Lifting objects or manually handling materials puts workers at risk for back injuries. More than 111,000 such injuries requiring days away from work were recorded in 2017, according to Injury Facts, an online database created by the National Safety Council. What can employers and workers do to prevent them? Risk prevention “When efforts to prevent injuries from [manual material handling] focus on only one risk factor, they do not significantly reduce the injury rate,” the Can

We all remember what it felt like to enter the workforce, especially the first time we landed a “real” job on a construction site or in some kind of industrial facility. We were handling serious work and earning serious money for it. We were strong, energetic, eager, and much smarter than those “old guys” around us — or so we thought. Now that we’re one of the “old guys” (or gals) on the job, we found ourselves working with newcomers to our workplaces. While we appreciate the

Heat is a condition that affects all worksites, whether indoors or out. In Florida, the heat, combined with high humidity, brings its own special issues. When you combine high temperatures and high humidity with strenuous physical activity, you are upping the ante for a heat-related illness to occur. Every year, thousands of workers become sick or die due to heat stress. Labor-intense activities in hot weather can raise body temperatures beyond the level that normally can be

Construction risks often evolve with variables ranging from job site location to level of training temporary workers receive. Every project has its own set of hazards, states Big Rentz. To effectively manage risk, high-impact, high-probability risks should be handled first, while low-impact, low-probability risks should be addressed last. In order to create an effective risk management plan, the company mentions five sources of risks that should be considered: Safety Risk: An

A construction company was a controlling employer of a construction worksite found to have safety violations, an administrative law judge held in a final decision of the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission decision released Thursday. In Secretary of Labor v. Fama Construction LLC, the judge held that Fama is an employer and required to pay nearly $200,000 in penalties for U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration violations. Click to read more: