Loading ...September, 2010
Who Invented the Safety Committee?
I’m not sure who exactly “invented” safety committees but, besides Eastman Kodak, U.S. Steel and Midvale Steel also established safety committees in the early 1900’s as noted in my manuscript Building a Better Safety and Health Committee, American Society of Safety Engineers, 1998.
John P. Spath CSP
Assistant Director
Aon Global Risk Consulting
Casualty Risk Control, East
Workplace Fatalities in 2007
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released its Census on workplace fatalities for 2007.
The good news: The preliminary total of 5,488 fatal work injuries is the lowest annual total recorded since the Census began in 1992 and down 6% from 2006.
The bad news: The statistical downward trend in fatalities won’t bring back to life a [...]
Caffeine Shown to Prevent Injuries, Errors in Shiftworkers
Put that coffee pot on! A review of 13 international randomized studies suggests that caffeine is effective in reducing worker errors and improving cognitive performance among people working night shifts.
Sleepiness leads to a deterioration in performance and attention and is associated with an increased risk of injury,” says lead researcher Katharine Ker, of the London [...]
5 Ways to Protect Isolated Employees
Having co-workers nearby who can look out for one another and deliver help in an emergency makes the workplace safer. In an ideal world, nobody would have to work alone. But there are times when working alone or in isolation can’t be avoided. And some people (like me) actually prefer working alone. If you have [...]
Managing Bed Bug Hygiene and Liability Risks
Article written by Glenn Demby, Esq. and Robin Barton.
The bed bug isn’t just a household pest. Bed bugs have recently been found in stores, movie theatres, hospitals and even the workers’ locker room of New York City’s Empire State Building! Bed bug infestations have also become a problem in major cities [...]
Recent Bed Bug Bite Lawsuits
All of the bed bug cases I know about come from the US. I was unable to find any Canadian cases. (If any of you folks know of a Canadian case, by all means let us know.) And most cases get settled without a trial.
In 2003, in one of the [...]
Useful Bed Bug Information for Employers
Guide on bed bugs in office buildings: http://www.bedbugcentral.com/bed_bugs_in_office_buildings.pdf
US EPA, Controlling Bed Bugs, http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/bedbugs/
Health Canada Note on Bed Bugs: http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/cps-spc/pubs/pest/_pnotes/bedbugs-punaises-lits/index-eng.php
Firing the Trainer
Many years ago I used to volunteer at a racing circuit in Scotland. As part of our training we had to attend various safety demonstrations. One day during practice we were given a demonstration of how to get a trapped driver out of a burning car.
The instructor was a bit nervous and [...]
Building a Curriculum for Your Peer Trainers
Applied correctly, peer-to-peer safety trainers can be a powerful tool in an organization’s effort to create a culture of safety and prevent workplace injuries. In fact, when researchers from the University of Michigan studied the United Automobile Workers’ safety training program, they found that peer trainers were one of the [...]
Upton Sinclair
For obvious reasons, journalists who make a significant contribution to the cause of occupational health and safety hold a special place in my heart. That’s why Upton Sinclair is one of my biggest heroes.
Sinclair was born in Baltimore on September 20, 1878. His father sold liquor for a living and [...]
