During Small Business Week, May 5-11, we celebrate entrepreneurs across the country for their willingness to take a risk and follow a dream. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, we have plenty to celebrate: more than half of Americans either own or work for a small business, and they create about two out of every three new jobs in the U.S. each year.

Manufacturers across the nation are facing an industry-wide workforce shortage. Between the aging workforce and fewer graduates seeking careers in the trades, the gap is growing, rapidly. The struggle to attract and retain talent is evident. Industry leaders are asking: How do manufacturers in the modern age create an appealing culture for the next generation?

Having a detailed fall protection plan is essential to providing a safe work environment for employees working at heights. While OSHA only requires a written fall protection plan for employees engaged in specific types of work who can demonstrate that it is infeasible or hazardous to use conventional fall protection equipment (See 1926.501(b)(2), (b)(12), and (b)(13)), CPWR feels that the use of a plan is beneficial to the safety of all workers at risk for a fall.

Featuring options like lightweight cotton, AMTEX TC and FlexTex for motion, Mount Vernon FR offers more choices of flame resistant fabrics that stand up to hot weather. As temperatures continue to rise and with summer quickly approaching, look to Mount Vernon FR for flame resistant fabrics that make it easier for your employees to work safely in hot weather conditions.

OSHA and its partners are hosting events throughout the country this week for the sixth annual National Safety Stand-Down to Prevent Falls in Construction. Employers and workers will pause to talk about fall hazards, OSHA compliance, and industry best practices to prevent falls. The 2019 poster is available on OSHA's publications page.

OSHA's National Safety Stand-Down Week to Prevent Falls in Construction runs May 6-10, 2019, in conjunction with the North American Occupational Safety and Health (NAOSH) Safety Week. Anyone interested in educating employees in fall hazards, or other job hazards, can participate.

The warmer temperatures that are not too far ahead – depending upon where you live – will invariably motivate many people to drag the grill out of the garage and fire it up for some outdoor cooking. Here are some tips for enjoying safely barbecued or grilled food from the According to Stop Foodborne Illness, a national, nonprofit, public health organization dedicated to preventing illness and death from foodborne pathogens.

The increase in recent years in heavy downpours, severe flooding and other severe weather events caused by climate change keeps electricians busy making repairs. It also keeps them in danger. Electrocutions are the fifth leading cause of all reported occupational deaths.

On April 3, I represented the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) at an event kicking off Distracted Driving Awareness Month and California Teen Driver Safety Week, in Sacramento. I challenged California to lead the nation in acting on NTSB’s 2011 recommendation to ban the non-emergency driver use of portable electronic devices that do not support the driving task.

The Monty Python fans among you will instantly picture the scene from “The Life of Brian” movie. The massed crowd outside their new-found saviour’s ramshackle bedroom window arguing over their individuality with their new “Messiah” Brian and his mother. But it would take a ‘serious’ movie geek to remember the next few lines when in unison the crowd chant “Yes we are all different” only to be answered by a lone wavering dissenting voice shouting “I’m not.”