MidCo Inc., Burr Ridge, Ill, was founded in 1960 by Edwin F. Janik and Albina Janik as a small intercom and paging company. What started out as a two-man operation

Washington — Nearly two years after the Federal Railroad Administration first published a final rule requiring commuter and intercity passenger railroads to develop and implement system safety programs, the process has hit another hurdle.

Washington — The Federal Railroad Administration has extended until March 4 its stay on publishing a final rule requiring commuter and intercity passenger railroads to develop and implement system safety programs.

Washington — Effective April 20, the Federal Railway Administration is requiring the nation’s largest freight railroads – known as Class I – and smaller freight railroads with “inadequate safety performance” to develop and implement a formal risk reduction program. However, Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR), chair of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, says the final rule does not fulfill a congressional mandate to address rail worker fatigue.

Washington — More than three years after the Federal Railroad Administration published a final rule that requires commuter and intercity passenger lines to develop and implement system safety programs, FRA is amending the rule.

Washington — OSHA is providing specific exemptions and clarifications for railroad roadway work in its Cranes and Derricks in Construction Standard.

Washington — The Federal Railroad Administration has issued a final rule revising the agency’s regulation on highway rail-grade crossing action plans to require 40 states and the District of Columbia to develop and implement – and update, if applicable – FRA-approved action plans.

Washington — The Federal Railroad Administration is revising its regulations governing Positive Train Control systems – emergency slowing and stopping systems designed to help prevent train crashes and derailments caused by human error – and reporting on their function.

Washington — Responding to a petition for reconsideration of a final rule on its Risk Reduction Program, the Federal Railroad Administration is seeking comment on whether to keep or remove a provision clarifying that certain contractors are considered a railroad’s directly affected employees.

Washington — The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration has extended until Oct. 27 the comment period on a proposed rule that would require railroads to maintain and update hazardous material shipment information.

Washington — Large freight trains must have at least two crew members on board, under a recently announced Federal Railroad Administration final rule.

Washington – OSHA has scheduled an informal public meeting to discuss potential updates to its Hazard Communication Standard. The meeting is set to take place Nov. 16 at the Mine Safety and Health Administration headquarters in Arlington, VA.

Washington – OSHA has scheduled a public meeting on June 20 in advance of the 33rd session of the United Nations Sub-Committee of Experts on the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals.

Washington — OSHA is initiating a multipronged approach to protecting workers from extreme heat exposure, both outdoors and indoors, the agency has announced.

New York — The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York has halted until at least Aug. 22 an Environmental Protection Agency final rule that revises the pesticide application exclusion zone requirement in the agency’s standard on agricultural worker protection.

Washington — Enhancing California’s workplace heat standard could better protect workers in the state and guide current federal rulemaking on heat stress prevention, a new report from the Natural Resources Defense Council suggests.

New Orleans — OSHA can issue citations to general contractors who fail to control hazardous conditions at multi-employer worksites, even if those conditions do not directly affect their own employees, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit ruled Nov. 26.

Washington — The Department of Labor has published a final rule intended to help its agencies, including OSHA, improve their collection efforts for citation penalties and other debts.

Washington — NIOSH has withdrawn a notice of proposed rulemaking that would have established standards for total inward leakage of half-mask air-purifying particulate respirators.

Washington — The Department of Health and Human Services has reopened until Sept. 25 the comment period on an interim final rule that allows NIOSH to approve a new class of powered air-purifying respirators for workers in the health care and public safety sectors during the COVID-19 pandemic, among other changes.

Tumwater, WA — Required access to preventive cool-down periods and a lower “temperature action level” are among the updates to Washington state’s permanent rules aimed at protecting outdoor workers from excessive heat.

Tumwater, WA — To clarify its crane decertification and reinstatement requirements, the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries is proposing changes to its regulations on cranes and derricks in construction.

Tumwater, WA — In an effort to protect workers against unhealthy air caused by wildfire smoke, the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries has issued permanent rules on the hazard.

Phoenix — The Phoenix City Council on March 26 unanimously passed an ordinance requiring contractors and subcontractors who work with the city to have a written safety plan that addresses severe heat.

Sacramento, CA — Most workplaces in California must now adopt a number of worker safety measures when indoor temperatures hit specific levels.

Washington — A controversial U.S. Department of Agriculture final rule unveiled Sept. 17 removes maximum line speeds in pork-processing plants and transfers certain inspection responsibilities to plant workers.

Minneapolis — A coalition consisting of the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, three local affiliate unions and watchdog group Public Citizen is suing the U.S. Department of Agriculture over a controversial final rule that removes maximum line speeds in pork-processing plants and transfers certain inspection responsibilities to plant workers.

Washington — The U.S. Department of Agriculture “did not take adequate steps to determine whether the worker safety data it used … were reliable” when proposing a controversial rule that removes line speeds in pork-processing plants and transfers certain inspection responsibilities to plant workers, the USDA Office of Inspector General concludes in a report released June 25.

Seattle — The cannabis industry needs federal regulations and guidance on workplace safety, according to University of Washington professor and researcher Christopher Simpson.

Washington — A controversial U.S. Department of Agriculture rule that would permit line speeds at certain poultry processing plants to increase to 175 birds a minute from the current 140 is under review by the White House Office of Management and Budget.

Washington — OSHA has published a fact sheet intended to help employers comply with the agency’s standard on worker exposure to respirable crystalline silica (1926.1153) for general industry and maritime.

The B150 step-down converter offers an additional voltage in a FlexPower system by converting a higher input voltage to a lower output.

Arcules, a provider of unified security-as-a-service solutions, announced that local Nebraska non-profit Together recently streamlined its security infrastructure through the Arcules unified cloud platform. 

The cloud to camera service will be available on select cameras from Axis, allowing users to access advanced video analytics at the edge, such as object detection, to better identify potential risks and increase situational awareness.

Arcules, a provider of unified, intelligent video-surveillance-as-a-service solutions, announced the integration of its cloud-based video platform with the Genea access control platform.

In this new white paper, J. J. Keller’s safety and regulatory experts address common questions they’ve received about ladders, stairs, pits, and platforms to help readers clearly understand how to protect workers and stay in compliance.

OSHA’s 2023 final rule updating its electronic injury and illness reporting requirements went into effect in January, and the first reports under the revised requirements were already due to the agency on March 2.

Washington – A proposed OSHA rule that would update the permissible exposure limit for beryllium is under review by the Office of Management and Budget.

Washington – The construction industry should be exempt from OSHA’s forthcoming proposed rule on beryllium, according to a manufacturer of industrial abrasives.

Washington – Watchdog group Public Citizen is urging the Office of Management and Budget to complete a review of OSHA’s proposed standard on beryllium and open the rule for public comment.

Washington – Several final and proposed OSHA rules – including a long-delayed update to the beryllium rule – are expected to be published in the next few months, according to the agency’s spring regulatory agenda, released May 21.

Washington – The White House on July 7 completed its review of OSHA’s proposed rule on beryllium, clearing the way for the agency to publicly publish the proposal.

Washington – OSHA is proposing to dramatically lower its 34-year-old permissible exposure limit for beryllium to one-tenth of its current level, the agency announced Aug. 6.

Washington – OSHA has scheduled an informal public hearing in Washington to gather more input on the agency’s proposed rule on beryllium.

Washington – OSHA has rescheduled an informal public hearing intended to gather more input on the agency’s proposed rule on beryllium.

Washington – OSHA’s proposed rule on beryllium is “a step in the right direction” but could be stronger, according to a pair of worker safety and health advocates who testified at an informal hearing on the proposal.

Washington – OSHA’s Maritime Advisory Committee for Occupational Safety and Health is scheduled to receive an update on the agency’s proposed beryllium rule during a May 3 meeting.

Washington – OSHA’s final rule on preventing slips, trips and falls is scheduled for publication in August, according to the spring regulatory agenda released May 18.

OSHA’s final rule on occupational exposure to beryllium is scheduled for publication in January, according to the Department of Labor’s fall regulatory agenda, released Nov. 17.