Category: General News

Drone Safety Day set for April 29

Posted on by McCraren Compliance
Original article published by Federal Aviation Administration
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Photo: Federal Aviation Administration

FAA invites interested drone operators and stakeholders to register for Drone Safety Day events through the National Center for Autonomous Technology, as the agency aims to build a “central, virtual library” of information.

FAA asks participants to use the hashtag #DroneSafetyDay when posting about the event on social media. Those on Facebook and Twitter can tag the agency using @FAADroneZone.

Drones are the fastest growing segment of aviation in the United States. As of January, there are over 871,000 drones registered with the FAA, and over 307,000 certified Remote Pilots. These numbers are projected to continue to grow and we want everyone who operates drones to have fun and be safe!

Drone Safety Day (DSD) is an annual campaign dedicated to educating the drone community of the importance of flying safely. DSD will highlight the societal, economic, and safety benefits of safe drone operations with in-person, virtual, and hybrid events in focus areas such as Education, Economics, Equity, Environment, and Emergencies.

Download the 2023 Drone Safety Day Playbook  and 2023 Drone Safety Day Flyer  to learn more on how you can participate. These materials will give you an outline of what Drone Safety Day is all about and ideas for how to put together your DSD event. You can also visit our Drone@Home page to find fun ideas to participate at home.

When you’re ready, register your event. And don’t forget to “Fly Right”:

  • Register your drone – DroneZone
  • Interact with others
  • Gain knowledge
  • Have a safety plan
  • TRUST and Train

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.

March is National Ladder Safety Month

Posted on by McCraren Compliance

First published by National Ladder Safety Month

National Ladder Safety Month Marketing Guide: Our voice is stronger together. Help Us spread our message.

Last year, our National Ladder Safety Month message reached millions of people, and with your help this year, it can reach even more.

Thank you for your support of the 2023 National Ladder Safety Month! We have developed this marketing kit to help you promote the value of this important program and spread the word to your network.

This guide was created for you and can be used in conjunction with one another or on their own. Our goal is to make amplifying our message as easy and empowering as possible.

Click the links below to explore the guide.

Contact us at marketing@laddersafetymonth.com with your efforts and a company logo (or take a selfie if you’re educating friends and family), and we’ll make sure to share it through our social media outlets.

Event Description

 Website

 Social

 Email

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.

Construction Safety

Posted on by McCraren Compliance

Original article published by Safety+Health

Prevent falls through skylights and other openings

In 2021, 62 U.S. construction workers died after falling through a surface or an existing opening such as a skylight, according to data from the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries.

“Holes and openings are made in roofs and floors of buildings, both when they are built and when they are torn down,” CPWR – The Center for Construction Research and Training says.

Prevent injuries on your jobsite. Tips from CPWR:

  • Guard or cover all holes before you leave a work area. Your co-workers may not see an uncovered hole, which means they could fall through it.
  • Label all covers with the word “hole” or “cover.”
  • If you see a hole that’s uncovered, take the time to cover it.
  • Make sure hole covers can support at least two times the weight of your co-workers, equipment and materials. If a hole is larger than plywood, use guardrails. (OSHA requires covers of standard strength and construction.)
  • Fasten all hole covers with screws and/or nails. “If a worker steps on an unsecured cover, it can shift and the worker can fall through the hole and be injured.”

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.

OSHA says its new authority to issue nonimmigrant status visas will aid investigations

Posted on by McCraren Compliance

Original article published by Safety+Health

Washington — OSHA will soon be able to issue certifications in support of T and U nonimmigrant status visas, a move the agency contends will aid in some workplace safety investigations.

“T visas” are for victims of human trafficking. “U visas” are for victims of certain crimes, including felonious assault, extortion, forced labor and obstruction of justice. These visas “provide immigration status to noncitizen victims and allow them to remain in the United States to assist authorities in combating human trafficking and other crimes,” OSHA says in a Feb. 13 press release.

The agency’s new authority is schedule to go into effect March 30.

“Workers in the United States need to feel empowered and able to trust OSHA and the U.S. Department of Labor enough to voice their concerns about workplace safety regardless of their immigration status and fears of retaliation,” OSHA administrator Doug Parker said in the release. “By enabling OSHA to issue U and T visa certifications, we will be empowering some of our economy’s most vulnerable workers to tell us if their jobs are jeopardizing their safety and health, and that of their co-workers, and to support our enforcement efforts.”

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.

FACE Report: Site superintendent run over by backing dump truck

Posted on by McCraren Compliance
Original article published by Safety+Health
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Case report: #71-231-2022
Issued by: Washington State Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation Program
Date of report: Dec. 5, 2022

A 60-year-old site superintendent working for a housing construction contractor was in charge of directing subcontractors and scheduling dump trucks to haul away debris. Two dump truck drivers employed by a recycling company were emptying dumpsters. While one dumpster was being emptied, a 5-gallon bucket of paint spilled onto the street. The superintendent assigned a subcontractor to get sawdust to absorb the paint and told the drivers he was going to direct vehicles away from it. The drivers entered their trucks to pick up the next dumpster located close to the spilled paint. The driver of the first truck drove out of the alley, turned right and parked on the side of the street near the superintendent. The driver of the second truck then turned left onto the street, checked his mirrors and got a hand signal from the superintendent to begin backing up. As he was backing up, he lost sight of the superintendent and ran over him. It is unknown why the superintendent was in the backing zone, or why the driver could not see him. Although the truck’s backup alarm was working, the truck did not have a backup camera, nor was an observer signaling that it was safe to back up. The truck drivers were not trained on backing up at construction sites.

To help prevent similar occurrences, general contractors at multi-employer jobsites should:

  • Continuously assess the hazards of vehicles to workers on foot and ensure hazards are corrected.
  • Require workers to wear ANSI Class 2 high-visibility garments when exposed to vehicular traffic.

Employers who use dump trucks should:

  • Consider installing pedestrian proximity detection systems on trucks.
  • Train drivers that they must use a signaler or backup camera when backing near workers on foot.
  • Create and enforce policies that drivers maintain visual contact with workers on foot at all times, and that workers on foot stay out of backing zones unless trained and acting as an observer signaling the driver.

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.

Updated guidance details ADA requirements for workers with hearing disabilities

Posted on by McCraren Compliance

Original article published by Safety+Health

Washington — Although some employers may incorrectly assume otherwise, people with hearing disabilities can be safe and effective workers, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission says in an recently updated document.

The document details how the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 applies to job applicants and employees with a hearing disability. It also addresses employer concerns about safety and describes easy-to-access technologies – free or at low cost – that can provide reasonable accommodation.

According to EEOC, about 15% of U.S. adults report having some trouble with their hearing. Hearing conditions such as deafness, being hard of hearing, experiencing ringing in the ears and having sensitivity to noise may be covered under the ADA.

“Employers have a legal responsibility to create fair workplaces for all employees and job applicants who need reasonable accommodations,” EEOC Chair Charlotte A. Burrows said in a press release. “This document will help educate employers on those responsibilities and employees about their rights.”

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.

CPWR report examines causes of death for current, retired and former construction workers

Posted on by McCraren Compliance

Original article published by Safety+Health

Silver Spring, MD — Of the nearly 225,000 construction worker deaths recorded in 2020, 60% were at least 65 years old, according to a new report from CPWR – The Center for Construction Research and Training.

Researchers looked at 2020 data from the National Vital Statistics System, which included all causes of death for construction workers – employed, retired or no longer working – from every state except Arizona, North Carolina, Rhode Island and the District of Columbia.

Findings show that, among the 224,400 deaths, the majority were non-Hispanic (88%), white (87%) and male (96%).

The leading cause of death varied by age group. For workers 16-34, the leading cause was poisoning and exposure to narcotics and hallucinogens (17%). For those 35 and older, COVID-19 was the leading cause, including nearly 15,000 workers 65 or older. Another 8,700 workers at least 65 years old died of heart disease.

“Although CPWR and others have extensively researched fatal occupational injuries, there is limited information on deaths not on the jobsite among construction workers, even though worksite exposures and tasks may result in lifetime health impacts such as cancers,” CPWR says.

The report was published in the January issue of CPWR’s Data Bulletin.

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.

FACE Report: Siding installer falls 23 feet from pump jack scaffold

Posted on by McCraren Compliance
Original article published by Safety+Health
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Case report: #71-227-2022
Issued by: Washington State Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation Program
Date of report: Sept. 19, 2022

A 38-year-old siding installer who owned his own construction company was working for a subcontractor at a new construction apartment complex. On the day of the incident, the installer accessed the scaffold platform at the building’s third-floor level by climbing an extension ladder. The scaffold was not equipped with a guardrail system; it had only a workbench, which alone does not meet the requirement of a guardrail system. The installer provided his own full-body harness, but was not wearing it when the incident occurred. The subcontractor provided pump jack scaffolds and the rest of the personal fall arrest system, which consisted of a vertical rope lifeline with a rope grab and connector. The subcontractor required that site workers use the personal fall arrest system. As the installer was working from the scaffold platform, he fell 23 feet, landing on a pile of construction materials on the ground. He died of multiple blunt force injuries. Investigators found that all employees had received fall protection training. The site superintendent reported that he held weekly sitewide safety meetings, which included an emphasis on the requirement for workers to use personal fall arrest systems. In addition, he performed safety walkarounds once or twice a day to ensure that workers were using fall protection. On the day of the incident, he had not yet conducted a walkaround inspection.

To prevent similar incidents, contractors and subcontractors should:

  • Use guardrails on scaffolds whenever practical, instead of or in addition to personal fall protection.
  • Emphasize the requirement that workers maintain 100% tie off. This should be written into the work contract.
  • Inspect scaffold operations at the start of each day before work begins and periodically throughout the day to ensure workers use fall protection.

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.

Annual DOL OIG report points to challenges for OSHA and MSHA

Posted on by McCraren Compliance

Original article published by Safety+Health

           Photo: USDOL

Washington — OSHA “continues to be hampered” by the lack of a permanent standard on infectious diseases aimed at protecting workers in high-risk industries and needs to start working on a rule, the Department of Labor Office of Inspector General says in its annual report for 2022.

Without a permanent standard on infectious diseases, “OSHA will not be in a position to effectively protect the safety and health of workers operating in high-risk industries during future pandemics or endemics” the report states. DOL OIG advises the agency to use the American Rescue Plan Act funding of at least $100 million for COVID-19-related activities, including enforcement at high-risk workplaces such as health care facilities and meat/poultry processing plants.

Other recommendations:

  • Complete initiatives to improve employer reporting of severe injuries and illnesses.
  • Enhance staff training on hazard abatement verification, especially of smaller and transient construction employers.
  • Look at ways to enhance interagency collaboration to “take advantage of inspections being conducted by OSHA’s counterparts in the federal government.”

For the Mine Safety and Health Administration, DOL OIG says the agency needs to direct its attention to any backlog of suspended or reduced enforcement stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic. MSHA also should “improve internal controls related to its violation process” and give extra training to inspectors.

Additionally, MSHA needs to promulgate a standard for a lower respirable crystalline silica exposure limit, and increase silica sampling and enforcement at mines.

The agency also should “continue its existing efforts to decrease powered-haulage accidents by completing required inspections, enhancing training and increasing knowledge sharing about available technology.”

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.

Improving nanomaterial Safety Data Sheets: CPWR launches e-tool

Posted on by McCraren Compliance
Original article published by Safety+Health
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Photo: CPWR – The Center for Construction Research and Training

Silver Spring, MD — A new e-tool from CPWR – The Center for Construction Research and Training is intended to help manufacturers, distributors and importers of products that contain nanomaterials strengthen their Safety Data Sheets.

The free, interactive Nano Safety Data Sheet Improvement Tool poses to users a series of questions to help evaluate their existing SDSs, and then generates a report with recommendations for improvement. That report is based on the 16 sections of an SDS required by OSHA that follow specifications of the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals.

Nanomaterials – materials that have at least one dimension (height, width or length) that’s smaller than 100 nanometers – are chemical substances whose microscopic size gives them properties they don’t possess in their larger form.

CPWR has identified more than 800 nanomaterials that are increasingly being used in construction. Those materials include sealants, coatings, paints, concrete, flooring, lubricants and roofing materials. When workers use the materials, they can be exposed to fumes, gases, vapors and dust containing nanomaterials, which can present health hazards.

Knowing which materials could be hazardous allows workers to take precautions to mitigate the risks, according to CPWR, which says SDSs for these products should clearly identify nanomaterials that are present and offer information on potential safety and health risks.

A 2019 study led by Laura Hodson, the retired coordinator of the NIOSH Nanotechnology Research Center, revealed that only 3% of the nanomaterial SDSs evaluated were satisfactory and 79% needed significant improvement.

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.