by Brianna Crandall — July 15, 2013—The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) launched a few new online publications in recent weeks that cover such topics as construction incidents (such as structure collapses), wildfires (in Spanish), and how to find and fix workplace hazards.
1/ OSHA’s new Construction Incidents Investigation Engineering Reports Web page provides original investigations of structure collapses and other incidents conducted by the agency’s Directorate of Construction. The page was created to help employers, workers, construction engineers, project managers, and regulatory bodies identify problems in construction design, project management, and management of field engineering changes. OSHA’s hope is that the information provided will help reduce future incidents, fatalities and serious injuries. According to OSHA, many of the incidents described resulted in one or more worker fatalities, and most of them resulted in multimillion dollar property loss, lawsuits, or settlements. Each investigation was performed at the request of an OSHA field office or state-run occupational safety and health agency as part of an enforcement inspection.
2/ OSHA’s Preparación y respuesta ante incendios forestales is the new Spanish language version of OSHA’s Wildfires page. OSHA notes that wildfires can start and spread quickly, particularly during dry conditions. This page provides a Spanish-language summary of how workers and employers can prepare for a wildfire and to protect themselves in the wildfire’s aftermath.
3/ OSHA’s new Injury and Illness Prevention Programs fact sheet was created to help employers find and fix workplace hazards. The fact sheet describes some common program elements of Injury and Illness Prevention Programs and how to implement them. These systematic programs allow employers on an ongoing basis to find and fix workplace hazards before workers are hurt or become ill. These proactive processes can substantially reduce the number and severity of workplace injuries and illnesses and can alleviate the associated financial burdens on U.S. workplaces, explains OSHA. The fact sheet explains the major elements of an effective program, which include management leadership; worker participation; hazard identification, assessment, prevention and control; education and training and program evaluation and improvement.
