Protect workers who handle grain

By Laura Mattimoe, Safety and Health Consultant Every year, we hear it in the news – “worker dies after being trapped in grain.” It’s a horrible and shocking blow each time. How is it that after all these stories, these events are still happening? As a safety professional with the Ohio On-Site Consultation Program, I …

Stand Down for Trench Safety

By Bruce Loughner, CSP, Technical Safety Advisor A trench cave-in can trap you within seconds and kill you within minutes. One excavator buck load, or one cubic yard of soil, weighs about 3,000 pounds. If the walls collapse and you’re buried, you could suffocate in less than three minutes. The weight of the soil causes …

June is…

By Michael Marr, Safety Technical Resource Consultant National Safety Month is held to celebrate and encourage awareness of the importance of safety. Organized by the National Safety Council (NSC) in 1996, this month marks the 27th year of promoting National Safety Month. Every day this month is a chance to promote safety, not just at …

Safety from the ground up

By Ryan Towns, Senior Compliance Safety and Health Officer With spring in the air, it’s that time of year to dust off the landscaping and grounds maintenance equipment. It’s also important to keep in mind the dangers involved when using this type of equipment. We encourage you to ensure your employees are reviewing safety manuals …

Resolve to value safety in 2022

By Cari Gray, Industrial Safety Consultant Specialist and Bruce Loughner, Technical Resource Consultant So, here we are… 2022!  If you are like most safety folks, you spend much of your time putting out proverbial (and maybe literal) fires and have little time to think about long-term goals and planning. Trying to “do” safety without setting …

Daylight Saving Time Ends Sunday, Nov. 7.

Delia Treaster, PhD, CPE, BWC Ergonomic Technical Advisor It's almost time for the end of Daylight Saving Time. At 2 a.m. on Sunday, Nov. 7, we return to Eastern Standard Time. We gain an extra hour as we "fall back," but despite this advantage, this biannual ritual of changing our clocks can mess with our …

My role at BWC has changed during the pandemic — and I couldn’t be prouder

By Vern Davenport, Security Manager, Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation I am not a doctor, a nurse, or health care provider of any kind, but I am saving lives and protecting the health of my fellow Ohioans. I am but one player in our state’s continued battle to defeat the COVID-19 pandemic, but I’m a …

A look back at our most-popular posts of 2020

By Danielle Alley, Social Media Coordinator While we all might be ready to close the book on 2020, we think some pages are worth reading again, or perhaps for the first time if you missed them earlier. Our most popular blog posts from the past 12 months focused primarily on the COVID-19 pandemic and how …

My family’s trauma changed my world

Thankfully, so did Kids’ Chance of Ohio By Malerie Mysza I remember the last truly happy moments I spent with my father. I was 4, and we sat watching cartoons and laughing in the living room of our home in Cleveland. Soon after, he suffered brain injuries and blindness from an on-the-job accident. My father …

BWC safety grants protect worker health, save employers time, money

NIOSH-BWC study published in industry journal By Steve Naber, Ph.D., BWC Business Intelligence and Analytics Manager For more than 10 years, our Division of Safety & Hygiene has enjoyed the benefits of being in a cooperative research program with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). Through the program, we share claims with …