The National Safety Council (NSC) is concerned with the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showing no change in the number of workplace injuries and illnesses between 2017 and 2018. This marks the first year since 2012 that the total recordable cases rate for workplace injuries and illnesses did not decline. Every employee deserves a safe work environment and to return home safely at the end of each work day.

OSHA has cited Diaz Professional Construction LLC for exposing employees to falls at a Montgomery, Alabama, residential worksite. The framing contractor faces $31,879 in penalties. The agency initiated the inspection as part of its Regional Emphasis Program for Falls in Construction after inspectors observed employees performing framing activities without fall protection.

A series of workplace incidents in Indiana and Illinois last week claimed the lives of two workers and left another hospitalized. In Mooresville, Indiana, 22-year-old Sean Merrell died of blunt force injuries after being trapped in a machine he was cleaning that was re-energized before he could get out.

An OSHA investigation into the deaths of four employees of an Illinois chemical plant has resulted in more than a million dollars in proposed penalties against AB Specialty Silicones LLC. The company has been cited for a dozen willful federal safety violations in the explosion and fire at its Waukegan facility on May 3, 2019 that claimed the lives of four workers.

The NSC issues guidance for employers and cannabis use among workers; the NYPD tries a new strategy to combat police depressions and the AIHA partners with international organizations to help clear the (indoor) air. These were among the stop stories featured on ISHN.com this week.

The Georgia facility at which a temporary employee was crushed to death by pallets last week has a history of safety violations and citations by OSHA. Fifty-nine-year-old Willie Bonner reportedly died at the Nichiha USA in Bibb County after a robotic arm knocked him onto a conveyer belt. OSHA is investigating the fatality.

Organizational safety climate is defined as shared perceptions among employees regarding what is rewarded, expected, valued, and reinforced in the workplace with respect to safety (Zohar, 1980). It can positively influence employee safety knowledge, motivation, attitudes, and behaviors, as well as reduce injury outcomes (e.g., Clarke, 2010, Probst et al., 2008, Probst and Estrada, 2010, Zohar, 2010).

A new study out of North Carolina State University sheds some interesting light on how employees – some of them, anyway – view their robotic co-workers. They blame them for workplace accidents – if they believe the robots are autonomous. Researchers showed study participants scenarios of several workplace accidents involving both a human and a robot.

MSD rates in construction take a surprising turn, Amazon criticized in new report and workplace safety experts want Congress to take it slow on marijuana legalization. These were among the top stories featured on ISHN.com this week.

Honeywell has launched a new line of industrial work gloves—CoreShieldTM— with a color-coded marking system that makes it simple to choose the correct cut protection for the work application according to the new EN/ANSI standards.