HEALTH & SAFETY NEWSLETTER - EHS Support

Environmental 

Health & Safety 

Safety Management 

Systems 

Mock OSHA Audit and 

Inspection 

Issue 1 | January 2013 

Consider 

This 

HEALTH & SAFETY NEWSLETTER 

Health & Safety Program 

Development & Implementation 

Helping you to…Work Safe. Live Safe. Stay Safe.

Top 5 Trends in Workplace Safety Management in 2013 

In the safety professional role you are tasked to 

do more with less, find and use reliable safety 

information sources, address safety on a holistic 

level, and maintain a consistent approach to 

safety across borders. You must be diligent in 

keeping current with the profession's trends and 

changes. 

The following five trends foreshadow how safety 

managers must be prepared to respond with the 

most safety-conscious solutions in the coming 

year. 

Trend #1: Coping with Greater Workloads 

Much is demanded of safety managers. You 

must raise the bar of multitasking to an art form: 

simultaneously responding to upper 

management, inspiring employees and ensuring 

compliance with regulators, managing workers’ 

compensation instead of letting the carrier, 

juggling recordkeeping responsibilities, 

procuring safety products, and handling other 

administrative duties, all across a wide array of 

safety categories and concerns. 

Trend #2: Creating a Culture of Safety 

Perhaps the most significant workplace safety 

trend of the year, if not the decade, is the 

increasing acceptance by safety managers in 

multiple industries of the concept of a culture of 

safety. These managers are leading their people 

to safety by inspiring workers to change 

behaviors and make safer choices on their own. 

Trend #3: Managing Safety Across Borders 

As companies around the world consolidate, 

managers might assume responsibility for 

facilities in a range of disparate countries 

besides their own. These safety managers 

report that their biggest challenges in the coming 

year will be keeping up with regional 

occupational safety regulations, language 

barriers, cultural differences, and consistent, 

standardized implementation of safety 

management systems. 

Trend #4: Selecting the Right Safety Sources 

Safety managers must be given the time to 

collect and reference information from 

professional groups, government sources, and 

the Internet. But when seeking useful 

information, whether online or via another 

method, managers must consider the source. 

Helping you to…Work Safe. Live Safe. Stay Safe. 


Consider This 


Workplace Safety Trends 

Keep Up! 

Safety for the Supervisor 

OSHA’s Radar 

Monica’s Rant 

Focus on the Family

Top 5 Trends in Workplace Safety 

Management in 2013 

Trend #5: Gaining C-Level Attention 

Finally, the coming year is likely to see upper 

management pay increasing attention to safety 

and its benefits. CEOs and upper management 

are emphasizing their organizations' good safety 

records and ongoing safety programs. They also 

are identifying measurable increases in safety 

as important goals for all employees. While 

these are not yet universal trends, any support 

from the executive suite is a hopeful sign for 

safety managers. 

Developing an awareness and understanding of 

these trends through 2013 and beyond will help 

safety managers do what they do best – protect 

the health, safety, and well-being of their 

workers. 

EHS Today, Dec. 13, 2012, John Montigny 

Keep Up! 28 States Rollout 

Updated Labor Law Postings 

Updates to mandatory labor law posters for 

2013 have been rolled out by 28 states. 

These updates include changes to minimum 

wage, whistle blowing, discrimination, 

unemployment, and more. 

Labor law posters are issued through multiple 

state and federal organizations and must be 

posted in a place that is visible to all employees. 

These posters must be up to date or an 

employer could face possible fines. 

States featuring updates include Arizona, 

Alabama, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, 

Hawaii, Kansas, Massachusetts, Maryland, 

Maine, Michigan, Montana, New Hampshire, 

New Jersey, New Mexico, Nevada, Ohio, 

Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, 

Utah, Virginia, Vermont, Washington, and 

Wisconsin. 

More states are expected to rollout updates in 

the coming months. 



Consider This 



Keep Up! 




Focus on the Family

Safety for the Supervisor - OSHA’s Top 10 Violations for FY2012 

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has announced the 

preliminary top 10 most frequently cited workplace safety violations for fiscal year 2012. OSHA made the 

announcement October 23, at the 2012 National Safety Council Congress and Expo in Orlando, Florida. 

The top 10 most frequently cited workplace safety violations for fiscal year 2012 are as follows: 

1. Fall Protection – General Requirements (1926.501) Total violations: 7,250 

2. Hazard Communication (1910.1200) Total violations: 4,696 

3. Scaffolding (1926.451) Total violations: 3,814 

4. Respiratory Protection (1910.134) Total violations: 2,371 

5. Ladders (1926.1053) Total violations: 2,310 

6. Machine Guarding (1910.212) Total violations: 2,097 

7. Powered Industrial Trucks (1910.178) Total violations: 1,993 

8. Electrical – Wiring Methods (1910.305) Total violations: 1,744 

9. Lockout/Tagout – (1910.147) Total violations: 1,572 

10. Electrical – General Requirements (1910.303) Total violations: 1,332 

Here is my opinion – Organizations should place additional focus on machine safety when addressing 

compliance. As of October 23, 2012, there were four factors of machine safety in OSHA’s list of “Top 10 

Violations for 2012”. They consisted of: 

#6 Machine Guarding (1910.212) 

#8 Electrical – Wiring Methods (1910.305) 

#9 Lockout/Tagout (1910.147) 

#10 Electrical – General Requirements (1910.303) 

In total, these four violation categories accounted for 6,745 violations and as an industry application it would 

rank second under Fall Protection – General Requirements (1926.501) total violations: 7,250. So, is 

machine safety garnering the attention of OSHA’s enforcement arm – unequivocally, YES! 



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Focus on the Family

Hit Hard - PSM Investigation 

OSHA has levied 47 health and safety 

violations against a new Philadelphia, OH 

chemical company following an investigation 

into the unexpected release of hazardous 

materials in May of 2012. 

Although no injuries were reported as a result 

of the incident, OSHA opened an investigation 

focused on the agency’s standards for process 

safety management, known as PSM, at 

facilities that use highly hazardous chemicals. 

The investigation revealed the release of 

materials resulted from a breach of a polyvinyl 

chloride piping system. 

“By disregarding OSHA’s common-sense 

regulations, this employer endangered the 

health and safety of the facility’s workers,” said 

Dr. David Michaels, Assistant Secretary of 

Labor for Occupational Safety and Health. 

“While I’m grateful that nobody was injured 

from the incident, I’m alarmed by the 

egregious nature of the violations we 

uncovered during our inspection.” 

Of the 47 violations, OSHA found that four 

were willful; meaning they were committed 

with intentional knowing or voluntary disregard 

for the law’s requirements, or with plain 

indifference to worker safety and health. 



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Keep Up! 




Focus on the Family

MONICA’S RANT 

I chlng u 2 adpt ths as a NYrs Rzlutn – I WL NOT TXT WHL DRVNG! 

Let’s say this again – I WILL NOT TEXT WHILE DRIVING! 

Hey, I know there are multitudes of us who, while driving, talk on a cell phone, chow down on a nutritious 

greasy burger held in our left hand while palming the steering wheel and dipping fries in ketchup with our 

right, fix the kids in the back seat a 5-course meal out of the cooler while shoving in another DVD, or we 

just plain “space out” intermittently because we can’t catch up on our sleep. Been there – done that! I can’t 

speak for everyone, but I would venture to say that we can all agree that our focus has not been 100% on 

driving on at least one occasion. What gets us to change our bad habits? Our mindset? Our attitude? Here 

are a few facts: 

• Text messaging creates a crash risk 23 times worse than driving while not distracted. (VTTI) 

• Sending or receiving a text takes a driver's eyes from the road for an average of 4.6 seconds, the 

equivalent-at 55 mph-of driving the length of an entire football field, blind. (VTTI) 

• Headset cell phone use is not substantially safer than hand-held use. (VTTI) 

• Driving while using a cell phone reduces the amount of brain activity associated with driving by 37%. 

(Carnegie Mellon) 

I choose to make a commitment to not text while driving. 

Will you make this pledge with me? If so, email me and let me know!! Thx n TTYL 



Consider This 



Keep Up! 




Focus on the Family

Focus On The Family: ICE ICE SAFETY 

Anxious to get out on the ice this winter? Ice safety 

is no joke! Here is some information about judging 

ice conditions, being prepared to enjoy the winter 

season outside and what to do in an emergency. 

“Thick and blue, tried and true. 

Thin and crispy, way too risky” 

Before stepping on the ice check for a bluish color 

and that it is at least 4-6 inches thick. Don’t guess 

about ice thickness. Check the ice in several places 

by using an auger, chisel, or axe to make test holes 

beginning at the shore and continuing as you move 

out. If ice at the shoreline is cracked or squishy, 

stay off. Don’t go on the ice during thaws. Watch 

out for thin, clear or honeycomb shaped ice. Dark 

snow and dark ice are other signs of weak spots. 

Choose small sheltered bodies of water. Rivers and 

lakes are prone to wind and wave action, which can 

break ice up quickly. Avoid areas with currents, 

around bridges, pressure ridges or inlets and 

outlets. 

“If you don’t know, don’t go!” 

If you break through the ice, don’t panic. Don’t try 

to climb out, you will break the ice again. Lay both 

arms on the unbroken ice and kick hard. This will 

help lift your body onto the ice. Roll to safety. To 

help someone who has fallen in, lie down flat and 

reach with a branch, rope, or form a human chain. 

Ice Thickness Permissible Load 

(clear, blue lake ice) 

• 2” - one person on foot 

• 3” - group of people walking single file 

• 4” - one person and gear 

• 5” - 800 pounds (one snowmobile) 

• 7.5” - passenger car (2 ton gross) 

• 8” - light truck (2 1/2 ton gross) 

• 10” - medium truck ( 3 1/2 ton gross) 

• 12” - heavy truck (7-8 ton gross) 

• 15” - heavy truck (10 ton gross) 

• 20” - 25 tons 

• 25” - 45 tons 

• 30” - 70 tons 

• 36” - 110 tons 

Reduce strength values by 15% for clear blue river 

ice. Slush ice is only half the strength of blue ice. 

This table does not apply for parked loads. This 

reference chart was published by the Forest 

Resources Association and are merely guidelines. 

Personally, I don’t suggest anyone step foot on any 

ice less than 4-5 inches deep. Enjoy the winter 

weather but always be safe and smart in the 

outdoors. 



Consider This 


Do not stand! Secure the victim and 

wiggle backwards to the solid ice. Seek 

treatment immediately for hypothermia. 


Keep Up! 




Focus on the Family 

Contact Monica Meyer today 

to learn more about 

how we can help you 

manage your health 

and safety risks.

HEALTH & SAFETY NEWSLETTER - EHS Support

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