Construction Safety Articles

President Trump signed H.J. Res 83 into law, blocking the so-called Volks rule that would have allowed OSHA to cite employers for failures to record or for misrecording workplace injuries or illnesses that occurred up to 5 years prior to when the citation is written among other provisions.

Keith Vidal, M.S., P.E., CXLT, is chair of the A1264 Accredited Standards Committee. He shares insight on the A1264.1-2017 standard, which addresses walking and working surfaces.

Safe Work Australia, a national policy body in Australia, has published a report that explores the processes for gathering and communication workplace safety and health performance information to guide organizational decision making. This work ties in well with the work being conducted by Center for Safety and Health Sustainability (CSHS), which advocates for integrating occupational safety metrics and performance into an organization’s business model and thinking.

The U.S. Senate voted to eliminate the Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces order that would have required contractors to disclose and correct serious safety violations in order to compete for federal contracts. A similar measure already passed in the House, and it is expected that President Trump will finalize the move.

OSHA has issued a final rule that lowers workplace exposure to beryllium, a metal material that can cause lung disease. The agency reports that beryllium can become highly toxic when it is processed in a way that releases airborne dust, fumes or mist into air that can then be inhaled by workers.

OSHA's "Sustainability in the Workplace: A New Approach for Protecting Worker Safety and Health" white paper supports the work of the Center for Safety and Health Sustainability (CSHS) by recognizing the sustainability framework as an opportunity to advance OSH.

Drivers who get behind the wheel with 4 to 5 hours of sleep pose a similar risk as those by drunk drivers, a new study reports.

The ANSI/ASSP Z117.1-2016 Confined Space Standard contains significant changes in three critical areas: identification and evaluation of a confined space, non-permit confined spaces and training.​

NIOSH has developed an aerial lift hazard recognition simulator to help potential aerial lift operators acclimate to aerial lift operation and to identify the common occupational hazards that can be present during use, such as depressions, crushing hazards, tip over hazards and others.