| First published by FMCSA.
Yesterday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued an Order imposing a mask requirement applicable to public transportation systems, rail, and van, bus and motorcoach service providers to mitigate the risk of COVID-19. The CDC Order implements President Biden’s Executive Order 13998, Promoting COVID-19 Safety in Domestic and International Travel, “to save lives and allow all Americans, including the millions of people employed in the transportation industry, to travel and work safely.” Science-based measures are critical to preventing the spread of COVID-19. Mask-wearing is one of several proven life-saving measures including physical distancing, appropriate ventilation and timely testing that can reduce the transmission of COVID-19. Requiring masks will protect America’s transportation workers and passengers, help control the transmission of COVID-19, and aid in re-opening America’s economy. In addition to the CDC order, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) anticipates issuing additional information and guidance on this topic. The Department has posted a Frequently Asked Questions at this website. https://www.transportation.gov/safety/mask-travel-guidance The Department will continue to add to this site with additional information in the coming days. The U.S. Department of Transportation will be scheduling stakeholder calls beginning the week of February 1, 2021. Please share the mask mandate information with colleagues and send questions to FMCSAMaskUp@dot.gov. Links
McCraren Compliance can help you understand and comply with FMCSA and USDOT to ensure your drivers and your vehicles operate safely and efficiently. Call us Today at 888-758-4757 or email us at info@mccrarencompliance.com to schedule your free FMCSA Compliance Assessment. |
Month: January 2021
MSHA – Mine Fatality #1
First published by MSHA.
MINE FATALITY – On Jan. 16, 2021, a miner was fatally injured while using a tool to remove a down-the-hole hammer. The drill motor turned unexpectedly, pinning the driller’s leg between the tool and the drill mast.
Best Practices:
- Establish and discuss safe work procedures before starting any task.
- Identify and control all hazards. Train all workers to recognize potential hazards and understand safe job procedures to eliminate hazards before beginning work.
- Follow manufacturer’s procedures for using equipment, and monitor employees for compliance.
- Position yourself in a safe location away from potential “danger-zone” areas.
- Train miners to safely perform their tasks.
- Conduct equipment inspections and correct any defects affecting safety.
Additional Information:
This is the first fatality reported in 2021, and the first classified as “Machinery.”
McCraren Compliance offers many opportunities in safety training to help circumvent accidents. Please take a moment to visit our calendar of classes to see what we can do to help your safety measures from training to consulting.
COVID-19 Update – Resources for Essential Workers
First published by NIOSH.
COVID-19 Vaccine Communication Toolkit for Essential Workers
A new communication toolkit is available to help employers build confidence in their workforce for this important new vaccine. The toolkit will help employers across various industries provide information about COVID-19 vaccines, increase awareness about vaccination benefits, and address common questions and concerns. The toolkit contains a variety of resources including key messages, FAQs, posters, newsletter content, and more. Partners are encouraged to adapt the key messages to the language, tone, and format that will resonate with the organizations and industries they serve.
Interim List of Categories of Essential Workers Mapped to Standardized Industry Codes and Titles
An interim list is now available to help state, local, tribal, and territorial officials and organizations prepare for the allocation of initially limited COVID-19 vaccine supply. The interim list maps essential industries to corresponding COVID-19 vaccination phases and workforce categories, as recommended by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.
For More Information
For more information, please visit the COVID-19 webpage. To stay up to date on new developments, sign up for the COVID-19 newsletter.
McCraren Compliance assists employers in protecting their workers, starting with a comprehensive Work-site Analysis, Hazard Prevention, Controls, and Safety & Health Training.
Please contact us today at 888-758-4757 to learn how we can provide mine safety training and consulting for your business.
Virtual happy hour: Survey examines remote working and drinking
First published by Safety+Health an NSC publication.
New York — Nearly half of remote employees have signed off early to have an alcoholic drink or have had a drink during the workday amid the COVID-19 pandemic, results of a recent survey indicate.
On behalf of sparkling water manufacturing company HOP WTR, researchers from marketing research company OnePoll surveyed 2,000 U.S. adults to examine their at-home habits during the pandemic. Of the respondents, around 800 were at least 21 years old and working from home. The researchers found that 46% of respondents said they’ve logged off early to have a drink, while 45% have had an alcoholic beverage while on the clock.
Overall, 53% said they’ve been drinking more frequently during the pandemic, at an average of four alcoholic drinks a week.
Other findings:
- More than 60% of the respondents working remotely said virtual happy hours with co-workers have contributed to their increased alcohol intake.
- 52% of all respondents said they’ve felt the need to drink while watching the news.
- About 60% said they’ll try to drink less in the future.
McCraren Compliance assists employers in protecting their workers, starting with a comprehensive Work-site Analysis, Hazard Prevention, Controls, and Safety & Health Training.
Please contact us today at 888-758-4757 to learn how we can provide mine safety training and consulting for your business.
Demolition work: Keep it safe
First published by Safety+Health an NSC publication.
Demolition work involves the dismantling, razing, destroying or wrecking of any building or structure. Hazards of this dangerous work, according to OSHA, may include materials hidden within structural members (e.g., lead, asbestos, silica, and other chemicals or heavy metals requiring special material handling), as well as unknown strengths or weaknesses of construction materials, such as post-tensioned concrete.
To combat these hazards, workers at a demolition site should know the safety precautions they must take to protect themselves. OSHA says to:
PLAN ahead to get the job done safely. Before work begins, a competent person should survey the work. This person should closely check the condition of the structure and the possibility of an unplanned collapse. An assessment of health hazards also should be completed before work begins.
PROVIDE the right protection and equipment. The employer must determine what personal protective equipment will be required and provide it to workers. The employer also will need to educate workers on the proper use, fit, maintenance and storage of the PPE.
TRAIN employees about demo work hazards and how to safely use equipment. Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act, employers have a responsibility to provide a safe workplace for employees. Employers must train employees – in a language they understand – on recognizing and avoiding or removing hazards that may cause an injury or illness.
OSHA addresses demolition hazards in specific standards for the construction industry. Learn more at osha.gov/demolition/standards.
McCraren Compliance assists employers in protecting their workers, starting with a comprehensive Work-site Analysis, Hazard Prevention, Controls, and Safety & Health Training.
Please contact us today at 888-758-4757 to learn how we can provide mine safety training and consulting for your business.
“Faces of Fire”: New NFPA campaign promotes awareness of electrical safety
First published by Safety+Health an NSC publication.
Photo: National Fire Protection Association
Quincy, MA – A new safety campaign from the National Fire Protection Association tells the stories of people who were injured in electrical incidents both on the job and at home.
Launched in partnership with the Phoenix Society for Burn Survivors, the Faces of Fire/Electrical video series campaign initially featured utility workers Dave Schury and Sam Matagi, who were seriously injured in separate electrical incidents.
Schury sustained second- and third-degree burns over 30% of his body when a 12,000-volt piece of equipment was short-circuited by a rat and caused an explosion. He spent more than two weeks in a hospital burn unit recovering from his injuries. Matagi, a power lineman, lost both of his hands after nearly 15,000 volts of electricity surged through his body when a scrap of cut wire he was holding contacted a live wire.
According to NFPA, 1,651 U.S. workers died as a result of electrical injuries from 2007 to 2016. Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that 1,900 nonfatal occupational injuries related to electricity exposure were recorded in 2019.
“Exposure to electricity poses a real injury risk to workers and the public,” Lorraine Carli, vice president of outreach and advocacy at NFPA, said in a press release. “The Faces of Fire/Electrical campaign helps better educate people about the true dangers of electricity and ways to prevent related tragedies from happening.”
McCraren Compliance assists employers in protecting their workers, starting with a comprehensive Work-site Analysis, Hazard Prevention, Controls, and Safety & Health Training.
Please contact us today at 888-758-4757 to learn how we can provide mine safety training and consulting for your business.
Using ventilation to reduce COVID-19 exposure: CDC creates webpage
First published by Safety+Health an NSC publication.
Washington — A new webpage published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is intended to help employers and building managers improve the ventilation system in their facilities to reduce the spread of COVID-19.
CDC recommends ventilation as part of a “layered strategy” that includes physical distancing and use of facial coverings to help reduce the concentration of SARS-CoV-2 – the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 – in indoor air.
“The lower the concentration, the less likely some of those viral particles can be inhaled into your lungs; contact your eyes, nose and mouth; or fall out of the air to accumulate on surfaces,” the webpage states. “Protective ventilation practices and interventions can reduce the airborne concentration, which reduces the overall viral dose to occupants.”
The agency’s recommendations for improved ventilation include:
- Increasing outdoor air ventilation, but use caution if your facility is in a highly polluted area.
- Opening windows and doors to the outside, but only when weather conditions allow and doing so doesn’t create a safety or health risk (e.g., risk of falling or triggering asthma symptoms).
- Using fans to improve the effectiveness of open windows. However, don’t place fans in a configuration that could cause potentially contaminated air to flow from one person to another. One strategy is to use a fan that’s placed safely and securely in a window.
- Decreasing occupancy in areas where outdoor ventilation isn’t possible.
- Making sure restroom exhaust fans are working at full capacity when a building is occupied.
- Using a portable high-efficiency particulate air fan/filtration system to help enhance air cleaning, especially in high-risk areas such as a nurse’s office.
Additionally, CDC advises running HVAC systems at “maximum outside airflow” for two hours before and after a building is occupied. The agency’s webpage includes a set of strategies with corresponding estimated costs, as well as answers to list of frequently asked questions about building ventilation.
McCraren Compliance assists employers in protecting their workers, starting with a comprehensive Work-site Analysis, Hazard Prevention, Controls, and Safety & Health Training.
Please contact us today at 888-758-4757 to learn how we can provide mine safety training and consulting for your business.
MSHA: Deaths among coal miners reach ‘historic low’ in 2020
First published by Safety+Health an NSC publication.
Arlington, VA — Twenty-nine miners died on the job in 2020, marking the sixth straight year the annual total has remained below 30, the Mine Safety and Health Administration announced Jan. 13.
Although last year’s fatality total represents a 7.4% increase from the 2019 total of 27, MSHA reports that coal miners represented five of the 2020 deaths – “a historic low.”
Additionally, no seat belt-related deaths were recorded for the first time in MSHA’s 44-year history. The agency also reported all-time-low average concentrations of respirable dust and respirable quartz in underground coal mines, as well as dust and quartz exposure for miners at the highest risk of overexposure to respirable dust.
MSHA credits a diverse educational campaign as a contributing factor for a significant decrease in miner deaths related to powered haulage. Such fatalities represented 21% of the overall total in 2020 after accounting for about half of all fatalities in 2017 and 2018.
In 2020, MSHA “focused on improving safety in several areas, including falls from height and truck-loading operations,” administrator David Zatezalo said in a press release. “We also focused on chronic problem areas such as disproportionate accidents among contractors and inexperienced miners. In 2019, contractor deaths accounted for 41% of deaths at mines. In 2020, they were 28%.”
According to MSHA, about 230,000 miners work in approximately 11,500 metal/nonmetal mines nationwide, while around 64,000 work in about 1,000 U.S. coal mines.
McCraren Compliance offers many opportunities in safety training to help circumvent accidents. Please take a moment to visit our calendar of classes to see what we can do to help your safety measures from training to consulting.
MSHA – Mine Fatality #29
First published by MSHA.
MINE FATALITY – On December 15, 2020, a miner was fatally injured while changing the rear tire on a front-end loader. The victim was underneath the front-end loader when it fell.
Best Practices:
- Securely block raised equipment to prevent movement.
- Do not rely solely on hydraulic jacks.
- Perform equipment maintenance requiring lifting or raising equipment on a level and solid ground.
- Follow the manufacturer’s recommendations for changing tires.
- Establish safe operating procedures for all work.
- Ensure all workers are trained in safe operating procedures.
Additional Information:
This is the 29th fatality reported in 2020, and the ninth classified as “Machinery.”
McCraren Compliance offers many opportunities in safety training to help circumvent accidents. Please take a moment to visit our calendar of classes to see what we can do to help your safety measures from training to consulting.
MSHA – Mine Fatality 27th and 28th
First published by MSHA.
MINE FATALITIES – On December 14, 2020, two miners died when a back failure occurred in a large intersection. The miners were drilling in an attempt to intercept water leaks when blocks of salt and anhydrite fell from beneath a slickenside onto the miners.
Photo property of MSHA
Best Practices:
- In areas of excessive span or adverse geology:
- Install supplemental ground support to control strata movement.
- Install sag monitors or extensometers to detect ground movement or strata separation.
- Drill and evaluate test holes for strata separation using a borescope or scratch test.
- Use geologic hazard mapping to identify adverse conditions.
- Be alert to any change of ground conditions.
- Report hazardous or abnormal conditions.
- Perform thorough workplace examinations where miners work or travel.
- Identify and scale hazardous ground conditions from a safe location.
- Train miners to recognize hazards and follow safe work practices, especially before they perform new tasks.
Additional Information:
These are the 27th and 28th fatalities reported in 2020, and the second and third classified as “Fall of Roof or Back.”
McCraren Compliance offers many opportunities in safety training to help circumvent accidents. Please take a moment to visit our calendar of classes to see what we can do to help your safety measures from training to consulting.