EHS Safety News
Safety 2009: Activating Higher-Level Safety Culture and Performance
During an ASSE Safety 2009 session, Robert Pater, founder of SSA/MoveSmart, outlined four levels of company safety culture and offered tips to jumpstart effective, positive culture change...
Safety 2009: How Stages of Change Influence Safety Behaviors
Dianne Stober, Ph.D., explains how safety professionals can use this cognitive-behavioral safety approach to encourage positive change in employees and create a safer workplace...
Safety 2009: The Corporate Responsibility Revolution
During his keynote speech at ASSE Safety 2009, Tim Sanders, former Yahoo chief solutions officer, stressed that corporate social responsibility – which he defined in part as “do no harm, but do some good” – is a strategic component that influences a company’s success...
ASSE, ILO Sign Agreement at Safety 2009
The American Society of Safety Engineers signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the International Labour Organization (ILO), committing the organizations to work together to prevent workplace injuries and illnesses...
Safety 2009: Barab Urges Safety and Health Professionals to Speak Up, Get Involved
At ASSE 2009, Acting Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA Jordan Barab outlined some of the key challenges OSHA is addressing and prompted occupational safety and health professionals to take a more aggressive role and let their voices be heard in safety and health issues....
Solis Announces Texas Construction Safety Initiative at ASSE Safety 2009
U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis addressed thousands of attendees at the opening session of the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) Safety 2009 in San Antonio, where she introduced a new construction safety initiative in Texas and stressed the importance of workplace health and safety...
OSHA Inspection Program Focuses on Federal Worker Safety
OSHA announced June 25 that it is continuing its nationwide program to emphasize workplace safety and health for federal workers and for those contractors whose work is supervised on a daily basis by federal agency personnel...
ASSE: Allow Stakeholders to Weigh in on VPP
American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) President Warren K. Brown stressed that ASSE members and other key stakeholders must be given the chance to help identify improvements in the program...
OSHA Offers Safety Tips for Hot Weather Work
The hot, hazy days of summer can spell trouble for those who work outdoors in direct sunlight or in hot environments, making them susceptible to heat-induced illnesses such as heat stress, heat exhaustion or the more serious heat stroke...
VPPPA Supports GAO Recommendations for VPP
In response to the recent congressional request to review OSHA’s Voluntary Protection Programs, the Voluntary Protection Programs Participants’ Association Inc.announced June 19 that it supports the assessment that “improved oversight and control would better ensure program quality.”...
Safety Helps U.S. Manufacturers Gain Global Market Share
American manufacturers are increasing their market share in the international marketplace in part by maintaining effective work safety and health programs, according to American Society of Safety Engineers’ (ASSE) Manufacturing Practice Specialty Administrator Michael Coleman....
Cal/OSHA Compliance Officers Say OSHAB’s “Unfair Policies” Impact Their Ability to Protect CA Workers
In a June 13 letter to the three Occupational Safety and Health Appeals Board (OSHAB) members in Sacramento, Calif., 47 Cal/OSHA compliance personnel raised concerns over OSHAB policies they claim “sabotage” their ability to protect the safety of California workers...
Off-the-Job Safety: How to Make Summer Safe
Summer brings not only sun and fun, but also some health risks. An expert from Baylor Medical Center offers the following tips to enjoy these long summer days safely...
NSC Launches “Death by Cell Phone” Billboards
The National Safety Council (NSC) launched its new “Death by Cell Phone” billboard advertisement in 67 markets nationwide to alert more than 1 million people daily about the dangers of talking on cell phones while driving...
NYCOSH Report Highlights New York Workplace Fatalities
While New York state and New York City experienced a decrease in the rate of workplace fatalities in 2007, the rate is still “unacceptably high,” the New York Committee for Occupational Health and Safety (NYCOSH) said in its new report, “Dying for Work in New York.”...
Obama Nominates Hersman to Chair NTSB
Deborah A. P. Hersman has chaired a number of public events hosted by the NTSB, including a 2-day forum on motorcycle safety, a public hearing on motor coach safety and public hearings on two significant aviation accidents...
OSHA Cites Wal-Mart Stores Following Crushing Death of Worker
OSHA has cited Wal-Mart Stores Inc. for inadequate crowd management following the Nov. 28, 2008, death of an employee at its Valley Stream, N.Y., store. ...
NTPP Issues Plan to Reform Transportation Policy
The Bipartisan Policy Center’s National Transportation Policy Project (NTPP) released a plan for transforming federal surface transportation policy to create a new system that is efficient, effective and accountable for performance...
Two Workers Dead, Dozens Injured After Blast at N.C. ConAgra Foods Facility
An explosion rocked a ConAgra Foods facility in Garner, N.C. around 11:30 a.m. on June 9, killing two workers and sending more than 40 workers to local hospitals, four of them with critical burns. Four fighters were sent to the hospital after they inhaled ammonia, which is used at the facility as a refrigerant. ...
MSHA Launches Roof Safety Initiative
MSHA launched its annual Preventive Roof/Rib Outreach Program (PROP) with the slogan “Just because it’s supported doesn’t mean it’s safe” to highlight the potential hazards of roof falls and rib rolls....
Historical Perspectives Tour Gives Students Insight to Workplace Dangers
Students and faculty from six colleges and universities will travel through 150 years of history and cover more than 1,100 miles to explore the hazards faced by workers in industries that fueled America’s industrial dominance during the 20th century in the 4th annual Historical Perspectives Tour....
Half-Empty or Half-Full
No one likes to hear that there is a hiring freeze when they already are short staffed. Or that there's a salary freeze with no end in sight. Or that...
Managing Perceptions to Create FOCUS
Three years ago, I was asked to help an organization improve their safety performance. The organization was a maintenance group that performed heavy and...
Creating a Culture of Construction Workplace Safety Around the Globe
Inadequate fall protection continues to rank at the top of the list of OSHA citations in the United States. Of the 1,200 construction fatalities in 2008,...
Steps in Safety Strategy: The Gap Analysis & Implementation Plan
In previous columns, we have looked at the first four of ten actions that help leaders establish safety as a strategic objective. These steps have focused...
