DOL Secretary Hilda Solis Speaks at ASSE PDC

Department of Labor Secretary Hilda Solis addressed the attendees at this year's American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) professional development conference in San Antonio. If you weren't able to attend, here is her address:

TAUC to Host Fall Protection Webinar

The Association of Union Constructors (TAUC) is set to present "Non-Fatal Attraction: Fall for your harness all over again," featuring Jack Moeding of Preferred Safety Products, on 13 August 2009. The Web-based training event will begin at 2 pm EST, and will shed new light on the proper care and inspection of fall arrest systems.

Registration costs $23 per person for TAUC members, and $39 per person for non-members.

Questions and registration requests can be referred to Wayne Creasap, director of safety and health at (703) 524-3336 x123.

Dewalt Recalls Framing Nailers

The US Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with Dewalt Industrial Tool Co. announced a voluntary recall of the Dewalt D51825 and D51850 Framing Nailers.

Hazard: the bump action trigger on the framing nailers could have been incorrectly assembled during production, which would allow the nailer to eject a fastener unexpectedly or cause the trigger lock-off not to function. This can pose a serious injury hazard to the user or bystander.

Click here for details.

Al Hilbert Named Safety Professional of the Year

It's hard to believe it, but Al Hilbert was actually speechless when the Florida Suncoast Chapter of the American Society of Safety Engineers surprised him with this year's Safety Professional of the Year (SPY) trophy. Al is the Safety Manager for AT&T Environmental, Safety & Health and has been a very active member of the chapter. He is currently serving his second term as the chapter's treasurer.

That's Al on the right being presented with this year's award by Chapter President Brian Conners (left). Congratulations Al! We'll see you at the ASSE PDC in San Antonio on the 28th.

Trenching Fatality in Pennsylvania

Here's another very preventable accident that ended in tragedy. This guy was stripping forms from a foundation wall when the wall of the trench collapsed. This is a good story to use when training because the worker was "buried up to his waist." His fellow workers immediately tried to free him, but could not prevent his death.

This is a graphic example for your training to illustrate that tragedy occurs even in relatively shallow trenches. Saving a few dollars or a few minutes by not properly shoring a trench is just plain stupid. Here's another Focus 4 fatality.

Click here to view the entire story. There is even a short news video with this one.

Worker Dies - Pinned between two loaders

The Calgary Herald reports that a worker was killed recently when he was pinned between two loaders on a jobsite. This "caught in" accident shows the wisdom of Focus 4 training for contractors. The article is short on details, but I'm sure you can make a pretty accurate guess at what happened.

Click here to read the full article.

Austin Construction Employers Chided!

It's been pretty "quiet" in my little world lately. But yesterday, the Austin Newspaper American-Statesman hit us in the back of the head when they reported on a 68 page study "Building Austin, Building Injustice." That study states that the construction industry in the Austin area is "rampant with poor and dangerous working conditions."

The report goes on to say that 64% of construction workers had received no basic safety and health training. Pretty sad isn't it. In my experience, training is the single most important function of the safety professional. Without training, and commitment by management, safety won't exist on a jobsite.

Did you know that Texas had 23,900 construction injuries in 2007? Did you know that Texas had 142 construction fatalities in 2007? And with that, Texas has taken the lead over Florida!

If you would like to read the entire article, click here.