Note to our valued subscribers: OSHA Today will be taking its annual holiday break starting Thursday, December 22. We will resume daily netletter publication Wednesday, January 4, 2022. We wish all of our subscribers Season’s Greetings and a Happy New Year.
Finding pertinent training courses is based on research
- OSHA offers numerous training courses online that cover a wide range of topics.
- It’s important to make sure the course covers the topics that are the most interesting and integral to operations.
- For example, if a firm in the construction industry might like to learn about fall hazards, it should look for an online OSHA training course that focuses specifically on fall hazards.
- The best way to find an online OSHA course that is tailored to specific interests is to do research online and narrow down the search to certain websites, like the websites of OSHA or other industry-specific organizations.
The gift of safety
- Providing adequate supervisory and employee safety training is one of the most effective ways to ensure workplace safety and minimize hazards.
- This process helps ensure employers are complying with their general duty obligations under OSHA and provides employees with the tools necessary to take ownership of safety and health.
- The work environment may change because of employee retention, new legal obligations, or operational changes.
- Employers would be prudent to consider these issues now so they can effectively plan for them in the new year.
Waste and recycling industry wants to improve compliance
- The waste and recycling industry is working with OSHA to reduce injury and illness rates.
- OSHA requested an $89 million increase in its 2023 budget to invest in workers, their families, and surrounding communities and boost whistleblower protection.
- The agency is devoting up to $10 million to advance high-priority rulemaking and strengthening enforcement programs.
- OSHA is establishing a safety tech junior-level position that will work as a mentorship opportunity for those who wish to become compliance officers.
Proposed fines after employee’s leg crushed
- Federal safety inspectors have determined that a falling load from a below-the-hook magnet crushed the leg of an employee at a Kewaunee, Wisconsin, heavy fabrication manufacturing company.
- Workers at Kewaunee Fabrications were exposed to an unguarded machine point of operation that did not prevent workers from having their hands in the danger zone while straightening parts.
- OSHA issued citations to the company for one willful and 11 serious safety violations and proposed $250,696 in penalties.
- Kewaunee Fabrications manufactures aerial ladders and mounting plates primarily used for fire trucks.