Injury and Illness Management

On June 2, 2011 the Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued a new directive establishing a National Emphasis Program for the Primary Metal Industries. The purpose of the NEP is to identify and reduce or eliminate worker exposures to harmful chemical and physical hazards in establishments producing metal products.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is undertaking a rulemaking effort directed toward requiring employers to establish injury and illness prevention programs (I2P2) to monitor and more effectively implement practices to mitigate workplace hazards, thereby reducing the incidence of employee injuries and illnesses. OSHA believes that widespread implementation of such programs will substantially improve overall workplace safety and health conditions.

More than 30 registered stakeholders gathered June 29 to discuss OSHA’s proposal to issue an injury and illness prevention program (I2P2) rule, the first of two such meetings to be held in the nation’s capital.

In a June 22, 2010 Federal Register Notice OSHA announced two additional stakeholder meetings to discuss  Injury and Illness Prevention Programs.  The two meetings will be held on July 20, 2010 in Washington DC and on August 3, 2010 in Sacramento, CA.  The deadlines to register are July 6 and July 20, 2010 respectively.

These two meetings are in addition to the June 3, 2010 East Brunswick, NJ meeting, the June 10, 2010 Dallas, TX meeting   and the June 29, 2010 Washington, DC meeting.

For more information please see the attached notice.

OSHA invites interested parties to participate in informal stakeholder meetings on Injury and Illness Prevention Programs, referred to as ``I2P2.'' OSHA plans to use the information gathered at these meetings in developing an Injury and Illness Prevention Program proposed rule. The discussions will be informal and will provide the Agency with the necessary information to develop a rule that will help employers reduce workplace injuries and illnesses through a systematic process that proactively addresses workplace safety and health hazards.

The University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) announces the start of its 2nd "International Program in Occupational Health Practice" in Sept 2010. It is designed as a strong introduction to OH for company health professionals (doctors, nurses and others) worldwide who work in developing countries or remote areas and do not have a formal academic training in OSH. It is open for other professionals such as engineers, technicians or managers who want to strengthen their competencies in occupational health.

 Advantages:

According to a newly released paper in the Journal of Applied Psychology (2009, Vol. 94, No. 5, 1305–1317), switching to daylight saving time during the spring leads to both higher numbers of, and more severe, workplace injuries, likely because of cutbacks in sleep. The study has implications for both the appropriateness of this time shift practice, as well as for workplace safety policies.