Solis announces new OSHA enforcement initiatives

Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis announced a number of major new OSHA enforcement initiatives during her April 14 keynote address at the National Action Summit for Latino Worker Health and Safety. OSHA currently requires that training provisions under OSHA standards be provided in a language or a form that workers can understand. OSHA further requires that its Compliance Officers check and verify that workers have received the training required by OSHA standards. The Agency will expand upon this and effective on April 28 -- Workers Memorial Day -- Secretary Solis explained, "OSHA will also assure that its Compliance Officers check and verify not only that the training has been provided, but that it was provided in a format that the workers being trained can understand." The Secretary also announced a new pilot program where OSHA will work with local b uilding inspectors to assure worker safety and health protection. In construction, the four leading causes of worker deaths are falls, electrocution, being crushed or caught between and being struck. Inspectors participating in this pilot program will notify OSHA when they observe unsafe work conditions leading to these four major causes of workplace fatalities.

Workplace Weight Loss Contests

For some employees, competition drives weight loss efforts.

On any given day in the Urbana, Ill., office of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), staff members in the Poison Control Center answer up to 700 telephone calls from frantic pet owners. The center “has 45 people who take phone calls all day from people saying, ‘Sparky got into the chocolate’ or ‘Rusty ate the ant bait,’ ” says Danny Groh, a programmer in the office’s Knowledge Management Center.

“Because we’re a knowledge organization, we’re pretty sedentary,” Groh continues. “I have five monitors in front of me.” And desk jobs can lead to extra pounds. So, with the blessing of the organization’s HR department, Groh and his colleagues recently organized, managed and competed in the “ASPCA Fitness Challenge.”

It was an in-house fitness and weight loss contest. Participants vied for cash prizes and used an online “leader board,” much like a leader board in golf, to track individuals’ weight loss and exercise. The competition was open throughout the 85-employee office, which includes an animal behavior center and counseling and client services departments.

The organizers’ first step was to ask the ASPCA Midwest office’s health provider, Health Alliance, to provide information about diet, exercise and wellness programs and to calculate each employee’s body mass index (BMI). The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention describes BMI as “a number calculated from a person’s weight and height, … a reliable indicator of body fatness for people.”

“One thing we didn’t want to do is tell people how to lose weight, because we couldn’t do that,” Groh explains. “Me, I just ate less. This was a personal challenge, not an employer-mandated challenge. And we wanted to foster some sense of responsibility in the employee to live a healthy lifestyle.”

Employees shared ideas about recipes and fitness, joined one another for walks, and found what worked best for them. And that turned out to be a plus: “There were new relationships formed across department lines, with people getting together and talking about this,” Groh says.

Groh, 35, won $250 for finishing second among men; he dropped to 168 pounds from 195 and says he feels healthier and better about himself. “I have not felt or looked this way since I was in boot camp” in the Navy, he says.

The Variables

In recent years, “reality” shows such as NBC’s “The Biggest Loser” have spawned growth in contests and “challenges” that pit employees against one another, individually or on teams, to lose weight. Such programs are distinct from the noncompetitive weight loss efforts that individuals undertake on their own or with the help of wellness counselors.

Weight loss contests can be organized and run by employees themselves or can be employer-sponsored. Some programs are diet- and nutrition-oriented; others have fitness or exercise components. And some incorporate a mix of those themes.

Employer-sponsored contests can be operated by the company’s health providers or by an independent vendor specializing in contests. Programs vary in number of participants, restrictions, duration, rules for determining winners, types of prizes offered and whether employees pay to participate.

For some workers, experts say, weight loss competitions with prizes are appealing and hence more effective than noncompetitive programs. “Based on employee feedback, the competition aspect is a true motivator,” says Audrey Boone Tillman, J.D., executive vice president and director of corporate services at Aflac, a major insurer based in Columbus, Ga., and a member of the Society for Human Resource Management’s Board of Directors.

“As the competition progresses, em­ployees inspire each other with individual successes and weigh-ins,” Tillman says. “Not only does the challenge bring out the competitive nature of employees, it also encourages camaraderie.”

Avoid Discrimination

But competitive weight loss programs can raise issues for HR professionals. Employers cannot mandate participation or apply punitive measures for nonparticipation. Likewise, most experts say rewards should be offered to all employees, not just those who obviously need to lose weight. Employers should be aware of any potential discrimination risk before addressing employees’ weight.

“Implement a contest in a fair, objective and flexible manner,” Tillman says, and ensure that it “doesn’t have a negative impact on any group or class of participants. Also, employers should clearly and routinely communicate to employees that the contests are available on a voluntary basis.”

Encourage employees “to seek advice from trained medical professionals before engaging in any physical activity,” Tillman adds. “Also, employees should sign a medical waiver releasing the employer of liability.”

In addition, HR professionals should involve em­ployees in planning health initiatives rather than work down from the top, and they should make sure personal privacy is protected, according to the report Weights and Measures: What Employers Should Know about Obesity, issued in April by The Conference Board, a New York-based business research organization.

Employees may be sensitive about disclosure of their weight. Christine Eley, a senior health educator with Kronos Corporate and Community Wellness, a Phoenix-based provider of wellness programs, says that in conducting weigh-ins, Kronos can make certain that “we are the only eyes that see any actual weights for individuals and teams.” She says that “most employees would probably feel a wee bit uncomfortable if they knew that people in HR knew their body weights.”

Deciding Who Runs It

Employers looking for providers of weight loss contests should do thorough research, look for information on industry discussion boards, and get referrals from health clubs, medical centers and trustworthy associations.

“As an outside provider, I’d love to automatically answer, ‘Go with an outside provider,’ ” Eley says. But if your company has its own on-site fitness or wellness program, “you may be fine running it.”

Managers at textile manufacturer BGF Industries Inc. in Greensboro, N.C., decided to run a program rather than hire a vendor. Paula Legendre Stop, PHR, benefits manager, launched a weight loss competition two years ago after data from the company’s on-site wellness clinics, staffed by nurse practitioners, showed that employees’ average BMI was 30 -- the threshold for obesity in an adult. (A BMI of 25 to 29.9 is considered overweight; 30 or above is obese. Normal BMI is 18.5 to 24.9.)

Stop saw obesity as “a big problem for my company -- and we need to look at doing something about it.” She did research and talked to colleagues at other businesses and at a conference about how they ran weight loss programs.

BGF recently wrapped up its second weight loss challenge, called “Battle To Get Fit.” Last year, 165 people competed and lost a total of 1,236 pounds on teams with names such as “Fat Guys R Us” and “Show Me the Money.”

Causes and Effects

Although contests vary in details, they generally are similar in purpose and in the motivations that underlie them. For example:

At Action Health, the employee wellness department at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, N.C., “We had several requests from employees for a competition similar to the TV show,” says wellness and nutrition coordinator Christie Hunter, referring to “The Biggest Loser.”

The nine-week contest included two teams, one with seven employees and the other with 10. Participants had to be at least 30 pounds overweight, and they paid $50 apiece. The goal was for each team member to lose one to two pounds per week through diet and exercise, Hunter says. Each team had an exercise coach and a registered dietitian who met with them weekly. Each member of the winning team -- the one with the higher average percentage of weight loss -- received $64.

Rewarding the Winners

Some employers adopt a holistic approach when declaring contest winners. Garden of Life Inc., a whole foods nutrition company in West Palm Beach, Fla., recently wrapped up a 16-week individual weight loss challenge called “Perfect Weight GoL,” based on a program authored by founder Jordan Rubin.

With accountability “came a tremendous amount of commitment, teamwork and camaraderie,” says Teresa M. Miller, PHR, senior director of human resources for Garden of Life.

Top prize was a two-night family trip for four to Disney World, three-day park passes for four, $300 in spending money, a $1,000 shopping spree at a nearby mall, and an extra day of paid time off.

The program was open to all employees as well as their spouses and members of their immediate households 18 years and older.

“If you don’t have multiple people in the same household subscribing to a similar lifestyle, it becomes very challenging, particularly if someone is drinking Coke and you’re drinking organic green tea,” Miller says.

About 50 percent of the company’s 97 employees enrolled, along with about 20 family members. Competitors had to keep journals of everything they ate, and they wrote before-and-after essays. The company partnered with BlueCross BlueShield of Florida, its health care provider, to do biometric screening and to weigh and measure contestants. Contestants had to follow food lists and were provided free Garden of Life supplements and snacks.

In addition to amount of weight lost, the challenge factored in the journal component and “leadership and support of the participants and colleagues during the program,” Miller says. These additional factors helped Vashti Ali, a 41-year-old accounts receivable representative, emerge as the grand prize winner.

“I am now my perfect weight,” Ali wrote in her journal, adding that she hadn’t felt so “happy, healthy, motivated” in a long time and now walks with pride. “I love the way I look and feel.”

by Pamela Babcock, a freelance writer based in the New York City area, reprinted from HR Magazine Vol. 53, No. 7 (July 2008)

US Labor Department's OSHA notifies 15,000 workplaces nationwide of high injury and illness rates

Assistance is available to keep workplaces safe

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration surveys employers to collect workplace injury and illness data it uses to identify employers whose injury and illness rates are considerably higher than the national average. A letter has been sent to about 15,000 workplaces with the highest numbers of injuries and illnesses resulting in days away from work, restricted work activities or job transfers, known as the DART rate.

"Receipt of this letter means that workers in that particular establishment are being injured at a higher rate than in most other businesses of its kind in the country," said Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA Dr. David Michaels. "Employers whose businesses have injury and illness rates this high need to take immediate steps to protect their workers."

Employers receiving the letters also were provided copies of their injury and illness data, along with a list of the most frequently cited OSHA standards for their specific industry. The letter offered assistance in helping to reduce workplace injuries and illnesses by suggesting, among other things, the use of OSHA's free safety and health consultation services for small businesses provided through the states.

OSHA identified businesses with the nation's highest rates of workplace injuries and illnesses through employer-reported data from a 2009 survey of about 100,000 worksites. (This survey collected injury and illness data for calendar year 2008.) Workplaces receiving notifications had DART rates more than twice the national average among all U.S. workplaces.

OSHA's consultation program is available to assist in addressing safety and health in the workplace for employers with 250 or fewer workers. This program is administered by a state agency and operated separately from OSHA's enforcement program. The service is free and confidential, and there are no fines even if problems are found. Designed for small employers, the consultation program can help an employer identify hazards while finding effective and economical solutions for repairing them. In addition, the OSHA state consultant can assist in developing and implementing a safety and health management system for the workplace.

A list of the employers receiving the letter is available on OSHA's public Web site here. A list of OSHA's consultation services is available here.

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA's role is to assure these conditions for America's working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, outreach, education and assistance. For more information, visit http://www.osha.gov.

News Release from the US Department of Labor March 9, 2010

Original DOL posting

OSHA Proposes Recordkeeping Change To Improve Illness Data

OSHA is proposing to revise its Occupational Injury and Illness Recording and Reporting (recordkeeping) regulation by restoring a column on the OSHA Form 300 to better identify work-related musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). The rule does not change existing requirements for when and under what circumstances employers must record musculoskeletal disorders on their injury and illness logs.

Many employers are currently required to keep a record of workplace injuries and illnesses, including work-related MSDs, on the OSHA Form 300 (Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses). The proposed rule would require employers to place a check mark in a column for all MSDs they have recorded.

The proposed requirements are identical to those contained in the OSHA recordkeeping regulation that was issued in 2001. Prior to 2001, OSHA's injury and illness logs contained a column for repetitive trauma disorders that included noise and MSDs. In 2001, OSHA separated noise and MSDs into two separate columns, but the MSD column was deleted in 2003 before the provision became effective. OSHA is now proposing to restore the MSD column to the OSHA Form 300 log.

"Restoring the MSD column will improve the ability of workers and employers to identify and prevent work-related musculoskeletal disorders by providing simple and easily accessible information," said Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA Dr. David Michaels. "It will also improve the accuracy and completeness of national work-related injury and illness data."

For more information, view OSHA's proposal here

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by Steve Hudgik
reprinted from http://www.safe-workplace.com/safety-blog/

The Five Threats To Worker's Safety

The 2009 data on the top ten violations of OSHA standards, as well as the top ten OSHA fines in 2009 is available in a new report from Graphic Products. Use this link to get your free copy: Top Ten OSHA Serious Violations.

But... what was the underlying cause?

A new study released today by VitalSmarts found that five threats to workers’ safety are commonly left undiscussed and lead to avoidable injury or fatalities.

The study, named Silent Danger: The Five Crucial Conversations that Drive Workplace Safety, surveyed more than 1,600 frontline workers, managers, and safety directors across 30 safety-conscious organizations in 2009.

According to the data, 93 percent of employees say their company is currently at risk and nearly half are aware of an injury or death caused by one of five avoidable workplace dangers. However, despite being aware of these five threats, only one in four employees speaks up and tries to correct unsafe conditions.

"Silent Danger shows the tragic secret behind most workplace injuries is that someone is aware of the threat well in advance, but is either unwilling or unable to speak up," said Joseph Grenny, co-founder of VitalSmarts and leading researcher of the study. "The greatest dangers to workplace safety are the norms, habits, and assumptions embedded in our corporate cultures that stifle employees’ ability to speak up and confront unsafe practices."

Each of the five threats to workplace safety outlined in Silent Danger was identified as being costly, common, and undiscussable. The five threats are:

• Get It Done: Unsafe practices that are justified by tight deadlines.
  
• Undiscussable Incompetence: Unsafe practices that stem from skill deficits that can’t be discussed.
  
• Just This Once: Unsafe practices that are justified as exceptions to the rule.
  
• This Is Overboard: Unsafe practices that bypass precautions considered excessive.
  
• Are You a Team Player? Unsafe practices that are justified for the good of the team, company, or customer.
  

However, not all employees remained silent bystanders when confronted with these and similar threats. A small minority, ranging from 25 to 28 percent, say they are able to speak up effectively in these crucial moments and address unsafe conditions. More than 82 percent of this vocal minority says that when they speak up, their actions result in a safer work environment for everyone.

Grenny says additional training, safety audits, and other tools, while important, will never be enough to create a truly safe environment.

"The reason we are seeing safety improvements begin to stall is not because the systems and policies we have implemented don’t work, it's because people don’t speak up and hold one another accountable," says Grenny. "Accidents in the workplace will not be prevented until senior leaders eradicate cultures of silence."

Grenny outlines recommendations senior leaders can follow for teaching their employees to speak up in crucial moments. One year after implementing Grenny’s recommendations, Pride International, an offshore drilling contractor, decreased its total incident rate by 55 percent and reported zero accidents that required employees to miss time on the job.

The full Silent Danger research results and recommendations for leaders are available for download at VitalSmarts

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About the Silent Danger Study

In early 2009, VitalSmarts began identifying ways to improve workplace safety incidents that led to 4 million injuries and 5,600 deaths per year. The Silent Danger study began with interviews and focus groups with 130 people from eight organizations. Trends unveiled in the interviews were verified through a survey administered to 1,500 employees from 22 organizations to test the impact communication breakdowns had on workplace safety. Full results available at VitalSmarts.com

Taken from www.safe-workplace.com/safety-blog posted by Steve Hudgik

US Labor Department's OSHA reminds employers of hazards associated with snow cleanup and urges proper worker safeguards

NEW YORK – With the recent spate of snowstorms hitting the Northeast, the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) wants to remind workers, employers and the general public of the hazards associated with snow removal and recovery work.

"Cleaning up after a storm encompasses a variety of tasks, each of which can carry risks if performed incorrectly or without proper safeguards," said Robert Kulick, OSHA's regional administrator in New York. "We want people to know what those risks are and what steps they can take to protect themselves against these hazards."

Common hazards can include:

• Electric shock from contact with downed power lines or the use of ungrounded electrical equipment.
  
• Falls from snow removal on roofs or while working in aerial lifts or on ladders.
  
• Being struck or crushed by trees, branches or structures that collapse under the weight of accumulated snow.
  
• Carbon monoxide poisoning from gasoline-powered generators in inadequately ventilated areas or idling vehicles.
  
• Lacerations or amputations from unguarded or improperly operated chain saws and power tools, and improperly attempting to clear jams in snow blowers.
  
• Slips or falls on icy or snow-covered walking surfaces.
  
• Being struck by motor vehicles while working in roadways.
  
• Hypothermia or frostbite from exposure to cold temperatures.
  

Means of addressing these hazards can include:

• Assuming all power lines are energized, keeping your distance and coordinating with the utility.
  
• Making certain that all electrically powered equipment is grounded.
  
• Providing and ensuring the use of effective fall protection.
  
• Properly using and maintaining ladders.
  
• Using caution around surfaces weighted down by large amounts of snow.
  
• Making certain all powered equipment is properly guarded and disconnected from power sources before cleaning or performing maintenance.
  
• Using and wearing eye, face and body protection.
  
• Clearing walking surfaces of snow and ice, and using salt or equivalent where appropriate.
  
• Establishing and clearly marking work zones.
  
• Wearing reflective clothing.
  
• Using engineering controls, personal protective equipment and safe work practices to reduce the length and severity of exposure to the cold.
  

5S Lean Manufacturing

The Five S program focuses on having visual order, organization, cleanliness and standardization. The results you can expect from a Five S program are: improved profitability, efficiency, service and safety.

The principles underlying a Five S program at first appear to be simple, obvious common sense. And they are. But until the advent of Five S programs many businesses ignored these basic principles.

What types of businesses benefit from a Five S program?

Everyone and all types of business benefit from having a Five S program.

Manufacturing and industrial plants come to mind first, as those are the business that can realize the greatest benefits. However, any type of business, from a retail store to a power plant -- from hospitals to television stations -- all types of businesses, and all areas within a business, will realize benefits from implementing a Five S program.

Benefits of Lean 5S"

One important purpose and benefit of 5 or 6S is to make your work area clean and in order to unhide potential problems. In an unclean workplace, it is hard to even notice things like "When did that machine start making that noise?" or "When did that start leaking oil?"
Another purpose and benefit is to reduce the amount of time wasted looking for misplaced tools, and materials, and supplies.
Most Lean initiatives start out with 5S training as one of the earliest initiatives, and there is a flurry of enthusiastic cleaning and organizing. The real test, however, is how well the new ways "stick" over time. The success of your 5s program is often an excellent predictor of the probable success of your greater lean manufacturing initiative.

The 5S's

Sort: The 5S workplace organization process usually starts out by sorting the useful from the unnecessary. The only things that should remain in a work area are the parts, tools, & instructions needed to do the job.

Straighten: Everything has a place; everything is in its place.
This is also a good time for your team to create a Visual Scoreboard, Jidoka lights, floor paint, kanbans, and other visual controls.

Sweep: Do an initial spring cleaning.
Maybe painting, scouring, sweeping, washing, rinsing, scrubbing, and whatever else is needed to make your work place shine.

Standardize: n the Standardize phase of Lean 5 S, routine cleaning becomes a way of life.
Preventative maintenance is routinely performed, perhaps with planning and scheduling and some responsibilities done by your central maintenance department, and as much routine maintenance as possible performed by the people that know that work center better than anyone else.

Sustain: Sustain is when five S becomes a routine way of life. Root causes are routinely identified and dealt with. The Systems2win 5 S forms and the Standard Work Audit are very familiar to everyone - both supervisors and the workers that have come to appreciate the benefits of Five S and Lean methods.

How to get started"

The essential thing is to have the workers evaluate every tool and machine, every pile of materials and supplies, every piece of instructional paper... to decide what is actually used, and how often.

• This can be done by marking any suspect items with a red tag, and then moving it out of the area into a temporary holding area (just in case it really is needed)...
  
• It can be accomplished by holding a mock auction - where the workers "bid" to plea their case for why an item should be kept.

The end result is to Sort the useful from the clutter.

Depending on the volume and complexity of the initial clutter - Sort can be its own phase, or you might have time to move right into an initial round of Straighten and Shine.

Be sure to take before and after photos - and distribute your highly visual success story far and wide to begin generating enthusiasm for your Lean program.

Hazards: Cuts, Lacerations, Amputation, Death

Safe Practices:

• Inspect all equipment for guards or shields prior to usage.
  
• All guards or shields must be in place when equipment is running.
  
• Guards or shields removed for maintenance must be properly replaced before use.
  
• Guards or shields affixed to equipment must not be readily removable by operator, so as to minimize the possibility of misuse or removal of essential parts.
  
• Report all missing or damaged guards or shields immediately to management.
  
• Never operate equipment with missing or damaged guards or shields.
  
• Never by-pass guards or shields installed by the manufacturer.
  
• Never remove warning or caution decals on equipment.
  
• Replace all warning or caution decals that are unreadable or missing.
  
• Always follow the manufacturer’s recommendation on maintenance or replacement of equipment guards or shields.
  

LOG 300 RECORD KEEPING

What?

The OSHA Log 300 Form is a form used to log occupational injuries and illnesses throughout the year. Employers in high-hazard establishments are obligated under OSHA's record keeping rules (29 CFR Part 1904) to maintain this log and post a summary notice during the year in each of their facilities. Fed-OSHA and the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) take a survey of this information each year to compile accurate injury and illness statistics. State-OSHA plans also participate. Most low-hazard businesses are exempt from the rules.

Who?

OSHA's record keeping rules apply to non-exempt businesses with 11 or more employees on payroll. Businesses with less than 11 employees are considered partially exempt. OSHA maintains a full list of industries that are fully exempt from Log 300 record keeping requirements. Additionally, OSHA and BLS are empowered to send a letter to an exempt or partially exempt business to ask them to maintain a Log 300 and related documentation to participate in the BLS annual survey of occupational injuries and illnesses.

How?

Under 29 CFR 1904, covered employers must determine whether an occupational injury or illness is required tobe recorded on the Log 300. Each qualifying occupational injury or illness must be documented on a report form called the OSHA 301 (or an equivalent, including any State OSHA equivalent form), and then recorded on the Log 300. At the end of the calendar year, the employer must transfer the Log 300 data to a summary notice called the OSHA 300-A (or an equivalent). This notice must be posted from February 1st through April 30th each year.

Requirements

Employers must log on their Log 300 Form any work-related injury that results in death, days away from work, restricted work, job transfer, medical treatment beyond first aid, or loss of consciousness, or if the injury or illness is significant and diagnosed by a physician or licensed health care professional. Covered employers must fill-in, certify, and post the OSHA 300-A Summary notice from February 1st through April 30th each year, even if no injuries or illnesses occurred. All records (OSHA 300, 301, and 300-A) must be retained for period of five years following the end of the calendar year covered by the forms.

Temporary Staffing Employees

29 CFR 1904.31(a) Basic requirement: You must record on the OSHA 300 Log the recordable injuries and illnesses of all employees on your payroll, whether they are labor, executive, hourly, salary, part-time, seasonal, or migrant workers. You also must record the recordable injuries and illnesses that occur to employees who are not on your payroll if you supervise these employees on a day-to-day basis.

1904.31(b)(2)Implementation: If I obtain employees from a temporary help service, employee leasing service, or personnel supply service, do I have to record an injury or illness occurring to one of those employees? You must record these injuries and illnesses if you supervise these employees on a day-to-day basis.

Top Violations Are Up Almost 30 Percent Since Last Year


Orlando, FL – The U.S. Department of Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has revealed the preliminary top 10 most-frequent workplace safety violations for 2009 as part of a presentation at the NSC’s annual Congress & Expo. The number of top 10 violations has increased almost 30 percent over the same time period in 2008.

“We appreciate our colleagues at OSHA presenting their new violation data to such a receptive audience,” said National Safety Council President and CEO Janet Froetscher. “The sheer number of violations gives us new resolve in raising awareness about the importance of having sounds safety procedures.”

The workplace violations are:

1. Scaffolding – 9,093 violations

Scaffold accidents most often result from the planking or support giving way, or to the employee slipping or being struck by a falling object.

2. Fall Protection – 6,771 violations

Any time a worker is at a height of four feet or more, the worker is at risk and needs to be protected. Fall protection must be provided at four feet in general industry, five feet in maritime and six feet in construction.

3. Hazard Communication – 6,378 violations

Chemical manufacturers and importers are required to evaluate the hazards of the chemicals they produce or import, and prepare labels and safety data sheets to convey the hazard information to their downstream customers.

4. Respiratory Protection – 3,803 violations

Respirators protect workers against insufficient oxygen environments, harmful dusts, fogs, smokes, mists, gases, vapors and sprays. These hazards may cause cancer, lung impairment, other diseases or death.

5. Lockout-Tag out – 3,321 violations

"Lockout-Tag out” refers to specific practices and procedures to safeguard employees from the unexpected startup of machinery and equipment, or the release of hazardous energy during service or maintenance activities.

6. Electrical (Wiring) – 3,079 violations

Working with electricity can be dangerous. Engineers, electricians and other professionals work with electricity directly, including working on overhead lines, cable harnesses, and circuit assemblies. Others, such as office workers and sales people, work with electricity indirectly and may also be exposed to electrical hazards.

7. Ladders – 3,072 violations

Occupational fatalities caused by falls remain a serious public health problem. The US Department of Labor (DOL) lists falls as one of the leading causes of traumatic occupational death, accounting for eight percent of all occupational fatalities from trauma.

8. Powered Industrial Trucks – 2,993 violations

Each year, tens of thousands of injuries related to powered industrial trucks (PIT), or forklifts, occur in US workplaces. Many employees are injured when lift trucks are inadvertently driven off loading docks, lifts fall between docks and an unsecured trailer, they are struck by a lift truck, or when they fall while on elevated pallets and tines.

9. Electrical – 2,556 violations

Working with electricity can be dangerous. Engineers, electricians, and other professionals work with electricity directly, including working on overhead lines, cable harnesses, and circuit assemblies. Others, such as office workers and sales people, work with electricity indirectly and may also be exposed to electrical hazards.

10. Machine Guarding – 2,364 violations

Any machine part, function, or process that may cause injury must be safeguarded. When the operation of a machine or accidental contact injures the operator or others in the vicinity, the hazards must be eliminated or controlled

Sleep Deprivation and Stress

By Chris Woolston Full Article

Anybody who has ever tossed and turned after a rough day at work knows that stress can make it hard to get a good night's sleep. But the connection between sleep and stress is a two-way street. Just as surely as stress interrupts sleep, lack of sleep can be an uncomfortably large source of stress.

People working night shifts could be Exhibit A in the trial of sleep v stress. Humans aren't meant to be nocturnal, and people who work at night struggle to get enough sleep. As reported in the book Principles and Practice of Sleep Medicine(Elsevier/Saunders, 2005), night workers average five to 10 hours less sleep per week than other workers. The sleep they do get is often fitful. This problem is common enough to have a formal name: shift work sleep disorder.

Whether you're a long-haul trucker driving through the night or a student pulling an all-nighter to finish a paper, the shortfall of deep, restful sleep exacts a heavy toll, both emotionally and physically. As reported in Medscape Neurology and Neurosurgery in 2005, people who work night shifts are especially prone to stress, both on and off the job. Not surprisingly, they're also vulnerable to a wide range of stress-related conditions, including depression, heart disease, high blood pressure, stomach problems, weakened immune systems, and infertility.

Stress and sleep: The inside story

No matter what your age or occupation, a lack of sleep will throw your system off balance. To fully understand the consequences, it helps to take a quick look at the inside story of stress and sleep.

Just as the Pony Express relied on a series of riders to deliver mail across the Old West, the body uses a chain of chemicals to send messages of stress. First, the brain releases a hormone called CRH. This hormone prompts the pituitary gland to produce ACTH -- the next link in the stress chain reaction. ACTH is the messenger that tells the adrenal gland to release adrenaline and other stress hormones. These are the hormones that make a person feel "stressed out." They're also the hormones that, over time, can set the stage for stress-related illnesses.

A good night's sleep seems to block this chain reaction. As Stanford stress expert Robert Sapolsky describes in his book Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers (Henry Holt, 2004), there’s "decent evidence" that the same brain chemical that brings on deep sleep also tells the pituitary gland to slow down the production of ACTH. As a result, the adrenal gland never gets the signal to pump out stress hormones, and the body gets a chance to truly rest.

Interestingly, the part of the brain that houses the stress signal becomes more active during the dreaming (REM) stage of sleep, presumably to help fuel the startling visions that go on in our heads.

The toll of tossing and turning

If you don't get enough deep sleep, you're missing a chance to take a break from stress. Losing sleep might even send your levels of stress hormones in the wrong direction. Although research has been mixed so far, one study published in 1997 in the journal Sleep found that sleep deprivation boosted stress hormones the next evening.

It doesn't take a research study to show that missing sleep can make a person miserable. We've all felt the consequences: drowsiness, irritability, and a fog that just won't lift. Stress hormones block storage of short-term memories, which may explain why sleep-deprived people notoriously have trouble holding onto thoughts, much to the chagrin of students who cram all night for a test.

Missing one night's sleep is one thing; struggling with sleeplessness for weeks or months will really turn up the volume on stress. A 2001 study of insomniacs published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism found that those with the worst sleep produced especially large amounts of ACTH and stress hormones throughout the day and night. The levels of stress hormones -- and, thus, levels of stress -- were highest from afternoon until early night, a time when most people get to wind down.

People with insomnia feel more stressed out than people who have no trouble sleeping at night. As reported in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism in 2001, people who sleep soundly enjoy a daily reprieve from stress hormones. For insomniacs, however, hormone levels stay high all day long.

With stress messengers literally coursing through their veins, it’s no surprise that insomniacs often feel frazzled. A 2005 study of 772 men and women of all ages published in the journal Sleep found that people who suffered from insomnia were 17 times more likely than sound sleepers to have anxiety problems.

Sleeping away stress

If you're feeling stressed out, getting enough sleep should be one of your top priorities. Try to get at least eight hours of sleep every night, even if you feel like you can "get by" on less. Of course, putting sleep on your schedule is only the first step. The National Sleep Foundation recommends "winding down" for an hour or two before bed -- no catching up on work, no phone calls. Also, you should reserve your bedroom for sleep or sex, not "waking" activities such as working or watching TV. Don't go to bed unless you actually feel tired. And if you find yourself wide awake between the sheets, get up and do something else until you feel sleepy again.

For shift workers, sleep can be especially elusive. The National Sleep Foundation offers special sleep tips for the graveyard shift: Sleep in a dark room (or wear a mask or dark glasses), use earplugs to block out sound, go to bed at the same time every day, and avoid caffeine or alcohol before bedtime.

Good sleep is worth the effort. Anyway you look at it, rest is better than stress.