SACRAMENTO — The safety supervisor for an Atwater food processing company was recognized as Safety Professional of the Year by The Safety Center, Inc., as part of its Excellence in Safety Awards competition. The awards were announced Jan. 30 at a luncheon during the center’s annual Occupational Symposium on Safety and Health. Michelle Schlefstein, safety …
OAKLAND — Should the General Industry Safety Orders (GISO) be revised to extend the ban on short-handled tools in weeding, thinning or hot-capping of crops to performing these tasks by hand? That’s the question an advisory committee meeting for the first time Feb. 6 will take up. Labor will make its case at the meeting …
OAKLAND — Gonzales Farm Labor Contractor of Galt recently was recognized by the Cal/OSHA Consultation Service under the Golden Gate Partnership Program for its safety and health efforts. It was the first award of its kind to a farm labor contractor. Golden Gate recognizes effective safety and health programs with a letter from the Consultation …
OAKLAND — An accident waiting to happen? How about a fatality waiting to happen. This photo was taken at a residential construction site. Fall protection at such work sites has been a major Cal/OSHA focus. Let’s hope this safety brain cramp was just an isolated incident. Photo by Robert Gumpert/Courtesy Department of Industrial Relations
OAKLAND — The Bay Area is in a spate of bridge building not seen since the Golden Gate and Bay bridges were erected within a couple of years of each other in the 1930s. Six of the bay system’s eight bridges are undergoing some kind of retrofit, replacement or expansion. The eastern span of the …
OAKLAND — The Cal/OSH Standards Board granted the following variances at its Jan. 16 meeting in Los Angeles: Kenny/Shea/Traylor/Frontier-Kemper, Joint Venture, Los Angeles: Permanent variance from Construction Safety Orders 1604.24(a) and .26(c), and Tunnel Safety Orders (TSO) 8495(b)(1) regarding the operation of construction personnel hoists without regular attendants at three temporary work sites. The joint …
LOS ANGELES — Those hoping for action on the California Labor Federation’s petition to reopen the state’s ergonomic standard at the Jan. 16 Cal/OSH Standards Board’s meeting instead got an object lesson in patience. The board accepted a recommendation by Len Welsh, special counsel for the Division of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH), to delay …
LOS ANGELES — Cal/OSHA’s revised injury and illness recordkeeping regulation has been in effect for more than a year, but one of its provisions kicks in this February. It is the revised annual posting of the injury and illness summary. Under the new procedures, employers must post the Log 300 summary for three months, from …