In 1994, the total number of workplace fatalities totaled 6,632. As of the 2011 report, the number of fatalities has dropped to 4,609 people. The decline in numbers is a testament to business' increased efforts to enhance safety regulations in order to create the highest quality, safest workplace possible for their employees. Employees have become increasingly valuable to their employers over the years so it is crucial that they are protected as much as they can be protected. According to Brian O'Donel, an industrial safety expert, he believes that it's a very important thing making sure that the safety regulations are always up to date and that replacing employees is "extremely expensive."
Workplaces throughout the country are working with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) in order to uphold the rules and regulations that have been developed to make workplaces safer for everyone. In fact, the OSHA has been working in recent years to make the rules clearer and more concise to make sure there are no misunderstandings. In addition, the government has been working to reduce the number of deaths in some of America's most dangerous jobs. For example, according to a report from the Department of Labor, the most common dangerous workplace activity is driving. So, in order to try and reduce accidents on the road, the Department of Transportation issued a few new rules within the last year to improve trucker safety. One of the new rules is that drivers must rest thirty minutes after driving for a maximum of eight hours at one time. In addition, drivers can't drive for more than seventy hours in one week. It may seem like little things here and there, but these rules have been extremely effective in helping to reduce workplace fatalities.
There are a couple of silver linings when it comes to this news. First off, it is estimated that the overall death toll will rise as the Labor Department's numbers are only preliminary, and as more investigations are completed, the number will eventually rise a bit. In addition, as the economy recovers and more people are entered back into the workforce, it is predicted that the number will rise as the new employees will lack experience and in turn, be more vulnerable to injuries. However, through all of this, I believe that the government has done a great job trying to make the workplace as a whole, safer. Overall, it can't be denied that the workplace is much safer than it was twenty years ago, and I hope that the workplace continues to get safer as we move into the future where the technology that continues to evolve can be utilized to further protect the American workers.
Articles Referenced
http://money.cnn.com/2012/09/21/real_estate/work-deaths/index.html?iid=H_PF_News
Workplaces throughout the country are working with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) in order to uphold the rules and regulations that have been developed to make workplaces safer for everyone. In fact, the OSHA has been working in recent years to make the rules clearer and more concise to make sure there are no misunderstandings. In addition, the government has been working to reduce the number of deaths in some of America's most dangerous jobs. For example, according to a report from the Department of Labor, the most common dangerous workplace activity is driving. So, in order to try and reduce accidents on the road, the Department of Transportation issued a few new rules within the last year to improve trucker safety. One of the new rules is that drivers must rest thirty minutes after driving for a maximum of eight hours at one time. In addition, drivers can't drive for more than seventy hours in one week. It may seem like little things here and there, but these rules have been extremely effective in helping to reduce workplace fatalities.
There are a couple of silver linings when it comes to this news. First off, it is estimated that the overall death toll will rise as the Labor Department's numbers are only preliminary, and as more investigations are completed, the number will eventually rise a bit. In addition, as the economy recovers and more people are entered back into the workforce, it is predicted that the number will rise as the new employees will lack experience and in turn, be more vulnerable to injuries. However, through all of this, I believe that the government has done a great job trying to make the workplace as a whole, safer. Overall, it can't be denied that the workplace is much safer than it was twenty years ago, and I hope that the workplace continues to get safer as we move into the future where the technology that continues to evolve can be utilized to further protect the American workers.
Articles Referenced
http://money.cnn.com/2012/09/21/real_estate/work-deaths/index.html?iid=H_PF_News
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