It used to be the case that cut-resistant gloves were bulky, stainless steel contraptions used mainly on meat-packing lines. Now, light cut-resistant gloves made of Kevlar, Aramax or other tough materials are used in jobs where dexterity and feel are more important, but there’s a need to prevent cuts to hands while working with sharp tools. They’ve also become of
As supervisors, there are lots of important operating factors we’re responsible for on a daily, hourly, even minute-by-minute basis. Quality, productivity, efficiency, safety, compliance with food safety, USDA, EPA, DOT, and other standards, customer service… all are important. None of them should eclipse the others. For example, great productivity doesn’t accomplish anything if poor quality leads to customer complaints, efficiency
Nothing pushes a safety or health topic onto the radar faster than an upward spike in OSHA citations. Although hexavalent chromium isn’t anywhere near the top of the “Most Cited OSHA Standards” list, it has popped up a couple of times lately with some of my clients. These citations remind us of the relevance of these rather loftily technical regulations
Facts: No Fault Insurance Carrier, Citizens Insurance Company of American (Citizens) filed suit against the U.S. with respect to eight motorists injured before the Medicare Secondary Payer Act became effective on December 5, 1980. Each of the injured motorists was covered by Medicare since 2005. Citizens paid medical expenses for the injured motorists under the requirements of the Michigan No-Fault
In the food industry, we know our goal: to get healthly, safe, appealing food from the producers to the customers in a sustainable, cost-effective way. If done right it benefits the producers, processors, packagers, distributors, retailers and customers. Making sure our people are safe is an important part of making it happen. Yet as much time as we might spend
Facts: Plaintiff was struck by an underinsured motorist on February 5, 2010 and incurred over $200,000 in medical expenses. Medicare was billed $101,202.98 of that expense and paid $19,523.40 in benefits. Plaintiff, an insured under two separate automobile policies, issued by Defendant, sought reimbursement for her entire medical expense (more than $200,000) under her uninsured/underinsured motorist benefits. Each policy provided
Understanding Recall Issues A major recall in the food manufacturing and retailing sector was once a rare event guaranteed to make the news headlines. Not anymore. Hardly a week passes without some new eruption of salmonella, listeria, E. coli, or other noxious contaminants cropping up somewhere along the food production and distribution chain. When the source is far back along
OSHA just announced a corporate settlement agreement with a grocery chain. The agreement settles citations for violations cited at one store. The hazards cited would be overlooked by many grocery veterans, because they are common practice in so many stores, but they weren’t overlooked by the OSHA inspector. The settlement agreement allows a roughly 30% reduction in fines while expanding
In any given company, there’s always someone who had an experience with safety incentives and who thinks they are the golden ticket to lower accident rates. They are quite commonly used in food processing and distribution facilities. Yet there is very little factual data to support such beliefs. In fact, to the contrary, it’s not hard to find companies that
