Blog Archives

Three Employers Cited in September San Ysidro Scaffold Collapse

California’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) has issued multiemployer citations to three construction employers following a scaffold collapse in September 2011 that sent four workers to the hospital, two with serious injuries, at the state’s southernmost border. DOSH says the employers, including Miller Environmental, Hensel Phelps Construction, and AMG Demolition and Environmental Service, … Read More »

This content is only available to premium subscribers. Please login here log in

Read More »

Statewide Safety Expo, April 3-5

In what is becoming a rite of spring in California safety circles, Sacramento Regional Builders Exchange hosts the 8th annual Statewide Safety Expo, April 3-5 at Cosumnes River College in Sacramento. The expo features dozens of training sessions, including compliance certification classes and a trade show. Keynote presenters include safety consultant Don Bradway, OSHA defense … Read More »

This content is only available to premium subscribers. Please login here log in

Read More »

NuStar Is VPP’s Newest Star

CROCKETT — “Pull the chain, stop the train”: For a safety mantra, it sounds a bit extreme at first. But for an oil distribution and storage facility, handling millions of gallons of flammable and combustible materials, it can be a lifesaver. And for the newest entrant in Cal/OSHA’s Voluntary Protection Program (VPP), they’re words to … Read More »

This content is only available to premium subscribers. Please login here log in

Read More »

DOSH Retirements Pose “Skills Gap”

The Division of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) is working to fill almost 70 authorized positions that have been left vacant over the past couple of years during the state hiring freeze. But even as it tries to boost its ranks, starting with the most critical positions, the division has to deal with a number … Read More »

This content is only available to premium subscribers. Please login here log in

Read More »

Employer ID’d in Crash

Cal/OSHA has confirmed that it is investigating a March 6 fatal incident at a Visalia construction site. As we reported in our March 9 edition, an employee collided with a Caterpillar scraper at the site and died at the scene. The employee was site superintendent for A. Epstein and Sons. He was driving a pickup truck … Read More »

This content is only available to premium subscribers. Please login here log in

Read More »

Settlement Reached in 2009 Oroville Dam Incident; Willful Citation Reduced

The Division of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) and the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) have reportedly reached a settlement in a frightening 2009 incident at Oroville Dam in which two workers narrowly escaped with their lives during what DOSH described as an ill-conceived test of a missing safety device. Under the terms of … Read More »

This content is only available to premium subscribers. Please login here log in

Read More »

DOSH’s Lead ‘Jedi’ Confirmed

SACRAMENTO — Minutes before her confirmation hearing before the California Senate Rules committee, as the committee took a short break and the assembled were milling about, Ellen Widess indulged in a few dance steps, showing some nice moves as her husband and brother sat nearby, amused. As it turned out, Widess waltzed through the hearing, … Read More »

This content is only available to premium subscribers. Please login here log in

Read More »

Contractor Cited in LAX Electrocution

The failure of a 33-year-old electrical apprentice to ensure the 480-volt system he was installing was not energized cost him his life in a September 2011 incident at Los Angeles International Airport. Now California’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) has cited his employer, Morrow-Meadows Corp., for three serious violations and proposed more than … Read More »

This content is only available to premium subscribers. Please login here log in

Read More »