Press brakes are especially dangerous pieces of machinery that require operator caution, regular maintenance, and protective safeguards. Used extensively in the forming of sheet metal and plate materials, press brakes are a frequent cause of amputations and crushing injuries.
The International Safety Equipment Association (ISEA) has released an updated version of its Personal Fall Protection Equipment Use and Selection Guide.
Responding to a complaint filed by the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health (National COSH), OSHA has determined that that the Industrial Commission of Arizona (ICA) is “operating outside its legal authority.”
Wood chipper hazards and a lack of training were among the hazards that resulted in the issuance of a Cease Operations Order against a Michigan landscaping business. That action by the state’s Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs Director and the Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration (MIOSHA) was taken against Sunset Tree Service & Landscaping, LLC of Bay City for continuing to operate without abating previously identified hazards on the jobsite.
An institute whose research has had a tremendous impact on worker safety over the past six decades is closing its doors – and safety advocates aren’t happy about it.
A federal appeals court has affirmed that Pan Am Railways, Inc., must pay $260,000 in punitive and compensatory damages to – and take corrective action on behalf of – an employee who was subjected to retaliation for filing a Federal Railroad Safety Act whistleblower complaint.
Press Brakes are currently a hot topic in the “Machine Safeguarding” arena. OSHA regulations consider press brakes to be a 1910.212 machine, saying to the employer; “one or more methods of machine guarding shall be provided to protect the operator and other employees in the machine area from hazards such as those created by point of operation, in-going nip points, rotating parts, flying chips, and sparks” … 1910.212 requirements are good place to start, but they leave out the details of exactly how to go about safeguarding any particular machine.
The American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) has crafted a plan for reshaping OSHA that would focus the agency on risk management and productive policies and fill legislative and regulatory gaps that limit its ability to better protect workers.
