OSHA has issued a final rule that revises 14 provisions in the recordkeeping, general industry, maritime, and construction standards that may be confusing, outdated, or unnecessary. The revisions are expected to increase understanding and compliance with the provisions, improve employee safety and health, and save employers an estimated $6.1 million per year.

Advocates in Florida are pushing for tougher standards for growers to protect their employees, arguing that rising global temperatures will make outdoor work unsustainable without the proper regulations. Florida’s agriculture and construction employers could soon be required to train outdoor workers and managers on avoiding heat-related illnesses under proposed legislation. The heat illness prevention bill, sponsored by Orlando Democrat Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith, would set a statewide standard for all outdoor workers to be given plenty of drinking water, access to shade and ten-minute rest breaks enforced after every two hours of outside labor.

Whenever heat stress exceeds occupational exposure limits, workers should be protected by acclimatization programs, training about symptom recognition and first aid, and provision of rest breaks, shade, and water. A Heat Index of 85°F (29.4°C) could be used as a screening threshold to prevent heat-related illness.

Cooperating with OSHA gets two employees fired – and their employer found guilty of retaliation; health experts want asbestos banned and the Association Health Plans program gets a defeat in court. These were among the top occupational safety and health stories featured on ISHN.com this week.

It’s a safety tool that you can launch from your computer, yet the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) promises that its Aerial Lift Hazard Recognition Simulator offers realistic workplaces – complete with hazards.

A North Carolina construction firm has received Safety and Health Achievement and Recognition Program (SHARP) accreditation for its work on a new health care facility. Brasfield & Gorrie was presented with a certificate of completion last month at the Mission Hospital for Advanced Medicine project, a 12-story, 615,000 square sq foot ft surgical tower with 220 patient beds, a newly expanded emergency department with 94 prep/recovery exam rooms, 10 operating rooms, 40 PACU bays, and a rooftop helipad.

California OSHA issued four citations and $63,560 in penalties to Mercer-Fraser Co. after a worker driving a truck collided with a front end loader and suffered a serious head injury. Inspectors determined that the company failed to require seat belt use, develop and implement safe practices for workers operating haul trucks, and ensure that trucks were operated at safe speeds.

Construction is a high hazard activity. Workers face serious dangers posed by heavy machinery, sharp objects, falling objects, falls from heights, asbestos, silica, electrocutions, among many other hazards. It's in the best interest of workers and construction companies to ensure the highest safety standards.

An effort currently underway - timed to coincide with Construction Safety Week - is aimed at preventing fatalities and injuries from dropped objects. Through its 2019 Safety at Heights campaign, the International Safety Equipment Association (ISEA) The campaign is providing employers and workers educational information at SafetyAtHeights.org.

A fall from the fourth floor of a building under construction claimed the life of a 24-year-old worker last month. News sources say Alexander J. Kanouse fell at approximately 8 a.m. while working at a jobsite in Madison. When first responders arrived, Kanouse was barely breathing and was bleeding profusely from a head wound.