OSHA refocuses on struck-by incidents in Midwest

May 9th, 2016 by Dakota Software Staff Industry News

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration occasionally dedicates its resources toward regional enforcement plans, identifying issues that may be prevalent in a group of states but not countrywide and taking steps to address them. An announcement from OSHA indicates the most recent of these efforts focuses on the Midwest - specifically the states of Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska - and the potential for serious injury and death caused by vehicles, motorized equipment and falling objects. According to official Department of Labor and OSHA documentation, the enforcement effort covers a number of industries in the three states. One enforcement threshold for businesses is those with 10 or more employees, meaning a wide range of organizations will be affected.

The EYES plan
The training material, accident data and awareness efforts developed and provided by OSHA for this regional enforcement plan all come under the banner of Evaluate Your Entire Surroundings. The acronym EYES certainly fits into the narrative supported by the campaign that employees must remain vigilant for risks caused by vehicles, motorized machinery and materials stored above ground level and reassess the situation as appropriate. As Safety and Health magazine pointed out, OSHA put much of the educational efforts in the hands of employers, sharing information and educational tools and strongly encouraging their use. Those materials can be accessed through OSHA's website.

Incidents where employees were struck by objects and machinery led to 35 deaths since 2012 in the three states, according to Safety and Health magazine. Along with the development of training and educational materials, the initiative also includes an emphasis on potential struck-by hazards during inspections of facilities operating in industries affected by the regional enforcement plan.

"Struck-by vehicle fatalities and injuries are 100 percent preventable," Marcia Drumm, an OSHA regional administrator, said in a press release. "Employers must do more to prevent these tragedies including evaluating their workplaces to identify and eliminate hazards, and training employees to recognize hazardous conditions."

A continuing focus on employee safety and health is critical in a very wide range of industries. Businesses can improve the outcomes of EHS efforts through the use of safety compliance software. Using such a platform has a multitude of benefits, from providing access to relevant laws and regulations to accurate tracking of incidents and goals related to EHS.