Inspection software and safety technology news from the people behind Field ID's industry leading Inspection and Safety Compliance Management solution.
Today we’re releasing the second video in our iPad safety inspection software interview series. This series features interviews with the people behind Field ID’s leading inspection software and safety compliance management system, and the company’s new Field ID iPad app. In this video, Field ID Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer Shaun Ricci talks about why the iPad is an ideal device for inspection and safety compliance software applications. You can view the video below, or on our YouTube channel here.
Residential construction companies will be under increased pressure to meet fall protection compliance guidelines from regulators for most of this year. OSHA (the Occupational Safety and Health Adminstration) announced today that it will extend its “temporary enforcement measures” in residential construction by another six months. The directive put in place last September was set to be lifted in March, but now it will cover the summer months into September 2012.
Fatalities from falls are the number one cause of workplace death in construction, so OSHA’s announcement doesn’t come as a surprise. The temporary enforcement measures will include priority free on-site compliance assistance, penalty reductions, extended abatement dates, measures to assure consistency, and increased outreach. Over the past year, OSHA has already conducted more than 1,000 outreach sessions in the U.S.
We’ve blogged about the importance of fall protection for a few years. In a post from last November, we delved into some details about changes to residential construction fall protection guidelines from OSHA, and how the increased attention to compliance in this area is also happening in some parts of Canada. What do you think? Can increased attention from regulators or government inspectors bring down the troubling injury and incident numbers?
If you’re looking to review some key information about residential fall protection, OSHA’s webpage on the topic includes presentations, compliance aids, and other resources that may be helpful. OSHA’s complete directive on Compliance Guidance for Residential Construction is here. If you’re not already using a robust inspection management solution, it may be time to consider Field ID.
Today, we’re excited to launch the first video in a series of interviews with the people behind Field ID’s leading safety compliance management system, and the company’s new iPad safety inspection software application. In this video, Field ID CEO Somen Mondal talks about some of the work that our team has put into the new iPad app. You can view the video below, or at YouTube.com/FieldIDtv.
A lack of safety inspections and serious compliance violations played a big part in the deaths of seven people last August, when the Indiana State Fair stage collapsed in a windstorm. The event drew a lot of attention, not just in the media, but on YouTube and other social websites. Now, three organizations will pay the price for neglecting safety – with fines totaling $80,800.
This was surely one of the more horrifying accidents to watch in 2011. Several dramatic videos of the stage collapse were captured by people in the crowd that day. At the bottom of this post, we’ve included one that captures what happened in slow motion.
This week, the Indiana Department of Labor officially fined three organizations a total of $80,800. Here’s how the fines break down:
- The Indiana State Fair Commission was fined $6,300 for failing to conduct a life safety evaluation, which would have included an assessment of all safety measures and conditions of the Indiana State Fairgrounds concert venues.
- The Local 30 of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, including Theatrical Payroll Services Inc., was fined $11,500 for three serious violations and one non-serious violation. Citations included failure to consider soil conditions when placing cable anchor points for the grandstand stage; failure to provide fall protection for employees working four feet or more above ground level; and, failure to conduct a personal protective equipment hazard assessment of the worksite.
- Mid-America Sound Corporation was fined a whopping $63,000 for failing to develop and implement an Operations Management Plan, failing to develop a risk assessment plan, failure to maintain and use current engineering calculations and documentation, and failure to provide appropriate, qualified supervision.
The types of serious violations listed above are all too common, and unfortunately it sometimes takes a disaster like this to sound a safety wake-up call for some organizations.
As makers of a leading inspection and compliance management system, we found the non-serious violation just as interesting. In the case of the Local 30 of the International Alliance of Theatrical State Employees, the Department of Labor noted that the organization had failed to maintain proper OSHA records for four years. With Field ID, maintaining compliance electronically is so easy that we find it difficult to understand this kind of neglect. But we do understand that it can be a challenge for non-users.
Here’s a video of the stage collapse, but be advised that the sound is very loud and you may wish to adjust your volume…
It was only days ago that we wrote about the safety inspections and manufacturing issues relating to the Airbus A380 – the world’s largest passenger plane, made by the world’s largest aircraft manufacturer.
Now, the world’s second-largest commercial aircraft maker is facing manufacturing problems that could affect production and deliveries. Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner is in the news as production slows due to “incorrect shimming,” which helps close tiny gaps in joints along aft fuselage, on some planes. The problem could potentially lead to “delamination or damage.”
The news comes just as the Boeing 787 Dreamliner was scheduled to land for the first time in Singapore to be showcased at the 2012 Singapore Airshow this month, and only weeks after a malfunction in the flaps system caused a flight cancellation last month. The company has stated that there are no short-term safety concerns for delivered planes, and that those already built will be inspected.
About 59 customers have ordered 870 Dreamliners from Boeing to date, and the recently discovered manufacturing glitches could delay some deliveries. Japan Airlines, for example, was expecting four 787s to arrive this month, but delivery could be pushed to the end of March or later.
Of course, manufacturing and production delays are inconvenient for any business, and they can hurt the bottom line – not just for the companies in the spotlight, but for their suppliers and customers as well. It’s not surprising that the inspection and manufacturing of players like Airbus and Boeing get scrutinized by the media when issues like these are discovered. We’re just glad to see these things being addressed before they can lead to even bigger problems.
As inspection management providers, we know how important it is to implement strong quality control processes and compliance measures at the manufacturing stages for any product – but especially for those designed to safely transport people from one place to another.
