I want to bring to your attention a pretty serious error that I hope is just a typographical error, not an intentionally biased misrepresentation. The Jan. 22, 2010 issue (p. 9651) states that Worksafe is “a coalition of employer groups.” Nothing could be further from the truth. Although I may agree with some of their …
Five workers were exposed to hurricane-like winds and almost were swept out with rushing water at Oroville Dam in July 2009. One found himself hanging over the edge of a tunnel, holding onto some twisted metal railing, while another clung to a platform as various tools and equipment pummeled him. This desperate ordeal was the …
Construction Employers Association (CEA) recently honored more than 40 of its member companies with Excellence in Safety Awards. The companies were feted at a Feb. 11 luncheon in Walnut Creek. Excellence in Safety Awards are presented to CEA member companies that demonstrate a total injury and illness incidence rate 25% below the industry average, an …
California’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) has cited a Hawthorne employer for two alleged serious violations, including one willful, in an Aug. 12, 2009, amputation involving a property management company. DOSH alleges that Swami International, Inc., allowed a worker to use a slide compound saw it knew was missing a guard/hood. The worker, …
A criminal conviction wasn’t enough to buttress a Cal/OSHA case against a San Fernando Valley framing contractor in a 2002 workplace death, but the Division of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) will get another chance after the Cal/OSH Appeals Board issued a Decision After Reconsideration. That puts the case back before an ALJ. In 2007, …
Late last year, a worker at a co-generation plant in Santa Clara noticed a tank leaking steam like a sieve and it looked as if it were about to explode. He was able to prevent the catastrophe, but later the operator, Silicon Valley Power, wanted to bring the vessel back on line without any major …
The Construction Employers Association (CEA) has honored Gena Roberts, safety director for Swinerton, Inc., with its Leadership in Safety Award. The trade association also recognized a number of its member companies for safety achievement. CEA represents unionized general contractors. Roberts, senior corporate safety, environmental and health manager and regional supervisor for Swinerton Builders, Swinerton Management …
A gruesome death at a Macy’s Department Store recycling operation in Los Angeles last July was caused by lack of guarding on a compacting/baling machine, California’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) has concluded. In fact, employees placed a piece of plywood over an electronic beam so that the compacting ram would operate continuously. …