Regulations & Compliance

Virtual reality (VR) technology used to be something that you would only see in movies (I’m picturing the virtual combat scene from The Matrix (1999) between Keanu Reeves and Laurence Fishburne). With the advent of VR for video game consoles, it is becoming accessible to everyone in their homes. The first time I used the […]

OSHA workplace injury and illness reporting season is already upon us, and there’s no better time for employers to take a step back and review their injury and illness recordkeeping practices — not only to make sure you’re in compliance, but to evaluate whether you’re capturing the most accurate possible injury and illness data in […]

The Chemical Safety and Investigation Board (CSB) recently issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) that would create new accidental chemical release reporting requirements, in addition to those already in place under other regulations. In comparison to existing regulatory requirements, the CSB proposed rule would broaden reporting requirements by requiring reporting under a range of […]

In the series Ergo U: Ergonomics Research Notes from the Field, VelocityEHS Director of Research and Ergonomics Engineer Blake McGowan meets with ergonomics researchers from leading universities and associations across the country to share their latest findings. Field notes Recently, Blake met with Dr. Robert Radwin, the Duane H. and Dorothy M. Bluemke Professor, from […]

Penalties for noncompliance with regulations enforced by EPA, OSHA and other U.S. environmental and occupational health and safety agencies are going up! Under the requirements of the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 2015, all U.S. federal agencies must annually revise their civil penalty amounts to account for the rate of inflation. Read on […]

OSHA’s Recordkeeping deadline is quickly approaching. By February 1, employers in the U.S. covered by the rule are required to prepare, certify and post a signed hard copy of their Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses (Form 300A) in a location accessible to employees to view. While OSHA has made no changes to the Rule […]

The term musculoskeletal disorder (MSD) is widely accepted in the world of ergonomics to indicate damage associated with conditions that ergonomics guidelines seek to prevent. But what is a musculoskeletal disorder, and how does it occur? In a study by Barbe et al., the extent of the MSD development process in muscles, tendons, bones, ligaments […]

Happy New Year! A new year often brings new goals and resolutions. Is one of your goals this year to roll out an office ergonomics process within your company? If so, here are four things that you should consider before launch: 1.Define the scope of your process. We generally see two approaches to rolling out […]

Do you have hazardous chemicals in your workplace? What if there were an accidental spill? Would you be prepared to safely respond before it escalated into a serious emergency or dangerous environmental release? What systems do you rely on to prevent chemical spills in the first place, and are those systems as effective as possible? […]

The United States Pharmacopeial Convention (USP) estimates that more than 8 million US healthcare workers are exposed to hazardous drugs (HDs) in the workplace each year. Hazardous drugs (HDs) are a class of pharmaceuticals that pose serious health risks to individuals who handle them, including organ toxicity, reproductive and developmental defects, genetic toxicity, cancer and […]