Last week, OSHA announced the availability of $10.5 million in training grants for nonprofit organizations, including employer associations, labor unions, joint labor/management associations, state-funded colleges and...
Since the first crude ladder-like climbing device was used thousands of years ago, there have been fall hazards. Ladder manufacturers today make safety a top priority, and their products include multiple design features to...
According to the NFPA’s Trends and Patterns of U.S. Fire Loss report in 2017, “The fire death rate per million population fell 70% from 34.4 in 1977 to 10.2 in 2015.” The decline is largely attributed to the increased...
We must consider safety issues when installing a fire alarm system, interconnecting to other building systems, and testing and/or repairing fire alarm systems. We must also consider occupant safety during an alarm....
If you go to eBay to buy a voltage relay, you might choose Omron—oops, actually that’s Omrch. It’s a counterfeit part. It looks like Omron. Except, it’s fake. Omron relays are real. Omrch relays are fake. On the technology...
Facing tight budgets, an aging workforce and increasingly stringent safety standards, building managers are looking to third parties for electrical safety maintenance solutions. That means electrical contractors, who...
According to the National Weather Service, the 30-year average for weather-related fatalities from 1988–2017 puts heat as the most frequent with 134 deaths per year, followed by flood at 85 per year and tornado at 69 per year...
Safety—Then and Now In 1970, President Richard Nixon signed into law the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Act, a new program that would create regulations to improve safety in the workplace. The Occupational Safety and...
If you think there is no cost to skimping on safety, think again. In 2018, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued 29,416 citations and $87 million in penalties in the construction industry. Resulting...
Safety is a critical component of every work environment, especially in the electrical industry. Every year, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) most-documented injuries, illnesses and deaths involve...
The word that comes to mind when I look back at my NECA Now 2019 experience in Phoenix is “tremendous.” It was an energizing example of what the electrical construction industry is all about. As the new National Electrical...
It has been more than a decade since ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR partnered with tED magazine to run a special campaign raising awareness of counterfeit electrical products. Dangerous fakes are still being manufactured and purchased...
Safety is on the brain as of late in the construction industry. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) Sixth Annual National Fall Prevention Safety Stand-Down was held the week of May 6-10, and other...
According to recent testimony by U.S. Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) workplace inspections will increase in the future. In 2017 and 2018, OSHA workplace inspections...
Workplace safety and health programs provide many benefits, such as increased productivity, improved employee morale, reduced absenteeism and illness, and reduced workers’ compensation rates. Unfortunately, incidents occur,...
Many components go into any successful electrical construction project. Throughout my career, though, I have championed safety and creating an environment that is conducive to excellence. Unfortunately, a few contractors do...
Thousands of annual job-related injuries and hundreds of fatalities can be attributed to electrical hazards. Although the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has regulations in place to prevent these types of...
If the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) has its way, construction contractors and subcontractors working for the Department of Defense (DOD) may be subject to more safety performance scrutiny. In February, the GAO...
In November 2018, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) published its final rule on "Cranes and Derricks in Construction: Operator Qualifications" (29 CFR 1926.1427(f)(6)). In sum, the new rule requires...
According to a new report from the National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA), "Fatal Electrical Injuries of Contract Workers," the construction industry experienced a "substantial share" of contractor deaths involving electrical...
