Elk Grove Village, IL – To help the aging workforce remain productive, employers need to establish a “culture of health” in the workplace, according to a new article from the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine and NIOSH.

Kansas City, MO – The baby boomer generation now comprises a large portion of the U.S. workforce, and this aging workforce will become a driving factor in increased employee injury costs in the next two decades, according to a new report from risk management company Lockton.

Washington – The next webinar in NIOSH’s Total Worker Health series will provide an “overview of theory, research data, obstacles and potential solutions for addressing the challenges and opportunities posed by an aging workforce.”

Atlanta – Productive aging is about minimizing losses and maximizing growth. That was the message from James Grosch, NIOSH Center for Productive Aging and Work co-director and research psychologist, during a Sept. 27 webinar, “Productive Aging and Work: Theory, Health Data & Practical Solutions” – part of the NIOSH Total Worker Health webinar series.

The proportion of older workers in the United States continues to rise, prompting safety professionals and researchers to strategize about the best ways to accommodate them.

Today’s workforce includes four generations of workers who grew up in different eras and bring a variety of experience, knowledge and cultures to the job. How can safety pros deliver messaging that effectively reaches this diverse group?

Portland, OR — Older workers feel more stress than their younger colleagues when employers don’t provide the support and resources necessary for employees to do their jobs well, results of a recent study from Portland State University suggest.

Houston — For older workers, the right job fit can benefit overall health and well-being, while a poor fit is more likely to push them into retirement, according to researchers from Rice University and Colorado State University.

Washington — L. Casey Chosewood pointed out the obvious reality every worker faces. “All of us are aging,” the director of the Office for Total Worker Health at NIOSH said during the agency’s June 10 webinar on the future of work and the implications for aging workers.

Washington — The director of NIOSH’s Office for Total Worker Health says employers should think about the physical and mental health needs of their employees returning to the job amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Fort Collins, CO — Physically demanding work may lead to poor memory and faster aging of the brain among older adults, results of a recent study led by researchers from Colorado State University show.

Washington — Instead of relying on generational labels such as “millennial” and “baby boomer” to help inform workforce management decisions – including those related to safety and communication – employers and managers should focus on workers’ individual situations and needs, concludes a recently published report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

Hartford, CT — Employers need to pay close attention to new and aging employees to help prevent workplace injuries, according to a report from insurance provider The Travelers Cos.

Silver Spring, MD — Recognizing the importance of older workers in the construction industry, CPWR – The Center for Construction Research and Training has developed a series of resources for them.

Bethesda, MD — Better physical mobility can lead not only to longer working years but also to higher income, results of a recent study led by National Institutes of Health researchers show.

Oulu, Finland — Premature menopause can limit how long women stay in the workforce, results of a recent study by Finnish researchers shows.

Boulder, CO – Researchers are calling on Colorado to require reporting of all fires and explosions in the state’s oil and gas industry, after an analysis showed an incident rate significantly lower than that of neighboring Utah, where reporting is mandatory.

Sacramento, CA – The California Department of Industrial Relations and the California Environmental Protection Agency have approved final regulations intended to improve hazard prevention and management at the state’s 15 oil refineries.

Washington – Responding to ongoing damage in the Gulf Coast region caused by Hurricane Harvey, the Chemical Safety Board has issued a safety alert warning oil and chemical facility workers to follow special precautions when restarting in the wake of the storm.

Washington – NIOSH and the California Department of Public Health have collaborated on a video intended to protect oil and gas extraction workers from deadly hazards linked to manual gauging and fluid sampling on production tanks.

Washington – OSHA has published a guide intended to help oil refineries comply with the agency’s Process Safety Management Standard (1910.119).

Washington – The Chemical Safety Board released a set of recommendations Sept. 18 after its investigation into last year’s ExxonMobil refinery fire, which severely burned four workers in Baton Rouge, LA.

Washington – The Chemical Safety Board has released a video on last year’s ExxonMobil refinery fire, which severely burned four workers in Baton Rouge, LA.

Washington – Contending that it lacks proper regulatory authority, the Chemical Safety Board on Nov. 14 voted to withdraw its recommendations issued to the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement after its investigation into the April 2010 explosion and fire that killed 11 workers on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico.

Washington — The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement has issued a proposed rule intended to “reduce certain unnecessary regulatory burdens” that exist under the Production Systems Safety Rule “while correcting errors and clarifying current requirements,” according to a notice published in the Dec. 29 Federal Register.

Washington — The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement has issued a stop-work order for a National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine study reviewing BSEE’s offshore oil and gas operations inspection program, the National Academies announced Dec. 21.

New Orleans — The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement has introduced a risk-based inspection program intended to improve safety for offshore oil and gas workers.

New Orleans — A new approach that allows Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement inspectors to access electronic records onshore will increase their physical inspection time at more than 2,200 offshore oil and gas facilities in the Gulf of Mexico, the agency recently announced.

Washington — Officials from the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement met June 21 to discuss a BSEE-sponsored report that outlines strategies for enhancing bolting technology in offshore oil and gas operations, a press release from the agency states.

Washington — Effective process safety management can help prevent hazards and incidents related to process unit startups and shutdowns, according to a new “Safety Digest” from the Chemical Safety Board.

Washington — Offshore drilling rig operators in the Gulf of Mexico reported 1,129 blowout preventer equipment component failures in 2017, according to the latest annual report from the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement’s SafeOCS reporting system.

Washington — The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement has found “noticeable gaps” in safety regarding fired vessels on a few offshore oil and gas platforms in the Gulf of Mexico that “warrant attention to prevent or mitigate uncontrolled releases of hydrocarbons, toxic substances or other materials,” according to an agency safety alert issued Oct. 2.

Port Fourchon, LA — The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement’s rollback of certain provisions of a rule intended to prevent a repeat of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon offshore oil rig disaster will maintain safety and environmental protections, the agency claims, as advocacy groups announce their intention to fight the move.

Baton Rouge, LA — The OSHA Region 6 Training Institute Education Centers recently released a video on recognizing and controlling common hazards in oil and gas exploration.

Washington — The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement recently unveiled a free text message alert system that delivers the agency’s safety alerts and bulletins to offshore oil and gas workers on the Outer Continental Shelf.

Washington — Via its Gulf Research Program, the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine has awarded eight grants totaling nearly $7.3 million to projects aimed at enhancing safety culture in the offshore oil and gas industry.

Washington — One year after the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement launched its free BSEE!Safe text message alert system, the agency says more than 6,200 subscribers have received links to BSEE safety alerts and bulletins covering offshore oil and gas work on the Outer Continental Shelf.

Washington — OSHA has published COVID-19-related guidance intended to help employers in the oil and gas industry reduce exposure among workers, including personnel in the subindustries and those whose tasks “make up the broader oil and gas industrial sector.”

Washington — The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement has “continued to fulfill its mission” during the COVID-19 pandemic by performing safety and environmental inspections for offshore oil and gas operations, the Department of the Interior Office of Inspector General concludes in a report issued Sept. 21.

Washington — In the more than 18 months since the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement unveiled its free BSEE!Safe text message alert system, the agency reports it has supplied links to BSEE safety alerts and bulletins covering offshore oil and gas work on the Outer Continental Shelf to over 7,000 subscribers.

Washington — Approximately 18,000 miles of decommissioned oil and gas pipelines in the Gulf of Mexico pose safety and environmental risks, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office.

New Orleans — A recent string of Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement performance-based risk inspections uncovered various hazards related to dropped objects on production and well operations, according to a Sept. 14 safety alert outlining the findings.

Edmonton, Alberta — Contract workers who fly in and out of oil sands may experience higher levels of work-related stress and more mental health issues, according to a recent report led by researchers from the University of Alberta.

Arlington, VA — The Mine Safety and Health Administration is reminding miners working near oil and gas wells to remain aware that “an inadvertent intersection with one of these wells” could be hazardous.

Washington — An online dashboard recently introduced by the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement is intended to improve the safety of offshore oil and gas operations by easing access to safety data.

Washington — The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement has issued a proposed rule that would codify existing agency practice concerning the review and approval of projects proposing to use “new or unusual technology.”

Washington — In response to the death of a drillship worker who lacked formal training on using a hydraulic torque wrench, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement has issued a safety alert.

Washington — A new report concludes that offshore oil and gas operations have become safer since the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster, but it finds “little evidence” that the industry is working together on improving safety culture.

Washington — NIOSH wants to hear from employers and workers involved in oil well servicing and drilling operations for a study exploring motor vehicle safety.

How can leading indicators and analytics be used to mitigate risk and reduce employee injuries and illnesses?