Being cited four times in the past five years for fall hazards apparently did not cause a Florida roofing contractor to change its workplace safety practices. In its most recent interaction with OSHA, Turnkey Construction Planners Inc. was cited for failing to provide fall protection to its workers. The Melbourne-based company faces $199,184 in penalties.

A change in the beryllium standard, future occupational safety and health goals and a “green” implication for heart disease risk were among the top stories featured on ISHN.com this week.

When you receive an employee injury report, your thoughts may range from, “How did it happen?” to “Well, there go my plans for the day.” After you make sure the employee is taken care of, you’ll need to investigate, determine what happened and how it could have been prevented, and figure out if the incident needs to be recorded on your OSHA 300 Log.

Cal/OSHA has cited a Riverside, California construction company $66,000 for serious workplace safety violations that resulted in the death of a worker when a 17-foot-deep trench he was in collapsed. Cal/OSHA determined that Empire Equipment Services, Inc. did not properly classify the soil and failed to correctly slope the excavation.

OSHA has cited Parts Authority LLC - a wholesale auto and truck parts distributor based in Norcross, Georgia - for exposing employees to fire, electrical shock, and struck-by hazards. The company faces $133,406 in penalties.

One month after ISHN published its October issue cover story on Tesla’s quest to have the safest factory in the world, Tesla’s safety and health practices were again in the news. On November 5, 2018, the Center for Investigative Reporting published an article, “Inside Tesla’s factory, a medical clinic designed to ignore injured workers.”

OSHA yesterday issued a proposed rule to revise the beryllium standard for general industry. The proposed changes are designed to clarify the standard, and to simplify or improve compliance with the standard.

An EPA climate change-related rule rollback, “burnout training for doctors, and a legal challenge filed by miners an Mine Safety and Health Administration action. These were among the top occupational safety, health and environment stories featured on ISHN.com this week.

The EPA’s proposed rollback of Obama-era limits on greenhouse gases emitted by coal-fired plants is drawing opposition from health and environmental groups. At issue: Carbon Pollution Standards for New, Modified and Reconstructed Power Plants, enacted in 2015, which were intended to slow climate change and reduce its effects.

OSHA has cited Derek Williams – operating as Elo Restoration Inc. – for exposing employees to fall hazards at two separate worksites in St. Augustine and Daytona Beach, Florida. The roofing contractor faces $116,551 in penalties. OSHA initiated an inspection as part of the Regional Emphasis Program on Falls in Construction.