The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has finalized its June 27, 2017, proposal to revise the construction and shipyards standards. In the final rule, to be published on September 30, 2019, OSHA: Does not implement the proposal to revoke all of the standards’ ancillary provisions; but Extends the compliance dates for…
Working with or near power lines can expose workers to electrical hazards, but these dangers can be avoided through safe work practices. These practical steps can prevent injuries from contact with power lines. Conduct a hazard assessment to identify and address potential safety hazards before work begins. Ask the electric company to de-energize and ground…
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has ordered Kinder Morgan Inc. – an energy infrastructure company based in Houston, Texas – to pay a former employee back wages, damages, and attorney’s fees after an investigation found that the company violated the whistleblower provisions of the Pipeline Safety Improvement Act (PSIA)….
OSHA has placed a heavy burden on construction operations to adhere to stringent safety regulations. All workplaces must conform to the agencies guidelines and standards. Proper tool usage, safety equipment, training, and hazard notices all seem like common sense practices. But many worker duties can evolve quickly and pulling a safety trainer to update each…
(StatePoint) Whatever industry you work in and no matter what your role is, it’s possible you have wondered how emerging technologies will affect your job in the years to come or whether you’ll even have to switch careers entirely at some point. Experts say that while such concerns are understandable, embracing the newest tech can…
OSHA is seeking industry input on its respirable crystalline silica standard for construction, and is taking comments until Oct. 15. Specifically, OSHA would like information on the effectiveness of work practice and engineering controls that limit worker exposure to respirable silica, as well as tasks and equipment related to silica exposure that are not currently included in Table…
As part of the Opportunity Builds Harris County initiative, Commissioners Court voted on Tuesday to approve several worker protection provisions that include Harris County becoming the first county in Texas to set a prevailing wage floor of $15/hour for county building projects, prioritizing safer work sites and creating a job portal that will also connect…
As I write this article, Hurricane Dorian has decimated the Bahamas, blew passed Florida and is on its path along the southeast coast of the Carolinas leaving a swath of destruction behind. Local, regional and out-of-the area contractors are positioned in the starting blocks to rush in on opportunities to rebuild, rehab and repair residential,…
Autonomous vehicles are being used to transfer bags and create a more seamless transfer experience Dallas Fort Worth International (DFW) Airport is using innovative technology to help its customers with more seamless transfers, by introducing Vanderlande’s autonomous vehicle solution FLEET, in the recheck area in Terminal D. The first of its kind robotic system can handle…
Ask anyone familiar with construction hazards, and you’ll likely hear about those on OSHA’s Top 10 Safety Violations annual list or the agency’s Fatal Four — falls, struck-by incidents, electrocutions and caught-in-between accidents. The danger of falls, in particular, has garnered the industry’s attention as the most common cause of accidental construction injuries and deaths. And the agency has…
Construction is risky business. According to OSHA, one in every five private sector worker deaths in 2017 (the latest year recorded) was in construction. That’s 971 fatalities. Jobsite safety precautions can address the top culprits: falls, struck by object, electrocution and caught-in/between. However, there is another danger on jobsites that gets less attention but has a much…
If a worker fell on the jobsite, how fast would the operations and safety managers learn about the incident and be able to locate the worker to render assistance? When a construction company hires a subcontractor for a big job, does it always know if the sub has the promised number of crew members working…
Peer-to-peer marketplace apps are all about getting rid of the often expensive and usually time-consuming intermediary process and connecting users directly to the services they need. This way of doing business has become popular with everything from vacation rentals a la Airbnb to ride sharing via Uber and Lyft. That desire for convenience — and…
By: Nathan Estrada First, you may be asking yourself, “How can an attorney be my friend?” A valid question. Second, you may be thinking of the stigma that can be associated with having an attorney. However, an attorney’s job is to protect you and your rights, as well as your business. The road of business…
In the construction industry, the most threatening risks are the ones that go undetected for too long — design flaws that are spotted well into construction, bad habits that could get a craft worker hurt or a hazard that escapes a manager’s attention. Underlying most contractors’ safety programs is a group effort at vigilance on…
A Volvo Construction Equipment survey of 205 U.S. and U.K. construction workers found that 31% of respondents were fearful that artificial intelligence and robotics would replace them on jobsites. While that is a common conception about the technology, an even larger chunk, 46%, was concerned about perceived safety risks involved with that kind of machinery….
The U.S. Director of National Intelligence’s Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA) office has issued a draft grant offer for the development of a system that can detect construction activity worldwide. The announcement is part of the agency’s Space-based Machine Automated Recognition Technique (SMART) program. The new machine learning technology must have broad-area search functionality…
As the workforce is augmented by AI, CEOs will need to prepare their organization for new ways of working. Over the coming decades, the whole experience of what it means to ‘work’ is likely to change dramatically, impacting our relationships with our colleagues, our employers and even ourselves. At the same time, the idea of…
Texas has more welding jobs than any other state in the United States, with an estimated total of 50,000 employed welders and a growing number of jobs needing to be filled. This demand has made Texas the land of opportunity for welders, and the Industrial Welding Academy has made it their mission to properly train…
Well, you know what they say about the best laid plans. You carried out the due diligence and performed all of the required background checks, application steps, and safety protocols before extending credit. Now that individual has balked on payments, so it’s time to step up your game. In Part 1, Reducing Your Risk, we…
