MIOSHA Cites Nine Businesses Coronavirus-related Violations
MIOSHA issued citations with fines ranging $400 to $3,500.
By Nikki Johnson-BoldenDec 10, 2020
Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration (MIOSHA) issued general duty COVID-19 citations to nine Michigan businesses on December 4, according to Upper Michigan's Source.
Businesses such as Lane Automotive, Andersons Service Center and United States Lighting were cited for failing to take precautions that protect workers from COVID-19. MIOSHA’s general duty clause, which requires employers to create a hazard-free workplace, has a citation fine of up to $7,000.
The companies that were cited failed to initiate health screenings, enforce the use of face coverings and implement cleaning measures that are up to par for coronavirus prevention. They have 15 business days to contest the violations and adhere to the necessary suggestions.
More information on Michigan’s workplace safety guidelines can be found at michigan.gov.
About the Author
Nikki Johnson-Bolden is an Associate Content Editor for Occupational Health & Safety.
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Getting Workers Safely Back to Work in the COVID Era
Supporting workers from the start demonstrates your commitment to their success and makes good business sense.
By Kevin SchmidtDec 09, 2020
COVID-19 has made the already difficult job of safety professionals even more difficult. To further complicate things, many organizations have scaled back hours or temporarily ceased production. Others in high-demand industries have had to hire and get people to the floor fast. These changes have created additional—but often overlooked—challenges for safety professionals in their fight against COVID-19.
The financial impact of slowdowns on organizations resulting from the COVID-19 disruption may be significant. Adding a wave of workers’ compensation claims will only make an already difficult situation worse. Innovative organizations are using physical therapists to help integrate physical readiness steps into their COVID-19 response to reduce injury risk to furloughed, post-COVID and new employees.
Furloughed Workers
A furloughed worker may assume a relatively sedentary lifestyle and quickly become deconditioned, thus increasing their chances of injury when they do return to work.
Offering furloughed workers suggestions for a basic fitness program can be a way to keep employees engaged as part of the company. Participation with this program may be hit or miss, but any involvement puts employers ahead of the game. The following guidelines are common among successful fitness programs:
• Home-based, involving little to no equipment
• Simple and easy to follow
• Convenient and brief
• Perceived as valuable to the employee
Workers who are required to manually lift, carry, push and pull need the endurance to stand and walk for the duration of their work shift. Maintaining endurance is relatively simple. Workers who return to jobs where they will be on their feet all day should try to stand and walk for at least two hours per day to maintain tolerance.
Muscular strength is a critical fitness category to address. Simply put, if you don’t use it, you lose it. That being said, very few employees are likely to spend hours in their homes doing exercises. Doing a few exercises three to five times a week to address core strength should help.
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Pfizer’s COVID-19 Vaccine Approved for Use in Britain
Britain is set to begin administering the first doses of the Pfizer vaccine next week.
By Nikki Johnson-BoldenDec 08, 2020
Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine was approved for use in the U.K. on December 2, according to the New York Times.
Britain’s process for authorizing vaccines does not involve the analysis of raw data, as is the case with the FDA in the United States. The differences in protocol made the approval process faster in Britain.
The FDA will hold a meeting on December 10 to review the vaccine. The meeting will be attended by an independent panel of experts.
Distribution plans for the vaccine are similar to the proposed plans in the U.S.—health care workers, nursing home workers and residents and the elderly will receive the vaccine first. 800,000 doses will be shipped to Britain this week.
About the Author
Nikki Johnson-Bolden is an Associate Content Editor for Occupational Health & Safety.
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Ergonomic Considerations for Fall Harnesses When Working at Height
Comfort level is an important variable to address when wearing PPE, especially fall harnesses.
By Marc DudelzakDec 08, 2020
Workers who spend a great deal of time working at height depend on their fall protection PPE harnesses. They want their gear to be comfortable and lightweight, not hot and heavy. Some harnesses can claim they are lighter weight, but that doesn’t always equate to comfort, especially for workers of varying shapes and sizes. Let’s explore some of the things that can make fall protection harnesses more comfortable, lighter weight and easily incorporated with other PPE.
Since “falls from height” rank first in cause of death for the construction industry, it’s critical that workers are appropriately protected. These features will make it easier for workers to be compliant by encouraging them to wear their gear properly and keep themselves and the jobsite safe:
Ergonomic safety
Lightweight and Flexible
Integration with other PPE
Ergonomic Safety
Comfort is key to performance and that is where ergonomics comes in. Ergonomics has been defined as the study of people’s efficiency in their working environment, but in the world of health and safety, it tends to define fitting a job or task around the employee.
We can all remember a time when we weren’t comfortable and we just couldn’t get our minds off it. The same can be true for a worker who is wearing a fall harness, except they can do without this type of distraction. If it isn’t comfortable, he or she is more likely to shift it or wear it in an unapproved position to seek comfort. This can have unintended consequences since wearing a fall harness incorrectly affects the protection it can provide and can lead to musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). According to the CDC, MSDs are injuries or disorders of the muscles, nerves, tendons, joints, cartilage, and spinal discs. Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSD) are conditions in which the work environment and performance of work contribute significantly to the condition and/or the condition is made worse or persists longer due to work conditions.
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Vaccine Cards Will Help Keep Track of COVID-19 Vaccinations
The Department of Defense released photos of the vaccination kits and cards that will be part of the coronavirus vaccination process.
Dec 04, 2020
The Department of Defense announced on December 3 that vaccination cards will be used to keep track of COVID-19 vaccinations in the United States, according to CNN.
“Everyone will be issued a written card that they can put in their wallet that will tell them what they had and when their next dose is due,” said Dr. Kelly Moore, associate director of the Immunization Action Coalition.
Reports on vaccinations will also be done by clinics. Patients will likely be contacted via text message to let them know when they should get their next dose of the vaccine, which requires two doses in order to be effective.
The vaccination kits will include a vaccination card, alcohol wipes, a mask, a needle and a syringe. There are 100 million kits prepared for use once vaccination distribution begins. Pfizer and Moderna have both applied for FDA approval for their COVID-19 vaccinations.
For more information, visit defense.gov.
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Health Care Workers At Maryland Nursing Homes Go Through PPE Training
Maryland nursing homes are requiring staff to undergo PPE training after a statewide surge in COVID-19 cases in nursing homes and assisted living facilities.
By Nikki Johnson-BoldenDec 04, 2020
Nurses at Baltimore nursing homes are undergoing retraining on how to properly use PPE, according to WBAL TV.
The training, which is a partnership between LifeBridge Health and the Health Facilities Association of Maryland, is being done to ensure that staff members are protecting both themselves and residents from coronavirus exposure with the help of face masks.
Part of the training involves the nurses being fit tested for masks. During the process, each nurse had a hood placed over their head before a solution was sprayed inside of it to test the tightness of the seal.
“It’s really important just to keep your staff safe and in return, keeping the residents or patients safe,” said Sarah Cross, a LifeBridge infection control nurse.
Maryland has experienced coronavirus outbreaks in 183 nursing homes and 124 assisted living facilities as of December 1.
About the Author
Nikki Johnson-Bolden is an Associate Content Editor for Occupational Health & Safety.
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Cal/OSHA’s Emergency Regulations for Coronavirus Protection Now in Effect
The agency’s emergency regulations were approved on November 30.
Dec 04, 2020
Cal/OSHA’s emergency regulations requiring employers to protect employees from COVID-19 related hazards were approved on November 30 and are effective immediately.
The regulations were approved by the Office of Administrative Law. The standards will hold employers responsible for implementing a written coronavirus prevention program that is specific to their workplace and correcting unsafe conditions.
“We understand the need to educate and assist employers as they implement the new provisions of the emergency standards,” said Doug Parker, Cal/OSHA Chief. “For employers who need time to fully implement the regulations, enforcement investigators will take their good faith efforts to implement the emergency standards into consideration. However, aspects such as eliminating hazards and implementing testing requirements during an outbreak are essential.”
There are FAQs, as well as a fact sheet, to help assist employers with making changes according to the regulations.
For more information, visit dir.ca.gov.
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FDA Approves Flu Treatment for Post-Exposure Treatment
The FDA expands the approval of the flu treatment Xofluza to include prevention of the virus after exposure.
Dec 02, 2020
The FDA expanded its approval indication for Xofluza, a medication that combats the flu, on November 23.
The approval now includes post-exposure prevention of the flu for patients who are 12-years-old and older after they have had contact with someone who has the flu. The drug, which was first approved in 2018, is now available as granules that can be mixed in water instead of the usual tablet form.
“This expanded indication for Xofluza will provide an important option to help prevent influenza just in time for a flu season that is anticipated to be unlike any other because it will coincide with the coronavirus pandemic,” said Debra Birnkrant, M.D., director of the Division of Antiviral Products in the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. “Americans will have to be more vigilant than ever as these viruses spread concurrently.”
During the trial for the drug—which included 607 subjects—1% of the subjects who were given Xofluza were infected with the flu at the end of the trial. Thirteen percent of subjects that contracted the flu had been given a placebo.
For more information, visit fda.gov.
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OH&S Recognizes Entrants and Winners of the 12th Annual New Product of the Year Contest
OH&S has been celebrating innovation and products optimized to keep workers safe for over 10 years.
By Sydny ShepardDec 01, 2020
OH&S has been celebrating innovation and products optimized to keep workers safe for over 10 years. In the year of 2020, safety products and services are being recognized on a global scale, bringing greater awareness to the important work completed by manufacturers in the industry.
This year we are recognizing outstanding products in 26 award categories, including a new category for products created to protect against infectious diseases. Now more than ever, it is of the utmost importance to keep workers and employees safe from emerging and existing workplace hazards.
To be eligible for the 2020 awards, products must have been introduced to the market between July 2019 and July 2020. The 2020 award entrants are below. To see the winners, visit ohsonline.com/npoy.
2020 New Product of the Year Entrants
A-Safe Inc — Trailer Kerb
Category: Safety Barriers
altumAi — futureWork
Category: Safety Monitoring Devices
Andax Industries LLC — Andax Transformer Containment Bag
Category: Lifting Safety
Avery Industrial — Avery Non-Slip Floor Signs for Social Distancing & COVID-19 Safety
Category: Infectious Disease Control
Avery Industrial — Avery PermaTrack Metallic Asset Tag Identification Labels
Category: Signage & Identification
Blackline Safety — Molecular Property Spectrometer (MPS) Flammable Gas Sensor
Category: Industrial Hygiene - Gas Monitors
Blackline Safety — Blackline Vision: Industrial Contact Tracing
Category: Internet of Things
Bradley Corp. — Navigator Thermostatic Mixing Valve
Category: Emergency Showers & Eyewash
CBS ArcSafe — RSA-97B Remote MCC Operator
This article originally appeared in the December 1, 2020 issue of Occupational Health & Safety.
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Five Emergency Maintenance Best Practices All Plant Employees Should Follow
A well-thought-out and well-organized emergency response plan will help prevent fatalities, reduce equipment maintenance costs and help mitigate potential environmental hazards.
By Bryan ChristiansenNov 30, 2020
Have you encountered a sudden machine failure of a critical asset that needs instant repair? That is what we call emergency maintenance, an unplanned event of repair or maintenance to make the equipment operational again. Here are a few examples of emergency maintenance:
sudden replacement of a gasket of a pump
replacement of conveyor belts
repair of electrical wirings due to short circuit
troubleshooting of an elevator stoppage
… and the list goes on. Emergency maintenance doesn’t have a schedule and always happens without warnings, but it can be successfully managed with proper safety measures.
Importance of emergency maintenance safety
Every facility must have a plan and available resources to deal with emergency maintenance. Those plans have to incorporate certain safety guidelines. Since it’s an emergency, pre-planning is essential. The lack of an emergency plan could lead to severe financial losses as well as human casualties.
A well-thought-out and well-organized emergency response plan will help to eliminate these issues. It will prevent fatalities, reduce equipment maintenance costs, improve asset reliability and help mitigate potential environmental hazards.
The following are the safety measures all employees should keep in mind during emergency maintenance.
1. Providing and Following Written Safety Guidelines
Emergency maintenance happens when there is an issue with a critical piece of equipment or when a malfunction leads to a (potential) safety hazard. In both cases, this causes a lot of nervousness on the plant floor as everybody knows that this hurts the company's bottom line.
Since there is a lot of pressure to deal with these situations as fast as possible, it is paramount to have written safety guidelines that are properly communicated to all affected employees. Machine operators, maintenance techs and safety managers all have different tasks and responsibilities they are supposed to follow.
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