LOS ANGELES – The U.S. Army wants to help masons avoid injury and fatigue-induced mistakes. It is developing an improved prototype of a scaffold-mounted, concrete-block-lifting device with a pickup arm that can position a 100-lb. block. “It’s made to increase a mason’s productivity,” Jeffrey B. Kirby, a principal investigator on the project for the Army’s …
SAN FRANCISCO – The requirement to report work-connected injuries within eight hours, revised Title 8 342(a), became effective on September 1. (Barclays subscribers should be receiving it soon.) Subsection (a) was modified to require every employer to report any serious injury or illness or death of an employee that is work related to the nearest …
SAN FRANCISCO – Physicians who attended UC-San Francisco’s Occupational and Environmental Medicine Grand Rounds on September 12 heard about industrial injuries from an expert — Reg Theriault, whose years of manual labor left him with little faith in labor unions and OSHA, but much respect for doctors. The 72-year-old Theriault said he began work at …
LOS ANGELES – Before a small, surprised audience the Cal-OSHA Standards Board made further modifications in proposed 5110 (ergonomics) for control of repetitive motion injuries. Those who commented on the earlier versions will soon receive 15-day notices. All seven members of the board attended the September 19 meeting at which ergonomics was slated to be …
LOS ANGELES – Smith had earlier mentioned a draft enforcement document. He said he’d like to see it. Ingram said the draft enforcement guidelines came from Dr. John Howard of Cal-OSHA himself. This was inappropriate and they were returned. (A draft before the horse?—Ed.) Member Sopac Tompkins, a rancher and businesswoman, said she thought “predominant” …
LOS ANGELES – The latest estimate of the number of employers’ X-Mods that may be affected by implementation of AB 1913 of 1994 is 25%. That was the percentage Dave Bellusci, senior vice president and actuary for the Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau, gave to the Workers’ Comp Executive. Since workers’ comp premiums are determined …
LOS ANGELES – A unique agreement that will protect 3,000 battery workers from overexposure to airborne lead, arsenic and cadmium was signed September 5 by Exide Corporation, three major unions representing its workers, and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Exide will hire an expert consultant, knowledgeable in battery operations and acceptable to OSHA …
LOS ANGELES – Planning is under way for the 1997 Silicon Valley Ergonomics Conference. The organizers invite proposals for papers, posters, workshops or panel discussions for presentation at ErgoCon ’97. Deadline for proposals is November 19. Questions? Call Abbas Moallem, Silicon Valley Ergonomics Indstitute, San Jose State University, at 408-924-4132, watch the ErgoCon web page …