Heat Stress
Heat Safety Stand-down: Florida’s OSHA Area Offices are encouraging employers to take a stand on heat safety. On June 4, employers and associations will be hosting Heat Illness Prevention Stand-downs throughout the country. The events are not only for construction workers but for all outdoor workers: agriculture, landscaping, road repair, airport baggage handling, theme parks and logistics. To learn more about preventing heat illness, click here. If you are in the South Florida area and would like to join the Safety Alliance for Excellence (SAFE) and Ft. Lauderdale OSHA Area Office’s stand-down, click here.
Aggression Manager Training
Undergraduates Dive Into Water Treatment And Solid Waste Sites
For the third consecutive year, undergraduates in the “Public Health Live on [Bus] Tour!” seminar course stopped at the Tampa Bay Surface Water Treatment Plant and Pinellas County Solid Waste Site.
Twelve students had their senses pushed to the limit as they learned about community-wide public health issues, with an emphasis on occupational safety and health (OSH) in utility companies.
The session was facilitated by Mylene Kellerman and William Tomlin, safety and health supervisors with USF SafetyFlorida OSHA On-site Consultation Program, in addition to June Lake and Alison Oberne, course instructors with the College of Public Health.
“Every group of students visiting these sites in the Tampa Bay area have come away amazed and impressed at the complexity of the processing systems,” said Mylene Kellerman. “The students have a unique opportunity to see the high-tech equipment and methods needed to bring clean and safe drinking water to neighboring communities. They also learn that household garbage and trash do not just ‘go away’ but needs to be managed in a sustainable manner for the longevity of the community and for planet earth.”separator
Aggression Manager Training
By learning to identify and stop aggression as it emerges - before the aggressor reaches the violent crisis stage - you can make your environment much safer, more productive and rewarding for yourself, your co-workers and your organization.
Aggression Manager training is appropriate and very valuable regardless of your experience level. All individuals involved in behavior intervention, threat assessment, human resources, security, management, customer interaction, and leadership will benefit and grow from this training.
Individuals attending Aggression Manager training will learn how to recognize aggressive behavior as it emerges, assess the level of threat, proactively determine the appropriate level of response, and use powerful techniques to productively manage the situation. See the three-minute video overview and learn more here!
We Invite You to Attend a Free Seminar on Florida’s Workers’ Compensation Laws and Workplace Safety
Workers' Comp Topics include:
- Review of Key Statutory Definitions
- Insurance Coverage Requirements
- Exemptions
- Contractor Responsibilities
- Enforcement Provisions
Workplace Safety topics include:
- Direct and Indirect Costs
- OSHA Inspections
- Florida Fatalities
- Free and confidential on-site safety consultation
Classroom Sessions include both Workers' Compensation and Workplace Safety Topics
- April 9 - Jacksonville
- April 18 - Miami
- April 23 -Ft. Myers
- May 7 - Pensacola
- May 14 -Tampa
- May 16 - Lantana
- June 4 -Orlando
- June 11 - Tallahassee
Worker's Compensation Webinar:
- April 10
- May 8
- June 5
- July 10
- August 7
Workplace Safety Seminar:
- April 11
- May 9
- June 6
- July 11
- August 8
All sessions are scheduled for 9AM to noon. Identical content is provided in all seminars. To register, click here.
Register for a USF OSHA Training Institute Safety Course
Private safety classes available: If your company needs safety training at a time not currently offered on the OTI course schedule, ask about private contract classes. Courses are available upon request and can be tailored to your training needs. For more information, contact George Buck at gbuck@health.usf.edu or 813-624-SAFE (7233).
Professional Certificate Program: Did you know the USF OTI Education Center offers a professional certificate program in general industry, construction and maritime industries? The programs offer a concentrated study and in-depth analysis of safety and health, thus adding to your professional development and growth in the safety and health field. For more information, visit here or call 813-994-1195.
New Maritime Standards Course: Since October 1, 2012, any individual who wishes to take the OSHA 5400 Train-the-Trainer for the Maritime Industry must first complete the new OSHA 5410 Occupational Safety and Health Standards for the Maritime Industry. Visit here to view the schedule and to register for the OSHA 5410.
Online Training: Do you need your OSHA Outreach Card?
For many years, workers in the construction and general industry industry have taken OSHA compliance training in the classroom. However, with the increasing demand for OSHA safety certification and 10/30 hour cards, OSHA compliance training is now also offered online to accommodate a growing need, busy schedules, or those who don’t have access to a training center. With online OSHA training, there are no travel costs and no time away from the job. You’ll have instant access to the course 24 hours a day, 7 days week.
Our online OSHA training offers the following benefits throughout the duration of the course:
• OSHA Authorized Safety Training
• Full Audio Narration – Listen or Read the Material
• Real Life Case Studies
• Interactive Exercises
• Illustrations of the Standards in Use
• Access to a Certified OSHA Instructor for any Questions
• Printable Reviews to Help Prepare for the Final Exam
Find out more and register here for online training!
Beauty Shops and Hair Product Manufacturers: OSHA is inspecting for products containing formaldehyde. Many products mis-labeled "Formaldehyde Free."
Often referred to as "Brazilian Blowout" products, these products contain a chemical that releases formaldehyde, a cancer-producing agent that also causes severe skin, eye and respiratory irritation.
Please see this notice from the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation and OSHA.
If you work in or operate a hair salon, manufacture or distribute hair products, it is important that you check these links for complete warning information:
Facts about Formaldehyde in Hair Smoothing Products
Brazilian Blowout product maker pays $600,000 in fines and settles lawsuit for $4.5 million.
Respiratory Protection for Healthcare Workers
Watch OSHA's new video here. You may download the video to your computer for permanent use by your company and its employees by right-clicking on the link and selecting Save Target As or Save Link As.
Landscape Safety
USF SafetyFlorida safety and health consultant William Tomlin offers eight ways to protect the safety of landscape maintenance workers. Brief refresher videos.
Bilingual Safety Tools
Print Your English Safety Plan in Spanish
You know how easy it is to click together a safety plan in English with USF SafetyFlorida's free SafetyWriter online software. SafetyWriter also offers the same tool to click together your safety plan in Spanish.
See Your Questions Answered About Our Free and Confidential Consultation
Request a consultation here.
Free Safety Training Videos
Free? Yes! Whether you are a Florida small business or a Florida public employer, you can borrow up to 5 safety training videos at a time. To check out the long list of videos, including many in Spanish, click here.
OSHA Hazard Communication Update
OSHA's Hazard Communication Standard (HCS) is now aligned with the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS). This update to the Hazard Communication Standard (HCS) will provide a common and coherent approach to classifying chemicals and communicating hazard information on labels and safety data sheets. Once implemented, the revised standard will improve the quality and consistency of hazard information in the workplace, making it safer for workers by providing easily understandable information on appropriate handling and safe use of hazardous chemicals. Get to know the phase-in dates and requirements for hazard communication under the globally harmonized system here.
OSHA Enforces Fall Hazard Standards in Florida
OSHA's Florida area offices have increased unannounced enforcement efforts aimed at reducing an upward trend in construction-related fall fatalities. Falls are one of the four leading causes of employee fatalities in the Southeast. OSHA has created a new Web page with detailed information in English and Spanish on fall protection standards at http://www.osha.gov/stopfalls.
Help! I Got an OSHA Letter!
Down-to-earth suggestions from William Tomlin, USF SafetyFlorida Industrial Hygiene Team Leader and Supervisor.
What Florida Small Businesses Say about the USF SafetyFlorida Consultation Team
The on-site consultation program has had a broad impact on Cable USA. It has changed the culture of our organization to that of a team. The SHARP award could not have been achieved without a team effort, and when teamwork improves, productivity and quality improve as well.-- Devin Brock, Vice President of Operations, CableUSA
I am a HUGE fan of University of South Florida SafetyFlorida. I firmly believe that their services have made Marpan Recycling a much safer and therefore productive workplace. -- Nancy Stephens, General Manager, Marpan Recycling, Tallahassee
(The consultation) was nothing but good for us. It was a very positive experience and brought our safety program up to a new level. – Teresa Nealer, Safety and Health manager, Florida’s Blood Centers, Orlando. Achieved a twenty-four percent reduction in workers’ compensation modification rate.
It can help you and even save one of your employee's lives. – Gus Cagigas, Safety Coordinator, Portside Maintenance and Repair. Zero DART rate for past two years.
Now Documented: Random OSHA Inspections Improve Workplace Safety
Companies undergoing random inspections saw workplace injuries decline by about 9% and cost of injuries decline by 26%.
How Companies Profit from Safety
Florida Underwriter describes how insurance brokers recommend USF SafetyFlorida to their clients for free consultations and the SafetyWriter, the online safety plan builder.
850, The Business Magazine of Northwest Florida, documents the safety attitudes and practices that save money for a construction firm and a high-end commercial woodworking business.
Jacksonville Business Journal describes how USF SafetyFlorida helps companies Increase Profits through Workplace Safety.
OSHA News
CDC: 13 Deaths Linked to Bath Refinishing Chemical
Methylene chloride vapor has been recognized as potentially fatal to furniture strippers and factory workers but has not been reported previously as a cause of death among bathtub refinishers. In 2010, the Michigan Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation program conducted an investigation into the death of a bathtub refinisher who used a methylene chloride-based paint stripping product marketed for use in aircraft maintenance. The program identified two earlier, similar deaths in Michigan. Program staff members notified NIOSH, which in turn notified OSHA.
In addition to the three deaths, OSHA identified 10 other bathtub refinisher fatalities associated with methylene chloride stripping agents that had been investigated in nine states during 2000-2011. Each death occurred in a residential bathroom with inadequate ventilation. Protective equipment, including a respirator, either was not used or was inadequate to protect against methylene chloride vapor, which has been recognized as potentially fatal to furniture strippers and factory workers but has not been reported previously as a cause of death among bathtub refinishers.
OSHA Salutes Three Florida Small Businesses
Gate Precast, Orbeco-Hellige, Technology Conservation Group, Cable USA, Portus Stevedoring, and MI Metals earn OSHA praise for safety management.
OSHA Letter to Beverage Distribution Companies
Beverage workers have a significantly higher rate of musculoskeletel injuries than workers in most other industries. Here's what you can do!
Your Next Step in Safety
Charlene Sitterly, MS.Ed., CWCP -- Program Director, USF SafetyFlorida
Worker protection--reducing injuries, illnesses and fatalities on the job--is the primary mission of the USF SafetyFlorida Consultation Program.
See our video! Our safety and health consultants are your key to achieving these benefits. They follow high and consistent standards for helping employers protect their workers. These standards, along with their years of consultation experience, will help you build a workplace safety system that unites all the elements of leadership commitment and job task procedures. With a workplace safety system in place, you can meet production goals while maintaining the health of the whole employee family.
To assist you in developing a workplace safety system, our consultants focus on management commitment, employee involvement and participation in order to establish a safety and health management system that works best for your business. Helping employers develop a safety management system gives us great satisfaction. That’s because, in the short term, our service can provide the hazard identification that directly prevents an employee from getting hurt or killed.
If our consultants find hazards while performing a consultation, we will provide you with a detailed list of those hazardous areas. But we will go beyond that to help you understand why the hazards exist and what specific actions can be done to address each hazard. This level of thoroughness is what employers find so helpful about our consultation program. We are more than about hazard identification but about helping you find hazard solutions that can create a new opportunity to profit from safety.
In summary, our primary purpose is to help your company prevent work-related fatalities, injuries, and illnesses. In the short term, we do that by emphasizing hazard identification. In the long term, we do that by helping you develop a safety management program. Hundreds of companies already have used our SafetyWriter, which helps employers develop a written safety plan. And we have the Sunshine State Safety Award and SHARP OSHA- inspection deferment programs to acknowledge and reward companies that have top-of-the-line safety management systems in place.
If you are ready to take the next step toward safety in your business, please contact us today and request on-line a free and confidential safety consultation.
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Resource Center
Self-Inspection Checklists
Checklists from Toolbox Topics.
Small Business Safety
OSHA
Safety Training
- USF OSHA Training Institute
- Safety Training & Events
- Aggression Management Solutions
- Safety Six -- Avoiding Power Line Contact
- Occupational Safety and Health Training for Healthcare Professionals: USF's Sunshine ERC
- Toolbox Talks
- Free Safety Training Photos
- OSHA Safety Training Resources for Employers and Workers
- New OSHA Standard for Cranes and Derricks
Consultant's Corner
Getting Away With It Doesn't Work
Doing It Right: Safety Incentive Programs
What is OSHA Looking for When They Visit Your Facility or Jobsite?
Fall Protection: Don't Take a Chance with Non-Compliance
Safety First is the Beauty in Landscaping
Trenches and Excavations: Some Insights
Are You at Risk for Heat Stress?
Help! What Should I do After Receiving a Letter from OSHA?
Guarding Against Pallet Wrapper Injuries
Revised Hazard Communication Standard
Establishing an Effective Injury and Illness Program
Safe Practices to Remember When Working with Electric Current
Revised Residential Fall Protection Standard
Risk Perception: Friend or Foe?
OSHA's New Penalty Policy Means Business
Injury and Illness Prevention Program
The Importance of Site Specific Safety and Health Management Plans
Use of Flexible Electrical Cords
Take Action Now for Hurricane Season
Careless Accident or First Sign of Heat Stress?
Three Williamisms about Inspection, Keeping it Clean, and Organizational Failures
Horizontal Lifelines: Construction or General Industry
Five Safety Actions that Cut the Cost of Accidents
The Importance of Recordkeeping
Four Steps to Developing an Effective Safety and Health Management System
Hispanic Safety
- Decima Exposicion Anual de Seguridad del Sur de la Florida
- Seguridad y Salud
- Hispanic Health and Safety Fairs
Derechos de los trabajadores (Worker’s Rights) – OSHA 3473
Derechos y Responsabilidades Patronales al Cabo de una Inspección de la OSHA (Employer Rights & Responsibilities) – OSHA 3195
Florida
Employment Opportunities
Teen Worker Safety
Imported Drywall Worker Safety
Hurricane Prep & Cleanup
Hurricane Clean-up: Good Habits
OSHA's Total Hurricane Recovery Package
CDC Hurricane Information for Response and Cleanup Workers
Before the storm:Use the Hurriplanner to protect your business in just minutes.
Public Employers
Free Safety Consultation
USF College of Public Health is the parent organization for the OSHA Consultation Program. The department home for the OSHA Consultation Program is Environmental and Occupational Health. To report any website issues, please click here.