Ergonomics for Construction Workers

simple_solutions_ergonomics_construction_workersThis booklet, published by NIOSH, is intended for construction workers, unions, supervisors, contractors, safety specialists, human resources managers-anyone with an interest in safe construction sites. Some of the most common injuries in construction are the result of job demands that push the human body beyond its natural limits.Workers who must often lift, stoop, kneel, twist, grip, stretch, reach overhead, or work in other awkward positions to do a job are at risk of developing a work-related musculoskeletal disorder (WMSD). These can include back problems, carpal tunnel syndrome, tendinitis, rotator cuff tears, sprains, and strains.iron worker

To aid in the prevention of these injuries, this booklet suggests many simple and inexpensive ways to make construction tasks easier, more comfortable, and better suited to the needs of the human body.

Example of a “simple solution.” This ironworker uses a tool that automatically ties rebar with the pull of a trigger. The extended handle lets him work while standing upright. No leaning, kneeling, stooping, or hand twisting are necessary.

Did you know … ?

  • Construction is one of the most hazardous industries in the United States.
  • The number of back injuries in U.S. construction was 50% higher than the average for all other U.S. industries in 1999 (CPWR, 2002).
  • Backaches and pain in the shoulders, neck, arms, and hands were the most common symptoms reported by construction workers in one study (Cook et al, 1996).
  • Material handling incidents account for 32% of workers’ compensation claims in construction, and 25% of the cost of all claims. The average cost per claim is $9,240 (CNA, 2000).
  • Musculoskeletal injuries can cause temporary or even permanent disability, which can affect the worker’s earnings and the contractor’s profits.

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OSHA Levies $87 Million Dollar Fine Against BP

BP logo-300The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has proposed $87,430,000 in propose penalties against BP Products North America, Inc. for 709 alleged failures to comply with the 2005 settlement agreement and citations, and violations of safety and health standards identified during the agency’s inspection of the corporation’s refinery in Texas City, TX (BPTCR). The inspection of the refinery was conducted from May through October 2009.

Summary of Alleged Violations and Penalties

439 willful, per-instance citations with total penalties of $30,730,000 will also be issued for new violations of the PSM standard. A willful violation exists under the Act where an employer has demonstrated either an intentional disregard for the requirements of the Act or plain indifference to employee safety and health.

A Notification of Failure to Abate for violation of two provisions of the 2005 settlement agreement with a penalty of $56,700,000 will also be issued as a result of 270 separate violations. In order to achieve the necessary deterrent effect, the Area Director exercised his discretion in issuing the highest gravity-based penalty due to the employer’s extensive knowledge of the hazards, and OSHA regulations, and past events at the site. The total penalty to be issued to this employer is $87,430,000.

Individual Relief Device deficiencies

  • 411 instances (New violations)
  • Standard Violated: §1910.119(d)(3)(i) and §1910.119(d)(3)(ii) grouped with §1910.119(j)(5)
  • Classified as Willful Egregious
  • Proposed penalties: $28,770,000

Failure to provide operating limits in procedures

  • 28 instances (New violations)
  • Standard Violated: §1910.119(f)(1)(ii)
  • Classified as Willful Egregious
  • Proposed penalties: $1,960,000

Failure to perform relief device studies

  • 28 instances
  • Did not comply with Settlement Agreement
  • Classified as Failure to Abate (FTA)
  • Proposed penalties: $5,880,000

Failure to implement International Society of Automation (ISA) S84.00.01 standard for safety instrumented systems

  • 242 instances
  • Did not comply with Settlement Agreement
  • Classified as FTA
  • Proposed penalties: $50,820,000

Source:  OSHA Fact Sheet on BP 2009 Monitoring

osha-logo

Webinar: Arc Flash Safety

arc_flash

SIEMENS put together an excellent webinar regarding compliance with OSHA regulations and the NFPA with regard to Arc Flash safety.

The objectives of the webinar include:

  • Addressing the topic of arc flashes
  • Providing direction to individuals responsible for maintaining a safe work environment and complying with regulations and standards
  • Understanding the basics of arc flashes
  • Understanding methods for mitigating arc flash hazards in the workplace

You can view this webinar On-Demand (i.e. there is not a set time to view the webinar).

Check out the Webinar HERE (windows media is required for this link)

Approved NIOSH N-95 Respirators

n95_respiratorThe N95 respirator is the most common of the seven types of particulate filtering facepiece respirators. This product filters at least 95% of airborne particles but is not resistant to oil.

View the complete list of approved N-95 respirators HERE

A list all of the seven types of particulate filtering facepiece respirators is shown below:

Class Description
N95 Filters at least 95% of airborne particles. Not resistant to oil.
N99 Filters at least 99% of airborne particles. Not resistant to oil.
N100 Filters at least 99.97% of airborne particles. Not resistant to
oil.
R95 Filters at least 95% of airborne particles. Somewhat resistant
to oil.
P95 Filters at least 95% of airborne particles. Strongly resistant
to oil.
P99 Filters at least 99% of airborne particles. Strongly resistant
to oil.
P100 Filters at least 99.97% of airborne particles. Strongly resistant
to oil.

IHSTAT – Statistical Analysis of Health & Safety Data

ihstat

IHSTAT is a excel worksheet that enables statistical analyses of occupational hygiene measurement data and compliance testing (with occupational exposure limits).  IHSTAT was developed by AIHA (American Industrial Hygiene Association).

  1. Determines whether samples are normally distributed or log normally distributed.
    Where:    
    • Normal distribution – data that clusters around a mean/average
    • Log Normal distribution – the logarithm of data is normally distributed
  2. Determines percentage of samples that exceed the occupational exposure limit.

You can download IHSTAT (the macro free version) below.

IHSTATmacrofreeDownload

Free E-Course: The Business Case for Health & Safety

ccohs

The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS) has launched a free e-course (approximately 30 minutes in length) entitled the Business Case for Health & Safety.  The course (i.e. information session) can be viewed at anytime.

(HERE is a direct link to the course in English)

The goal of the Business Case for Health and Safety is to help organizations learn the benefits that can be gained from having a health and safety program in the workplace.

Business Case for Health and Safety will introduce participants to many positive reasons for adopting a proactive approach to health and safety. This course is offered free of charge by CCOHS to promote awareness of this important issue, and is recommended for managers, supervisors, business owners and anyone who wants to learn about the value of organizational health and safety.

This course will provide an overview of what health and safety is and will outline the benefits for employers and organizations.

CCOHS courses are developed by experts in the field and reviewed by labor, employer and government representatives.

Current State of US Worker Health & Safety

work_fatalities_2007The entire NIOSH document can be found HERE

In 2008 more than 145 million people in the U.S. were employed in the civilian workforce. Every day, approximately 9,000 workers are injured on the job and 15 workers die from a fatal workplace injury. Work-related illness claims the lives of about another 135 workers and retirees daily. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (bls), 5,657 workers died from work-related injuries and more than 4 million nonfatal injuries and illnesses were reported in 2007. The economic impact of work-related injury and illness has been estimated to be $171 billion annually, the same as cancer or cardiovascular disease and much greater than the burden from hiv/aids or Alzheimer’s disease. In 2006 employers spent an estimated $87.6 billion on wage payments and medical care for workers hurt on the job.

Addressing workplace safety and health poses numerous challenges. First, the composition of the U.S. workforce is becoming increasingly diverse; it is becoming older, more racially and ethnically diverse, and more women are entering the workforce. These changes reflect the changing social and demographic characteristics of the country but also produce new safety and health issues. It has become clear that certain populations experience an increased burden of disease, disability, and death. These populations also frequently have less access to quality healthcare.

Moreover, U.S. workplaces are rapidly evolving, changing the way work is organized. Jobs in our economy continue to shift from manufacturing to services, with service-providing industries now employing about 80 percent of all workers. Longer hours, compressed work weeks, shift work, reduced job security, and part-time and temporary work are realities of the modern workplace and are increasingly affecting the health and well-being of workers and their families. In addition, new chemicals, materials, processes, and equipment with new potential occupational risks are being developed and marketed at an ever-accelerating pace.

The acute and long-term effects of work-related injury, illness, and death translate into tremendous economic and emotional costs to society. Data show that when interventions, such as safe work practices and engineering controls, are based on sound scientific research the burden of injury and illness is significantly reduced. Through its Research-to-Practice (r2p) initiative, niosh works closely with its partners to move research findings and technologies out of the Institute and into the workplace, and to promote the diffusion of products and information in an effort to protect workers and reduce cost to employers, workers, their families, and society as a whole.

NHCA Petitions OSHA to Lower PEL for Noise

hearing_protectionView OHShub’s previous post about AIHA petioning OSHA:  HERE

Citing the fact that nearly 22 million American workers are exposed to hazardous noise on a daily basis and that occupational hearing loss continues to plague industry, the National Hearing Conservation Association (NHCA) has made a request to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to reduce the permissible exposure limit (PEL) for noise exposures.

“Noise-induced hearing loss is an insidious, permanent, and irreversible disease which has a tremendous negative impact on people’s lives. The good news is that this disease is 100% preventable,” said Rick Neitzel, PhD, CIH, NHCA President. “The bad news is that OSHA’s 30-year-old noise exposure regulation is not consistent with current scientific knowledge, is not uniformly applied across all industries, and has not proven effective in preventing noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL).”

NHCA has requested that OSHA lower the PEL in the Occupation Noise Standard 29 CFR 1910.95 from 90 dBA to 85 dBA, and the Action Level from 85 to 80 dBA. Citing recent research by NIOSH and other organizations, American workers face a considerable risk of NIHL associated with long-term work at the current PEL of 90 dBA and a 5 dB time/intensity exchange rate. NHCA has also requested that the time/intensity exchange rate be reduced from 5 to 3 dB.

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Occupational Injuries Lower in 2008

occupational_injuryNonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses among private industry employers in 2008 occurred at a rate of 3.9 cases per 100 equivalent full-time workers, down from 4.2 cases in 2007, according a report by the Department of Labor’s the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

In 2008, there were 3.7 million nonfatal occupational injuries and illnesses reported, down from 4 million in 2007.

Slightly more than one-half of the 3.7 million private industry injury and illnesses cases reported nationally in 2008 were of a more serious nature that involved days away from work, job transfer, or restriction–commonly referred to as DART cases. These occurred at a rate of 2.0 cases per 100 workers, declining from 2.1 cases in 2007.

Approximately 3.5 million (94.9 percent) of the 3.7 million nonfatal occupational injuries and illnesses in 2008 were injuries.

Private industry employers reported 187,400 illness cases in 2008, down from 206,300 in 2007.

Source: HR.BLR.com

Selling Safety in a Tough Economy

stock_market_crashSource: EHS Today & the National Safety Council

Barriers to Selling Safety

Phil La Duke (Director of Performance Improvement at O/E Learning) outlined the following common roadblocks to selling safety to company leadership:

  • No budget. According to La Duke, this is one of the biggest barriers to selling safety. Even more, the budget often is an excuse for company leadership who really don’t want to address safety; they use it to push safety professionals away.
  • Safety is perceived as discretionary spending. “Sometimes, [safety] is discretionary spending, something it’s not. We have to do know the difference,” La Duke said.
  • Safety is viewed as an overhead cost. Company operations or leadership sometimes assume people inevitably are going to get hurt, and they therefore accept those injuries as an overhead cost.
  • Safety is seen as important but not urgent. While La Duke said it is extremely rare to hear company leadership say that safety is not important, they might not view safety as urgent or as the most important concern.
  • The “We might get lucky” attitude. Company operations may hope things proceed normally without any accidents happening – a dangerous strategy that relies on luck.
  • The company’s recent safety performance has artificially improved. Sometimes, safety performance appears to improve for little or no reason. When that happens, company leadership might question why it’s important to focus on safety.

Keys to Selling Safety

La Duke explained how EHS professionals can overcome those barriers and present safety in a way that ensures it gets attention, no matter what the current economic climate. The bottom line is to meet company leadership’s needs and to show how safety fits it with the organization’s goals and success.

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OSHA to Toughen Federal Oversight of State Programs

osha-logoFederal OSHA will strengthen its oversight of states that run their own job safety programs to ensure they adequately protect workers, the agency’s leader told a congressional panel recently.

That announcement came during a hearing that focused on shortcomings at the Nevada Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which has come under sharp criticism after 25 construction deaths in Las Vegas.

Jordan Barab, federal OSHA’s acting chief, said his agency will review state programs and could end up running one that is lacking.

“We are not trying to change the nature of our relationship between federal and state OSHA, but we need to speak with one voice and assure American workers they will receive adequate protection regardless of the state in which they work,” Barab said.

A federal review of Nevada’s workplace safety program found, among other things, that inspectors failed to issue citations for willful and repeat violations.

Federal OSHA oversees workplace safety in about half the states. The remaining half run their own programs, with oversight from federal OSHA.

In Nevada, the state-run OSHA program weakened penalties against a casino company after two workers died and one was seriously injured, despite that company’s history of similar problems.

“Essentially, nothing happens for the death of a worker,” said U.S. Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee. “There’s something very wrong with that.”

From Source:  The Charlotte Observer

November 2009 CIH Exam Prep Questions

cih_exam_prep_questions

CIH Exam Prep Questions for November 2009 have been posted.  34 questions covering a range of Industrial Hygiene and Safety topics were put together by OHShub.com to test your knowledge.  Any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask!

You can view the quiz HERE

When you complete the quiz, please put the number of questions you got correct in the comments section of this post.  Thanks!