The next time you get behind the wheel, be it for work or pleasure, take a moment to consider how tired you feel and if you are really in the proper condition to operate a motor vehicle.  This may sound like common sense, but all too often peopl...

Have you ever nearly taken a drink from a bottle of soda only to be yelled at by someone “DON’T DRINK THAT!” As it turns out, that someone else had used the bottle to store chemicals, it wasn’t soda at all.  Talk about sh...

Yesterday, our ergonomist Allan Brown led a webinar about the much-discussed topic of the aging workforce. (A recording of the one-hour webinar is available to MEMIC policyholders on our website.) This demographic reality enters nearly every conversa...

Today, we write with heavy hearts as we remember our former colleague and the founding writer of this blog, Paul Caret. Paul died earlier this week at the young age of 53. He suffered yet exhibited tremendous grace in his three-year battle with ...

Recently, one of my customers from a social service organization asked if I could present a workshop on bed bugs to their risk management team.  While not an entomologist by education, I accepted the request and proceeded to review the plethora ...

So what’s OSHA’s stance on respiratory protection in the workplace? Does everyone need to have a program?  Does everyone need to wear respiratory protection?  The short answer is “no." Now, here’s the longer answer. ...

Twenty-five years ago I was a paramedic working for an ambulance service. Seat belt usage was somewhere around 25 percent. In other words, only one of four drivers used the belts. Being young and impressionable I was left with one lasting impression&...

The last time we blogged, we discussed the requirements of OSHA’s respiratory protection standard 29 CFR 1910.134, when companies exceed OSHA’s permissible exposure limits and when engineering controls are not feasible. We covered written...

A few of my business account contacts have posed the question of what to look for in an ergonomic chair.  The short answer is adjustment features.  While a chair with multiple adjustment features offers ergonomic benefit, sitting for prolo...

Analyzing work dates back more than 100 years ago from pioneers like Frederick Taylor, and Frank and Lillian Gilbreth. The purpose or focus of the analysis, of course, can vary; from developing “One Best Way” in an effort to maximize prod...