SACRAMENTO — The Cal/OSHA Consultation Service has released the second in its series of ergonomic “survival guides” for construction trades people. The latest edition is aimed at electricians. The first guide was directed at carpenters and framers. The guide is designed to fit into a worker’s pocket and is divided into four sections: What can …
The Cal/OSH Standards Board will hold a public hearing on proposals that would clarify definitions of and design criteria for scaffolds, and clear up inconsistencies in a safety order that controls employee exposure to inorganic arsenic. The public hearing will be held at the Standards Board’s March 20 meeting in Oakland. The scaffolding proposal was …
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 …