Repetitive strain injuries may not be the most commonly known workplace injury, but they are the most costly. A report by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration shared that overexertion was the most expensive disabling injury in the country.
Study calls for more reporting consistency among companies
Even though a Georgia worker might be employed at a company that is listed in the Corporate Knights' Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations, that company might lack a standardized set of reporting rules for workplaces illnesses, injuries and death. The Center for Safety and Health Sustainability released a study on Aug. 1 that was a followup to a 2013 study and found that there had not been much improvement in terms of safety and health reporting.
Lack of focus on safety leads to worker deaths in trenches
When Georgia construction workers dig trenches, they are engaged in a very hazardous activity. A single cubic yard of soil could weigh more than a ton. Any collapse could easily crush a worker, and, according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, trench accidents that killed workers increased by more than 100 percent between 2015 and 2016. The agency considers contractors that ignore safety procedures as the source of many deaths.
Keeping manufacturing workers safe
Manufacturing companies in Georgia and elsewhere have improved their safety standards over the last few decades by moving towards automation. However, many manufacturing workers are still at serious risk for injuries, especially in plants where productivity is considered to be a higher priority than safety. For those who wish to improve this situation, there are some helpful tips.
Risks teens face while at work this summer
It is common for teenagers in Georgia and throughout the nation to have jobs during the summer months. However, those jobs may put a young worker's safety in jeopardy. According to NIOSH, there were 403 workers under the age of 24 who died from work-related injuries in 2015. Of those who died, 24 were under the age of 18. Between 1998 and 2007, there were an average of 795,000 nonfatal injuries incurred by young workers who were treated in hospitals each year.
3 myths regarding machine compliance
Georgia employers should be aware that injuries that are caused by a lack of machine safeguarding can result in expensive consequences, including an increase in workers' compensation premiums and citations from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Part of the problem appears to be that manufacturers misunderstand OSHA safeguarding requirements.
