R.C. Bigelow ("Bigelow") is a family-owned company headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut, that produces and markets blended teas. The company was founded in 1945 by Ruth Campbell Bigelow, who started her company with "Constant Comment" blended tea, which remains popular today. The R.C. Bigelow facility in Boise, Idaho, is one of two bagging, packaging, and distribution facilities. The company employs approximately 60 workers at the Boise facility and 320 corporate-wide.
In October 2017 we published the first blog in a series to highlight musculoskeletal health research at NIOSH. With the holiday season upon us, this next installment will take the opportunity to discuss how best to promote musculoskeletal health in retail establishments to reduce the incidence of musculoskeletal disorders among temporary retail workers.
Welders are at particularly high risk for eye injuries. A Canadian study reported that welders represented 21% of all eye injury claims. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), welders, cutters, and welding machine operators held about 521 000 jobs in 2000. The welding process exposes workers to a number of sources of mechanical, radiant, thermal, or chemical energy.
High hazard industries could be a little less hazardous in the future, if researchers can find a way to thwart the biggest challenge to promising new technology: trees.
The same kinds of collision-avoidance technologies used by self-driving cars could help logging and other workers monitor their surroundings through a mobile virtual fence, or geofence, according to NIOSH-funded research at the University of Idaho. Geofences could be used to maintain safe work areas in logging, for instance, by sending alerts of approaching hazards.
After an audit at a small Pennsylvania manufacturer revealed some safety complacency cropping up in day-to-day operations, the company reached out to OSHA’s On-Site Consultation Program for assistance. The result: McGregor Industries Inc. has been free of recordable injuries since September 2015, is working to find new ways of reducing injuries and has been able to secure better insurance for individual jobsites.
Dunmore-based McGregor Industries Inc. fabricates, delivers, and installs light structural and metal products for buildings, artistic projects, and anything requiring the shaping and finishing of metal.
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has established a new Center for Occupational Robotics Research (CORR) to provide scientific leadership to guide the development and use of occupational robots that enhance worker safety, health, and well-being.
Although robots have been used in workplaces for decades, the use of robots that are designed to be used alongside human workers is increasing, as is the likelihood of robot-related deaths, according to NIOSH.
The American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) says it is “encouraged” after seeing newly released data that shows a continued decrease in occupational injuries and illnesses, but thinks even more can be done to protect workers.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Nov. 9 that workplace injuries and illnesses at private industry employers were down by 48,500 cases in 2016 compared to the previous year.
A Marine Corps Air Facility (MCAF) in Quantico, Va. has been recognized for its achievements in workplace safety and health. OSHA Regional Director Richard Mendelson presented MCAF Commanding Officer Lt. Colonel Daniel Murphy with a plaque and flag signifying the facility’s Star Status in OSHA’s Voluntary Protection Programs.
Despite the fact that most worksites require eye protection, the Center for Disease Control reports nearly 2,000 work-related eye injuries requiring medical attention a day. Among the root causes is compliance – not wearing eye protection – which continues to be an issue on jobsites and in workzones.
Before the end of World War II, there was little interest in fitting workplace conditions and job demands to the capabilities of the working population—a scientific practice known as ergonomics. By the 1970s, NIOSH researchers were pioneering the study of musculoskeletal health as professional ergonomists, examining physical and social components of work environments (such as conveyer belt height and lunch break routines, respectively) to mitigate musculoskeletal injury risks.
