Man Injured By Falling Beer Can

There is an interesting post on the Safe Workplace blog about a man who went to a grocery store to purchase a four-pack of beer. One of the beer cans slipped free from the plastic ring, falling and hitting the man. He is now suing the grocery store, brewer and beer distributor for the resulting serious injury. The suit includes costs for hospitalization, nursing home care, permanent loss of income and much more. You've got read this one.

OSHA Unveils a New Publications Web Page

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) today unveiled a new Publications page on its Web site at www.osha.gov that allows visitors to access OSHA's resources in an efficient and user friendly way.

"The OSHA Publications page is one of the most popular pages on the agency's Web site. In fact, the agency's Publications page receives more than 300,000 visits per month," said Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA Edwin G. Foulke, Jr. "The page was redesigned in an effort to make the site's content easier to access, while maintaining OSHA's commitment to providing valuable safety and health materials."

OSHA undertook the redesign to give the Publications page a more user-friendly look and feel, and to make the page the comprehensive resource for the agency's extensive number of safety and health products. Visitors may now search by the publication number or keyword; from an alphabetical listing; by industry or topic, and by type of publication. In addition to new releases, the revamped page highlights publications "Recommended by OSHA" that may interest visitors and "Most Frequently Viewed OSHA Publications."

The new design is based on feedback from OSHA customers. Visitors may order up to 25 copies of up to five publications using the new ordering capability. This feature is similar to "shopping carts" found on commercial Web sites and helps visitors keep track of the publications they are ordering and the number of copies ordered.

OSHA Statement On 2006 Occupational Injuries and Illnesses with Days Away from Work

U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao issued the following statement regarding data published on Nonfatal Occupational Injuries and Illnesses Requiring Days Away from Work in 2006, http://www.bls.gov/news.release/osh2.nr0.htm. The report, announced by the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), provided detailed information on the continued decline in the rate and the number of workplace injuries and illnesses in private industry that required recovery away from work.

"This report shows that, from 2005 to 2006, there was a six percent reduction in the rate of lost time injuries and illnesses, as well as a four percent reduction in the overall number of those injuries and illnesses, both of which represent significant improvements. We now also have new data on selected injury and illness rates by occupation, gender and age group that helps us identify those employers and employees who most need our assistance.

"The U.S. Department of Labor's programs to keep America's working men and women safe and healthy are achieving the desired results — more men and women are going home safe and whole at the end of the workday. However, we will not rest on this positive news; we will continue to work to ensure the safety and health of the nation's employees through compliance assistance; partnerships and cooperative programs; and strong, fair, and effective enforcement."

Rakes and Pains

Leave raking injuries behind with these safety tips

Press Release From AAOS

Autumn leaves look beautiful on trees, but less so once they fall. That is because leaves on the ground mean it is time to start raking. This outdoor task is often more physically demanding than people realize, so the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) recommends that people take precautions when raking.

Even though raking does not utilize power tools or sharp blades, it can still cause injuries. According to 2006 U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission statistics, more than 76,000 people were treated in hospital emergency rooms, doctors’ offices, clinics and other medical settings for injuries related to non-powered garden tools, including rakes.

"Many people consider raking just another chore, but it requires a lot more reaching, bending and lifting than most odd jobs," says Daryll C. Dykes, MD, PhD, orthopaedic surgeon and spokesperson for the Academy. "Raking should be treated like any other vigorous exercise. People should pay close attention to their arms and backs, being careful not to reach or stretch too far."

The Academy offers the following recommendations to prevent injuries while raking:

• With any physical activity, it is important to warm up your muscles for at least 10 minutes with light exercise and stretching, especially when it is cold outside. You should also stretch your muscles after raking to relieve tension and prevent soreness.
  
  
• Use a rake that feels comfortable for your height and strength. Wear gloves or use rakes with padded handles to help prevent blisters.
  
  
• Avoid using old rakes that have gotten rusty or that have loose or broken parts.
  
  
• Do not let a hat or scarf block your vision. Watch out for large rocks, low branches, tree stumps and uneven surfaces.
  
  
• Try to vary your movements, alternating your leg and arm positions often. When picking up leaves, bend at the knees, not the waist.
  
  
• Exercise care walking on wet leaves, which can be very slippery. Avoid falls by wearing shoes or boots with slip-resistant soles.
  
  
• Avoid overfilling leaf bags, especially if the leaves are wet. You should be able to carry bags comfortably, so make sure they aren’t too heavy or large.
  
  
• Do not throw the leaves over your shoulder or to the side. This requires a twisting motion that places undue stress on your back.

For more information on exercise- and sports-related injury prevention, visit:
http://www.orthoinfo.org/category.cfm?topcategory=Injury%20Prevention

Graphic Products' Sponsors Shingo Sweepstakes

Graphic Products, a leading supplier of label and sign printers, is one of the sponsors of the Shingo Sweepstakes, a lean manufacturing sweepstakes that started on November 6th and runs through the end of April 2008. $25,000 in prizes will be given away.

No purchase is required to enter the sweepstakes.

The purpose of the sweepstakes is to promote lean manufacturing and the Shingo Prize. The Shingo Prize is regarded as the premier manufacturing award recognition program for North America. The Shingo Prize promotes world-class business and manufacturing processes that will enable organizations to achieve perfection in quality, best cost, and 100 percent on-time delivery to fulfill the customer experience. It also promotes the sharing of "True North" core business and manufacturing processes for continuous improvement. The Shingo organization recognizes research and applied materials that support the vision and mission of the Shingo Prize. The Shingo Prize achievement criteria provides a framework for identifying and evaluating world-class manufacturing competence and performance.

Graphic Products is not in the business of selling lean manufacturing products. But, having seen the benefits of lean manufacturing they have been offering resources to help their customers improve business performance through lean manufacturing techniques. Graphic Products offers a number of free lean manufacturing guides. No purchase is required to request any of these guides:

5S Quick Start Guide

5S Standard Color Coding Guide

Kanban Quick Start Guide

Kaizen Quick Start Guide

2007 America’s Health Rankings Show a Decline in the Overall Health of the Nation

The following is a press release from American Public Health Association.

Analysis shows Vermont, Minnesota and Hawaii are nation’s healthiest states; Mississippi and Louisiana rank as least-healthy states

WASHINGTON, D.C. – November 5, 2007 – The overall health of the nation declined over the past year, despite progress made in several key health indicators, according to a report launched today by United Health Foundation, the American Public Health Association (APHA) and Partnership for Prevention. The 18th annual edition of America's Health Rankings: A Call to Action for People & Their Communities measures the overall healthiness of states and the nation using a comprehensive and longitudinal set of related health determinants and health outcomes. The report indicates that the overall health of the nation declined by a rate of 0.3 percent since last year.

While this report, and others, show there have been modest gains in reducing the rates of cancer and cardiovascular mortality, these improvements continue to be dwarfed by increasing obesity, increasing numbers of uninsured people, children in poverty and the persistence of risky health behaviors, such as tobacco use and violent crime -- all of which have a significant impact on the overall healthiness of the nation.

"Even though specific mortality rates have improved, this report shows there are still many people who, through unhealthy personal behaviors, adverse community environments and difficult access to care, are vulnerable to a future life of poor health -- which is essentially preventable," said Reed Tuckson, M.D., member of the board of United Health Foundation. "The consequence of this reality manifests itself in a poor quality of life, people living with chronic disease, compromised productivity and significant escalation in the costs associated with managing chronic illness."

This lack of progress is in sharp contrast to the nation's average annual improvement of 1.5 percent between 1990 and 2000. In fact, since 2000, there has been a virtual stagnation in health improvement. The failure to demonstrate progress is particularly worrisome given that the U.S. continues to trail other nations in important health indicators such as infant mortality and healthy life expectancy.

Once again, this year's report provides a ranking of the healthiness of each state. Vermont surpassed Minnesota as the healthiest state in the nation this year, with Minnesota (2), Hawaii (3), New Hampshire (4) and Connecticut (5) rounding out the top five.

The data also notes that Mississippi ranks as the least healthy state, with Louisiana (49), Arkansas (48), Oklahoma (47) and Tennessee (46) completing the bottom five. The publishers of the report note that every state – no matter its ranking – has its own set of unique challenges to confront and successes on which to build and from which other states can learn.

A National Health Analysis

This year the report analyzes a comprehensive set of 20 related health measures, such as smoking, binge drinking, violent crime, infectious disease, high school graduation, health status and several measures of mortality. The analysis of this comprehensive set of factors allows for a more complete and holistic view of the health of the nation than only death-related statistics. The following is a snapshot of the national findings:

• Since the first report in 1990, America’s Health Rankings, using a consistent set of measures, has shown an 18.4 percent improvement in the nation's overall health. This national success can be attributed mostly to:

1. The reduction of several health determinants, such as infectious diseases, smoking, infant mortality, cardiovascular deaths and violent crime.
2. Fewer children living in poverty.
3. More ninth graders graduating high school within four years now than in 1990.

• Over the last six years, however, the nation’s health has virtually stagnated. Several reasons for the stagnation are obesity, a growing number of uninsured and persistent lack of progress in key health measures such as tobacco use, violent crime and children in poverty. Within the national environment, some states have addressed key health issues and improved, however others have not and are declining.
  
  
• Obesity has increased from 11.6 percent of the population in 1990 to more than 25 percent today. More than 55 million Americans are obese and as a result are at significant risk for other diseases, such as heart disease, diabetes, stroke, and cancer.
  
  
• According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the number of Americans who are uninsured has increased from 13.4 percent in 1990 to 15.8 percent of the population today. Up .5 percent from last year, an alarming 47 million Americans are living without health insurance. Tragically, more than nine million of the uninsured are children. According to the Institute of Medicine (IOM), people without health insurance are sicker and die sooner. IOM attributes 18,000 deaths per year to people under age 65 due to lack of insurance coverage.
  

The United States Compared to Other Nations

This year's report also looks at the U.S. compared to other nations. According to the 2007 Commonwealth Fund findings, the U.S. spends twice as much on health care than Australia, Canada, Germany, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Despite this expenditure of health care assets, the U.S. continues to fall behind in several important indicators of health. For example:

• Although the U.S. can now celebrate its highest life expectancy in history (77.9 years), 43 other countries still have life expectancies that are higher than the U.S., including Japan, Sweden, France, Canada, Italy and Australia. In fact, a baby born today in Japan has a life expectancy of 82.0 years and a baby born in the U.S. has a life expectancy of 77.9 years. If we look at a broader measure and compare healthy life expectancy – that is number of years of active, healthy life expected at birth – a baby girl in Japan can expect 78 years whereas a girl born in the U.S. can expect only 71 years of healthy life at birth. Once again, U.S. citizens continue to demonstrate unacceptably high burdens of illness.

"The health of the American people is not just about length of life, but it is also about quality of life," said John Clymer, president of Partnership for Prevention. "We must look to each other, but also to these other nations as examples to aid us in our efforts to improve health."

State-by-State Analysis

Several states exhibited noteworthy gains in overall health improvement. For example:

• South Carolina had the highest overall health improvement with a 6.3 percent increase. Montana followed with a 4.6 percent increase, and Maryland and New Mexico both had a 4.5 percent increase in health status.
  
  
• Vermont moved to the top of the list of healthiest states after a steady climb in the rankings for the past seven years. This is notable because it demonstrates that progress can be made. Vermont has made significant progress in several key areas:

1. The prevalence of smoking declined from 21.5 percent in 2001 to 18.0 percent in 2007.
2. Children in poverty declined from 16.1 percent in 2001 to 8.9 percent of persons under age 18 in 2007.
3. In 2001, Vermont ranked only 29th in prenatal care – now it ranks 2nd.

• Nebraska’s return to the top ten (it last appeared in the top ten in 1992). Nebraska notes a continued improvement in high school graduation rates – now the highest in the U.S. Nebraska also has experienced reductions in the last few years in the occupational fatality rate and violent crime.
  
  
• After four years in the bottom ten, Georgia moved up to 40th place. Georgia has experienced a decline in the infectious disease rate, number of poor physical health days and prevalence of smoking.

Health Disparities among Populations

Given that America’s Health Rankings™ is specifically intended to provide opportunities for focused analysis and action to meet high priority local problems, documenting disparities in health status between populations has been, and continues to be, a major feature of the report. Once again, state-specific concerns are noted and national trends also are documented.

• Disparities continue to exist in measures such as premature death (premature death measures the loss of life before age 75 in a population). The premature death rate for Blacks is almost 1.5 times than the rate for Whites.
  
  
• Disparities also are growing between the Hispanic and non-Hispanic populations.
  
  
• According to the National Healthcare Disparities Report, Hispanics receive poorer quality care than non-Hispanics and data indicates that this trend is getting worse, not better.
  
  
• In terms of preventive care, the Hispanic population has the lowest percentage of people accessing regular dental care and colon cancer screenings – two key indicators of a population’s ability to stay healthy.

"Eliminating disparities in health requires a greater emphasis and focus on the root causes of poor access to care; differential access to quality medical care; and the social determinates that lead to unhealthy living conditions," said Georges C. Benjamin, M.D., FACP, FACEP (E), executive director of APHA. "Eliminating these disparities is a mechanism to improve the overall health status of the nation and advance our health rankings as compared to the rest of the world."

To view the entire report, please visit www.americashealthrankings.org or www.unitedhealthfoundation.org.

CPSC Acting Chairman Issues Statement on Letter to Congress

WASHINGTON, D.C. - October 31, 2007 This week, several members of Congress publicly called for my resignation as CPSC Acting Chairman, citing a letter I recently sent to the Senate Commerce Committee expressing my views on pending legislation before that committee. In the letter (pdf), I respectfully pointed out what I think are several unwise proposals in a bill to reauthorize and expand the mission of the CPSC. However, despite media reports to the contrary, nowhere in the letter (or anywhere else) did I assert that the CPSC does not need additional resources. In fact, quite to the contrary, the main message of the letter is that if CPSC resources are diverted to new missions and mandates, we will need a dramatic upsurge in our personnel and funding, far beyond what either the House or Senate are proposing for our pending budget. Nor have I ever asserted that the agency does not need new legal authority. Again, the opposite is true. In July I submitted to Congress a legislative package seeking no fewer than 40 new statutory enforcement tools and other changes to enhance our ability to protect the public from unsafe products. To date, the Committee has only seen fit to adopt a few of those proposals.

I am very troubled by the prospect that any time a federal agency official is critical of legislation pending before Congress, congressional leaders may seek to have that official silenced or even dismissed. At the request of the committee, and as follow-up to a meeting I had with committee staff, I provided what I and the agency's senior staff believed were honest, constructive and apolitical comments and suggestions on a bill that could have a dramatic effect on our agency and our ability to carry out our core mission.

I do not intend to resign because I care passionately about the mission of this agency. However, I am saddened and troubled by the tactics being used in an attempt to silence debate on important policy issues.