The state of Minnesota is implementing a new set of standards to reduce on job risk for window washers.

The standard requires employers whose workers are suspended more than 14-feet above grade to have a comprehensive written safety plan and provide employee training for window-washing and building-maintenance activities. It also addresses and outlines worker safety requirements in the areas of:

• Anchors and anchor points;
• Appropriate recordkeeping regarding employee training and retraining;
• Fall protection;
• Proper care, use and inspection of equipment;
• Rope descent systems; and
• Visual inspections of building exteriors before work begins.

“This new standard ensures a plan is in place to reduce risks to workers and that systems are in place to identify and control workplace hazards,” said Commissioner Ken Peterson, Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry (DLI). “The goal is to prevent accidents.”

The new set of rules come on the heels of three window washing deaths in the past three years that MNOSHA said all could have been prevented through the proper use of safety equipment and procedures.

Since MNOSHA began a local emphasis inspection program for the window-washing and building-maintenance industry in October 2010 the organization has inspected 34 window washing companies.

During these inspections, MNOSHA investigators found worksites lacking proper safety equipment for employees and improper usage of suspension scaffolds and lifelines.

The new safety standard for window-washers takes effect March 1, 2012.

For help complying with this new standard call 877-201-8923.

Regulators issued 19 citations after an August fire and explosion left three workers dead and 10 acres burned in east Wyoming, the Associated Press reports.

The explosion happened Aug. 29 as workers James Turner, Llewellyn Dort and Gerardo Alatorre, were installing pipe between storage tanks and a heater treater at a Samson Resource Company-operated oil well in Converse County. The exact circumstances that led to the explosion and deaths has yet to be determined.

A report compiled by the state’s occupational epidemiologist — who stepped down in frustration last month — noted that Wyoming’s occupational death rate was three and a half times the national average. The state’s booming oil industry, according to the report, accounted for 20% of occupational fatalities between 2001 and 2008.

A slate of workplace accidents, including this one, provided cover for Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead’s request last week to add three new positions to the six-person state Occupational, Safety and Health Administration. “I hope the Legislature supports my request to strengthen Wyoming OSHA,” Mead was quoted by the AP, ” This is one more step toward making Wyoming a safer place for workers.”

Samson had hired two local service companies to perform the installation on the non-producing well in an attempt to bring it back into production. Turner worked for Double D Welding and Fabrication in Mills, Wyo., and  Dort and Alatorre worked for Wild West Construction out of Glenrock, Wyo. There were no other workers onsite when the explosion took place

According to Wyoming OSHA, the regulatory body could not release the citations, which were mailed late last week, until receipt has been confirmed.

Beginning Feb. 1, 2012 employers who are required to keep the OSHA Form 300 Injury and Illness log must post a summary of the log.

All industries in agriculture, construction, manufacturing, transportation, utilities and wholesale trade sectors are covered. In the retail and service sec­tors, some industries are partially exempt

Also employers with fewer than 10 employees are exempt. The size exemption is based on the company’s peak employment during the last calendar year.

If, at any time last year, the company reached 11 or more workers, the company is not size exempt. However, the company, or some of its individual establish­ments, may still be exempt because of industry classification.

Employers must post OSHA’s Form 300A from Feb. 1 to April 30, 2012 in a common area wherever notices to workers are usually posted.

The summary must list the total numbers of job-related injuries and illnesses that occurred in 2011. All establishment summaries must be certified by a company executive.

Copies of the OSHA Forms 300, 300A and 301 are available for download on the OSHA Recordkeeping Web page.

To help your company track injuries all year we offer a variety of record keeping products. For more info call 877-201-8923.

A study released by the RAND corporation looking into California’s Injury and Illness Prevention Program (IIPP) indicates failures to “look beyond paper compliance with its provisions.” The paper points to training by employers and enforcement by regulators as having the most pronounced impact on injury rates under the program.

The IIPP law has required for the last 20 years that California employers develop an injury and illness prevention program and share it with employees. It also mandates training employees on safe practices. OSHA has made a priority of adopting a similar program at a federal level, I2P2, and has looked to California’s implementation as it considers moving forward with its plan.

The study into the impact of Cal/OSHA’s 20-year-old IIPP finds negligible impact on workplace deaths as a direct result of the program and cites more than 20 percent improvement in injuries — but only for workplace injury rates in workplaces that received citations and inspections.

John Mendeloff, study author and director of the RAND Center for Health and Safety in the Workplace, suggests a more involved enforcement mechanism to increase compliance and reduce injuries. However, along with the benefits of enforcement, he adds, “the training requirement appeared to have the greatest impact on injuries.”

The study, sponsored by the California Commission for Health, Safety and Workers’ Compensation, is the first evaluation of Cal/OSHA’s IIPP program. It paints a picture of effective I2P2 implementation that may require a more involved enforcement mechanism and emphasizes training and employee involvement as businesses implement an injury and illness prevention program.

Safety Services Company offers custom-built IIPP manuals for your organization so that your safety team can focus on implementation and training and see the benefits of IIPP without costly citations or inspections.

Alberta courts handed out more than $3.4 million in workplace safety violation penalties in 2011, double the total of fines in 2010.
“My first choice is to have no workplace injuries or fatalities, no charges, and no convictions,” said Dave Hancock, Minister of Human Services. “However, when the law is broken, we need to send strong messages that the health and safety of Albertans must be a priority.”

More than $2.3 million of the $3.4 million in penalties in 2011 was in creative sentences paid to third parties, such as post-secondary institutions, training programs, rescue societies and other organizations that advance workplace health and safety. Individual creative sentences in 2011 ranged from $29,000 to $355,000.

A creative sentence provided the Fort McMurray/Wood Buffalo office of St. John Ambulance with more than $330,000 for a new classroom training facility and to certify approximately 1000 high school students in Standard First Aid.

“We are very honoured to be considered for these funds,” said Beverly Lafortune, Vice-President of Training and Community Services for St. John Ambulance, Alberta Council. “We’re committed to ensuring there will be plenty of positive outcomes from a tragic workplace incident.”

In 2002, Occupational Health and Safety legislation was amended to allow for creative sentences. Since 2006, over $10 million has been directed to organizations that promote workplace health and safety.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s adoption of the Globally Harmonized System into its existing Hazard Communication standard is being pushed back until February, according to OSHA spokeswoman Kimberly Darby.

OSHA originally submitted the text for the final rule to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) on Oct. 25.

Typically the office has 90 days to approve or deny submitted rules, but both OSHA and the OMB mutually agreed to extend the deadline until February to wrap up the remaining details, according to Darby.

OSHA began the process of adopting the GHS in September 2006 and originally planned on having the program in place by August 2011.

The adoption of the GHS is expected to impact millions of employers in nearly every industry across the United States.

The program will replace existing Material Safety Data Sheets with Safety Data Sheets and introduce new labels pictograms and universal system of hazard identification.

Once adopted OSHA will grant employers up to two years to train employees on the concepts of the new system. This training is expected to cost American employers more than $44 million.

In addition to the adoption of the GHS in the United States, both Mexico and Canada are working on putting in place the GHS system.

In Mexico there is already a system for voluntary compliance and in Canada work is being done to implement GHS as part of its WHMIS (Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System) regulations, but draft of the rule is yet to be published.

To help ease the transition Safety Services Company has created ww.GHSguide.com and is already offering a HCS training kit featuring the principles of the GHS.

For more info call 877-201-8923

According to a recent statement by Ontario Chief Prevention Officer, George Gritziotis, the province is moving forward with a number of initiatives to improve occupational health and safety.

“We are participating in the biggest revitalization of Ontario’s workplace health and safety in more than three decades since the [Occupational Health and Safety Act] came into effect in 1979,” Gritziotis said.

Revisions to the act and new requirements being considered include:

• Enabling the Office of the Worker Advisor and the Office of the Employer Advisor to provide support for workers and small businesses involved in reprisal complaints in an attempt to expedite claims.
• A new poster explaining workplace parties’ basic rights and responsibilities in various languages
• OH&S guides for both workers and employers
• Appointment of two new minister’s advisory committees in 2012, one for small businesses and one for vulnerable worker.

The changes Gritziotis and his team are developing will be laid out in a formal plan in the coming months. The Expert Advisory Panel on Occupational Health and Safety, chaired by Tony Dean, “will play a significant role in the foundation of that strategy,” Gritziotis said.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration proposed $318,000 in fines against Jenny-O Turkey Store, concluding the company was not doing enough to protect the safety and health of its employees after one worker severed his arm at the company’s Barron, Wis., turkey processing facility.

The fines against Jenny-O, a Hormel subsidiary, come as a result of an investigation into a July 20 accident that sent a veteran employee to the hospital to have an arm reattached. Shawn Redman, 35, lost the arm below the elbow when it got trapped in a moving production line as he performed cleaning duties in a confined space.

“Failing to ensure protection through appropriate training and adherence to OSHA regulations led to a worker losing an arm,” said Mark Hysell, director of OSHA’s Eau Claire Area Office.

The OSHA citation includes four willful violations involving confined space regulations. It also cites seven serious violations for failing to provide safety provisions such as rescue and emergency services.

Redman had to walk down 25 stairs and 200 feet across the production floor to get a coworker’s attention after the injury.

A confined space by definition has limited or restricted means for entry or exit, and it is not designed for continuous employee occupancy. The room where the incident occurred, according to OSHA, posed both electro-mechanical and atmospheric hazards, neither of which were properly abated before allowing a worker to enter the space.

OSHA requires employers address confined space hazards with a written permit space program that reduces risks and ensures the availability of rescue and emergency services if needed.

We hear a ton of safety myths everyday that have no basis on research or facts. These consist of things that sound great that people say to get our attention. In many instance the people spewing these fantasies may even believe them themselves. However, as safety professionals we can’t live in a fantasy world, we must use cold hard data to back our claims.

To help you from falling victim to fake claim here are 10 quick Tweetable workplace safety facts. To share these facts simply click on the link you wish to share and it will post on your Twitter account.

10. Average OSHA fine is $1,000

In 2010 the average OSHA fine was $1,028 and the average company received more than two fines per inspection.

9. Overexertion accounts for 25 percent of all workplace injuries

According to Liberty Mutual Safety Index overexertion, or injuries caused by lifting, pushing, pulling, holding and carrying, costs businesses $12.75 billion in direct annual expenses and accounts for more than 25% of the national burden. Furthermore “Fall on same level” ranks as the No. 2 cause of disabling injury that drives direct costs of $7.94 billion, or 15.8% of the total injury burden.

8. Scaffolding, Fall Protection violations number 1 OSHA citations

According to OSHA the most violated standard the past year was a dead heat between fall protection and scaffolding requirements.

7. Nearly 75 percent of illicit Drug users employed

According to OSHA of the 7.2 million illicit drug users aged 18 or older in 2005, 12.9 million (74.8 percent) were employed either full or part time. Furthermore, research indicates that between 10 and 20 percent of the nation’s workers who die on the job test positive for alcohol or other drugs.

6. Hazardous Substances cause 10 percent of skin cancers
According to the International Labour Organization Hazardous substances kill about 438,000 workers annually, and 10% of all skin cancers are estimated to be attributable to workplace exposure to hazardous substances.

 5. Workplace safety programs decrease injuries by 50 percent

According the American Society of Safety Engineers a comprehensive workplace safety program can decrease the likely hood of a workplace injury by up to 50 percent.

 4. 6,000 people die a day of workplace injury

According to the International Labour Organization each day, an average of 6,000 people die as a result of work-related accidents or diseases, totaling more than 2.2 million work-related deaths a year. Of these, about 350,000 deaths are from workplace accidents and more than 1.7 million are from work related diseases. In addition, commuting accidents increase the burden with another 158,000 fatal accidents.

 3. code> Workplaces see $3 to $1 return on workplace safety

Ninety-five percent of business executives report that workplace safety has a positive impact on a company’s financial performance, according to the findings of The Executive Survey of Workplace Safety by the Liberty Mutual Group, the nation’s leading provider of workers compensation insurance. Of these executives, 61 percent believe their companies receive a return on investment of $3 or more for each $1 they invest in improving workplace safety.

The survey also reveals executives realize the benefits of workplace safety go beyond the company’s bottom line, with 70 percent reporting that protecting employees is a leading benefit of workplace safety.

 2. Workplace injury and illness more costly than all cancers combined

In a study funded by the National Institute of Safety and Health, public health sciences professor J. Paul Leigh of the University of California, Davis, pegs the cost of work-related injury and illness in 2007 at about $250 billion. That puts the price to of workplace health and safety problems above the economic burden posed by all cancers combined.

1. Workplace fatalities down 62% and injuries down 42 %

Since OSHA was created in 1971, the workplace fatality rate among employees has decreased by 62%⁽¹⁾ and occupational injury and illness rates have declined by 42%⁽²⁾. At the same time, US employment in the private sector and the number of workplaces has doubled, increasing from 56 million workers at 3.5 million establishments to 114 million workers at 7 million establishments.⁽³⁾

In a study funded by the National Institute of Safety and Health, public health sciences professor J. Paul Leigh of the University of California, Davis, pegs the cost of work-related injury and illness in 2007 at about $250 billion. That puts the price to of workplace health and safety problems above the economic burden posed by all cancers combined.

Workplace injuries alone accounted for an economic burden of around $192 billion in 2007 according to the study. Earlier estimates using the same methods put the cost of cancer that same year at around $219 billion.

The study, released in the December 2011 issue of the Milbank Quarterly, drew estimates based on data from dozens of sources including government agencies and insurance companies to find “the contributions of job-related injuries and illnesses to the overall cost of medical care and ill health are greater than generally assumed.”

Of the approximately 8.5 million occupational injuries, 5,657 resulted in death. Among the 516,149 reported incidents of workplace illness, 53,445 resulted in death.

In an interview with EHS Today, Leigh says his study suggests that workplace illness and injury prevention, despite improvement over the four decades since the Occupational Safety and Health Act and the Mine Safety and Health Act were signed.

“The costs are enormous and continue to grow. And the potential for health risks are high, given that most people between the ages 22 to 65 spend 40 percent of their waking hours at work,” the professor is quoted.

The study comes on the heels of a released OSHA whitepaper supporting a requirement that all employers maintain an Injury Illness Prevention Program (I2P2) to decrease the same types of occupational injuries and illnesses cited in Leigh’s study.

This study points to an even steeper price for not investing in safety and health than most would assume — for businesses, workers and the broader economy. Safety Services Company can help owners and safety professionals close the gaps in their injury and illness prevention program or build one from scratch.

Call 877-201-8923 for more info.