Posts Tagged ‘OSHA’

Skilled labor wants a safe workplace

August 28th, 2012
By: Tim Heston

Just in time for election season (which, as a multiyear event now, is far longer than a season), a few advocacy groups are putting forth their views about what U.S. manufacturing needs. One of the most concise reports comes from the Georgia Tech and Council on Competitiveness, which released its report last week. Boiled down, the report says U.S. manufacturing needs improved infrastructure, simpler taxation and regulations, more skilled talent, and a focused industrial policy.

Many of those policies hit home for the nation’s larger manufacturers, and they’re indirectly important for the contract metal fabricators and other smaller companies that supply those OEMs. But skilled labor hits home for everybody.

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Two teens killed at work

July 27th, 2011
By: Eric Lundin

The story is a heartbreaker. Two teenagers, 14-year-old girls on the threshold of attending high school, were detasseling corn on a farm in northwestern Illinois when they were electrocuted after coming into contact with an irrigator.

Detasseling is practically a rite of passage where corn is grown. I spent a summer detasseling, as did most of my friends. It’s not for everyone—the days are long, hot, and tiring, and the pay isn’t very good. The upside is that it isn’t all that dangerous. When a parent sees a child off in the morning, he expects that child will return that afternoon. (more...)

OSHA is self-funded: Fact or fiction?

January 13th, 2011
By: Eric Lundin

If you work in manufacturing, you’ve probably heard that some government agencies, notably OSHA and the EPA, have been mandated to become self-funding. I heard this in a discussion at a recent conference, and it seems reasonable. The government debt is $14 trillion, so why wouldn’t the administration want more agencies to pull their own weight? The fear, of course, is that OSHA inspectors are suddenly finding more violations and assessing bigger fines in an effort to follow the mandate and become self-funding.

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Haphazardly throwing money away

March 4th, 2009
By: Vicki Bell

Several e-newsletters arrive in my inbox each week; I imagine the same is true for you. I don't always have time to read all of them as thoroughly as I'd like, but I do open them and scan to see if they contain something I need to make the time to read.

The latest Occupational Health & Safety (OHS) e-newsletter featured two items that drew my attention and made me think about just how much a company that doesn't follow safe work practices is jeopardizing not only its workers' wellbeing, but also its viability—particularly in this economic environment in which every dollar counts.

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