The New Brunswick’s health and safety authority is considering the implementation of a demerit system that would give the organization legislative authority to levy fines for workplace safety violations without having to go first take the offender to court.

Currently, WorkSafeNB encourages compliance through education and incentives, and also enforces compliance through penalties under the OHS Act. However, these fines are handed down by the court system.

According to WorkSafeNB the process is lengthy, costly, and historically fines have been low. From 2006 to 2010, the average fine issued to employers for OHS Act violations was $3,200 – much lower than the $250,000 maximum under legislation.

The demerit idea is still in the early stages of planning and WorkSafeNB is seeking input from employers through an online survey.

To complete the survey click here.

The pre-registration pro­visions of the Ontario Workplace Safety and Insurance Amendment Act, 2008 (Bill 119), became effec­tive January 1, 2012.

The remainder of the Act which extends mandatory workers’ compensation cover­age to independent operators and some other individuals carrying on business in con­struction will come into force on January 1, 2013.

The legislation provides a one year period from January 1, 2012 to December 31, 2012 to allow independent operators and some other individuals carrying on business in con­struction to voluntarily pre-register with the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) before the require­ments relating to mandatory coverage come into force.

During this one-year pre-reg­istration period premiums will not be charged by the Board because the requirement to pay premiums will not be in force until January 1, 2013, which is also when coverage begins.

For more information on cov­erage you can visit  www.wsib.on.ca/

The B.C. government plans to increase the number of mine inspectors on its force by more than 25 percent during 2012 to keep pace with increased mining activity and help ensure work-site safety.

Al Hoffman, the province’s chief inspector of mines, said in an interview to the Vancouver Sun that four new inspectors were hired in the past six months and the goal is to hire another 6 in the coming months.

“The challenge we have is that the mining industry is, in general, booming,” Hoffman said. “We’re competing with industry to get the same skill sets.”

Once the six positions are filled the total complement of B.C. mine inspectors would stand at 46.

Inspectors are involved in a range of duties, from permitting of mining exploration to conducting health and safety inspections of operating mines.

WorkSafeBC reports that the province wide injury accident rate was 2.27 per 100 workers in 2010, the last year for which such statistics are available.

The mining sector averages two injuries per 100, much better than the average of four in forestry and general construction, five in heavy construction, and eight in warehousing.

“We’re very proud of that record,” Hoffman said. “We like to think it’s a collaborative effort of the mining industry, workers, unions, and us. High injury rates and fatalities are morally unacceptable. There’s also a realization that safe mines are efficient mines.”

The state of Minnesota is implementing a new set of standards to reduce on job risk for window washers.

The standard requires employers whose workers are suspended more than 14-feet above grade to have a comprehensive written safety plan and provide employee training for window-washing and building-maintenance activities. It also addresses and outlines worker safety requirements in the areas of:

• Anchors and anchor points;
• Appropriate recordkeeping regarding employee training and retraining;
• Fall protection;
• Proper care, use and inspection of equipment;
• Rope descent systems; and
• Visual inspections of building exteriors before work begins.

“This new standard ensures a plan is in place to reduce risks to workers and that systems are in place to identify and control workplace hazards,” said Commissioner Ken Peterson, Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry (DLI). “The goal is to prevent accidents.”

The new set of rules come on the heels of three window washing deaths in the past three years that MNOSHA said all could have been prevented through the proper use of safety equipment and procedures.

Since MNOSHA began a local emphasis inspection program for the window-washing and building-maintenance industry in October 2010 the organization has inspected 34 window washing companies.

During these inspections, MNOSHA investigators found worksites lacking proper safety equipment for employees and improper usage of suspension scaffolds and lifelines.

The new safety standard for window-washers takes effect March 1, 2012.

For help complying with this new standard call 877-201-8923.

Regulators issued 19 citations after an August fire and explosion left three workers dead and 10 acres burned in east Wyoming, the Associated Press reports.

The explosion happened Aug. 29 as workers James Turner, Llewellyn Dort and Gerardo Alatorre, were installing pipe between storage tanks and a heater treater at a Samson Resource Company-operated oil well in Converse County. The exact circumstances that led to the explosion and deaths has yet to be determined.

A report compiled by the state’s occupational epidemiologist — who stepped down in frustration last month — noted that Wyoming’s occupational death rate was three and a half times the national average. The state’s booming oil industry, according to the report, accounted for 20% of occupational fatalities between 2001 and 2008.

A slate of workplace accidents, including this one, provided cover for Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead’s request last week to add three new positions to the six-person state Occupational, Safety and Health Administration. “I hope the Legislature supports my request to strengthen Wyoming OSHA,” Mead was quoted by the AP, ” This is one more step toward making Wyoming a safer place for workers.”

Samson had hired two local service companies to perform the installation on the non-producing well in an attempt to bring it back into production. Turner worked for Double D Welding and Fabrication in Mills, Wyo., and  Dort and Alatorre worked for Wild West Construction out of Glenrock, Wyo. There were no other workers onsite when the explosion took place

According to Wyoming OSHA, the regulatory body could not release the citations, which were mailed late last week, until receipt has been confirmed.

Beginning Feb. 1, 2012 employers who are required to keep the OSHA Form 300 Injury and Illness log must post a summary of the log.

All industries in agriculture, construction, manufacturing, transportation, utilities and wholesale trade sectors are covered. In the retail and service sec­tors, some industries are partially exempt

Also employers with fewer than 10 employees are exempt. The size exemption is based on the company’s peak employment during the last calendar year.

If, at any time last year, the company reached 11 or more workers, the company is not size exempt. However, the company, or some of its individual establish­ments, may still be exempt because of industry classification.

Employers must post OSHA’s Form 300A from Feb. 1 to April 30, 2012 in a common area wherever notices to workers are usually posted.

The summary must list the total numbers of job-related injuries and illnesses that occurred in 2011. All establishment summaries must be certified by a company executive.

Copies of the OSHA Forms 300, 300A and 301 are available for download on the OSHA Recordkeeping Web page.

To help your company track injuries all year we offer a variety of record keeping products. For more info call 877-201-8923.

A study released by the RAND corporation looking into California’s Injury and Illness Prevention Program (IIPP) indicates failures to “look beyond paper compliance with its provisions.” The paper points to training by employers and enforcement by regulators as having the most pronounced impact on injury rates under the program.

The IIPP law has required for the last 20 years that California employers develop an injury and illness prevention program and share it with employees. It also mandates training employees on safe practices. OSHA has made a priority of adopting a similar program at a federal level, I2P2, and has looked to California’s implementation as it considers moving forward with its plan.

The study into the impact of Cal/OSHA’s 20-year-old IIPP finds negligible impact on workplace deaths as a direct result of the program and cites more than 20 percent improvement in injuries — but only for workplace injury rates in workplaces that received citations and inspections.

John Mendeloff, study author and director of the RAND Center for Health and Safety in the Workplace, suggests a more involved enforcement mechanism to increase compliance and reduce injuries. However, along with the benefits of enforcement, he adds, “the training requirement appeared to have the greatest impact on injuries.”

The study, sponsored by the California Commission for Health, Safety and Workers’ Compensation, is the first evaluation of Cal/OSHA’s IIPP program. It paints a picture of effective I2P2 implementation that may require a more involved enforcement mechanism and emphasizes training and employee involvement as businesses implement an injury and illness prevention program.

Safety Services Company offers custom-built IIPP manuals for your organization so that your safety team can focus on implementation and training and see the benefits of IIPP without costly citations or inspections.

Alberta courts handed out more than $3.4 million in workplace safety violation penalties in 2011, double the total of fines in 2010.
“My first choice is to have no workplace injuries or fatalities, no charges, and no convictions,” said Dave Hancock, Minister of Human Services. “However, when the law is broken, we need to send strong messages that the health and safety of Albertans must be a priority.”

More than $2.3 million of the $3.4 million in penalties in 2011 was in creative sentences paid to third parties, such as post-secondary institutions, training programs, rescue societies and other organizations that advance workplace health and safety. Individual creative sentences in 2011 ranged from $29,000 to $355,000.

A creative sentence provided the Fort McMurray/Wood Buffalo office of St. John Ambulance with more than $330,000 for a new classroom training facility and to certify approximately 1000 high school students in Standard First Aid.

“We are very honoured to be considered for these funds,” said Beverly Lafortune, Vice-President of Training and Community Services for St. John Ambulance, Alberta Council. “We’re committed to ensuring there will be plenty of positive outcomes from a tragic workplace incident.”

In 2002, Occupational Health and Safety legislation was amended to allow for creative sentences. Since 2006, over $10 million has been directed to organizations that promote workplace health and safety.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s adoption of the Globally Harmonized System into its existing Hazard Communication standard is being pushed back until February, according to OSHA spokeswoman Kimberly Darby.

OSHA originally submitted the text for the final rule to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) on Oct. 25.

Typically the office has 90 days to approve or deny submitted rules, but both OSHA and the OMB mutually agreed to extend the deadline until February to wrap up the remaining details, according to Darby.

OSHA began the process of adopting the GHS in September 2006 and originally planned on having the program in place by August 2011.

The adoption of the GHS is expected to impact millions of employers in nearly every industry across the United States.

The program will replace existing Material Safety Data Sheets with Safety Data Sheets and introduce new labels pictograms and universal system of hazard identification.

Once adopted OSHA will grant employers up to two years to train employees on the concepts of the new system. This training is expected to cost American employers more than $44 million.

In addition to the adoption of the GHS in the United States, both Mexico and Canada are working on putting in place the GHS system.

In Mexico there is already a system for voluntary compliance and in Canada work is being done to implement GHS as part of its WHMIS (Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System) regulations, but draft of the rule is yet to be published.

To help ease the transition Safety Services Company has created ww.GHSguide.com and is already offering a HCS training kit featuring the principles of the GHS.

For more info call 877-201-8923

According to a recent statement by Ontario Chief Prevention Officer, George Gritziotis, the province is moving forward with a number of initiatives to improve occupational health and safety.

“We are participating in the biggest revitalization of Ontario’s workplace health and safety in more than three decades since the [Occupational Health and Safety Act] came into effect in 1979,” Gritziotis said.

Revisions to the act and new requirements being considered include:

• Enabling the Office of the Worker Advisor and the Office of the Employer Advisor to provide support for workers and small businesses involved in reprisal complaints in an attempt to expedite claims.
• A new poster explaining workplace parties’ basic rights and responsibilities in various languages
• OH&S guides for both workers and employers
• Appointment of two new minister’s advisory committees in 2012, one for small businesses and one for vulnerable worker.

The changes Gritziotis and his team are developing will be laid out in a formal plan in the coming months. The Expert Advisory Panel on Occupational Health and Safety, chaired by Tony Dean, “will play a significant role in the foundation of that strategy,” Gritziotis said.