The Dräger Alcotest 6000 can perform a breath alcohol test with speed and precision. The portable device can determine breath alcohol content up to 0.525%, and allows for data storage of up to 500 test results.

Honeywell announced a new training and certification program to help integrators become proficient with the company’s Pro-Watch® Integration Kit, a software development kit designed to create smarter buildings that fold security into building management functions.

Monitronics International's new application, eContract, enables its dealers to fill out contract information electronically. The new application eliminates the hard-copy paperwork that is traditionally filled out for a new customer contract.

Following a successful pilot phase, Dallas-based Monitronics International’s electronic “eContract” application — designed to eliminate the hard-copy paperwork that is traditionally filled out for a new customer contract — is now available in production for its Authorized Dealer program.

HAI by Leviton, Melville, N.Y., announced that Yale Real Living™ has been added as a Connectivity Partner, allowing two-way integration with Yale’s ZigBee and Z-Wave wireless door locks.

Alarm.com won the Consumer Electronic Association's (CEA) Mark of Excellence Award for its Geo-Services technology.

 Leviton announced its OmniTouch 7 touchscreen was recognized by the Consumer Electronics Association's TechHome Division with the 2014 Mark of Excellence (MOE) Award of Human Interface of Product of the Year.  

In 2011, the back was the body part involved in the largest percentage of injuries involving days away from work, according to the 2014 edition of the National Safety Council’s “Injury Facts.”

SDM will publish a feature story on this year’s TMA Excellence Awards winners in its August emagazine and online.

Washington — A new resource from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences is intended to help employers identify and implement steps to protect workers from heat stress.

Washington — OSHA’s proposed standard on protecting workers from excessive heat is undergoing a final review, according to the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs website.

Dallas — A new video from OSHA provides tips on keeping workers safe before, during and after extreme weather events.

Washington — OSHA has released a draft of its proposed rule on heat illness prevention.

Toronto – Leading indicators can be used to help prevent an incident, but little research exists on which ones are actually effective, concludes a new report from the Institute for Work & Health.

Washington – Gauging the effectiveness of federal and state-run OSHA programs is one of the Department of Labor’s biggest challenges, according to the DOL Office of Inspector General.

Arlington, VA — A new online tool provides a look at the economic and safety impacts of the safety equipment industry last year in the United States.

Geneva — A new guidebook from the International Labor Organization is intended to help employers compile data on key performance indicators related to safety and health.

Sydney — Need to reset your attention during a complex work task? A five-minute break is all it takes.

Arlington, VA — The Mine Safety and Health Administration has issued a safety alert in response to five fatal incidents that occurred when miners situated between a longwall face conveyor and coal face were struck by falling sections of the face or roof.

Washington — Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) is among five Senate Democrats who have expressed opposition to any rollback to the Mine Safety and Health Administration’s respirable coal dust rule, in a letter sent Dec. 22 to Secretary of Labor R. Alexander Acosta.

Washington — The Mine Safety and Health Administration has no immediate plans to change its regulation on respirable dust in coal mines, MSHA administrator David Zatezalo said Feb. 6 during a hearing before the House Workforce Protections Subcommittee.

Washington — Coal miners soon will have access to a series of free, confidential health screenings through the NIOSH Coal Workers’ Health Surveillance Program.

State College, PA — Using a 3D device on a microchip that mimics the behavior of human lungs, researchers from Penn State University will use a $400,000 grant from NIOSH to study the effects of nano-scale coal dust on the lungs of underground miners, the university has announced.

Blacksburg, VA — Researchers at Virginia Tech have launched a project aimed at boosting the effectiveness of dust scrubbers in underground mining to enhance dust control and improve miner safety.

Arlington, VA — Criteria for the certification of coal mine rescue teams will “remain in effect, without changes,” the Mine Safety and Health Administration announced Sept. 1, after completing a requisite review under the Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response (MINER) Act of 2006.

Washington — Health care workers will be the focus of OSHA’s emergency temporary standard on COVID-19, which will be issued June 10, Labor Secretary Marty Walsh told the House Education and Labor Committee during a June 9 hearing.

Washington — A new law permanently restores a recently expired excise tax rate increase on coal production, which will help fund health care and other benefits for coal miners who have black lung disease.

Arlington, VA — In response to a number of fatalities and serious injuries involving miners working near highwalls in recent years, the Mine Safety and Health Administration has issued a safety alert on the associated hazards.

Arlington, VA — The “collective effort” of mine industry workers and stakeholders in 2022 contributed to a 21.6% decrease in worker deaths over the previous year, Mine Safety and Health Administration head Chris Williamson said during a recent conference call.

Washington — A new software training module from NIOSH is intended to assist mine operators, miners and industry stakeholders with emergency decision-making during coal mine rescues.

The Siemens Building Technologies Division’s Beltsville, Md. branch office was recently awarded LEED® for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance (EB: OM) certification by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC).

Panasonic in partnership with the Seattle Mariners announced the installation of a solar panel system comprised of 168 Panasonic HIT® Double solar panels at Safeco Field, the Seattle Mariners' home ballpark.

The University of British Columbia (UBC) Centre for Interactive Research on Sustainability (CIRS), a living laboratory for researchers to teach, test and study the long-term impact of sustainable practices and technologies, features advanced building controls, sensing technology and management software from Honeywell.

While most people like the idea of conserving energy and going green, moving from theory to practice in their daily lives requires more than just a philosophy. “Everybody likes being green if it’s not too much work,” explains Gene Jordan, president of Advanced Security Engineering, an Alarm.com dealer located in Pleasanton, Calif.

The Surfrider Foundation San Diego Chapter partnered with CoastalCOMS to install digital cameras networked with Milestone XProtect® Corporate to monitor wave breaks and sand lines.

For Thomas Marino, president of Advanced Technologies, Baton Rouge, La., “green” projects were nothing new. He had done projects that involved low-power, solar or other green elements. But when he ran into local attorney Joe Simmons at a trade show, the extremely environmentally conscious lawyer asked him to do the security and home automation for the custom home he was building. The home was new construction in a community of older homes and would feature as many green elements as possible, from the material in the countertops to the security and audio elements.

Legrand, North America has installed a 500kW, solid-oxide fuel cell system to provide cleaner and more efficient power to its headquarters in West Hartford, Conn. The Fuel Cell will sit adjacent to the company’s corporate offices and Wiremold manufacturing facility, and is expected to produce up to 88 percent of the electricity to every building on its 263,000-square-foot, 100-year-old campus.

Cleveland – Health care workers frequently contaminate their skin and clothing when removing gloves or gowns, and researchers from the Cleveland Veterans Affairs Medical Center are recommending additional education and redesigned personal protective equipment.

Groningen, Netherlands – The experience of being on-call is a major factor in worker fatigue, increasing the need for shift workers to recuperate, indicates a study from the University of Groningen.

Guildford, England – Women are more likely than men to be affected by the adverse ramifications of shift work, a new study out of England suggests.

Boston – Women who work rotating night shifts face a higher risk of heart disease, indicates a study of nurses from Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School.

Uppsala, Sweden – A study of current and former shift workers shows that shift work may contribute to cognitive difficulties that take years to recover from, according to researchers at Uppsala University and Malmö University.

Boston – Women whose jobs require heavy lifting or shift work may experience decreased fertility levels, according to a study from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

Chicago – Medical residents and fellows, including first-year residents, will be allowed to work for up to 28 consecutive hours without sleep as part of revised requirements recently approved by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education.

Boston – Women who work the night shift as young adults may have an increased risk of breast cancer, according to a study of nurses conducted by the Channing Division of Network Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

Spokane, WA — Individual organs in the digestive system contain separate biological clocks that may influence the metabolism of people who work the night shift and help explain a link to shift worker health problems such as obesity and diabetes, a recent study from researchers at Washington State University suggests.

Uppsala, Sweden — Losing sleep, even for one night, can negatively impact metabolism and help trigger excess weight gain – possibly explaining a link between sleep deprivation and shift worker health problems – according to the results of a recent study conducted by researchers at Uppsala University.

Shift work is a way of life for nearly 15 million Americans, spurring numerous studies that link the practice to health problems and chronic conditions. “It’s really important to recognize these risks, and we need to understand them and we need to treat them,” a leading researcher says.

Vallejo, CA — Citing multiple studies that suggest shift workers are at increased risk of developing sleep disorders and metabolic syndrome – raising their chances for heart disease, stroke and Type 2 diabetes – a recent analysis led by a researcher from the Touro University College of Osteopathic Medicine concludes with actions both employers and workers can take to help improve shift worker health.