News + Blog

Friday, October 24, 2008

OSHA Doubles Efforts

After reading the following news release from OSHA, you need to ask yourself two questions. "Is the injury rate at my company going down like other companies" and "Is my facility ready for OSHA to double its efforts?"

National News Release: 08-1532-NAT
October 23, 2008

Statement by U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao on 2007 workplace injury and illness rates
Rate continues to decline significantly and continues at recorded low

WASHINGTON -- The rate of workplace injuries and illnesses in private industry declined in 2007 for the sixth consecutive year, the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported today. Nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses reported by private industry employers declined from 4.4 cases per 100 workers in 2006 to 4.2 cases in 2007.

Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Edwin G. Foulke Jr. said, "Today's injury and illness results demonstrate that OSHA's balanced approach to workplace safety encompassing education, training, information sharing, inspection, regulation and aggressive enforcement is achieving significant reductions in workplace injury and illness throughout the country. This report shows that employees are now safer in the workplace than ever before. This success validates our efforts, and we are redoubling this commitment to make workplaces even safer." (emphasis added)

OSHA operates a vigorous enforcement program, having conducted more than 39,000 inspections in fiscal year 2007 and exceeding its inspection goals in each of the last eight years. In fiscal year 2007, OSHA found nearly 89,000 violations of its standards and regulations.

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Your Company’s Check Up

One of the most common questions regarding what Indigo does revolves around
why a company would want to change what they are doing. Your company is
doing ok and it seems that only hurting companies would want to make
changes. "Why fix it, if it isn't broken?"

Good question! The answer lies more in your desire to excel as a business
or to just maintain where you are with hopes that your competition isn't
getting better. (Guess what - your competition is getting better and more
sophisticated)

Think of your car. If you never took it in and had the oil changed, tires
replaced, brake pads checked, or done something with that "service engine
soon" light, would you be confident in its ability to keep running? I
don't think so either. A checkup from someone on the outside might be just
what the doctor ordered.

It is a good investment to have a check-up from someone outside the
business. Unless you are an auto mechanic, you probably won't be rebuilding
your fuel-injector system. The same applies to safety programs, quality
assurance, and process and procedural documentation.

Wednesday, October 08, 2008

Back Injury Prevention

While healthcare gets a lot of attention in politics these days, one area that no one is discussing is what is happening regarding the amount of injuries in the nursing workforce. NIOSH reports:

Direct and indirect costs associated with back injuries in the healthcare industry are estimated to be $20 billion annually. Additionally, nursing aides and orderlies suffer the highest prevalence (18.8%) and report the most annual cases (269,000) of work-related back pain among female workers in the United States. In 2000, 10,983 registered nurses (RNs) suffered lost-time work injuries due to lifting patients. Twelve percent of nurses report that they left the nursing profession because of back pain.

The agency has developed better identification of hazards and better methods for the handling of patients. Using equipment to help move patients appears to reduce worker injuries and lost time, and improved education and training will also be important.

There is some arguement that all employees would be better off if employers would take the time to observe the potential lifting hazards in their workplace and take aggressive action to minimize those hazards. More equipment, improved ergonomic set-up, and more training are all potential improvements in which every business can participate. The benefits in making these changes will dwarf the costs associated with making the workplace safer for the employee.

Thursday, October 02, 2008

New “COOL” Labeling Law Went Into Effect 9-30-08

Via the 2002 and 2008 Farm Bills all muscle cuts and ground beef (including veal), lamb, chicken, goat, and pork; perishable commodities (fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables); macadamia nuts, pecans, ginseng and peanuts must be labeled with the country of origin effective September 30, 2008. Products already in commerce prior to Sept. 30 are exempt.

USDA implemented "COOL" for fish and shellfish in October 2004.

For more details take a look at http://www.usda.gov or http://www.ams.usda.gov

Thanks for stopping by!

Layne