Washington — The Department of Transportation has revised civil penalty amounts for violations to adjust for inflation.

Washington — The maximum penalty for a “willful” or “repeat” OSHA violation has increased to $156,259 after the agency, the Mine Safety and Health Administration, and other Department of Labor agencies automatically increased civil penalty amounts to adjust for inflation.

In California, employers of outdoor workers must provide drinking water “as close as practicable to the areas where employees are working.”

Salem, OR — Legislation recently introduced in Oregon would significantly increase civil penalties for safety violations that contribute to worker injuries and deaths.

Washington — The Department of Transportation has updated civil penalty amounts for violations to adjust for inflation, effective Dec. 28.

Washington — OSHA has published final data on the agency’s Top 10 most frequently cited standards for fiscal year 2023.

Many states require that an automated external defibrillator (AED) be onsite in all public buildings and doctors’ offices. How can an AED help keep my employees safe?

Philadelphia — Two physician groups are recommending topical nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs – with or without menthol gel – as a non-opioid “first-line therapy” for treating acute pain from non-low-back musculoskeletal injuries.

Washington — Age-specific efforts aimed at preventing musculoskeletal disorders related to overexertion – a significant cause of MSDs among construction workers in the United States – could help address the problem, researchers from NIOSH say.

Columbus, OH — The physical benefits that exoskeletons provide to the musculoskeletal system may be negated by the “mental strain” that results when workers wearing the devices perform tasks that require them to think about their actions, results of a recent study conducted by researchers from Ohio State and Texas A&M universities indicate.

Bilbao, Spain — Excessive workloads, conflicting demands and a lack of support from management are some of the psychosocial factors that can contribute to the development of musculoskeletal disorders in the workplace, according to a literature review conducted by the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work.

Make plans now to attend the “MSD Pledge 2.0: Empowering Organizations to Transform Workplace Safety” virtual summit, set for 1 p.m. Eastern on Nov. 16.

Washington – NIOSH is seeking information from facilities that stockpile N95 respirators and high-level protective surgical gowns as part of a research study that will examine how storage conditions affect the deterioration of personal protective equipment.

Washington — Seal checks should be conducted every time respiratory protection is used on the job, and employers and workers should ensure the equipment is worn properly so an adequate seal is achieved, NIOSH states in a recently published list of frequently asked questions about user seal checks.

Washington — Manufacturers of certain N95 respirators will be able to submit a single application to NIOSH, rather than to both the Food and Drug Administration and NIOSH, before marketing their product to the health care industry, according to an FDA final order published in the May 17 Federal Register.

Washington — Reusable respirators could prove a “viable option” for health care facilities’ respiratory protection programs, especially in preparation for a public health emergency, a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine concludes.

Washington — NIOSH is looking for inventors, researchers and respirator manufacturers to partner on a project intended to develop new designs for powered air-purifying respirators for health care workers.

Sacramento, CA — An emergency regulation in California intended to protect outdoor workers from potentially dangerous wildfire smoke was enacted July 30 by the state’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health, also known as Cal/OSHA.

Washington — In recognition of 100 years of efforts to advance workplace respirator awareness, NIOSH has marked Sept. 3-6 as its inaugural Respiratory Protection Week.

Washington — In an effort to preserve the supply of N95 filtering facepiece respirators during the COVID-19 pandemic, OSHA has temporarily suspended its requirement for annual respirator fit testing in the health care industry.

Triangle, VA — Citing concerns over the adjacent nature of mining work and the growing prevalence of respiratory illness in the industry, the United Mine Workers of America is calling on the Mine Safety and Health Administration to issue an emergency standard to help safeguard mine workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Durham, NC — In an effort to preserve the supply of N95 filtering facepiece respirators used by health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers at Duke Health say they have successfully tested a decontamination process that allows the masks to be reused safely.

Washington — A new video is aimed at helping organizations – particularly those in health care – understand the qualitative fit testing process.

Washington — OSHA is extending its temporary leniency on annual respirator fit testing to all covered employers, not only those in the health care industry.

Washington — In effort to preserve the supply of N95 filtering facepiece respirators during the COVID-19 pandemic, OSHA is permitting the reuse of respirators that undergo certain decontamination processes, according to an April 24 temporary enforcement memo.

Tumwater, WA — Ethylene oxide should not be used to sterilize filtering facepiece respirators for reuse because “this extremely hazardous toxic chemical poses a severe risk to human health,” the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries warns in a new alert.

Washington — The Department of Health and Human Services has reopened until Sept. 25 the comment period on an interim final rule that allows NIOSH to approve a new class of powered air-purifying respirators for workers in the health care and public safety sectors during the COVID-19 pandemic, among other changes.

Washington — NIOSH has extended until Dec. 14 the comment period for a Request for Information on the deployment and use of elastomeric half-mask respirators in health care settings and emergency medical services organizations during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Washington — NIOSH has approved – for both personal protection and source control – the first elastomeric half-mask respirator without an exhalation valve.

Washington — Filtering facepiece respirators with an exhalation valve can be modified to reduce respiratory particle emissions – improving their effectiveness as a source control, according to a technical report recently published by the NIOSH National Personal Protective Laboratory.

Washington — Prompted by an “increased domestic supply” of NIOSH-approved respirators, the Food and Drug Administration is recommending health care facilities transition away from strategies intended to conserve supplies of disposable respirators amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Washington — NIOSH has issued a pair of fact sheets on filtering facepiece respirators, detailing how to tell if an N95 is approved by the agency as well as procedures for fit testing and testing filtration efficiency.

Washington — Knowing how to select, use and maintain NIOSH-approved respirators can help promote proper respiratory protection practices and protect construction workers from unsafe airborne contaminants, according to a new toolbox talk published by the agency and CPWR – The Center for Construction Research and Training.

Washington — The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine is calling for two separate respiratory protection frameworks – one for workers, and one for the public – amid the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond, in a recently published report.

Washington — Officials from OSHA and NIOSH joined stakeholders from industry and labor groups in a series of recent webinars to discuss a National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine report calling for separate respiratory protection frameworks for workers and the public.

Washington — NIOSH has selected 20 winning entries for the initial phase of its Respirator Fit Evaluation Challenge.

Washington — NIOSH has chosen nine winners for the second phase of its Respirator Fit Evaluation Challenge.

American Direct's access control platform, AccessNsite, provides customers and operators a new and comprehensive safety solution.

The “Editor’s Choice” and more new products and solutions as described by manufacturers.

Everything online in the industry, from white papers to webinars

Everything online in the industry, from white papers to webinars    

Together with WORKTECH Academy, Brivo has created a model that enables a company to plot where it is on its journey to digital transformation and hybrid working.

The expanded version of its 360° virtual tour provides an immersive, interactive experience to illustrate the vital role of door security and access control in education and healthcare settings.

Snap One announced that its partners in the United States can now order Digital Watchdog surveillance products through its e-commerce portal.

Alarm.com service providers will be one of the first groups in the security industry to have this resource which is accessible through the Alarm.com Partner Portal and Alarm.com’s mobile app for service providers, MobileTech.

Robust investment growth in target building segments is expected to drive increased spending through 2023, according to the NSCA’s Electronic Systems Outlook report for Summer 2023.  

The new HALO Cloud App was designed to provide customers with a modern tool that places crucial alerts at their fingertips, wherever they might be in a building.

The Alliance, formed in 2018 by some of the most recognized individuals in the Security industry, has continually promoted its vision of advancing the field of Life Safety to a global audience. 

The company’s new website represents a dynamic shift in approach, using search engine optimization and a strong web presence to reach a wider audience than ever before.

This cloud-based service productivity tool provides service providers with enhanced real-time data access, allowing them to optimize the management of individual systems, sites, and site groups with data for informed decision-making and resource optimization.