BWC Employees Receive National Research Award

Three BWC employees were recently presented the Alice Hamilton Award for Occupational Safety and Health in the Epidemiology and Surveillance category for their published research. Mike Lampl, Dave Robins, Steve Naber, and five members of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Center for Workers’ Compensation Studies wrote a paper titled “Workers’ Compensation …

Feeling the heat? Stay safe with preventive measures

By Isayah Hickson, BWC Occupational Safety & Hygiene Fellow A glance at the thermometer tells the story: we’re officially in the dog days of summer. This means we’re in the hottest part of the season and at greater risk of heat-related illness such as heat exhaustion and heat stroke. So, what’s the difference between the …

BWC, area fire departments offering safety stand-down events this week

By Erik Harden, Public Information Officer Statistics from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health show firefighters have a 9% higher risk of a cancer diagnosis and a 14% higher risk of dying from cancer than the general public. The 2019 Firefighter Stand-Down, happening this week, is focusing on this hazard with its theme …

How a new data tool can make your workplace safer

BWC/NIOSH partnership makes injury data easier to understand   By Mike Lampl, BWC Division of Safety & Hygiene Research Director Wouldn’t it be useful to have a way to easily identify what’s causing injuries and what types of injuries have been rising in your industry? We thought it would be. So, we partnered with the …

National Safety Month: Worker wellness and workplace safety – a dynamic duo

By Erik Harden, BWC Public Information Officer Abbott and Costello, peanut butter and jelly, R2-D2 and C-3PO. Some people, foods and droids are just better together. The same goes for employee wellness and workplace safety. The National Safety Council’s Campbell Institute recently released a report stating workplaces should expand beyond initiatives such as smoking cessation …

Get focused for Distracted Driving Awareness Month

By Erik Harden, BWC Public Information Officer Cat videos are hilarious. Just not while you’re behind the wheel. And maybe eat that burrito in the restaurant instead of taking one for the road. With smartphones, busy schedules and multitasking, it’s easier than ever to be distracted while driving. In fact, it’s now the No. 1 …

Total Worker Health – the next step in workplace evolution

By Greg Williams, BWC Occupational Safety and Hygiene Fellow When I was little I remember hearing stories of the Industrial Revolution in school. I remember accounts of children, my age or younger, having to go to work to support their families, often in abhorrent conditions. Eastern Illinois University describes it this way: “Young children working …

BWC research seeks better strategies for workplace injury prevention, injured worker care

We’ve written before about our efforts to collaborate on research into a number of issues that impact the entire workers’ compensation industry. BWC is the sole provider of workers’ compensation insurance coverage in the state, meaning we have a comprehensive set of data that can offer insight into how the industry can reduce workplace injuries …

That’s not just a tight spot … that’s a confined space!

By Glenn McGinley, Director, Ohio Public Employment Risk Reduction Program and member of the NFPA Technical Committee on Confined Space Safe Work Practices Have you ever had a feeling of claustrophobia – that feeling that you’re trapped and a longing for open spaces while the refrain of “don’t fence me in” plays repeatedly in your …

Looking for a way to reduce injury rates?

By Julie Darby-Martin, BWC Safety Congress Manager You’ve read in previous blogs of many safety services BWC offers Ohio employers. In part because of these services and other efforts by BWC, Ohio’s injury rate is below the national average. Injury claims have dropped more than 10 percent over the past 5 years. These numbers are …