FACE Report: Construction worker struck by rollaway dump truck

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FACE photo: NIOSH

Case report: 71-246-2023
Issued by: Washington State Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation Program
Date of report: Oct. 23, 2023

A 45-year-old construction worker employed by a custom home builder arrived at a site to finish punch list items for a new home. The worker was pressure-washing the home’s driveway when a worker from a landscaping business arrived and parked a medium-duty dump truck at the top of the driveway. The truck was loaded with pallets of small pavers, stepping-stones and crushed rock. The top of the driveway had a slight, hardly visible slope. The driver told the worker he was going to talk with the homeowner to ask where to put the materials. He left the truck unattended. The worker continued to pressure-wash the driveway. About six minutes later, the dump truck rolled down the driveway and struck the worker, whose back was toward the truck. No one saw the incident, but the driver, homeowner and project manager heard the truck crash. After they saw the truck in a nearby ditch, they went to the front of the house and found the worker face down on the driveway. First responders pronounced him dead at the scene. Investigators found that the dump truck was parked in first gear; the emergency brake was set but did not work; and the truck was being leased from another landscaping business owner, who did not have the required annual Department of Transportation commercial motor vehicle inspection done on the truck and knew the emergency brake did not work.

To help prevent similar occurrences, employers should:

  • Request subcontractors to show current maintenance and safety inspection records, including annual DOT inspection stickers, for any commercial vehicles they own or lease that will be used on the construction site. Do not allow unsafe vehicles to drive onsite.
  • Advise site owners to ask other contractors they hire directly to show safety inspection records for any commercial vehicles before they drive onsite. Emphasize the need to prevent hazardous vehicle rollaways.

McCraren Compliance can help you understand and comply with FMCSA, USDOT and ADOT and 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.

Original article published by Safety+Health an NSC publication

Coupling devices for excavator buckets: NIOSH publishes fact sheet

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Photo: Dzmitry Kaprusynka/iStockphoto

Washington — A new fact sheet from NIOSH is aimed at workers who use quick coupling devices to change excavator buckets and other attachments.

Quick couplers are common in construction work. However, buckets or attachments may unintentionally fall from excavators because of improper securement of the bucket or attachment, mechanical or hydraulic failure in the coupler, or unsafe opening of the coupler by the operator, NIOSH says.

Among the agency’s tips:

  • Use quick couplers manufactured with design features and processes to prevent the unintentional release of buckets or attachments, such as models with alerting systems to signal whether the connection was successful.
  • Follow manufacturer’s guidelines for equipment when planning job tasks. For example, many manufacturers state that ground workers shouldn’t be within the swing radius/swing zone of an excavator arm.
  • Ensure machine operators always conduct visual inspections on the excavator and quick coupler before starting work. Remove from service any excavator with functional issues and tag it with a “Do not operate” sign.
  • Establish communication methods between the excavator operator and ground workers before starting work.
  • Make sure operators lower the excavator arm to the ground before exiting the cab.

NIOSH encourages employers, supervisors and equipment suppliers to “share and apply these recommended practices at the worksite.”


McCraren Compliance offers a full range of safety and health training and consulting services. Plus we can help you incorporate well-being into your traditional systems in order to support the Total Worker Health of your workforce.

Call 888-758-4757, email info@mccrarencompliance.com or visit our website www.mccrarencompliance.com

Original article published by Safety+Health an NSC publication

Journal spotlights NIOSH’s work on occupational hearing loss prevention

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Photo: YasnaTen/iStockphoto

Washington — A special issue of the journal Seminars in Hearing “shines a light” on NIOSH’s efforts to prevent on-the-job hearing loss.

“This special issue recognizes the dedication of NIOSH researchers to prevent a debilitating work-related illness that impacts millions of workers,” NIOSH Director John Howard said in a press release. “It is our hope it will inspire others to join efforts to protect workers’ hearing.”

The agency estimates that 22 million workers face exposure to hazardous noise each year, and around 10 million are exposed to solvents that contribute to hearing loss.

Inside the issue:

Each of the seven articles is free to download.


McCraren Compliance offers a full range of safety and health training and consulting services. Plus we can help you incorporate well-being into your traditional systems in order to support the Total Worker Health of your workforce.

Call 888-758-4757, email info@mccrarencompliance.com or visit our website www.mccrarencompliance.com

Original article published by Safety+Health an NSC publication

Train workers to avoid take-home lead

New NIOSH publication outlines steps to minimize risks

Common jobs with lead exposure include painting, battery manufacturing, building renovation, and shooting range work. For workers in these industries and others, it’s possible to accidentally carry lead home from work via skin, hair, clothing, shoes, and personal items. Take-home lead can contaminate a worker’s car and home, posing an exposure risk to others. A new NIOSH publication notes the hazards of lead and outlines steps to minimize the risk of bringing it home.

Workers can minimize take-home lead by:

  • Limiting the number of personal items brought to work;
  • Using disposable containers for food/drink;
  • Changing into work clothes that remain at work;
  • Storing clean clothes and other personal items in a dedicated area;
  • Practicing proper handwashing;
  • Eating and drinking in approved areas away from dust;
  • Wearing personal protective equipment (PPE);
  • Using high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) vacuums or wet methods to clean areas that have lead;
  • Following manufacturer’s instructions for PPE removal;
  • Storing work clothes in a closed plastic bag away from other clothes;
  • Washing and drying work clothes away from other items;
  • Removing work shoes before entering their home;
  • Showering soon after arriving home;
  • Cleaning their home and car often; and
  • Using appropriate cleaning supplies to clean up lead.

Workers should also have their blood checked for the presence of lead by a medical provider.


McCraren Compliance offers a full range of safety and health training and consulting services. Plus we can help you incorporate well-being into your traditional systems in order to support the Total Worker Health of your workforce.

Call 888-758-4757, email info@mccrarencompliance.com or visit our website www.mccrarencompliance.com

Original article published by J. J. Keller & Associates, Inc.

Special issue of Journal of Safety Research highlights injury research symposium

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Itasca, IL — The Journal of Safety Research is offering free access – through February – to a special issue featuring select papers from the National Occupational Injury Research Symposium.

NIOSH calls the symposium “the only national forum focused on occupational acute traumatic injury research.”

This issue of the journal, a joint publication of the National Safety Council and Elsevier, highlights the 2022 NOIRS, which was themed “Preventing Workplace Injuries in a Changing World.”

The issue features articles that cover a wide variety of methods, data sources and worker populations. The articles also address leading and emerging causes and contributions to work-related injuries in many industries and occupations.

Some examples include robotics in agriculture and the work to improve knowledge of workplace safety implications of emerging ag technologies, how occupational injury research might be improved, and insufficient racial/ethnic diversity of students and faculty in occupational safety and health programs.

“The intent of this issue is to highlight the breadth of high-quality presentations at NOIRS, and to make them available to those who did not participate in the conference,” guest editor Dawn N. Castillo writes. “We hope the articles are useful for research and practice, and (for) thinking toward the future.”


McCraren Compliance offers a full range of safety and health training and consulting services. Plus we can help you incorporate well-being into your traditional systems in order to support the Total Worker Health of your workforce.

Call 888-758-4757, email info@mccrarencompliance.com or visit our website www.mccrarencompliance.com

Original article published by Safety+Health an NSC publication

Employers: Do your workers use respirators? NIOSH wants to know

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Image: U.S. Navy

Washington — NIOSH wants to update its estimate of the number of organizations and workers who use respirators – and evaluate the reasons behind their use.

The Survey of Respirator Use and Practices marks NIOSH’s first effort to collect national, industrywide data on respiratory protection since 2001. In a press release, NIOSH cites a need to update its Respirator Approval Program, as awareness and use of respirators has expanded amid the COVID-19 pandemic and its aftermath.

“Respirators offer workers and the public protection from hazards such as those created when providing health care to patients, using harsh chemicals for cleaning or manufacturing, or fighting wildland or structural fires,” Maryann D’Alessandro, director of NIOSH’s National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory, said in the release. “We encourage all businesses to complete the survey about their respirator use and practices. This information is critical to informing future research and development within NIOSH’s Respirator Approval Program.”

NIOSH plans to begin contacting employers regarding the survey on Nov. 2. Questions? Email ODAdmin@cdc.gov.


McCraren Compliance offers a full range of safety and health training and consulting services. Plus we can help you incorporate well-being into your traditional systems in order to support the Total Worker Health of your workforce.

Call 888-758-4757, email info@mccrarencompliance.com or visit our website www.mccrarencompliance.com

Original article published by Safety+Health an NSC publication

FACE Report: Demolition laborer dies in fall through skylight

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Photo: NIOSH

Case report: #22KY046
Issued by: Kentucky State Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation Program
Date of report: June 7, 2023

A 44-year-old demolition worker was removing roofing components from a former auto dealership. He had worked for his employer for five days. The worker was on the building’s roof when he stepped backward and onto a skylight, which broke under his weight. He fell about 19 feet and landed on a concrete floor. Local fire department personnel arrived in response to a 911 call and began CPR. Emergency medical services arrived a short time later. The worker died at the scene. Cause of death was listed as blunt force injuries to the head, torso and extremities. The demolition company employer stated that the worker was an employee of a subcontractor, and therefore the safety and health responsibilities for the worker fell to the subcontractor. However, investigators determined that the worker, who had not been trained on fall protection, was an employee of the demolition company.

To help prevent similar occurrences, employers should:

  • Properly assess the assigned work for recognized hazards (job safety analysis, job hazard analysis, pre-task plan, etc.).
  • Provide appropriate fall arrest systems (guardrail systems, covers and personal fall arrest systems) for employees working at height – including working around skylights – with a fall distance of 6 feet or more.
  • Consider Prevention through Design to “design out” or minimize hazards and risk.
  • Train workers on how to recognize fall hazards associated with the task being performed and the procedures to be followed.
  • Provide training in a language that workers can understand.
  • Understand their responsibilities for the safety and health of their workers when they are on multi-employer worksites.

McCraren Compliance offers a full range of safety and health training and consulting services. Plus we can help you incorporate well-being into your traditional systems in order to support the Total Worker Health of your workforce.

Call 888-758-4757, email info@mccrarencompliance.com or visit our website www.mccrarencompliance.com

Original article published by Safety+Health an NSC publication

Chronic health conditions more frequent among miners: study

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Photo: Ron Levine/iStockphoto

Washington — Miners are at elevated risk for chronic pain, hearing loss and high blood pressure compared with workers in nonmanual occupations, NIOSH researchers say.

Using the National Health Interview Survey, the researchers looked at 2007-2018 data for more than 105,000 male workers. They calculated the frequency of chronic health outcomes for six different industry groups with a high proportion of manual labor occupations, and compared it with that of nonmanual labor industries.

Findings show that miners younger than 55 had a higher likelihood of high blood pressure, while all miners showed an elevated occurrence of lower back pain, leg pain stemming from lower back pain, joint pain and hearing loss.

“Given previous research on chronic pain and opioid misuse, the high pain prevalence found among miners suggests mining employers should reduce work factors that cause injury while also providing an environment where workers can address pain management and substance use,” the study concludes.

The researchers also found that construction workers experienced an elevated occurrence of high pain.

The study, published online in the American Journal of Industrial Medicine, omitted female workers because of small sample sizes.


McCraren Compliance offers a full range of safety and health training and consulting services. Plus we can help you incorporate well-being into your traditional systems in order to support the Total Worker Health of your workforce.

Call 888-758-4757, email info@mccrarencompliance.com or visit our website www.mccrarencompliance.com

Original article published by Safety+Health an NSC publication

‘Nearly always preventable’: Help workers avoid hearing loss

Help workers avoid hearing loss

Photo: Gabrijelagal/iStockphoto

From the blare of a forklift-collision warning to the wail of an ambulance siren, noise can make us aware of hazards our eyes haven’t yet seen. But not all noise is helpful.

“At certain levels it can become hazardous,” NIOSH cautions. Repeated workplace exposure to noise that’s 85 dBA or louder can permanently damage workers’ hearing – and even contribute to high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease.

The good news? “Noise-induced hearing loss is nearly always preventable,” NIOSH says. “Reducing workplace noise below 85 dBA is the best way to prevent occupational hearing loss and other effects from hazardous noise.”

Employers can help by:
Buying quiet. Buy Quiet is a prevention initiative that encourages companies to purchase or rent quieter machinery and tools to reduce worker noise exposure,” NIOSH says.
Monitoring workers’ hearing. NIOSH recommends annual audiometric testing (a hearing test that measures the lowest level of sound someone can hear) for workers who are regularly exposed to noisy environments. “Testing should be performed by a professional certified by the Council for Accreditation in Occupational Hearing Conservation or equivalent certification,” the agency adds.
Creating a noise map. Use a sound level meter to measure areas in the workplace that are loud, and then map out those locations for workers. No access to an SLM? You can use a sound measurement app. NIOSH has one – go to cdc.gov/niosh/topics/noise/app.html to find it.
Communicating with workers about noise exposure. Use plain language to explain the risks to your workers. NIOSH recommends sharing your noise maps and posting signs in noisy areas.

October is recognized as National Protect Your Hearing Month.


McCraren Compliance offers a full range of safety and health training and consulting services. Plus we can help you incorporate well-being into your traditional systems in order to support the Total Worker Health of your workforce.

Call 888-758-4757, email info@mccrarencompliance.com or visit our website www.mccrarencompliance.com

Original article published by Safety+Health an NSC publication

FACE Report: Two workers killed in boom lift rollover

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FACE photo: NIOSH

Case report: #2019OR01
Issued by: Oregon Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation Program
Date of report: June 29, 2023

Two workers were operating a boom lift on uneven farmland where a music festival had taken place. The lift was being used to remove cables suspending fabric sails that had provided shade. It was on a hillside with its wheels parallel to the slope. The first-stage boom arm was extended about 40 feet uphill, while the counterweight was oriented on the downhill side of the slope. Two safety alarms – a tilt hazard alarm and a crush hazard alarm – had been disabled. The workers were moving the lift perpendicular to the hill slope with the boom arm extended when it tipped over in the downhill direction, catapulting the basket to the ground. The workers received blunt force trauma injuries. Other workers called 911 and attempted to give first aid. Emergency responders arrived within 10 minutes and pronounced the workers dead at the scene. Investigator interviews with sail-installation company employees, former employees and volunteers indicated that the practice of disabling the tilt alarm on lifts had been going on for years – and that management was aware of the practice. A former employee stated that she left the company because of issues with employees disabling alarms. An equipment rental company used in previous years reported that it stopped renting equipment for the event because it found an alarm disabled and an illegal substance on returned equipment.

To help prevent similar occurrences, employers should:

  • Ensure, through adequate supervision, that manufacturer instructions regarding equipment operation are followed.
  • Provide training and supervision to ensure boom lift operators know not to move the boom lift with the boom extended.
  • Maintain and regularly inspect equipment for operational safety.
  • Implement pre-task planning for jobs that include varying conditions or environments.
  • Train employees to operate equipment safely, verify training completion, and check knowledge and skill level.

McCraren Compliance offers a full range of safety and health training and consulting services. Plus we can help you incorporate well-being into your traditional systems in order to support the Total Worker Health of your workforce.

Call 888-758-4757, email info@mccrarencompliance.com or visit our website www.mccrarencompliance.com

Original article published by Safety+Health an NSC publication