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The Occupational Safety and Health Administration, or OSHA, requires us to provide a safe workplace that is free of recognized hazards, including hazards that lead to slips, trips, and falls. Despite these factors, consider these disappointing statistics: According to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, over 230,000 workers in the United States sustained […]
The biggest roadblocks to organizational breakthroughs are a shortage of fresh thinking and too much red tape, according to executives interviewed for a recent Robert Half survey. More than one-third (35 percent) of the 1,400 chief financial officers surveyed said a lack of new ideas is the greatest barrier to their company being more innovative. […]
Hold formal safety meetings on a regular basis. Supplement those meetings with brief, informal sessions. Keep meetings to a reasonable length. Plan well in advance and have an agenda for each meeting. Make sure you have full management support for training efforts. Bring in managers from other parts of the facility and outside experts to […]
What Happened Gioioso Sons, Inc., constructs and installs water supply and sewer pipes. On July 10, 2009, while the company was performing trenching work to install water service lines at a Boston worksite, a compliance officer for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) arrived for an inspection. The compliance officer saw a Gioioso employee […]
“Several times a year we meet with the contractors to get feedback about our ironworkers in the field,” says Randy Palumbo, apprenticeship and training coordinator for Iron Workers Local 48 in Oklahoma City (www.ironworkers48.org). “They tell us what they would like taught more in our classes, or taught less, and we build our programs accordingly.” […]
What Happened “Brendan” worked for National Starch & Chemical Company, now known as ICI American Holding Company, for 30 years before he was injured on the job on October 20, 2007. Brendan, a mechanic, was injured when he and another employee tried to replace three broken drive belts on a “blending blower” in the company’s […]
Raise your hand if your business has not been disrupted by the weather in 2011. In the past two months, large parts of the Southeast and Midwest have been reeling from record numbers of devastating tornadoes; the West Coast had tsunami warnings following the earthquake in Japan; and the Mississippi River and its tributaries have […]
by Jim Goh Behind efforts to assist organized labor and improve the balance between work and family, increasing workplace safety is a top priority for President Barack Obama and the 111th Congress. Both the President and congressional leaders have vowed more funding for the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) […]
By Julie Athey After a brief respite offered by the warm summer months, the swine flu is back in action just in time for the beginning of the school year and all the germ-spreading opportunities that offers. The resurgence of the H1N1 virus coincides with the regular flu season, one result of which is that […]
One of the clearest indications of an administration’s priorities is the budget and the amount of funding provided to various programs. Budgets always have winners and losers and reflect the degree to which programs will be implemented. A review of President Barack Obama’s proposed budget and recent agency actions demonstrates that increased enforcement of labor […]