Tag: safety: Page 20

Roadbuilding

USDOL launches tech competition to improve worker hearing safety

The U.S. Department of Labor recently launched the “Hear and Now – Noise Safety Challenge,” a competition that it hopes will encourage investors and entrepreneurs to develop a technological solution to hearing-related workplace noise hazards, EHS Today reports. The competition, a partnership between the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA), the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and […]

August 5, 2016

Roadbuilding

Tennessee DOT veteran struck and killed by vehicle while flagging

Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) operations technician James “Pee Wee” Hopkins, 63, was struck and killed by an oncoming vehicle July 27 while flagging traffic around a maintenance crew on Tennessee 54 near U.S. 412 in Crocket County. TDOT says this is the second employee fatality in the past three months, and has had 111 […]

July 29, 2016

Roadbuilding

Columbia County, Georgia DOT make videos to educate drivers about work zone safety

Hoping to lower the 2015 figure of 27 deaths in work zones on Columbia County roads, Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) and county officials have filmed construction zones around town for a new series of Public Service Announcements, wtvm.com reports. Each week, a new online video will discuss different rules and aspects of what drivers need to know when […]

July 26, 2016

Safety

Building a strong construction safety culture means being comfortable with confrontation

When it comes to safety, most construction companies today talk a good game. They follow the rules; they document the training. But does it stick? Do you have the bases covered, or do you have a true safety culture with 100 percent buy-in? According to Carl Uhinck, asphalt equipment manager at Kokosing, a true safety […]

July 14, 2016

Safety

House subcommittee approves bill cutting OSHA, MSHA, NIOSH funding

The House Appropriations Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies Subcommittee met July 7 to mark up the text of a draft bill released by the House Appropriations Committee for FY 2017. According to a report from Safety + Health, the bill’s proposed Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) budget of $534.4 million would be approximately 3.3 […]

July 13, 2016

Safety

Labor Dept. hikes penalty amounts for OSHA and MSHA violations

In November 2015, Congress enacted the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act to adjust civil monetary penalties for inflation and maintain their deterrent effect. EHS Today reports that the law directs federal agencies to adjust penalties for inflation each year, and requires agencies to publish “catch up” rules this summer to make up for lost […]

July 6, 2016

Roadbuilding

Steel a lighter, bend-not-break alternative to concrete work zone barriers

At nearly four times the cost, steel barriers are nowhere near as prevalent as the traditional concrete barrier seen protecting construction zones along the majority of roadways across the country. But according to a report from KOAA TV in Colorado, one distributor of these steel barriers is confident they are “the future of the barrier.” John […]

June 27, 2016

Roadbuilding

U.S. Army to test driverless, connected vehicle tech on I-69 in Michigan

A convoy of U.S. Army vehicles will be cruising Michigan’s Interstate 69 in late June to test technology being developed for driverless and connected vehicles, The Times Herald reports. The convoy will test vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure radio communications, which is the type of computerized communication that would be used in an autonomous vehicle. “This is the first time […]

May 31, 2016

Roadbuilding

Florida road construction worker killed by sweeper truck

On Friday, May 13, a 69-year-old road construction worker was killed when he was run over by a sweeper truck on a job site on Florida 207 in Hastings, The Florida Times-Union reports. The Florida Highway Patrol identified the victim as Everett Leslie Rolfe of Holly Hill. According to the report, the sweeper truck was cleaning the left lane after it […]

May 24, 2016

Safety

Construction No. 2 industry for hearing loss, study says

A study spanning a decade and incorporating hearing tests of more than 1.4 million American workers found that construction accounted for the second-highest prevalence of workers with a hearing impairment. Conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the “Hearing Impairment Among Noise-Exposed Workers” study estimated the prevalence of hearing loss at six levels […]

May 17, 2016

Roadbuilding

Two construction workers hit by car near Westinghouse Bridge in Pittsburgh

Two construction workers were hit by a vehicle near the Westinghouse Bridge in Pittsburgh on Tuesday morning. CBS Pittsburgh reports that the accident happened on the Route 30 bridge just before 10 a.m. The construction workers were reviewing the area for a bridge replacement that is due to get underway next weekend, according to the Pennsylvania Department of […]

May 13, 2016

Roadbuilding

N. Carolina DOT warns drivers to watch out for road construction projects

With temperatures and the number of road construction projects on the rise in North Carolina, the Highway Patrol and Department of Transportation issued a warning to drivers April 11, asking them to “Do your part and drive smart.” WNCN.com reports that state numbers indicate that more than 4,600 crashes occurred in work zones during 2015 with 2,500 people injured and […]

April 19, 2016