So, where were you when 9/11 occurred? Today’s generation will always remember where they were and what they were doing when this significant terrorist event happened 10 years ago. As a baby-boomer we always heard stories from our parents what they were doing when Pearl Harbor happened. Our generation remembered what they where doing when President Kennedy was shot.  When the Oklahoma Federal Building was bombed and of course when the 9-11 attack happened.

I was working for the National Safety Council, and on my way to Kemper Insurance to meet with their global vice-president of safety, when I got a message from his administrative assistant. I was told that he could not meet with me today due to the events that happened in New York. I was not even aware of anything that had happened. I turned on the news and learned that 2 planes had hit the towers in New York City.

Being a safety person, my first reaction was the safety of the people in the towers. I later learned that Kemper had many people in the twin towers, and they were some of the fortunate ones. They all got out. But for days Kemper did not know who was alive or who had died. Soon after, they put a new notification system in place for their employees in the event something else would happen.

I also learned that a cousin’s son was in the pentagon, just a couple of doors down from the area that was hit. He was not injured. But for 3 days his parents did not know if he was alive or dead.

Americans have always had this mentality that nothing that nothing will ever happen to me.  We are now starting to reconsider that philosophy a little. Pearl Harbor, Oklahoma City, NYC Twin Towers, each generation has their event to remember.  So where were you when…………………..happened?

What do think NETS is?  A tennis game, Part of the NBA, a new reality show?  Not really, NETS stands for Network of Employers for Traffic Safety.  So, have you ever heard of NETS?  Probably not.

Do you have any employees who drive for your business or organization?   Maybe you have some employees who drive to and from work.  NETS is dedicated to improving the health and safety of employees, their families and the community by preventing traffic crashes that occur both on- and off-the-job.  Why should we be so concerned about employees who drive?  Because Motor Vehicle Collisions are the #1 cause of employee/worker death and injury in the US.  Nothing is even close. It is also the most costly injury to any company/organization according to the National Safety Council”s Injury and Facts publication.

The Board members of NETS include:

Abbott

AmeriFleet Transportation

Chubb Group of Insurance Companies

The Coca-Cola Company

Johnson & Johnson

Liberty Mutual Insurance Group

Monsanto

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)

Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company

UPS

In just over a month NETS will be sponsoring National Drive Safely Work Week, October 3-7.

Focus 360° – Getting there safely is everyone’s responsibility.

The 2011 campaign is focused on the dangers of distracted driving— but not just from the position of the driver. The new materials also help consider the roles and responsibilities of being a safe passenger, pedestrian and cyclist in preventing distracted driving-related incidents. If you want more information, go to NETS website.

RAIN IS blamed for thousands of accidents each year and driving on wet roads is particularly hazardous. While it is impossible to completely eliminate the risks, it is entirely possible to reduce the factors that lead to accidents by understanding the difference between driving in fair and foul weather.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) of the Department of Labor has developed this elaws Advisor to address the federal requirement to report and record work-related injuries and illnesses. The OSHA Recordkeeping Advisor is intended to help determine:

• Whether an injury or illness (or related event) is work-related
• Whether an event or exposure at home or on travel is work-related
• Whether an exception applies to the injury or illness
• Whether a work-related injury or illness needs to be recorded
• Which provisions of the regulations apply when recording a work-related case

The OSHA Recordkeeping Advisor presents questions and relies on responses to determine the appropriate course of action. The Advisor does not store any information. If the Advisor does not address the circumstances of a particular case, please contact OSHA or obtain expert advice.

If your organization has hazardous materials in the workplace, there is a site you might want to bookmark and become familiar with.   The Department of Health and Human Services has as part of it’s webpage a report on carcinogens.   The report identifies agents, substances, mixtures, and exposure circumstances that are known or reasonably anticipated to cause cancer in humans.   Since the Hazard Communication standard  is one of the most often sited parts of OSHA, this site may help you inform your employees about carcinogenic substances you have in your workplace.

On June 10 added eight substances, including the industrial chemical formaldehyde, to its Report on Carcinogens.  The report identifies chemicals and biological agents that may cause cancer in humans. According to HHS, research shows high exposure to formaldehyde increases the risk for certain types of cancer, such as nasopharyngeal, sinonasal and myeloid leukemia.  Formaldehyde is used to make resins for household items, as a preservative in medical laboratories and in consumer goods such as hair straightening products. In fact, after receiving complaints from hair stylists, OSHA in April issued an alert about hair smoothing products that may release formaldehyde despite being labeled “formaldehyde-free.”  The other substances added to the list were aristolochic acids, captafol, cobalt-tungsten carbide (in powder or hard metal form), certain inhalable glass wool fibers, o-nitrotoluene, riddelliine and styrene.

“Workers who dig or excavate trench­es are at risk of death if they enter an unprotected trench and the walls col­lapse. However, hazards associated with trench work and excavation are well defined and preventable. The OSHA standard for excavation and trenching, known as 29 CFR* 1926 Subpart P, de­scribes the precautions needed for safe excavation work.

There is no reliable warning when a trench fails. The walls can collapse sud­denly, and workers will not have time to move out of the way. Even though small amounts of dirt may not seem treacherous, a single cubic yard of dirt can weigh more than 3,000 pounds, which can fatally crush or suffocate workers [Deatherage et al. 2004]. Even small, solid pieces of dirt can cause se­rious injuries.”

This is the first few lines from a new Workplace Solutions from NIOSH on Trench Cave-Ins, Preventing Worker Deaths from Trench Cave-ins.

NIOSH has produced many Workplace Solutions brochures available to the business community on a variety of safety topics. Many of these publications are free when ordering them from NIOSH. Our federal government at work.

OSHA has established a new National Emphasis Program for the primary metals industries, targeting workers’ exposures to metal dusts and fumes, carbon monoxide, lead, silica, noise and heat hazards, according to the agency’s directive, which is dated May 19.

These establishments are involved in extracting and refining metals from rocks containing iron, lead, nickel, and tin, among other elements. Some manufacture nails, insulated wires and cables, steel piping, and copper and aluminum products.

OSHA said this became a concern from its review of data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries and data from past OSHA inspections. The directive says the NEP was developed “because of the seriousness and frequency of these problems.”

“Workers who are not properly protected from the hazards of metals refining are at increased risk of serious, potentially deadly health effects,” said Assistant Secretary Dr. David Michaels. “OSHA’s new enforcement program will raise awareness of the dangers of exposure to metals and other chemicals so that employers can correct hazards and comply with OSHA standards.

OSHA has recently introduced a new part to it’s website, the Injury and Illness Prevention Programs page. There are some really useful parts to this site.

One part I am using is the program resource button. When you click on the safety pays link it takes you to an estimated cost worksheet. Why is this useful? It give you, the safety professional, a way of showing upper management the relative cost of an injury and how much additional sales is needed to pay for that injury. As Yoda might say, “very powerful it is.”

The safety pays part also gives you a step-by-step method for helping safety people get management buy-in. and other useful tools

OSHA has done a really nice job give safety professional a real tool to be more successful.

Check it out.

Washington – Commercial motor vehicle drivers who operate vehicles containing hazardous materials will be prohibited from texting while driving, according to a final rule from the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration.

What do you about WISQARS? What type of animal is this? What does it do?Where can you find it? Why do I need it? How can I use it?

Hopefully you can answer a few of these questions. If not maybe The Compliance Resource Center can help.

What is WISQARS?

WISQARS is Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System from the CDC (that’s a mouth full) that is an interactive, online database that provides fatal and nonfatal injury, violent death, and cost of injury data from a variety of trusted sources.

What does it do?

Users can search, sort, and view the injury data and create reports, charts, and maps based on the following:

• Intent of injury (unintentional injury, violence-related, homicide/assault, legal intervention, suicide/intentional self-harm)
• Mechanism (cause) of injury (e.g., fall, fire, firearm, motor vehicle crash, poisoning, suffocation)
• Body region (e.g., traumatic brain injury, spinal cord, torso, upper and lower extremities)
• Nature (type) of injury (e.g., fracture, dislocation, internal injury, open wound, amputation, and burn)
• Geographic location (national, regional, state) where the injury occurred
• Sex, race/ethnicity, and age of the injured person

Where can you find it?

At the CDC website  http://www.cdc.gov/injury/wisqars/facts.html

How can I use it?

• Show the size of the public health and economic impact of the injury problem
• Describe, compare, and monitor trends in unintentional and violence-related injuries
• Identify new or developing injury problems
• Identify persons at risk of injury
• Provide reliable surveillance data for program and policy decisions

Why do I need it?

What better way to sell safety programs than to show management how much an injury or death can cost a company. Using WISQARS you can calculate the cost of an incident and project how the impact will affect your company or organization.

We are always looking to tools to help increase our safety budget and have better programs. Now you can add WISQARS to your toolkit.