THE SAFETY NET
Statistics show injuries and fatalities continue to occur in the workplace because the hazards are not being resolved at the source.
“However, it seems that some practitioners have turned the hierarchy of controls model on its head,” Gary Morris, Ph.D., CSP, associate professor in the OSH department at Murray State University, and Ryan Cannady, CSP, CIH, STS-C, an ESH manager at UCOR, explain in a recent Professional Safety journal article.
To support their argument, they cite a study, “Risk Assessments: Top 10 Pitfalls and Tips for Improvement,” that found many organizations do not conduct effective risk assessments because they fail to “consider the hierarchy of controls and [fail] to prioritize based on risk.”
While Morris and Cannady identify multiple reasons for this shift, the result is the same: Maintaining the status quo at the cost of employee safety.
The most recent data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics recorded the total number of nonfatal injuries and illnesses in 2022 at more than 2.8 million.
It’s hitting employers’ bottom lines, too. Large-scale research into occupational injury and illness estimates it costs $6 billion for fatal incidents and $186 billion for nonfatal incidents. The study’s author, J. Paul Leigh, describes this amount as “at least as large as the cost of cancer.”
You can move beyond the status quo of prescribing PPE — the “least effective control for protecting employees” — by adopting a more efficient method using the hierarchy of controls.
WHY DO WE OVER RELY ON PPE IN THE HIERARCHY OF CONTROLS?
To avoid misusing the hierarchy of controls, it’s important to identify why so many companies prioritize PPE over other safety solutions. Companies often choose PPE for the following reasons, despite the drawbacks of each one.
• Many companies look for the cheapest solution to perform the job during the identification and evaluation phases without considering the cost of annual training requirements and PPE maintenance.
• Some companies assume that PPE is also the easiest way to address a hazard with minimal impact on productivity. However, research shows that PPE can “impact human senses and even decrease performance,” Morris and Cannady add. Respirators, for example, can decrease workers’ physical, psychomotor and visual acuity and increase anxiety, a report found .
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• When it’s essential to select a solution quickly, many companies turn to PPE first as a stop-gap measure, then fail to consider safety measures higher in the hierarchy as permanent solutions. As a result, “statistics show injuries and fatalities continue to occur in the workplace because the hazards are not being resolved at the source,” Morris and Cannady explain.
• In situations where elimination or substitution methods aren’t immediately clear, companies don’t always consider alternatives.
• Taking all these factors into account, it’s clear PPE is not a cure-all for worker safety.
THE METHODICAL PROCESS OF THE HIERARCHY OF CONTROLS
Safety professionals should not view the hierarchy of controls as a list of options, but as a hierarchical process to find the best possible solutions.
Morris and Cannady urge safety professionals to move methodically through each element of the hierarchy of controls — from elimination to substitution to engineering controls to administrative controls to PPE — and apply creative solutions.
Additionally, the hierarchy of controls should be introduced at the beginning of any project, not just when things go wrong, says Phill Welch, senior director of EHS&Q digital transformation for EHS software provider ProcessMAP.
“It should be part of the management of change,” he adds. “Too often we see the hierarchy of controls as a trailing indicator when it should be a leading indicator.”
Regardless of which level of the hierarchy of controls you can achieve, you should monitor hazard controls to ensure they were applied correctly and are effective, Welch says.
STEP 1: ELIMINATION
Eliminating hazards is the gold standard in the hierarchy of controls. Even in situations where elimination initially seems impossible, safety professionals should explore options.
For example, companies that require employees to work at height may not see any way around the necessity and, therefore, view fall arrest systems as an appropriate safety solution.
But Morris and Cannady suggest that in some cases, the use of drones may be appropriate, such as for residential or industrial inspections.
“Anyone can respond to a fall hazard by implementing fall protection equipment or training, but it is the unique job of a safety professional to investigate ways of removing the employee from the fall hazard,” Morris and Cannady write.
Automated guided vehicles in warehouse operations offer a cutting-edge way to eliminate the dangers of manually operating a forklift while offering companies greater efficiencies, Welch adds.
STEP 2: SUBSTITUTION
The second most effective hazard control is substitution.
One case study Welch described involved the daily use of utility knives to open boxes. Injuries declined significantly after the company switched from traditional utility knives to self-retracting safety utility knives, he says.
STEP 3: ENGINEERING CONTROLS
If hazards cannot be designed out from the beginning of the engineering process, a company should consider other engineering and isolation steps to control hazards. Welch suggests isolating equipment in an enclosure, barrier or guard; installing ventilation to redirect chemical hazards; adding a safety light curtain; automating hazardous work where relevant; and implementing ergonomic lifting devices for safer material handling.
STEP 4: ADMINISTRATIVE CONTROLS
Administrative controls—training, procedures, maintenance, housekeeping and signs—can have a wide impact on employee safety, but they are not often the most effective measure. They are often considered basic safety hygiene that can raise the level of safety awareness overall.
Housekeeping is one of the most low-cost, yet effective administrative controls, Welch says. Keeping a clean, clutter-free workspace can greatly reduce injury and minimize the severity of an incident.
STEP 5: PPE
“PPE is the last resort, the last line of defense in protecting an employee from hazards,” Welch says, noting that it creates more work for employees.
If elimination is not possible, then employers should consider PPE in conjunction with other solutions that are higher up in the hierarchy.
“It is critical for those in the safety profession to change the paradigm of choosing PPE first as an easy solution to any workplace hazard,” Morris and Cannady conclude. “Safety professionals must work with production and maintenance to find creative ways of reducing a hazard or eliminating it altogether.”
UNDERSTANDING RISK MANAGEMENT AND ASSESSMENT
Get the resources and expert guidance you need to improve how you assess risks to prevent hazards, protect workers and safeguard equipment.
An OSHA 10-Hour Class Was Given to the Irvine Design, Architect And Engineering Team the Week of 08.18.25.
Team 1: Debra Johnston, Darren Sweet, Donna Lorenzen, Shannon Shinozaki, Jason Kolons, Jett McCormick, Eric Marx, Jessica Escontrias, Charlie Engel, Mina Ghali, Karen Schlessinger, Dante Carrillo (GKN), Craig Herndon, Jason Millheim, Andrew Simpson, Sarah Cohen, Quinn Hanley, Charles Lafon, Tom Doyle, Kevin Nguyen, Rob O’Neil, and Toshi Ono.
Team 2: Tu Pham, Charlie Engel, Craig Herndon, Chris Ganiere, Alexander Gibson, Nirav Mehta, Renee Lin, Desiree Patriarca, Fin Prakittiphoom, Gary Fensel, Julia Clarke (intern), Jason Lou (intern), Diego Diaz (intern), Jayla Burton (intern), Dayana Coomler, and Christian Simafranca.
Prevention Through Design
The committee is working on integrating Prevention through Design (PtD), physical energy, and mental workload to design safer construction operations.
The goal is to develop an intervention tool that meaningfully influences the preconstruction planning stage to help reduce serious injury and fatality (SIF) risks during the construction phase.
An OSHA 10-hour Class was given to the Cleveland Design, Architect and Engineering team the week of 07.15.25.
Left to Right: Michael Fugate, Ravi Patel, Abigail Drayer, Ben Sestak, Kate Iino, Peter Skalicki, DeAndria Porter, Nick Clark, Utako Tanebe, Naomi Francis, Anca Avram, Julysa Garcia, Cindy Zaharchuk, Michelle Casto, Steven Raczka, Lisa Chambers, Mark Price, Emma Brustowski, George Muha, Mark Ewing, Mark Heimovitz, Eric Mahnich, Karthik Kondaji, Bruce Tigert, Dave Marosi, Mike Jones, Georges Abdallah, and Jim Seiple.
Slips, Trips, and Falls
04.27.2025
Although we’ve seen it in the cartoons and in the movies a million times, not many people actually slip on banana peels. But while the results may produce a few chuckles in the theater, falls are nothing to laugh at. In fact, some estimates put the number of disabling injuries resulting from falls at over 30,000 per year. The number of deaths is close to 12,000 a year. About one in 10 of these deaths happen in the workplace.
There are various ways to suffer slips and falls while working. You can slip and lose your balance, you can trip over objects left improperly in your walkway, or you can simply fall from an elevated position above the ground. Most injuries resulting from falls aren’t caused by falls from overhead, as you might think. They are from falls at ground or floor level where we walk and work.
Housekeeping is fundamental in all work areas to prevent slips, trips, and falls. This is probably the most important thing you can do to prevent this type of accident.
TO PREVENT SLIPS, TRIPS, AND FALLS:
• Keep walkways, aisles, and stairs free of tools, materials, and other hazards.
• Clean up any leaks or spills on floors, stairs, entryways, and loading docks promptly.
• Repair or report floor problems, such as broken planks, missing tiles, etc.
• Block off and mark floor areas that are being cleaned or repaired.
• Keep cords, power cables, and air hoses out of walkways.
• Place trash promptly in proper containers.
• Keep drawers closed. Take precautions on stairs and dock edges.
• Report missing or broken stair rails and slippery or damaged treads.
• Walk, don’t run, on stairs. Hold onto stair rails while going up and down.
• Don’t jump on or off platforms and loading docks and stay away from edges.
• Don’t carry a load you can’t see over, especially on stairs or around dock edges.
• Pay Attention to Your Movements and Surroundings:
• Focus on where you’re going, what you’re doing, and what lies ahead.
• Expect the unexpected.
• Take responsibility for fixing, removing, or avoiding hazards in your path.
• Wear sturdy shoes with non-skid soles and flat heels.
• Avoid baggy or loose pants you could trip over.
• Walk, don’t run.
• Wipe your feet when you come in from rain or snow.
• Report or replace any burned out lights or inadequate lighting.
• Watch out for floors that are uneven, have holes, etc.
• Keep your hands at your sides, not in your pockets, for balance.
• Don’t carry loads you can’t see over.
• Walk slowly on slippery surfaces. —Slide your feet and avoid sharp turns.
• Sit in chairs with all four legs on the floor.
• Make sure all wheels or casters are on the floor.
• Be constantly alert for—and remove or go around— obstructions in your path.
PREVENTING SLIPS, TRIPS, AND FALLS:
• Report any lighting problems. This goes for inside and outside. Falls can happen just as easily in the parking lot as on the shop floor. We can prevent at least some of them by making sure we can all see where we’re going.
• Report any hazardous floors. If there are loose items, torn carpets, broken or loose floor boards, or bumps or cracks in the concrete surfaces, let the appropriate person know.
• If you are involved in any clean-up operations, please, mark off slippery floors.
• If you notice a spill or greasy surface, clean it up or report it to someone who can clean it.
• Never ever run cords, cables, or hoses across high-traffic areas. If it can’t be avoided, make sure the area is marked off.
• Report any special hazards that may be lurking in stairwells or in other areas of the facility. These include loose or missing ladder rungs or dangerous areas on the loading dock.
• Preventing slips and falls has to be a team effort. Walking around a spill or stepping over an open drawer might keep you safe, but what about the next person who walks by?
By correcting the hazard or reporting it, you keep not only yourself safe, but your co-workers as well.
The Future of AEDs: How Technology is Transforming Emergency Response
07.08.2025 | EHS Today
Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) are life-saving devices designed to restore normal heart rhythm during sudden cardiac arrest (SCA). For safety professionals, ensuring the effectiveness of AEDs is a critical responsibility that goes beyond simply having the devices on hand. It requires consistent maintenance, real-time monitoring, and proper training to ensure AEDs are ready when every second counts. As technology advances, innovations in AED design, remote monitoring, and training are providing safety professionals with powerful tools to enhance emergency preparedness and resource effectiveness. This blog explores how these technologies are transforming AED readiness and empowering safety professionals to save more lives.
THE CHALLENGES OF AED READINESS
Despite widespread deployment, many AEDs fail when needed due to expired batteries and pads or other necessary maintenance. Studies have shown that up to 20% of publicly accessible AEDs may not be operational due to lack of maintenance. Safety professionals face a significant challenge—ensuring that AEDs are operational while managing compliance, device tracking, staff training and turnover. Traditional AED maintenance methods, such as manual inspections, are costly, time-consuming and prone to human error, adding administrative burdens to safety teams. These gaps in readiness highlight the urgent need for technology-driven solutions that help safety professionals ensure AEDs remain accessible, compliant, and reliable during emergencies.
KEY TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCEMENTS IN AED MANAGEMENT
1. IOT-ENABLED REMOTE MONITORING
One of the most significant advancements in AED management is the integration of Internet of Things (IoT) remote monitoring technology. Remote
monitoring systems now enable AEDs to automatically report their status, including battery life, pad expiration, and self-test results, through secure cellular networks. This eliminates the need for frequent manual checks and ensures immediate action when an issue is detected.
2. SAFE, AI-DRIVEN MACHINE LEARNING
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing remote AED monitoring by enhancing accuracy and adaptability. AI-powered machine learning systems can continually improve to distinguish AED electromagnetic (EM) signals from other devices to improve reliability. Such solutions ensure fewer false alerts and greater operational confidence. Additionally, these systems prioritize data security, accessing only harmless EM signatures without storing sensitive information. Solutions like ScoutRMS by RescueStat exemplify how AI-driven monitoring provides seamless oversight for both new and existing AEDs.
3. VIRTUAL AND BLENDED LEARNING FOR AED TRAINING
In-person CPR/AED training often presents challenges for organizations. It can be administratively complex to schedule and coordinate, and typically requires multiple hours to complete, reducing employee productivity. Virtual training solutions and blended learning models address these challenges by offering flexible, efficient options. These platforms provide on-demand, scenariobased training that takes half the time as a traditional in-person class. It helps ensure trained responders stay confident in their ability to act in a crisis, without the logistical hurdles of traditional methods.
4. SIMPLIFIED COMPLIANCE MANAGEMENT
Maintaining compliance with AED regulations and readiness standards can be a challenge for organizations. Advanced AED management tools such as ApolloPM from RescueStat now integrate compliance tracking— automating reminders for inspections, battery replacements, and pad expirations. These tools provide centralized visibility into program status, helping organizations meet legal requirements and mitigate liability risks. By simplifying compliance, organizations can focus more on readiness and response rather than administrative burdens.
THE FUTURE OF AED TECHNOLOGY AND EMERGENCY RESPONSE
Looking ahead, the future of AED technology will be defined by seamless integration of advanced management systems
and real-time oversight. Remote monitoring solutions will continue to evolve, ensuring AEDs deployed in vehicles, remote locations, and high-traffic areas are always operational. These systems will not only provide real-time status updates but also enable streamlined compliance tracking by automating reminders for maintenance tasks like battery replacements and pad expirations.
As organizations embrace these technologies, they will gain centralized control over AED readiness, reducing administrative workloads and liability risks. By incorporating solutions that track regulatory compliance and device performance, organizations can stay ahead of audits and focus on ensuring life-saving devices are always ready when needed. This proactive approach not only enhances emergency response but also mitigates the financial and legal risks associated with non-compliance.
Mobile AED monitoring solutions are also expected to play a significant role, providing flexible tracking capabilities for AEDs in transit or located in less accessible areas. The ability to monitor these devices remotely ensures that they remain ready for use no matter where they are deployed. As AED technology advances, the combination of remote monitoring, automated compliance management, and adaptive AI-driven systems will set a new standard for lifesaving preparedness.
CONCLUSION
Technology is redefining AED management, bridging gaps in readiness, and enhancing emergency response capabilities. For safety professionals, these advancements provide powerful tools to ensure AED programs are proactive, compliant, and life-saving. Through IoT-enabled and AI-driven remote monitoring, virtual training, and streamlined compliance tools, safety teams can simplify processes, reduce risks, and ensure readiness across diverse environments.
As AED technology evolves, adopting these modern solutions has become the gold standard, leaving little room for justification in delaying their implementation. By leveraging these innovations, safety professionals can stay prepared for any emergency and make a lasting impact on cardiac arrest survival rates.
Are you ready for the future of AEDs? Now is the time to embrace technology-driven solutions that ensure your devices are always prepared when they’re needed most.
The Top 10 OSHA Penalties of 2025
08.21.2025 | ISHN
These are the companies that have had to pay the largest fines so far this year.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) takes safety seriously, as it should. While some companies pay nothing for a standard violation, others are issued fines exceeding hundreds of thousands of dollars. In rare instances, they have spent over $1 million. These examples of OSHA violations represent the top 10 penalties for 2025, as well as the price of not complying and how to adjust.
THE CONSEQUENCES OF NONCOMPLIANCE
Noncompliance is expensive. As of 2025, OSHA charges up to $16,550 per violation for serious or other-than-serious violations. For a failure to abate offense, it can fine companies $16,550 daily after the abatement date. Willful or repeated offenses demonstrate deliberate disregard for employees’ well-being, so they carry a maximum penalty of $165,514 for each one.
Since this federal agency cannot shut down entities after repeated violations, the fines increase dramatically. It only requests temporary shutdowns from the court in rare instances where a hazard poses imminent danger.
OSHA penalties are not meant to be devastating, but the fines should hurt. Noncompliance carries real risk, even when violating other-than-serious standards. Say a retail store does not provide sufficiently safe clearances in aisles and doorways where employees use hand trucks. If a fire breaks out, they may be unable to reach the exit, resulting in avoidable fatalities.
THE LARGEST FINES
The year isn’t over, but it will be difficult to top the most significant penalties of 2025. These OSHA violation examples come from the regulator’s list of enforcement cases with penalties exceeding $40,000:
Noncompliance carries real risk, even when violating other-than-serious standards. “
1. Dollar Tree Inc.: On June 10, 2025, OSHA fined Dollar Tree in Alexandria, Virginia, $284,225 for failing to keep exit routes clear and provide sufficient safe clearances, among other things. The four OSHA citations were repeat violations, considerably raising the maximum penalty threshold.
2. Darling Ingredients Inc.: A Darling Ingredients Inc. facility in Grapeland, Texas, was forced to pay $297,914 after OSHA issued fines for nine violations — eight of which were serious — in March 2025. The most expensive was 29 CFR 1910.1000, for which it was penalized $165,514.
3. Alloy Wheel Repair Specialists LLC.: In the same month, OSHA fined Alloy Wheel Repair Specialists LLC. of Bath, Pennsylvania, upwards of $312,089. Since every violation was a repeat, the fee was much higher.
4. Landmark Atlantic Holdings Company LLC.: Virginiabased Landmark Atlantic Holdings Company LLC. was told to pay $317,450 on May 16, 2025, for willful prohibited activities under state law. Its two violations involved danger of contact with overhead power lines.
5. Asset Roofing Company LLC.: As a roofing entity, Asset Roofing Company LLC. should take working at heights seriously. However, it knowingly failed to provide fall restraint systems or fall protection work plans per Washington law. For these safety violations, OSHA issued a $322,646 penalty.
6. Luis Alberto-Reyna Avila: Pennsylvania roofing contractor Luis Alberto-Reyna Avila was cited for exposing crews to workplace hazards and falls on March 17, 2025. Ten of its 12 OSHA citations were serious, bringing its total penalty to $478,088.
7. Resource Recycling Inc.: In April, OSHA fined Resource Recycling Inc. $536,253 for 16 cited standards, 12 of which were serious. Some of the most expensive
include 29 CFR 1910.28, 1910.147(c)(4) and 1910.147(c) (4), which cost $132,411 each.
8. The James Skinner LLC.: OSHA cited Nebraska-based bakery The James Skinner LLC. for 19 fines totaling $576,439 on February 4, 2025. Sixteen were serious, two were willful and one was a repeat offense. The most expensive included 29 CFR 1910.28(b)(1) and 1910.303 (g)(2).
9. The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company: Goodyear is one of the two organizations ordered to pay over $1 million in 2025. A facility in Danville, Virginia, received a $1.25 million fine for 68 OSHA citations, 61 of which were serious.
10. Daehan Solution Nevada LLC.: Out of all the OSHA penalties in 2025, the amount Daehan Solution Nevada LLC. was forced to pay tops the list. For 56 OSHA citations — 10 serious and 40 repeat — the regulator fined it $4,137,482 on January 17, 2025.
LEARNING AN EXPENSIVE SAFETY LESSON
For most of these facilities, no single safety or health problem was their downfall. The transgressions ranged from unacceptable exposure to air contaminants to unguarded machinery. Many had numerous citations, including some of the most cited OSHA standards, which they should have been aware of and prevented.
The most expensive OSHA penalties of 2025 were often willful or repeat offenses. Despite being acutely aware of the consequences of noncompliance, they made the same mistake twice, and it cost them 10 times more.
They sometimes faced regulatory scrutiny because of a referral, routine inspection or on-the-job accident. However, some of the biggest fines resulted from investigations launched due to OSHA violations reporting. Employees who felt conditions were unsafe or unhealthful had submitted complaints.
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MITIGATION STRATEGIES TO PREVENT FINES
Just because safety managers have the most common issues covered doesn’t mean they will avoid fines. Many of the largest OSHA penalties of 2025 involved lesser-known standards like danger of contact with overhead power lines or the design and construction requirements for exit routes. These examples demonstrate the importance of comprehensive safety planning. Professionals future mitigation strategies should involve a multi-pronged approach covering training, audits and OSHA violations reporting.
ROBUST SAFETY TRAINING
Safety personnel should develop training based on the most cited OSHA standards. Take 29 CFR 1926.503, for example. Construction workers must utilize fall protection systems when working from elevated platforms. Other best practices include limiting operations to trained personnel and ensuring loads are within equipment weight limits.
NEAR-MISS REPORTING
To avoid unexpected OSHA violations reporting, professionals should develop a near-miss documentation system. Identifying hidden health and safety trends early on can prevent minor problems from snowballing.
ROUTINE SAFETY AUDITS
Sometimes, people knowingly neglect safety standards. For instance, in construction, over 62% of workers will work at heights requiring fall protection equipment, but just 31% will wear protective harnesses and helmets. Audits are essential to ensure training is effective and compliance is consistent.
ANONYMOUS FEEDBACK
OSHA is a relatively small federal regulator, employing just 1,850 inspectors to ensure the health and safety of approximately 130 million working adults. In the 2024 fiscal year, it conducted 34,696 inspections. The most cited OSHA standards included fall protection, hazard communication, lockout/tagout procedures, ladders and respiratory protection.
Compliance officers cannot detect every offense, so some employers feel safe bending the rules. However, it only takes one complaint to catch their attention. Safety personnel should offer anonymous feedback channels so staff feel comfortable sharing their concerns internally.
DILIGENTLY PREVENTING OSHA CITATIONS
Even the most diligent team members make mistakes. Fortunately, these OSHA violation examples demonstrate that the most expensive ones often involve willful repeat offenses. Safety personnel can prevent OSHA penalties in 2025 and beyond as long as they are diligent.
Sharing Good News Can Help Co-Workers Feel Connected, Study Finds
07.23.2025 | Safety + Health
Ann Arbor, MI — Telling co-workers about developments in your life “can be a powerful source of connection and energy,” a researcher says, “but it can also backfire” if you’re merely venting.
Elizabeth Trinh, a University of Michigan doctoral student, along with fellow researchers in the university’s school of business and department of psychology, analyzed previous sampling studies that featured more than 26,000 observations from over 350 working U.S. adults.
They found that workers who shared positive personal information on the job experienced boosts in emotional well-being, work energy and feelings of connection, as well as lower levels of rumination (holding on to negative thoughts).
However, Trinh said, “sharing to vent, despite the common belief that venting is cathartic, actually predicted worse outcomes, including increased rumination and lower well-being.”
Further, the researchers found that “conversations happened more frequently during in-office workdays, highlighting the social value of physical presence in the workplace. Meaningful interpersonal exchanges at work don’t just help people feel connected, they also help them perform.”
The study was published in the journal Emotion.
Recordable vs. Reportable: Understanding the Difference
02.01.2022 | Safety + Health
With OSHA records, three main terms are commonly used, and they’ll be used throughout this article. You’ll learn more about each later on, but here are the basics.
Recording is simply the act of tracking an on-the-job injury or illness. Multiple forms and logs need to be filled out and maintained by each organization, with different details required of each one.
Reporting means notifying OSHA of certain outcomes from occupational incidents, such as a death. These types of incidents must be reported within a certain time frame, depending on the occurrence.
Submitting is similar to recording, in that the requirement doesn’t apply to all employers.
However, for those who fall within the restrictions, a specific injury and illness form needs to be electronically submitted to OSHA each year.
WHO NEEDS TO RECORD INJURIES?
Under 29 CFR 1904, any employer covered by the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 with 11 or more employees must maintain OSHA injury and illness
records. Employers with 10 or fewer employees and organizations in certain low-hazard industries are partially exempt from keeping such records.
Within many smaller organizations, employee numbers may fluctuate throughout the year. In these instances, employers should review their maximum employment numbers. If at any time during the year you have more than 10 employees, you’re required to record safety incidents, unless you’re in an exempt industry.
Additionally, not all employers are covered by federal OSHA regulations. Currently, 26 states and two U.S. territories operate under an OSHA-approved State Plan.
Although these plans may differ from federal regulations in some aspects, OSHA has been clear in noting that “State Plans must have occupational injury and illness recording and reporting requirements that are substantially identical to the requirements in this part.”
WHAT MAKES SOMETHING RECORDABLE?
Simply put, a recordable incident is a work-related injury or illness that results in any of the following:
• Fatality
• Loss of consciousness
• Day(s) away from work
• Restricted work activity or job transfer
• Diagnosis of cancer or chronic irreversible diseases
• Punctured eardrum
• Fractured or cracked bones
• Medical treatment beyond first aid
With regard to the last item, OSHA provides a detailed list of treatments it considers to be basic first aid. Because this list covers such a wide variety of treatments, such as nonprescription medications, simple wound coverings, and even hot or cold therapy, this will likely be enough to treat many less severe incidents.
If basic first aid is all that is needed to treat an injury, that incident doesn’t need to be noted in your recordkeeping logs.
On the other hand, if anyone – no matter if that person is a medical professional or not – has to administer a “medical treatment” for an injury or illness, the incident is required to be recorded.
The list of things OSHA considers to be medical treatment in these instances includes:
• Nonprescription medication being used at prescription strength
• Stitches and staples to close wounds
• Rigid devices for support
• Physical therapy or chiropractic treatment
• Certain vaccines, such as those for rabies or hepatitis B
Additionally, if a health care professional recommends one of these treatments and the affected employee doesn’t follow-up on that recommendation, the incident still must be recorded.
There are also specific cases that must be recorded, regardless of the type of treatment applied or the physical result (e.g., death or days away from work) may be. They are:
One final thing to keep in mind is that each recorded incident must be a new case. According to OSHA, an injury or illness can be considered a new case if the employee:
• Has not previously experienced a recorded injury or illness of the same type that affects the same part of the body.
• Previously experienced a recorded injury or illness of the same type that affected the same part of the body but had recovered completely from the previous injury or illness.
WHAT MAKES AN INJURY OR ILLNESS REPORTABLE?
Most work-related injuries and illnesses that occur may need to be recorded on the proper OSHA logs, but the majority won’t be reported directly to OSHA, other than during an annual submission. However, certain situations call for immediate action from the employer. Any incident that results in a fatality or a severe injury –in-patient hospitalization, amputations or the loss of an eye – must be directly reported to the nearest OSHA area office , the 24-hour OSHA hotline or via the online reporting form.
Work-related fatalities must be reported within eight hours of learning about the death. All other severe injuries listed above must be reported within 24 hours. Unlike any of the record-keeping restrictions, all employers under OSHA jurisdiction must report these types of incidents.
However, it’s important to remember that employers don’t have to report an incident to OSHA if the injury or illness:
• Resulted from a motor vehicle incident on a public street or highway (except in a construction work zone)
• Occurred on a commercial or public transportation system
• Involved hospitalization for diagnostic testing or observation only
• In such instances, the injury or illness should still be documented on the appropriate OSHA logs; they don’t need to be reported directly to OSHA.
Many diseases and conditions are spread by not washing hands with soap and clean, running water.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), keeping hands clean is one of the most important steps we can take to avoid getting sick and spreading germs to others. Many diseases and conditions are spread by not washing hands with soap and clean, running water.
Many diseases and conditions are spread by not washing hands with soap and clean, running water.
WASHING HANDS PREVENTS ILLNESSES AND SPREAD OF INFECTIONS TO OTHERS
Handwashing with soap removes germs from hands and thus can prevent infections. People frequently touch their eyes, nose, and mouth without even realizing it. Germs can get into the body through the eyes, nose and mouth and make us sick. Germs from unwashed hands can get into foods and drinks while people prepare or consume them. Germs can multiply in some types of foods or drinks, under certain conditions, and make people sick.
Germs from unwashed hands can be transferred to other objects, like handrails, tabletops, or toys, and then transferred to another person’s hands. Removing germs through handwashing therefore helps prevent diarrhea and respiratory infections and may even help prevent skin and eye infections. Teaching people about handwashing helps them and their communities stay healthy. Handwashing education in the community:
• Reduces the number of people who get sick with diarrhea by 23-40%;
• Reduces diarrheal illness in people with weakened immune systems by 58%;
HOW GERMS GET ONTO HANDS AND MAKE PEOPLE SICK
Feces (poop) from people or animals is an important source of germs like Salmonella, E. coli 0157, and norovirus that cause diarrhea, and it can spread some respiratory infections like adenovirus and hand-foot-mouth disease. These kinds of germs can get onto hands after people use the toilet or change a diaper, but also in less obvious ways, like after handling raw meats that have invisible amounts of animal poop on them. A single gram of human feces, which is about the weight of a paper clip, can contain one trillion germs. Germs can also get onto hands if people touch any object that has germs on it because someone coughed or sneezed on it, or because it was touched by some other contaminated object. When these germs get onto hands and are not washed off, they can be passed from person to person and make people sick.
• Reduces respiratory illnesses, like colds, in the general population by 16-21%; and
• Reduces absenteeism due to gastrointestinal illness in schoolchildren by 29-57%.
Washing hands with soap could protect about 1 out of every 3 young children who get sick with diarrhea and almost 1 out of 5 young children with respiratory infections like pneumonia.
Although people around the world clean their hands with water, very few use soap to wash their hands. Washing hands with soap removes germs much more effectively. Estimated global rates of handwashing after using the toilet are only 19%.
Lastly, hand washing helps battle the rise in antibiotic resistance because the reduction in the amount of antibiotics people use reduces the likelihood of antibiotic resistance developing.
STAY CLEAN AND HEALTHY!
SIMPLY WASH YOUR HANDS WITH SOAP!
HAVE YOU COMPLETED THE SAFETY QUIZ?
In case you missed it, scan the QR code or click the link below to take the quiz today!
As part of our ongoing commitment to workplace safety, it’s always been a requirement to kick off meetings with a safety topic when three or more people are present.
These quizzes will be featured in each edition of the Safety Net, as well as on myAustin. This is a fun and effective way to reinforce safety knowledge.
Get ready to test your knowledge and become a safety expert!
