Practical Facilities Tips, News & Advice.
Fatal workplace injuries declined 3.7% in 2023, the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) announced with the mid-December release of its Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI). There were 5,283 fatal work injuries recorded in the United States in 2023. The fatal work injury rate was 3.5 fatalities per 100,000 full-time equivalent (FTE) workers—down […]
Facilities management is critical to organizational efficiency, impacting industries ranging from healthcare and education to corporate offices and government institutions. As political landscapes shift, facilities management software must adapt to evolving regulatory requirements, economic policies, and security mandates. Governments worldwide influence compliance frameworks, sustainability goals, and labor laws, necessitating a flexible and responsive approach to […]
The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) cited a marijuana producer for a workplace explosion in which an employee suffered burns. As the marijuana industry takes hold in states allowing recreational marijuana use, state agencies are taking steps to ensure compliance with worker safety and health standards.
Thirteen medical and scientific experts urged the Biden administration to take immediate actions to address SARS-CoV-2 inhalation hazards, including issuing an emergency Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standard. The SARS-CoV-2 virus causes COVID-19, which was declared a pandemic in March 2020.
Despite OSHA’s 2014 rule strengthening provisions that require employers to inform the agency about work-related fatalities and serious injuries and illnesses, the Department of Labor’s (DOL) Office of Inspector General (OIG) found that OSHA’s data on these incidents are deficient as is its assurance that employers abated the hazards that contributed to the incidents.
Several states now have looming deadlines for discharge monitoring reports (DMRs), making it a good time of year to evaluate your industrial facility’s stormwater monitoring practices. Improper monitoring—or just plain forgetting to monitor—can lead to a number of costly violations for facilities operating under industrial stormwater permits, so it pays to make sure you’re doing […]
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that 70 applicants across 27 states, three Tribal Nations, and one territory have been tentatively selected to receive over $735 million to assist in the purchase of over 2,400 zero-emission vehicles through its first-ever Clean Heavy-Duty Vehicles Grant Program. The majority of the funding will go toward adopting […]
OSHA’s final rule to increase its civil penalties by approximately 2.5% for 2019 has been published in the Federal Register and took effect immediately on January 23, 2019. The rule brings a new maximum single-violation penalty of $132,598 for willful and repeat violations. The increases adjust for inflation as required by the Federal Civil Penalties […]
The Midwest is currently in the grips of a polar vortex, dropping temperatures anywhere from 10 to 50 degrees below normal for this time of year. As you crank up the heat in your facility to deal with this extreme cold, be sure to double check your monitoring systems, as the risks from carbon monoxide […]
People would feel safer with more data on indoor air quality (IAQ) during these trying times, according to a new survey ordered by measurement tech company Vaisala. The survey, which included over 4,000 respondents in the United States, France, Germany, and Finland, was conducted in summer 2021 and studied people’s concerns regarding indoor air during […]