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Fixed Ladder with fall protection

Standards for Fixed Ladders Change This November

November 19, 2018, is a key date for facility managers with existing outdoor fixed ladders that extend more than 24 feet (ft) above a lower level. Ladders that were in place prior to that date must be equipped with at least one type of fall protection device that will prevent workers from falling. Ladders erected […]

Flushing a potentially exploding toilet

Flushmate Issues Massive Recall Over Exploding Toilets

Flushmate, a developer and manufacturer of “Pressure-Assisted” flushing devices for toilets has issued a massive, voluntary recall for approximately 1.4 million of its Flushmate II 501-B systems. According to the recall notice, the affected 501-B units are at risk of bursting near the weld seam, which would release the internal pressure of the device. In […]

Safety Inspect at Facility, facility managers

Former OSHA Head Proposes Researching Connection between Safety and Operations

At the 2018 National Safety Council (NSC) Congress & Expo, Dr. David Michaels, the former head of OSHA and a professor of environmental and occupational health at the George Washington University School of Public Health, copresented a session with Colin Duncan, CEO of Soteris Group, in which the pair discussed the ongoing need for empirical […]

Worker lying after falling from a ladder

OSHA Announces Top 10 Safety Violations

In a presentation at the 2018 National Safety Council Congress & Expo in Houston, Texas, Patrick Kapust, deputy director of OSHA’s Directorate of Enforcement Programs, announced the list of the agency’s top 10 violations for fiscal year (FY) 2018 to a standing-room-only crowd of safety professionals. While the list—particularly its top half—is largely familiar from […]

Prescribed to Death Exhibition

NSC Congress and Expo Hosts Opioid Epidemic Memorial

At the opening of the 2018 National Safety Council (NSC) Congress and Expo in Houston, Texas, the NSC unveiled a memorial to the opioid epidemic that both commemorates victims and emphasizes the role employers can play in combating the crisis.

Industrial chemicals in flasks

Do Not Put Off Assessing Your PFAS Risk

Are you procrastinating on assessing the risk of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) at your facility? Don’t hold off until a regulator (or worse, legal action) forces your hand! A “wait and see” approach could result in potential damages to your brand and investor relations.

Man arrested after assaulting nurse

OSHA Enforces General Duty Violations in Healthcare Facilities

An OSHA standard directed at mitigating workplace violence in healthcare facilities is not looming on the horizon, but not because OSHA is unaware of the main provisions such a standard would include. As it currently stands, it is not uncommon for OSHA to issue citations against healthcare employers whose employees are attacked, harmed, threatened, or […]

Worker in Flooded Street

CDC Recommendations for Dealing with Flood Water

Despite the National Hurricane Center’s earlier predictions about the strength of the storm, Hurricane Michael remains on track to strike the Florida panhandle, though now it is doing so as a Category 4 storm.  This means Michael, the first hurricane of this size to make landfall in the panhandle, will hit with 145 mph sustained […]

Does Your Facility Comply with LOTO and Machine Guarding Practices?

Does the safety program at your facility effectively protect workers when they are working with moving machine parts and hazardous energy? The machine guarding and lockout/tagout (LOTO) standards are consistently in the top 10 most cited OSHA standards—read on for a Q&A on the basics, as well as an opportunity to join our live webinar […]