Workplace Violence

Workplace Violence - Raising the issue and spotting the red flags - Washington Business Journal
Keep your eyes open for those who:

* have a history of violence
* are considered loners
* experience rapid weight gain or loss
* show sudden deterioration in productivity and performance
* become accident prone and reckless
* exhibit poor hygiene
* sabotage property
* have attendance problems: sickness, tardiness, leaving early
* exhibit high stress levels, crying, death of family, divorce, financial problems, excessive personal calls
* constantly make slighting references to others
* spread rumors and gossip
* consider themselves to be superior
* are never happy with what is going on
* need to constantly force their opinion on others
* have a compulsive need to control others
* think that other employees are out to get them
* are essentially paranoid
* are consistently unreasonable and argumentative and refuse to cooperate
* make others feel uneasy
* are belligerent toward customers and clients
* refuse to obey policies
* think there is a conspiracy to all functions of society
* own firearms and have interests in military, law enforcement or underground military groups
* don't take responsibility for any of their behaviors or faults or mistakes; it's always someone else's fault
* take legal action against the company, constantly filing one grievance after another
* blow everything out of proportion
* have hate and anger issues on and off the job, whether they're with co-workers, family, friends or the government
* applaud certain violent acts portrayed in the media such as racial incidents, domestic violence, shooting sprees, executions
* make statements like "he will get his" or "what goes around comes around" or "one of these days I'll have my say"
* suddenly stop making any kind of disparaging statements or behaviors and become introverted
* pay attention to the details, but lack people skills
* sexually harass others
* have had trouble with the law, even just a minor incident
* are addicted to alcohol, prescription or street drugs
* are romance-obsessed
* have drastic changes in belief systems
* express feelings of hopelessness
* display violence towards inanimate objects.

Safe Ladder Use

WorkSafe British Columbia has published a booklet titled "Safe Ladder Use". The booklet is one of its Construction Safety Series.
WorkSafeBC.com - Construction - Construction Safety Series
This 12-page booklet focuses on ladder safety and fall protection for residential construction. (Scroll to bottom of the page to download the PDF - 498kb)

Trade unions break away from group affiliated with AFL-CIO

Trade unions break away from group affiliated with AFL-CIO - By WILL LESTER, AP
The Laborers and Operating Engineers will join with four other unions in the construction business — the Teamsters, Carpenters, Iron Workers and Bricklayers unions — to form the National Construction Alliance, a confederation aimed at expanding union membership in the construction field. The new alliance will focus heavily on building union strength in almost 30 states where the construction business has low union membership.

WorkSafeBC.com - Construction Safety

WorkSafe British Columbia has published a well-illustrated and easy-to-read
booklet titled "Safe Ladder Use". The booklet is one of its Construction
Safety Series.
WorkSafeBC.com - Construction - Construction Safety Series
This 12-page booklet focuses on ladder safety and fall protection for residential construction. (Scroll to bottom of the page to download the PDF - 498kb)

Skanska leads in rail project for Ground Zero

Skanska leads in rail project for Ground Zero
Skanska USA Civil, the Queens-based unit of Swedish construction firm Skanska AB, is one of the leading firms in a joint venture that won a $1.1 billion contract to build a rail transit hub at Ground Zero.

The joint venture, named Phoenix Constructors, comprises Skanska and Aliso Viejo, Calif.-based Fluor Corp. as the lead companies with a 32.5% interest each, along with Watsonville, Calif.-based Granite Construction Inc. and London-based Bovis Lend Lease.

Hazards exposed: A look through the OSHA lens

Hazards exposed: A look through the OSHA lens - Minnesota OSHA
The following photos of imminent danger situations were taken by Minnesota OSHA staff members during 2002 and 2003. An imminent danger is any condition or practice that presents a substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could occur immediately or before the danger can be eliminated through normal enforcement procedures. MNOSHA becomes aware of these situations through reports received from employees, the general public or direct observation by an investigator.


Photo 10
"Best of the worst"*

January Safety Meeting, open forum and tool draw

Truck driver pressed wrong switch

Truck driver pressed wrong switch - By Chad Skelton, Vancouver Sun
Probe: He was killed when the top of his garbage truck hit a pedestrian overpass

Published: Wednesday, January 18, 2006
COQUITLAM - An investigation by WorkSafe BC into the death of a garbage truck driver who was crushed when the top of his truck hit a pedestrian overpass in Coquitlam has concluded the accident occurred because the driver pressed the wrong switch.

The initial investigation into Ralston Vassell's death July 19 focused on whether a problem with the truck's hydraulic system may have caused the garbage box to tilt up high enough for it to hit a walkway over Lougheed Highway.

But an inspection of the Waste Management of Canada Ltd. truck by WorkSafe investigators found no evidence of mechanical problems -- meaning Vassell himself must have tilted the box.

Since the garbage box is only tilted when a driver wants to dump a load, there's no reason for Vassell to have done so.

But the tilt switch is located just to the left of an identical switch used to open the garbage box's top door -- something Vassell may have wanted to do as he approached his next pickup.

So how did Vassell make the mistake? Investigators found Vassell had worked a series of overtime shifts in the days before the accident and was likely suffering from 'fatigue' and 'sleep debt.'

And the truck he was driving that day, an older model Volvo, was different than the two newer-model trucks he usually drove.

Those trucks had no tilting mechanism -- instead pushing the garbage straight out the back using a blade -- and, as a result, had no tilting switch.

Instead, investigators found the trucks Vassell usually drove had the door-open switch in roughly the same spot as the Volvo had the tilting switch.

'It is possible that [Vassell], working on instinct . . . pressed the first silver toggle in the row under the impression it was the [door-open] switch,' the investigation report states.

Another Waste Management driver told investigators he made exactly the same mistake himself once -- although he realized it before it caused any problems.

Hazards of Manually Lifting Balloon Framed Walls

Hazards of Manually Lifting Balloon Framed Walls - U.S. Department of Labor, OSHA
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA's) Calumet City Area Office investigated an accident where the weight of a balloon framed wall became too heavy for the employees raising the wall, and the wall collapsed back onto the employees. OSHA's Integrated Management Information System (IMIS) data from July 1999 through July 2004 recorded 21 additional incidents involving the collapse of balloon framed walls. As a result of these 22 incidents, five employees died and 28 employees were injured, 16 of whom required hospitalization.

Balloon Framing

Balloon framing involves the placement of framed walls (generally over 10 feet in height) that run the entire vertical length from the structure's floor sill plate to the roof. Balloon framed walls have been raised for years using manual labor. However, over the years framed walls have become heavier due to contemporary construction designs. Many contractors have developed guidelines for employees raising such walls. However, these guidelines are not consistent and often rely heavily on the foreman guessing the weight of the wall and estimating the number of employees necessary to perform the lift.

Study: 15 Percent of U.S. Work Force Under the Influence of Alcohol

Study: 15 Percent of U.S. Work Force Under the Influence of Alcohol - Occupational Hazards
The study, conducted by the University of Buffalo Research Institute on Addictions, estimates that 2.3 million workers (1.8 percent of the work force) have consumed alcohol at least once before coming to work and 8.9 million workers (7.1 percent of the work force) have drank alcohol at least once during the workday. Most workers who drink during the workday do so during lunch breaks, though some drink while working or during other breaks, according to the study.
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Working Partners for an Alcohol- and Drug-Free Workplace - U.S. Department of Labor
Working Partners for an Alcohol- and Drug-Free Workplace is a U.S. Department of Labor initiative that raises awareness about the impact drugs and alcohol have on the workplace and provides information on how to establish drug-free workplace programs that protect worker safety and health.