While most of us are aware that hazardous materials should be secured properly while shipping, some drivers may not be as aware that it is also important that other loads be secured safely while on public roadways. I have seen it and so have you, the traffic on the highway slows down to a crawl and 15 minutes later you see what happened some truck is either wrecked or just parked on the side of the highway with a load scattered everywhere.

Not that long ago I remember an accident here in Alabama where a log fell from a logging truck and killed someone in a car who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Not that long ago I remember a roll of steel that broke free of the tie downs and crashed through a house. While serious fines can be assessed for the improper shipment of hazardous materials isn’t it also important that we make sure that other loads are properly secured.

I see DOT enforcement vehicles from time to time with huge tractor trailer trucks pulled over doing their checks, but have never seen one with a normal citizen pulled over because their ladder is not properly secured? Why do normal people who have no knowledge of DOT regulations not have the common sense to properly secure their loads? I see it all the time and you do to, a random piece of furniture smashed to smithereens on the side of the highway.

Have you heard the horror stories of those innocent people who had accidents because of the carelessness of others with improperly secured loads? There are many of those stories out there and what happened to them depends upon the situation.

I was driving in Chattanooga Tennessee on Interstate 24 not that long ago. The traffic had completely filled all 5 lanes on each side of the highway and I was driving in the center lane of those 5 east bound lanes. I was following a guy, likely a country store owner who had just bought supplies for his store. There was a huge box of paper towels on top of the load in the pickup just sitting there unsecured. Suddenly the huge box of paper towels blew off of the truck and onto the highway just in front of my truck. With the highway traffic bumper to bumper almost I could not dodge the box and I knew that I should not brake for fear of causing a serious accident on the freeway. So I just plowed into the box of paper towels. Thank God my airbag did not deploy but the box burst open and rolls of paper towels showered onto the traffic behind me on all 5 lanes of traffic.

In this case thank God there was no accident caused by this incident, but what would have happened if I had suddenly slammed on my brakes or swerved to avoid the box? The results could have been horrible. I think that DOT needs to wake up and smell the coffee and increase their patrols and try to curb this problem that seems to be getting worse.

Wake up America, YOU are responsible for your actions. When you are moving something on our nations highways please make sure that your load is properly secured. If you don’t you may be the cause of someone loosing their life on the highway.

Joe Russell

Ford and Volvo Safest new cars on the road.

After reading an article last week about how Ford and Volvo have the safest new cars and trucks on the road, as designated by the insurance industry, I was very impressed. Recently I watched one of those television news shows where that covered a problem that fire and rescue personnel were having in using the Jaws of Life to free trapped people in wrecked cars.

The problem they were experiencing was that the old jaws that cut metal in order to free people was no longer powerful enough to cut the metal in some new cars. The reason for the jaws failure is because of the better construction of the vehicle and the metal that is now being used. One of the specific cars they tested it on was a Ford. This insurance industry report confirms this story.

Ford Motor Co. and its Volvo subsidiary have been using some new anti-rollover technology in building their cars resulting in many of the safety results from the insurance industry. Ford and Volvo had 16 vehicles in the 2009 model year on the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s list of the safest new cars, followed by Honda Motor Co. who had 13 vehicles on the list.

There were seventy two cars, trucks and SUVs that received the top safety pick designation for 2009. This more than doubles the number of vehicles that were on the list in 2008 and triple the number in 2007. These numbers give a clear indication that auto makers have learned much to improve auto construction safety.

This is a clear indication that the auto industry is paying close attention to what the consumer wants in a car and that is safety. The most recent major concern by the consumer is economical transportation. I hope that the recent upturn in automakers providing a safer product is not hindered by gas prices.

For now we must take our hats off to the auto industry and in particular Ford/Volvo for providing a safer vehicle to transport us in our daily lives.

Joe Russell

Although partially banned for most uses in 1972, Asbestos still poses a danger over 40 years later.

It appears that even before the partial ban of Asbestos usage in 1972, the harmful effects were no secret among Asbestos Manufacturers. Industry complained about the partial ban in 1972 even though many of them understood very well the dangers that Asbestos posed in causing Mesothelioma, which is one of the lung diseases that Asbestos causes.

Asbestos usage is heavily regulated in the United States and is now banned except for few closely monitored products and industries. According to NIOSH (National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health) there is no safe level of exposure to asbestos fibers and that any exposure puts the person at an increased risk of developing asbestos related diseases.

Even today we have companies who fail to realize, or to recognize, the hazards of their employees being exposed to existing Asbestos fibers.

Recently OSHA issued a citation to a company in Eldorado Kansas for two willful violations of the standards that protect the worker from exposure to Asbestos. The fine $140,000 and in 2007 the same company was fined $153,500 for 18 serious safety violations. The company is contesting the violations that it received last year.

OSHA inspected the plant after it received several complaints that employees at the refinery were in danger of asbestos exposure. The report states that over 100 employees were exposed to airborne asbestos that came from thermal insulation. The advantage, if you will, to a willful disregard for these dangers is that there may be no obvious effect on the worker for 20 years and by that time their liability will have passed. I call this heartless, what about you?

We obviously still have many people and companies who don’t fully understand the hazards associated with exposure to Asbestos Fibers. The list of usages that Asbestos had over the years is extensive and many could possibly just be missing some areas where a danger may exist. Following is a list that I found on the Mesothelioma web site of the different usages for Asbestos in the old days.

• Pipe insulation
• Insulation on boilers, turbines and other heat–generating industrial equipment
• Fireproofing, acoustical sprays and stucco
• Brake pads, clutch pressure plates and other friction products
• Fireproof textiles
• Wallboard, joint compounds and wall texture
• Cement and cement piping
• Electrical wiring
• Floor tile and linoleum
• Insulation in hair dryers and other consumer products
• Gaskets and packing
• Laboratory equipment
• Plastics and phenolic laminates
• Mud additives used in oil drilling
• Mold liners used in foundries

One guideline for Asbestos safety, if there is a doubt about the possibility of Asbestos being present in something, take time out and have the proper testing done. This could help to eliminate the possibility of coming down with one of these dreaded lung diseases for which Asbestos is known to be a contributor.

Joe Russell

American Society of Safety Engineers cautions employers against cutting back on Workplace Safety

ESH Today has quoted Warren K. Brown of American Society of Safety Engineers saying “Workplace safety processes must be in place at all times,”  “They are even more critical during business downturns.”

I have personally heard it over and over again the past 6 months to a year, “we have no budget for training and we will just have to see if we can get more safety training incorporated into the budget for next year.”

According to the article Mr. Brown was referencing recent reports of some companies cutting safety processes hoping to reduce costs. He stressed to ESH Today that if companies believe they can save money by reducing or ignoring worker safety, they are mistaken.

Most ASSE members would likely agree that although you might be able to cut some fat from your Safety budgets some things must remain constant. For instance you must not forget to provide some kind of safety training on compliance subjects if this is done then you might blow your budget and the company itself by receiving one of those famous OSHA fines for non compliance. Then where would you be? Of course you would be in trouble and your company would suffer the consequences financially.

Another place that you absolutely must not cut is from Personal Protective Equipment. If your employees are exposed to hazards by all means protect your employees from these hazards. Think about why you are spending money on safety in the first place. If a company is only doing it because they are wanting to follow OSHA requirements then that company has missed the point altogether.

For heavens sake the reason for OSHA in the first place is to protect employees from workplace hazards. So we need to stay focused during an economic downturn. Keep your employees safe and they in turn will provide you with loyal service and enable you to come out of these economic downturns successfully and your bottom line will reflect those decisions that you have made to remain safe even in tough times.

Let’s say you are able to slash safety costs and when the economic crisis is over you try to change back to thinking safety first. Guess what, your employees will no longer take you seriously. Sometimes you insist on safety and then others you could care less because of the cost of safety. You need to stay consistent in good times and in bad because the morale of your employees is at stake. It has been proven over and over again about how bad morale can cause unsafe behavior so stay focused.

Most companies know that investing in safety pays dividends and contributes positively to a company’s bottom line. While there may be ways to cut your safety budget in hard times you must be focused on keeping your people safe and working productively so that when the hard times are over you are in a position to come back with the same energy that you had before the crisis.

Joe Russell

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has designated Falewitch Construction Services Inc. in La Vista Nebraska as a Voluntary Protection Program (VPP) site.

According to the OSHA website there were a total of  2160 VPP sites in the United States as of 12/31/2008. This total is from all State and Federal OSHA agencies. Requirements for being recognized as an OSHA Star site include a high degree of management commitment/employee involvement, high quality work site safety analysis, a hazard prevention and control program, and a comprehensive safety and health training program for all employees.

Each of these elements must be effective, in place and in operation for at least one year before a company can apply to join the VPP.

It is indeed a high honor for a construction services company to receive this designation and thus we owe very hearty congratulations to the Falewitch Construction Services Company in La Vista Nebraska for receiving this honor from OSHA. Their designation officially is Voluntary Protection Programs Mobile Workforce Demonstration Star Site. This is the department’s highest recognition for meeting or exceeding workplace safety and health standards. When we see this type of designation we must realize that to obtain this honor the company must indeed have a genuine concern for their employees.

We here at Hawk Enterprises LLC received the OSHA SHARP award last year and I know the amount of commitment that our company has for the safety of our employees. It takes commitment from everyone from the Chief Executive Officer to the last employee that has been hired to achieve this award.

According to the article that I read from the OSHA website Falewitch Construction Services has more than 100 employees and is located in La Vista NB. They earned the star site status following a comprehensive on site evaluation by a team of OSHA safety and health experts.

According to the OSHA article “From the top down, Falewitch Construction Services has displayed outstanding efforts in implementing a comprehensive safety and health management system,” said Charles Adkins, OSHA’s regional administrator in Kansas City, Mo. “The company is an exemplar of workplace safety.”

We need more employers like this in our nation today and if they wanted to spread their wings I feel sure that companies in Las Vegas could really use a company like Falewitch to provide construction services. Some companies, like some of those we have witnessed in Las Vegas, seemingly at least, just want to get in there and do the work and collect the money. This company seems to be one who actually cares for their employees.

As a testimonial for these companies in the VPP, the fact that they achieve average injury and illness rates 50 percent below the Bureau of Labor Statistics average for other companies in their respective industries.

Wake up America we need more companies like this and when you look at the total lack of honesty and concern for others like we are seeing on Wall Street these days this is very refreshing.

For more information about the VPP, call OSHA’s regional VPP manager at 816-283-8745 or visit http://www.osha.gov/vpp .

Joe Russell