EHS Professional March 4, 2021

IHMM UPDATES

Need Help? On the IHMM website just click on the “NEED HELP?” button and let us know what you need and the right person will get right back with you.

Debra Fisher, CSHM, CSMP, Honored With
The IHMM Excellence in EHS Management Award

[Rockville, MD] Each year the Institute of Hazardous Materials Management holds an open competition to select one person of outstanding character, ability, and achievement to receive recognition with its Excellence in EHS Management Award.

For 2020, IHMM is very pleased to announce its winner of the Excellence in EHS Management Award is Debra Fisher of Trotwood, Ohio, Health and Safety Coordinator at IUE-CWA, the Industrial Division of the Communication Workers of America, representing over 50,000 manufacturing and industrial workers across the United States. Debra is credentialed as a Certified Safety and Health Manager [CSHM®] and a Certified Safety Management Practitioner [CSMP®] with IHMM.

Debra as a Special Emergency Response Team member has deployed to multiple hurricanes, tornadoes, spills, and industrial accidents. Debra has developed and implemented new safety training to help workers recognize hazards. She has demonstrated new approaches by her national training curriculum and written guide for in-coming workers to work on safety committees and investigate incidents.

Debra collaborated with the local university to provide a 40-foot climbing tower where both students and workers now learn safe climbing techniques. This is a perfect example of how Debra engages diverse groups to maximize their learning experience and is part of her legacy. Debra also serves as the Chapter President for the Kitty Hawk Chapter of the American Society of Safety Professionals (ASSP). She has worked tirelessly as chapter leadership in various positions since 2015 while promoting EHS initiatives in the Mimi Valley region. She hosted subject matter experts and facility tours to increase awareness on EHS topics. Her efforts were rewarded as she helped the chapter earn the ASSP Platinum Award (first).

IHMM is honored to have Debra Fisher as a CSHM and CSMP and congratulates her on winning the IHMM Excellence in EHS Management Award for 2020. “She has proven that engaged workers can provide the greatest value to safety solutions because they are the most familiar with the work being performed.”

 National Safety Council
IHMM is a member of the National Safety Council and is pleased to bring this important information to all of its certificants.

Update on this week’s NSC Congress & Expo taking place from March 1st to 5th. Have you visited the IHMM/HMS virtual booth?

NSC Webinars

• March 9 – Introduction to the Safety Application of Immersive Technology
• March 30 – Immersive Technology & the Future of Work
• March 16 – Virtual Reality for Enhanced Safety Training

US Department of Labor encourages industry employers, stakeholders to join OSHA’s National Safety Stand-Down to Prevent Falls in Construction

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced today that it has scheduled the eighth annual National Stand-Down to Prevent Falls in Construction for May 3-7, 2021. OSHA encourages construction employers and other stakeholders to join the event to promote awareness and training to address one of the industry’s most serious dangers.

“Workers suffer serious and fatal injuries from falls and have a devastating impact on families and businesses,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health James Frederick. “This important collaboration with the construction industry encourages employers to learn how to better control fall-related hazards and improve their safety and health programs.”

OSHA developed the fall prevention campaign, as part of the national safety stand-down and in partnership with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, National Occupational Research Agenda, and The Center for Construction Research and Training. Since 2014, this collaboration has helped train nearly 10 million workers on fall prevention.

OSHA encourages everyone to use #StandDown4Safety to promote the event on social media, and to share feedback after their events and obtain a personalized certificate of participation.

OSHA’s Fall Prevention Stand-Down webpage offers a wide range of compliance resources in many languages, including Spanish, Polish, Russian, and Portuguese.

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA’s role is to help ensure these conditions for America’s working men and women by setting and enforcing standards and providing training, education, and assistance.

See: https://www.osha.gov/stop-falls-stand-down

Safe + Sound Week – August 9-15, 2021

Announcing Safe + Sound Week 2021

Safe + Sound Week is a nationwide event held each August that recognizes the successes of workplace health and safety programs and offers information and ideas on how to keep America’s workers safe.

Why Participate?
Successful safety and health programs can proactively identify and manage workplace hazards before they cause injury or illness, improving sustainability and the bottom line. Participating in Safe + Sound Week can help get your program started, energize an existing one, or provide a chance to recognize your safety successes.

Who Participates?
All organizations looking for an opportunity to recognize their commitment to safety are welcome to participate. Last year, more than 3,400 businesses helped to raise awareness about workers’ health and safety!

Check out our event archive for information on previous years’ engagement.

Your Credential

Every IHMM certificant has his or her own account in the MYIHMM system. IHMM certificants will now see new credential badges in their accounts that can be used in your social media, email signatures, LinkedIn, and other places where you highlight your professional standing.

In addition to the credential badges, certificants will be awarded 10, 20, or 30-year badges for their longevity as IHMM credential holders.

Last, but not least, IHMM will also recognize its Diplomates and Fellows with badges as well.

Earning an IHMM credential is an exceptional achievement in your professional life and we’d like to help you tell the world you earned it.

IHMM Microcredential Task Force

The IHMM Microcredential Task Force [https://ihmm.org/microcredential-task-force/] has been meeting to prioritize the more than 200 suggestions for IHMM to potentially develop microcredentials that focus more narrowly on areas of specific interest. The Task Force has prioritized their top 40 topics and is close to identifying a top-10 priority list. Once they have their top 10 the Task Force will make a recommendation to the IHMM Board about areas in which we should proceed to create new microcredentials.

The Task Force meets again on March 4th.

SafetyFOCUS Events Are Now Virtual

Due to the progression of the COVID-19 pandemic and its cascading effects on safety and health, work, travel, and large gatherings, all SafetyFOCUS events are now virtual. Our hope is that this format will make SafetyFOCUS events more accessible while offering the same networking opportunities and high-quality education you expect from ASSP. IHMM is a member of ASSP and we are pleased to send all IHMM certificants and you may learn more here https://safetyfocus.assp.org/

Safety and Health This Week

• On Safety: What an ETS and National Emphasis Program on COVID-19 are likely to look like
• 10th year running: Fall Protection leads OSHA’s annual ‘Top 10’ list of most frequently cited violations
• COVID-19 pandemic: Health and safety experts call for more federal action on preventing transmission
• See the IHMM/HMS COVID-19 Information page below
• Survey of employers finds mixed feelings about a potential emergency temporary standard on COVID-19
• House lawmakers reintroduce Pregnant Workers Fairness Act

Latest Safety Tips

• Safe spring cleaning: 12 tips
• 3D printing and worker safety
• Annie’s removing a chemical in mac and cheese linked to fertility issues

IHMM & AHMP Launch 45 in 5 – National Credential Recognition – 21 States Targeted

On January 25th, we began outlining the strategy to go after the 21 states in yellow, above.

This is just the beginning. Here is the present composition of the 45 In 5 Task Force and the states we are focusing on. More people may volunteer anytime!  https://ihmm.org/45-in-5-task-force/

• The State of Nebraska under 178 NAC Chapter 24 of the Department of Health and Human Services regulations recognizes the CHMM as eligible for remediation services. Thank you, Mary Duda.

In 2019 Mark Bruce from AHMP and Gene Guilford from IHMM worked on a project to get the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to recognize the CHMM and CDGT credentials. With Mark’s work on the ground in  Pennsylvania, we succeeded.

Since the launch, we have added Delaware, Florida, Texas, California, Washington, Georgia, Ohio, Tennessee, Alabama, Maryland, Virginia, Massachusetts, Missouri, Iowa, North Carolina, Colorado, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, and New Mexico as the next states for us to work on with 42 volunteers.

Now Mark at AHMP and Gene at IHMM has launched 45 in 5, getting the other 45 states to recognize our credentials in 5 years. If we can find a volunteer like Mark in 45 other states we can work with those volunteers on crafting the right message to the right agencies in state governments across the country. If we find enough volunteers we can get this done in less than 5 years.

Here’s what we ask each volunteer to do:

• Take a template letter we write and send it to the right people at the right agencies of state governments
• IHMM & AHMP will identify the agencies and the people to contact
• Follow up after sending the letter
• IHMM will engage all of our certificants and AHMP will engage all of its members in each state to communicate with the agencies in support of the recognition

Let’s get the rest of the country on board. Volunteer using this form > https://forms.gle/xVJ7UgwcfomWTpdR9

ENVIRONMENT & SAFETY RECENT UPDATES

• US DEPARTMENT OF LABOR ENCOURAGES INDUSTRY EMPLOYERS, STAKEHOLDERS TO JOIN OSHA’S NATIONAL SAFETY STAND-DOWN TO PREVENT FALLS IN CONSTRUCTION

• New Legislation Introduced to Ensure the Safety of Transportation Workers

• Former OSHA head: We’re getting it wrong on COVID workplace safety | Editorial

• ALG Health Receives NIOSH Surgical Rating on Three Of Its American Made N95 Respirators

• OSHA to Investigate Whistleblower Retaliation Complaints Under Newest Antitrust and Money Laundering Laws

• New ways of working safely

• Acting OSHA Administrator Jim Frederick Addresses Waste Industry

• Chemicals impeding circularity’ – ChemSec report

• NORTH CHARLESTON CATERER PAYS $22K IN BACK WAGES TO WORKERS AFTER US DEPARTMENT OF LABOR FINDS OVERTIME VIOLATIONS

• US DEPARTMENT OF LABOR GUIDANCE TO STATE UI PROGRAMS EXPANDS ELIGIBILITY FOR WORKERS WHO DECLINED WORK DUE TO PANDEMIC SAFETY CONCERNS
  
• OSHA On-Site Consultations

• Employers must post their Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses [Form 300A] from February through April 30th.

Building Climate Change Resilience Virtual Training

EPA’s Creating Resilient Water Utilities initiative is providing free virtual training sessions on its Climate Resilience Evaluation and Awareness Tool (CREAT) for the Northeast climate region of the country. This training assists drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater utilities in planning for and adapting to climate change threats with a focus on resilience building and infrastructure financing. The Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies, National Association of Clean Water Agencies, National Association of Water Companies, and NEIWPCC are helping to coordinate and co-sponsoring these events.

Training Objectives

• Conduct a risk assessment using CREAT;

• Identify and share information on adaptation strategies to build utility long-term resilience; and

• Share information on available resources for financing resilience and adaptation.

Upcoming Sessions

• Session 3: March 9, 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. E.T.

• CREAT Module 5 (Risk Assessment) and an overview of local financial resources utilities can apply for to fund adaptation measures

• Session 4: March 23, 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. E.T.

• A brief overview of previous information, then open agenda for attendees to ask questions about using CREAT, how to apply it to their circumstances, and how to seek funding for adaptation strategies. (Optional)

**Earn Continuing education units (CEUs) from select states **

REGISTER HERE

HMS UPDATES

HMS Donations

One of the most important projects of the Hazardous Materials Society is our Scholarship program.

HMS wants to make it as easy as possible for those who cannot always afford to participate in pursuing certification, or keeping up with professional development, or attending great conferences and receiving outstanding training. HMS does not solicit contributions from the general public. HMS does ask IHMM’s certificants and their companies and our education and training vendors to consider a contribution.

Here, through your generosity, you can make a difference in promoting the ability of those who can afford it least to become participants in our communities of practice.

It’s never too late to make a difference, so don’t let this opportunity to make a difference pass you by. Please consider a tax-deductible donation of $250, $500 or what you can to help build HMS’s effort to help others in our communities of practice.

HMS Education and Training

Hazardous Materials Society now has 14,912 education and training programs on its website https://hazmatsociety.org/education-training/ with more coming every week. Certificants will note that most of these programs carry a CMP value, making it easier to know in advance what to expect. The HMS Education and Training platform also provides a wide variety of courses for professional development across all of IHMM’s credentials – and more are being developed by the HMS Education and Training Committee.

This is the center of education and training for IHMM certificants and prospective certificants. Among these more than 15.000 programs are webinars delivered online and virtually all carry IHMM CMPs values with them for your annual / 5-year CMP planning. SEE: https://hazmatsociety.org/education-training/

HMS Affinity Programs –  RCM&D Professional Liability Insurance

With more than 27,000 people – here is where HMS leverages our numbers for member’s benefit. There is strength and value in numbers and that translates into lower costs for you.

HMS is proud to have partnered with RCM&D to be able to offer an outstanding comprehensive professional liability insurance program to IHMM certificants. Here, you will find information about this important program offering Environmental Consultants and Engineers Professional Liability coverage. This coverage is intended to add protection for loss stemming from actual or alleged negligent acts, errors and omissions in performing professional services.