OSHA is excited to welcome David Keeling as the Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health. Keeling brings a wealth of knowledge and experience in workplace safety and health and has a strong vision for protecting the nation's workforce.

Throughout his career, he has championed stronger safety practices and innovative approaches to injury and accident prevention so every worker can go home safely at the end of the day.

Prior to joining OSHA, Keeling spent more than 30 years in the field of workplace health and safety. Most recently, he oversaw global transportation safety with Amazon, and before that, managed global health and safety at UPS. He is a long-standing member of the National Safety Council, American Society of Safety Professionals, and other valued safety organizations.

We look forward to working together under David's leadership as we continue our mission to keep America's workers safe and healthy in the workplace.

OSHA cited a New Jersey vegetable processing facility for willfully and repeatedly violating safety requirements after a worker was fatally injured while cleaning and sanitizing a machine.

This news release details the company was cited for 16 safety violations and faces proposed penalties exceeding one million dollars. Additionally, the onsite temporary employment agency was cited for three serious violations with proposed penalties of $33,100 for not implementing or training workers on lockout/tagout procedures.

The findings highlight the importance of giving employers the training and tools they need to put protections in place before any machine is serviced. OSHA has compliance assistance resources for workplaces to strengthen their lockout/tagout programs and keep their workers safe.

OSHA is stepping up its efforts to help employers, employees, and others comply with federal regulations in specific workplace situations. Our subject-matter experts provide written responses to clarify questions about standards. The letters are posted to our website to help others stay in compliance and keep workers safe.

It's one way for agency to turn real-world questions into meaningful compliance assistance and everyone's roadmap for safer work. Recently, the letters have addressed topics such as stairway requirements, forklift training, hearing tests and more.

These letters are part of OSHA's commitment to expanding compliance assistance outreach to America's employers and workers.

OSHA is taking a significant step forward in workplace safety by releasing its 2023 injury and illness data using standardized codes. For the first time, OSHA applied the Occupational Injury and Illness Classification System to the narrative fields in Forms 300 and 301, capturing details about how incidents happened and what caused them. These codes help OSHA organize and analyze similar cases more efficiently, making it easier to identify trends and patterns. By strengthening the clarity of injury and illness narratives, OSHA is improving the foundation for effective prevention strategies. This advancement also highlights how artificial intelligence can enhance OSHA's ability to protect the health and wellbeing of workers nationwide.

Ready to strengthen your workplace safety culture? Our new Safety Champions Program helps employers develop and implement an effective safety and health program with the goal of preventing workplace injuries, illnesses, and fatalities. The program incorporates seven core elements of Recommended Practices for Safety and Health Programs

1. Management Leadership
2. Worker Participation
3. Hazard Identification and Assessment
4. Hazard Prevention and Control
5. Education and Training
6. Program Evaluation and Improvement; and
7. Communication and Coordination for host employers, contractors, and staffing agencies.

The program has three self-guided steps - introductory, intermediate, and advanced - which participants may work through at their own pace. Participants may also request a Safety Champion Special Government Employee to assess their safety and health program and step progress at any time. Start your journey today and click here to submit your Safety Champion registration.

OSHA Education Centers offer courses on many occupational safety and health topics, including confined spaces, combustible dust and fall protection. These centers also offer one-day seminars in subject areas such as emergency preparedness, recordkeeping, trenching, and machine safeguarding for students unable to attend the full-week courses but who would like to benefit from the training lessons.

Watch our new video to learn how OSHA Education Centers in the Birmingham region provide vital training to help employers and workers create safer workplaces.

Onward Energy is deeply committed to workplace safety, and they demonstrated their efforts to OSHA Deputy Assistant Secretary Amanda Wood Laihow on a recent visit. In this video, Deputy Assistant Secretary Laihow chats with SVP, Chief Legal Officer Rob Witwer with Onward Energy about why they worked with OSHA to become a Voluntary Protection Programs partner.

We signed a two-year alliance agreement with the Associated Construction Contractors of New Jersey aimed at setting a higher standard for safety in the construction industry. Through this alliance we will collaborate on resources, and guidance to industry employers and construction workers to prevent exposure to worksite hazards. We will team up to participate in safety forums; promote young worker safety at construction industry career days; raise awareness of worker mental health challenges and available resources; and encourage worker participation in safety training.

When is a Zero Energy State required in Lockout/Tagout?

In lockout/tagout procedures, a Zero Energy State is required when the equipment or machine is being serviced or maintained and there's a chance it could move, start up or release of energy unexpectedly. This ensures all sources of energy are isolated, de-energized, and secured so no one gets hurt. This is crucial for worker safety during maintenance or repair activities. See standard 1910.147 for more information.

Zero Energy State is achieved in three steps:

• Deactivate and De-energize: Fully shut down the equipment and disconnect it from its primary energy sources.
• Isolate: Use lockout/tagout devices to prevent the inadvertent activation of energy sources.
• Verify: Double-check that the equipment is in a safe, zero-energy state before starting work.

Think you know your cold-stress safety facts? Test your knowledge with this True/False question and check the next issue of QuickTakes for the correct answer!

OSHA wishes you the happiest of holidays and safe and healthful new year!
Great news! We're excited to share that we're moving back to a bi-monthly newsletter in January