one solution might be to have the worker use a split keyboard.

Significantly overweight workers are also much more likely to experience back and neck pain and pain in their lower extremities, especially as they age.

“Aging is associated with changes within skeletal muscle,” says Bossen, adding that older people cannot exert as much force as young people and they also have less power and endurance.

It also takes aging workers longer to recover from injury and they are more vulnerable to injury—especially if they aren’t at a healthy weight.

Bossen says companies that are concerned about keeping their workers healthy and productive as they age need to develop workplace wellness programs incorporating:

• Screening programs linked to medical care delivery to ensure follow-up and appropriate treatment. Workers need to be screened for height and weight, blood pressure, resting heart rate and total cholesterol, triglycerides and glucose. They also need to undergo cardiovascular testing and a health risk assessment.
• Health education that focuses on skill development and lifestyle behavior change.
• Supportive social and physical environments and policies that promote health.
• Integration of the worksite program into the organization’s culture.
• Related programs to assist employee success.

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A Toronto Transit System (TTS) ticket collector suffered life-threatening injuries after he was shot in the neck and shoulder area during a recent robbery attempt.

The worker, a man in his 50s, was shot through a glass ticket booth at Toronto’s Dupont subway station. The shooter, who did not receive cash from the worker, fired three shots into the ticket booth before fleeing. Two of the bullets struck the victim, who was expected to make a complete recovery after undergoing emergency surgery.

The worker’s wife had expressed concern that something might happen to him after two similar robberies occurred at the same subway station since June 2011.  The same person, described as a heavy-set male between 35 and 50 years of age, is believed to have been responsible for all three crimes.

The suspect received cash during the first two incidents, but not the third time.

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Network Rail in England has been fined the equivalent of nearly $1.6 million and ordered to pay $95,000 in costs after admitting health and safety breaches that contributed to the deaths of two young teenage girls.

The two friends, ages 13 and 14, were killed instantly when they were struck by a train while crossing a railway line in southeast England.

Although a series of risk assessments highlighting the dangers of the Elsenham Station crossing in Essex had been undertaken, the company had not acted on a recommendation for the installation of gates that locked automatically when trains approached.

Judge David Turner told Chelmsford Crown Court that the company had shown “corporate blindness” toward the hazardous crossing.

Network Rail boss Sir David Higgins says fundamental changes have and are still being made to improve safety at 6,500 level crossings, with more than 500 being closed.

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A Canadian city where a young child was fatally struck by construction debris during a windstorm three years ago is reportedly eying tougher building bylaws following another recent incident that involved damage, but no injuries.

Michelle Krsek, 3, died after debris from an 18-story condominium/hotel tower under construction in Calgary, AB, became airborne. She was hit by a three-meter (10-foot) long section of sheet metal that came from an improperly secured stack left on the roof of the building. Her seven-year-old brother and father were also injured.

Two companies were each fined $15,000 for safety violations in relation to the child’s death.

More recently, two pieces of metal fell from a 40-story skyscraper, landing on two parked cars.

Calgary City Councillor Druh Farrell says public safety is being put at risk and something must be done about the hazard. A task force made up of building owners and city officials has been struck to deal with the issue.

New bylaws would enforce a building maintenance schedule for existing buildings to ensure that materials were secure and would not likely become dislodged by strong winds.

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The Westray Mine disaster of May 9, 1992 forever changed Canada’s safety culture, according to safety training consultant Wilson Bateman.

Twenty-six coal miners died 20 years ago this month in an underground methane and coal dust explosion at the Westray Mine in Plymouth, NS. The disaster directly led to the enactment of federal Bill C-45 legislation late in 2003.

C-45 allows for the criminal prosecution of anyone who undertakes or has the authority to direct how a person does work or performs a task, who fails to take reasonable steps to prevent bodily harm to that person or any other person, arising from that work or task.

“Westray is not just about mining safety—it was the catalyst, not just in mining, but in every industry in Canada,” says Bateman, who heads Global Training Edge Inc. in Welland, ON. “It impacted our families, the government, both federal and provincial, and employers and employees.”

He says it is amazing how the safety culture in Canada has changed since Westray.

“Take a look at the number of organizations providing safety services—the community organizations, the universities and community college systems. Take a look at the legislation, the increased level of enforcement, higher fines, the increased role of the worker compensation boards and the union activities.”

Bateman says Westray has had an impact on safety in Canada for all citizens, adding, “I believe that the Westray disaster and the loss of the 26 miners have made all of our lives so much safer. We now conduct safety training in school.”

Politicians, public servants, employers, workers and Westray families can all learn powerful lessons from the Westray tragedy, according to Bateman.

He urges politicians to “never become so single-minded in your pursuit for jobs and political profit that your responsibility and common sense become blurred.”

“Never forget about your responsibility to look after the big picture. Never forget that you were elected to look out for the best interests of your province or country and its people,” he says. “Remember your spoken and unspoken influence on staff. Never let the rule be ‘jobs at any cost’ and never be blinded by your politics.”

Westray’s lessons for public servants include, first and foremost: “Ensure compliance with the laws you administer.”

“Ask the awkward questions. Never become complacent. Tell people when you are in over your head and never go along with a system that is not working.”

Bateman says employers must realize that safety is “part and parcel of running a business” and it needs to be built into their plans.

“Put it on your balance sheet. Never make people choose between a paycheque and their lives.”

He urges employers to not cut corners and to not bend the rules.

“Don’t wait to react to problems—deal with them up front. Focus on prevention, understand your responsibilities, care about your workforce and always remember that every incident can be prevented.”

Workers, too, have a responsibility to look out for themselves and their co-workers. Bateman says they need to learn their rights and become informed and involved in safety.

Workers must raise red flags when they encounter dangerous situations and never cut corners to get a job finished faster.

And families who lost loved ones in the Westray disaster need to know that what occurred will always be an active living presence in workplaces across Nova Scotia (and far beyond). “Your husbands, your fathers, your sons, your brothers and your friends will never be forgotten. Their legacy lives on.”

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OSHA is seeking comments from employers regarding how to prevent injuries and deaths among workers involved in reinforcing concrete activities in construction, general industry, agriculture and the maritime industry.

It is also interested in hearing about how employers go about preventing injuries and deaths relating to vehicles and mobile equipment backing into workers in those industries.

Between 2000 and 2009, more than 30 American workers died while performing reinforcement concrete activities. They were killed as a result of impalement, being caught under collapsing walls or slipping, tripping or falling.

Workers also face potential injury or death as a result of being struck by reversing vehicles or becoming caught between vehicles and objects such as loading docks. Some 360 US workers died from “backover” incidents between 2005 and 2010.

OSHA will use the comments it receives to learn more about how workers become injured and what solutions exist to prevent injury and death, including possible regulatory action.

Read the full news release here.