OSHA and the Airline Ground Safety Panel Renew Alliance

For those who think that worksite safety applies only to construction and other inherently dangerous industries need to think again. Safeguarding the health and physical welfare of workers in their workplaces cuts across all industries—whether they are hazardous by nature or not.

One outwardly safe work community, the ground support at airports, in fact, sought recently to strengthen its work safety partnership with the federal worksite-safety watchdog. The community, through the Airline Ground Safety Panel, renewed its alliance with OSHA to enable it to deal better with the dangers that can arise from the operation of aviation ground-support equipment such as aircraft tugs and tow tractors, and the injuries that might result from these hazards.

The Airline Ground Safety Panel, a labor-and-industry partnership, represents some 350,000 workers from 11 airline companies and three labor unions. The membership total makes up about 85 percent of the whole industry.

Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health David Michaels said the alliance with the Airline Ground Safety Panel will continue to concentrate on preventing mishaps such as slips, falls, and being struck by moving objects that can result in worker injuries. The alliance with OSHA will further the outreach training program for both employers and employees on preventing worksite injuries.

The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 mandates that employers are responsible for safeguarding the safety and health of their workers at the worksite. For its part, OSHA is tasked with ensuring that these conditions are met by developing and enforcing standards, and by providing education, training, and assistance to all stakeholders.

The alliance between OSHA and the panel is formally under OSHA’s Alliance Program, an initiative where OSHA partners with business and educational organizations, trade and professional groups, community- and faith-based entities to prevent workplace injuries, illnesses, and deaths. Each alliance, according to OSHA, develops tools to help the organization comply with OSHA safety protocols and resources to orient employers and employees on their responsibilities as well as their rights. OSHA emphasized that Alliance Program participants are neither exempted from OSHA inspections nor entitled to any enforcement considerations.

In particular, the alliance with the Airline Ground Safety Panel aims to produce fact sheets on ways to prevent mishaps associated with the operation of airport ground-safety equipment. In addition, the alliance will carry out studies on how to enhance ground-personnel safety, tackle hazard communications, and address issues related to the United Nations-sponsored Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals.

The renewal of the alliance, which will run for another two years, was welcomed by the three labor unions in the panel, the Transportation Trades Department (AFL-CIO), the Transport Workers Union of America (AFL-CIO), and the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers. Besides the labor unions, Airlines for America, a panel participant representing the airline industry, also praised the alliance, saying that the airlines are enthusiastic about being a part of the voluntary program with OSHA and the labor unions to boost safety awareness among airline employees.

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OSHA Issues New Fact Sheet for Hurricane Cleanup Crews

One of the consequences of a hurricane like Sandy, which brought widespread destruction (estimated at $65.6 billion, behind only Hurricane Katrina in economic impact) and misery in the northeastern United States in late October 2012, is an update of readiness and response protocols, including those that keep response personnel healthy and safe while performing their duties. The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the federal watchdog for workplace safety, has done just that with a new fact sheet that emphasizes the employer’s responsibility to provide its employees with proper personal protective equipment and the necessary training to use that equipment correctly and safely.

In Sandy’s wake, OSHA has carried out over 7,000 briefings with an estimated 45,000 workers and employers involved in recovery and clean-up work in areas affected by the hurricane. The briefings complement the OSHA training required to protect American workers’ safety and health, while on the job.

According to Robert Kulick, the OSHA regional administrator in New York, one of the two states that suffered a hammer blow from the storm, workers called in response to a storm and its aftermath are exposed to hazards to their health and safety and, therefore, should be adequately protected from them. The updated fact sheet, he explained, presents the different personal protective equipment (PPE) and the work situations where this equipment is not only appropriate, but also required. The fact sheet is available for download at www.osha.gov/Publications/OSHA-FS-3612.pdf.

Removing or mitigating hazards require employers to do the following: evaluate the site and operation to determine existing and potential dangers based on site conditions; implement the correct controls to shield their employees from those dangers; and educate their workers to identify work hazards and take appropriate precautions.

OSHA noted that engineering measures are the preferred controls against hazards, but pointed out that PPE, the control of last resort, may be the only practical control method in certain cases. For this reason,  the agency is advocating better OSHA safety training in and awareness of the use of PPE. OSHA said that because all PPE has limitations, workers must be trained to recognize them so they can use PPE correctly and effectively. Among the things that workers must know when using PPE are: how to put it on, how to remove it, how to store it, how to take care of it, and when to replace it.

A basic safety assemblage for cleanup duties typically includes safety goggles, hard hat, steel-toed work boots, reflective vest, and gloves. Additional equipment may be added, depending on the work situation. For instance: when the cleanup activity is in a wet environment, impervious gloves and boots are used; when the environment holds a threat of harmful gases, appropriate respiratory protection becomes necessary; when in a noisy environment, hearing protection is added; when working over six feet above ground, fall protection is needed.

In addition, OSHA emphasized the importance of proper hygiene and sanitation in lessening the impact of contaminants and the spread of disease. Critical to hygiene is hand washing or, in the absence of water, hand sanitizing.

Additional fact sheets, resources and guidance can be accessed at OSHA’s Hurricane Sandy website (www.osha.gov/sandy). OSHA also is directing interested parties to the National Institute for Environmental Safety and Health website (http://tools.niehs.nih.gov/wetp/index.cfm?id=2472) for complementary information on safety and health protection in extreme weather.

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Why Medical Coders and Transcriptionists Are Working from Home

The healthcare industry is again in front and center of the American public’s attention, thanks in no small measure to the presidential elections this year. Less in the news are the careers and healthcare training, other than those of doctors and nurses that are increasing in popularity according to statistics from the Department of Labor. These careers such as medical coding and medical transcription have been embraced by those who prefer to work from home or from another place other than home or the office.

Working from home or working from an alternative convenient location (often called telecommuting) is not new—it’s been around for years—but its popularity among employees and employers has surged in recent years because of the convenience, speed, and cost effectiveness that the Internet has introduced into the work paradigm. 

If you haven’t tried this work arrangement yet, here are a few reasons why many people are switching from office desk to living-room easy chair as their primary workstation.

You own your work hours. When you work from home or when you telecommute, you’re your own boss most of the time. That means in most cases you can choose when you start your workday, when you can have a break, and when you will press the shut-down key and say, “That’s all folks!” Working from home means you can craft your schedule (and deadlines) around your duties at home, making for less stress and more time for yourself and your loved ones.

You have more time for your family. Because you’re home when your loved ones are home (and not toiling at your office desk trying to beat a deadline) you get to take care of their needs more fully and effectively. Many a working parent would give an arm and a leg to have more time and a closer relationship with his or her family, but unfortunately can’t because they have to be in the office from 8 to 5—and even beyond.

Fewer expenses. It’s as simple as pie. Working in an office spells extra expenses: for the commute, for the food (overpriced and a health liability, if you’re not careful) you’ll eat for the day. If you work from home, you not only won’t have to spend for the gas or the bus, you’ll likely eat healthier food too!

No more commuting. Working from home or telecommuting means saying goodbye finally to time-wasting, stress-inducing commute in rush-hour traffic. It also means more productive (and healthier) hours at home for both work and your personal projects. Now isn’t that fun?

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OSHA Partners with Black & Veatch for Retrofit Work on Columbia Energy Center

One of the ways the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the U.S. Labor Department’s work site - safety watchdog, helps protect the safety of workers across America is by directly partnering with companies themselves. It’s an initiative that not only has increased the workers’ and their employers’ awareness of workplace hazards but also of their responsibilities to ensure a safe working environment at all times.

One such initiative is the OSHA Strategic Partnership Program (OSPP), in which OSHA establishes partnerships with American labor’s most important stakeholders (employees, employers, labor organizations, and professional and trade groups) to put up doable goals, and develop strategies and  performance measures to monitor and safeguard worker safety and health.

The OSPP has several models, all of which focus on enhancing safety and health at work. Among these models are those for big construction projects, major corporations or government agencies, and even entire industries. The OSPP is also available to private-sector industries. Since its introduction in 1998, the OSPP has forged some 690 partnerships in all, through the years involving 27,000 employers and 1.9 million workers. Today, the program has 78 active partnerships involving nearly 2,000 employers and 216,000 workers.

Recently, OSHA established a partnership with Black & Veatch Construction Inc., which is currently engaged in the Columbia Energy Center Air Quality Control Systems Project in Pardeeville, Wisconsin. The partnership, according to OSHA, aims to identify and control hazards to workers in order to lessen the likelihood of injuries and ill effects to health. OSHA also said that the partnership includes the Wisconsin On-Site Occupational Safety and Health Consultation Program, which is funded by the agency but run by the state.

In a media release, OSHA Madison area director Kim Stille explained that the partnership’s goals can be achieved through best-work practices, compliance with OSHA standards and regulations, and occupational safety training. Stille added that although the partnership is voluntary it nevertheless emphasizes employee participation to realize a safe and healthy place of work.

The Kansas-based Black & Veatch Construction has been contracted to engineer and construct the air-quality control-system retrofits of existing coal-fired units at the Columbia Energy Center.

Coal-burning units are a major source of air pollution in the United States, says ecohearth.com, contributing over 30 percent of the carbon dioxide (a major global-warming gas), 40 percent of mercury (a poisonous and cancer-causing substance), 25 percent of nitrogen (one of the major ingredients of smog), and over 65 percent of sulfur dioxide (one of the main ingredients of acid rain) dumped into the air annually. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reports that nitrogen oxides corrode the lungs and sulfur dioxide instigates asthma and can cause heart disease.

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Is OSHA Training Needed?

There are a lot of workers and employers out there who asks such question…. Is OSHA safety training needed? They somewhat think that the safety guidelines from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration are only for the new workers or those without problems just as yet. They think that they are unnecessary. Successful workers and companies, however, do know that this safety training programs are a part of a success for the day to day operations of their industry – a lot of them out there even provides it (for employers) or take it up on their own (workers), even though it is not required by their local government, as they know it is their key to success.

Neglecting health and safety in different workplace can earn the organizations a hefty fine from OSHA – it can cause then hundreds to even millions of dollars. Aside from that, they will also lose money from accidents/injuries through extra medical bills, loss of man power, delays in the project and more. No worker life is worth any money at all so why wouldn’t you comply with the health and safety regulations and risks accidents and mishaps at your workplace right? It’s better to keep a smooth and safety operation than to lose a huge amount of money. Therefore, you must follow all the rules and meet every requirement - even at times when you are not required for a health and safety training in your location. Make your workplace safe, make your workers safer and protect your organization.

Different industries have their own strict rules and guidelines for health and safety. For workers and employers, they should know those restrictions and they should know how they can comply. They can do this by contacting their local safety council or administration (OSHA for the USA) – most of them have their own websites so they can take advantage of the internet to know these details. You can also visit the online providers of these programs because they know how your company can comply with OSHA, which produces a safe working environment and more productivity.

Occupational safety training not being required in most places should not be a factor on why you would not get it for yourself or for your workers. Yes they may cause you some money and time to get workers or your own health and safety training but in the long run, it can save you more money and it can save you your biggest possession, your life. Workers and organizations needs to understand what OSHA compliance is and what it can do to the business. Do not do it because you want to meet or to avoid penalties, do so because safety training can help make the workplace a better place for success.

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OSHA Training and the Economy

As we continue with our growth industrially, jobs and careers in hazardous places such as construction site do not seem to decrease. But, with this current economy, growth is not as fast in some places – actually, there are but actually the opposite of growth for businesses in some places. This can cause people their jobs and their livelihood. Even though some people have experienced this before (post-recession), professionals and workers still need to find ways to survive the day to day battle with this economy.

In the construction field, one way to managing your career is by keeping your OSHA training certification up to date. Most organizations are with limited resources nowadays so they are out to find employees that can do the job and can do it without having to spend excessively – having a safety training certification can help notify employers that the workers have the ability to do their jobs on the day to day basis without having to risk accidents and mishaps in the workplace that can cause extra expenditures (medical), delays at work, loss of man power, etc,. Workers without the right certification may easily be neglected over those workers who have the right training. The competition in this industry is no longer just about experience but also having the right credentials.

Workers with the right certification and training background doesn’t just stand better position in getting hired, but they also have a better chance to be kept by companies that maybe cutting down on costs and laying off some workers. This is the reality and people needs to understand the importance of careers nowadays and how they should manage it well given the situation with the economy.

Time can tell on when the economy is going to go back the way it was before or be better than how it is now and with it, different industries will also find ways to get back on track. You don’t have to wait for that time, you have to manage your career well now and you have to start today. Always update your OSHA training certification and prove that you are an asset to a company or organization and you’ll be sure to have a good career. These are one of the best things to do in managing your career given the current situation of the economy.

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OSHA’s Advice to Workers during Sandy Clean-Up Efforts

In the wake of the widespread destruction wrought by Superstorm Sandy, the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is advising cleanup and recovery teams deployed to the affected states, especially New England, New Jersey, and hard-hit New York, to be extra-vigilant of the hazards they will encounter performing their jobs.

Robert Kulick, OSHA New York regional administrator, explained in a recent media release that the U.S. worksite-safety watchdog is making sure that everyone is well aware of the dangers that usually attend post-hurricane cleanup and recovery efforts and advised that all workers take the necessary steps to protect themselves.

As all those who have taken OSHAcampus.com Outreach training know, worksite hazards can be found on the ground as well as underground and aboveground, with the likelihood of them being encountered increasing significantly during and after extreme weather. Cleanup work, such as the one now underway in New York and in other states, nearly always involves restoring power, telecommunications, water, and sewer services. According to OSHA, other common activities after a storm include emergency response, demolition, floodwater draining, cleaning up debris, tree cutting and trimming, and repair of roadways, bridges, dams and levees, and other structures.

These activities carry necessary risks and are usually associated with dangers from downed power lines, exposed live electrical wires, hazardous gas (usually carbon monoxide) and chemical leaks, tree trimming, working at height, unprotected excavations, confined spaces, moving water, and flooded structures.

To prevent injuries, OSHA training and OSHA advisories constantly urge that protective measures be taken at all times by both managers and workers. These measures include scoping the work area for all hazards; using the correct personal protective equipment (hard hats, safety glasses, proper shoes, reflective vests); assuming all electrical lines are live; conducting exposure monitoring for chemical leaks and spills; employing only proper tree-cutting procedures; using fall-protection protocols; and exercising proper ladder safety when working off the ground.

OSHA reassures the cleanup and recovery teams that its field staff members are always ready to extend them safety assistance, information and training, and technical support now and even after the last piece of Sandy debris is hauled away. OSHA says that employers, workers, and the public can contact the agency at its toll-free hotline at 800-321-OSHA (6742) for additional information on unsafe work situations.

Also, information on protecting workers through the Hurricane Sandy recovery is available at OSHA’s website at www.osha.gov/sandy/index.html. According to the agency, the website carries information resources such as frequently asked questions, safety and health guides, fact sheets, "quick cards," and additional information in English and Spanish. The website complements the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s own storm-info website at www.ready.gov/hurricanes, where a checklist of to-dos before, during, and after a hurricane can be accessed.

The Labor Department, for its part, has announced that information on cleanup efforts, recovery resources, and grants can be had at its regularly updated Hurricane Recovery Assistance Web page (www.dol.gov/opa/hurricane-recovery.htm).

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Safety Training – Employer and Worker Benefits

Before admiring great buildings and infrastructures, do know that they were once construction sites that are filled with a lot of dangers and hazards and that at one point or another, some workers may have been injured and even killed. Other occupations are not far different from construction sites – they are filled with things that can hurt workers or even worse, cause fatality. Hundreds of workers are killed annually in occupational accidents and mishaps along with thousands of workers injured and suffer illnesses because of their poor working environment.

Employers and workers, however, can always prevent from being included in those numbers and reports. One thing that they can include in their safety plan is safety trainings. They can easily get those trainings for both the supervisors and the workers. A lot are available at affordable prices nowadays both online and offline. Those safety training programs can help create safety awareness in an organization which can also lead to smoother day to day operations. Without accidents and injuries in the workplace, you can make sure that there wouldn’t be added delays and expenses which may include or come from lack of man power, extra medical bills, extra penalty bills (for safety citations), possible lawsuits, and more. All of those can be avoided with health and safety training programs.

Being able to identify hazards at different kinds of workplaces can help increase safety. Workers, supervisors and managers can learn this by taking up safety courses – this way they can control the risks involved with their working environments.

Safety training programs can help them:
•    Get new employees acquainted with the environment/process
•    Get employees acquainted with a safety day to day process or the right SOP
•    Introduce equipments
•    Recognize hazards
•    Communicate properly
•    Know how to properly act during emergencies
•    Be acquainted with personal protective equipments
•    Reduce accidents and injuries
•    Improve staff sense of safety and morale
•    Reduce loss of manpower
•    Save money
•    Etc.

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Careers in workplace safety

One of the major concerns to a lot of workplaces nowadays is health and safety. It is definitely an advantage for both the employee and the employer if the working environment is maintained as a safe area as this helps in ensuring the smoothness of the day to day operations. Without the possible accidents and injuries that certain hazards and safety negligence can bring, they can also avoid extra expenditures that can come from medical bills, employee claims, loss of man power and delays in the operation. 

Because of the importance of health and safety, safety organizations such as OSHA or Occupational Safety and Health Administration have been created.  Aside from the guidelines that they provide, they have also opened up a great career opportunity for those who want to be in the EHS industry or environmental health and safety industry. Workers in the EHS industry have a very big industry in ensuring the occupational health and safety. 

Since OSHA and safety careers has been introduced to a lot of workplaces, the rate of fatalities and accidents have increased significantly. OSHA's local units have workers of more than 70 professional Compliance Assistance Specialists who provides workplace safety awareness and training to workers and employers. 

Available careers in health and safety:

Safety Training Specialist (STS)

Safety Planning Specialist (SPS)

Certified Environmental Health and Safety Management Specialist (EHS)

Certified Safety Auditor (SAC)

Certified Safety Manager (CSM)

Certified Safety Administrator (CSA)

Master Safety Administrator (MSA)

Certified Safety Administrator (CSA)

Certified Safety Auditor (SAC)

HAZWOPER Training Specialist (HTS)

Workplace Violence Prevention Specialist (WVS)

Emergency Management Specialist (SEM)

Certified DOT HAZMAT Technician (CDT)

Certified Ergonomics Technician (CET)

Certified Safety Auditor (SAC)

Safety Inspections Technician (SIT)

Hazard Analysis Technician (HAT)

Accident Investigation Specialist (AIT)

OSHA Recordkeeping Technician (ORT)

Bloodborne Pathogens Safety Technician (BPT)

Personal Protective Equipment Technician (CPT)

Machine Safeguarding Technician (MGT)

As our world grows and develops more, the need for more workers pushing for the health and safety for a lot of industry is very much in need. DominicCooper, a safety professor says "Most see the profession transitioning from its current 'technical' role to a high-powered managerial role, with others saying both managerial and technical aspects are important," he says., 

One way to start a career in the health and safety industry is by getting a certification from the National Association of Safety Professionals (NASP) board – they have created these certifications as a way to show the knowledge, skill and abilities of the safety professional.

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Alternative Dispute Resolution Pilot Programs with OSHA

America’s worksite-safety watchdog, the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), announced this October that it is soon launching an alternative dispute resolution (ADR) pilot program. The program will address complaints filed with the agency’s Whistleblower Protection Program. According to OSHA, ADR is designed to help employees and employers resolve their disputes voluntarily and in a mutually beneficial manner.

The ADR program is initially slated for two OSHA regions and will provide two voluntary methods of ADR: mediation and early resolution. OSHA explained that whenever it receives a whistleblower complaint in one of the pilot regions, it will officially advise the parties concerned of their ADR options. If needed, they will send an OSHA regional ADR coordinator to employ these methods.

Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health, Dr. David Michaels, said all this is in alignment with OSHA’s commitment to enforce the whistleblower laws enacted by Congress and protect the interests of the American worker. He emphasized that ADR facilitates resolution and offers immediate relief to the disputing parties.

The pilot communities for the program are Chicago and San Francisco, with the first (through the Chicago Regional Office) responsible for whistleblower cases in Wisconsin, Ohio, Minnesota, Michigan, Indiana, and Illinois; and the second (through the San Francisco Regional Office) in charge of whistleblower investigations filed in Nevada, California, Arizona, and the various Pacific islands, including Hawaii, Guam, Western Samoa, and the commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 stipulates that employers are responsible for providing safe worksites for their workers. OSHA's task is to ensure that safe conditions are always met by employers by setting protocols and enforcing standards, and by making available to both employees and employers training and assistance.

An important part of that responsibility is enforcing the whistleblower provisions of all 22 laws covering millions of workers in both the public and private sectors, in such diverse industries as transportation, air travel, pipeline, rail, health care, finance, and food. About 2,500 whistleblower complaints are filed every year with OSHA offices nationwide.

OSHA stated that details of the ADR program can be accessed at http://s.dol.gov/WV while information on the OSHA whistleblower program can be viewed at http://www.whistleblowers.gov and training courses can be accessed at http://www.oshacampus.com.

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OSHA and the Workplace

The US Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has more than 2500 safety inspectors that from time to time conducts business or workplace check without any notification. They aim to reduce hazards that may cause injuries, diseases and even fatality as certain workplaces, such as construction, welding, mining, etc., involves a huge number of health and safety issues. Through the years, statistics do show that there are a lot of employees that suffer from fatal injuries in different workplaces and year by year, OSHA has helped decrease those numbers. Non compliance with OSHA, of course, will result to penalties and/or even the shutdown of the company. OSHA mandates safety guidelines and regulations that are made for specific fields for different industry.

Aside from the regulations and the inspections that OSHA makes, they also offer training programs that is very essential and helpful for both the worker and the employer. The safety training they provide for specific fields is designed to enforce health and safety. If the worker is properly trained for the hazards that may exist in the workplace, they are able to avoid it and deal with it properly. Avoiding injuries and accidents in any kind of workplace can help avoid extra expenses for the employer and can even help ensure optimum operation on the daily basis. With those training, they wouldn’t have to deal with medical bills, operation delays bill, extra fixtures in case of certain accidents, loss of manpower, etc..

Companies who are cutting down on expenses but is neglecting specific safety regulations may even end up with more expenses but the secret of most successful companies out there is OSHA compliance. There has been a lot of news lately on companies being penalized by OSHA for hundreds of thousands of dollar for not being compliant with them. I say that this is just right as there is no amount that can ever replace a worker’s worth. 

Check out OSHAcampus.com to get more workplace safety education and awareness. 

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