Today's Safety News - Articles - Page 75

Retaliated-against safety whistleblower to get thousands from ex-employer

March 4, 2020

OSHA has determined that Universal Trucking Solutions LLC – a defunct Hartford, Connecticut, commercial motor carrier – and its co-owner, Juan Ramirez, violated the whistleblower protections of the Surface Transportation Assistance Act (STAA). Agency investigators found that the company and Ramirez retaliated against a driver who repeatedly voiced concerns to management about faulty vehicle maintenance.

FAA issues final rule on air carrier pilot training

March 3, 2020

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has announced a final rule aimed at enhancing the professional development of air carrier pilots. The Pilot Professional Development rule requires specific training for newly-hired pilots and supplemental training for captains.

Facilities revisit lift covers for preventive safety As ISO 14120 guarding standard replaces EN 953

March 3, 2020

Lift table skirting may be a practical method of guarding pinch point hazards to increase safety and comply with standard ISO14120 (“Safety of machinery - Guards”), yet some varieties of lift skirting provide little more than dust protection. Liftgard(R) bellows completely enclose a scissors lift table to mitigate unintentional contact with pinch points.

Health groups urge Supreme Court to uphold Affordable Care Act

March 2, 2020

Patient and health advocacy groups representing millions of Americans with pre-existing conditions are applauding the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to hear arguments in the case of Texas v. United States this term. The case is the latest court challenge to the health care law known as the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The groups filed an amicus brief urging the Court’s swift action and citing the detrimental impacts and uncertainty patients would face were the case left at the lower court level.

Fallen firefighters’ families sue construction co., building owner

March 2, 2020

The families of two Pennsylvania firefighters who were killed when a building under construction collapsed have filed a lawsuit against the construction company and the owner of the building, according to news reports. York City firefighters Ivan Flanscha, 50, and Zach Anthony, 29, died on March 22, 2018, when a partial building collapse caused them to fall from the second floor and be buried under debris.

Health groups join forces to help Americans control blood pressure

March 2, 2020

In a move toward meeting goals for better cardiovascular health in the United States over the next decade, the American Heart Association (AHA) is joining the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Hypertension Control Roundtable (NHCR)® along with other founding members in a public, private and non-profit collaboration committed to increasing blood pressure control rates to 80% by 2025.

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Call it proactive incident prevention

See a hazard, say something

Doug Pontsler

March 2, 2020

If you have been following our work at COVE, you know that we are all about the importance of Seeing the Whole PICTURE® so that we can be more effective in our safety processes. It is by Learning to See that we can improve our ability to interpret the environment around us and the things that we are doing so that we can identify hazards and understand risk.

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The OSHA “willful” mysteries

Often there is no explanation for the charges

Edward Stern

March 2, 2020

Many of the OSHA cases that cite “willful” violations present mysteries. The mysteries are why the alleged violations were categorized as willful. These charges are not a mystery to OSHA, but they are mysteries to readers of citations. Since the penalty for a willful violation can be over $130,000, there should not be any mystery about such charges.

Denying executive accountability is too common

Throwing safety under the bus

Dave Johnson

March 2, 2020

Sad but true. In 2020, OSHA celebrates its 50th anniversary. Safety’s sage, Dan Petersen, published “Safety Management, a Human Approach” in 1975. Lessons haven’t been learned.

The benefits of strategic safety planning

It’s about predictions, not certainties

Dan Markiewicz MS, CIH, CSP, RMP

March 2, 2020

Markets are disrupted at a quicker pace than ever before. Welcome to the 2020s. Tesla is valued at more than Ford and GM combined. The combustion engine and its complementary industries have reached their peak and have nowhere to go but down. Jobs in heavy production are being eliminated by automation. The Coronavirus races across the globe.