Failure to recognize workplace hazards lead to human suffering, and we can avoid this suffering by recognizing the hazards that lead to injuries.  OSHA has once again made that point with fines levied on two construction companies.  I see the… Continue reading →

A little story I heard from a worker…

I was called into our plant manager’s office to discuss my latest injury.  During the previous week, I had to go to the emergency room for the third time that year to… Continue reading →

Recently a participant shared this photo with me following a hazard workshop.  Besides working in the petroleum refinery he is also a farmer.  During the harvest he tangled with the drive shaft of a piece of farm equipment.  You will… Continue reading →

During my workshop I am amazed at the answer to the following question:

“When working on a step ladder and your feet are more than 4’ off the ground, do you wear fall prevention?”  Most of the time employees say… Continue reading →

Just today a report that an e-cigarette exploded while being recharged, proof that smoking is hazardous.  Recently, I was conducting a Hazard Recognition and Control Workshop when one of the students “lit-up.”  At first I was shocked to see smoke… Continue reading →

Compressed gas cylinders can be a deadly hazard in the workplace when handled improperly.  Many cylinders contain pressures in excess of 2000 pounds per square inch (PSI) that can cause them to become a rocket.  For this reason, industries that… Continue reading →

My buddy Lee Burk walked into the church last week and observed a hazard on the stage.  We might call this one the ladder to heaven, or OMG, a Hazard.  If this where an industrial setting a rule would be… Continue reading →

In 2012 4,547 workers were killed on the job in the United States.  Of that number, 506 were homicides, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI), Homicide is the leading cause of death for… Continue reading →

Last week during my travels I observed these workers on ladders at my hotel.  As I approached he and his buddy I said, “Sure hope you don’t fall, that could lead to a serious injury.”  All he could do was… Continue reading →

Safety observation. Good catch in the public arena here. While in Albany, Oregon this weekend, running errands, I was on my way home, heading west on Santiam Boulevard and saw this extraordinary event. The motorist had actually stopped on the… Continue reading →