ISN Insider

Jun. 11th, 2013

 

ISN, together with Cenovus Energy, hosted the latest in their ongoing series of Contractor Usability Group Meetings in June in Calgary. ISN began hosting the meetings in 2010 to test and gather feedback from contractors on functionality updates and additions to its online information database, ISNetworld.

 

 

 

ISN holds usability meetings each quarter, alternating between the United States and Canada to gather comprehensive feedback. A dedicated focus group consisting of more than 20 contracting companies reviews recently implemented functionality updates, as well as upcoming enhancements to ISNetworld.

“It’s nice to be offered the chance of providing feedback on the system with the possibility of enhancing its functionality,” said Deanna Roszell of Ceda International Corporation, an ISN member contractor. “I am looking forward to the enhancements to the RAVS section of the system knowing it will be streamlined and provide ease of use on the contractor’s side.”

Usability and ease of functionality remain among the highest priorities for ISN. The company engages in constant collection and processing of feedback from all subscribers. Tuesday’s meeting specifically targets the contractor user experience with the aim of streamlining and simplifying the compliance process and improving the ISNetworld experience.

“We are happy to host these meetings to bring contractors together,” said Lynda Briand, Contractor Safety Management Analyst, Health & Safety at Cenovus. “We look forward to enhancements to ISNetworld that will benefit Clients and contractors.”

May. 29th, 2013

The Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) looks to be headed in a new direction with their new e-publication, “Falling off Ladders Can Kill: Use Them Safely.” Developed together with the Singapore Workplace Safety and Health Council, the new literature signals a shift toward mobile functionalities and digital publications. The publication is available for download on smartphones, tablets, e-readers and laptop or desktop computers, allowing workers to easily access the information it contains while they are onsite.

The fact that OSHA chose ladder safety as the platform for this new technology shows how much importance they place on their Fall Prevention Campaign, which celebrated its one year anniversary in April of this year. The program offers educational resources to workers and employers, as well as training tools to help prevent falls at the worksite. Its goal is to provide common-sense fall prevention strategies to employers and workers, especially low-literacy or non-English speaking workers.

Falls, nearly a third of which are from ladders, are the leading cause of death in construction every year in the United States. Of the 255 deaths from falls in construction in 2011, 68 of them were from ladders. The majority of these incidents are preventable by following safety procedures such as those outlined in the digital booklet. It recommends such precautions as:

• Asking a series of simple questions to determine if a ladder is the right piece of equipment for the job at hand. If the work you are doing requires carrying heavy items, working for extended periods or standing sideways on the ladder, you should consider your other options.
• Making sure you’re using the most appropriate ladder for your work. For example, it should be high enough to avoid standing on the top rung.
• Securing the ladder responsibly and effectively, and double-checking that it is extended all the way before starting your work.
• Following guidelines that ensure you are climbing, descending and standing on the ladder correctly during the job.

Having a safety program in place will help your operations ensure that workers are following responsible safety procedures. OSHA provides numerous services and programs to use as resources. In addition, services such as ISN’s Health & Safety Review & Verification Services (RAVS®) team are available to help review your safety programs, making sure they address the needs of your company and bringing them into compliance with your Client’s requirements. ISNetworld can also track employee fall prevention training information.

There are numerous resources available to help you mitigate the risk of falls. With this new publication, ladder safety is now readily accessible to your workers onsite, in both English and Spanish, with clear, easy-to-follow tips. OSHA is moving into the mobile, digital world and elevating ladder safety awareness to a whole new level.

Resources:

http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=NEWS_RELEASES&p_id=22260

http://www.osha.gov/stopfalls/edresources.html

http://www.osha.gov/stopfalls/index.html

http://www.osha.gov/Publications/OSHA3625.pdf

http://www.osha.gov/as/oc/Michaels-NACOSH-2012.pdf

http://www.osha.gov/

https://www.isnetworld.com/

https://www.isnetworld.com/Homepage/ravs.aspx

https://www.isnetworld.com/services/health-safety-environmental-quality

Feb. 5th, 2013

At the request of its Clients, ISN has implemented a new process which allows contractors to “revalidate” their safety programs to ensure their most up-to-date programs are within their ISNetworld account.

ISNetworld will prompt contractors who have had their safety programs uploaded for three or more years to confirm whether or not their programs are current. Once prompted, contractors will be given a grace period of 30 days to answer the revalidation question with “Yes” or “No” for each relevant program.

Answering “Yes” indicates the program submitted into ISNetworld is up-to-date and answering “No” indicates that the current program needs to be submitted. Upon answering “No” to a revalidation question, the contractor will be given a 90-day grace period for revalidation. This time period allows the contractor 90 days to upload their recent program into ISNetworld for review before grading is affected.

A step-by-step video on the safety program revalidation process is available in the Help Menu of your ISNetworld account.

For further assistance, please contact the ISN Customer Service Team.

Jan. 21st, 2013

ISN expands its Health, Safety and Environmental (HSE) Review and Verification Services (RAVS) with the addition of new desktop audit processes for Iraq / Middle East, Mexico and New Zealand. Working closely with Owner Clients and subject matter experts, ISN has developed and implemented more than 1,200 desktop audit protocols for assessing compliance with regulatory, industry best practices and Owner Client specific requirements around the globe.

With over 250 years of combined expertise across industries, ISN’s HSE professionals ensure protocols are current with evolving industry regulations and Owner Client specific standards. ISN’s desktop audit protocols are also designed to provide guidance and reference information as a resource to member contractors. ISNetworld contractors are able to demonstrate their capabilities in a consistent and transparent manner to their Owner Clients through ISNetworld. To date, 35,000 contractors have had their company’s HSE programs audited by ISN’s RAVS professionals at the request of their Owner Clients.

“ISNetworld is a trustable business connection tool which cuts through the complexity involved with conformance and credentialing, allowing our record to speak for itself,” said Dr. Firas A. Hashem, Business Information Specialist at MSA Co., located in Al Basrah, Iraq.

“Having well written and comprehensive HSE programs is fundamental to building a safe and sustainable work environment, regardless of the work location around the globe,” said Dag Yemenu, ISN Vice President of Technical and Customer Services. “The RAVS review process helps companies benchmark their current HSE programs, while providing resources to build upon recognized areas of improvement in employee safety.”

Apr. 27th, 2012

The establishment of agencies like OSHA and the National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA) have positively impacted workplace fatalities, injuries and illnesses. Over the past 40 years, the overall workplace fatality rate has dropped 60 percent while the occupational injury and illness rates have dropped more than 40 percent. The NFPA, specifically, specializes in reducing the risk of fire and other hazards, including tasks related to electricity.

In an important update, the NFPA published final changes to the 2012 edition of NFPA 70E, which addresses electrical safety-related work practices for employees who may come into contact with “hazards associated with electrical energy during activities such as the installation, inspection, operation, maintenance, and demolition of electric conductors, electric equipment, signaling and communications conductors and equipment, and raceways.”

 The following are just a few of the updates added to the newest edition of the regulation:

• Basis for retraining
• Frequency of retraining
• Selection of qualified persons

These updates are meant to ensure the most qualified employees are performing electrical work. The recent additions to NFPA 70E address that retraining should be conducted when an employee is not complying with safety-related work practices, working in a new environment where the safety-related work practices have changed or if retraining has not been conducted in more than three years. The new edition also encourages employers to use only qualified individuals to complete tasks like testing, troubleshooting and voltage measuring within the Limited Approach Boundary, an approach limit set at a certain distance from an exposed live part where a shock hazard exists.

To ensure current regulations are being implemented and practiced, ISN has updated several requirements within the NFPA 70E safety program protocol. Impacted subscribers will have a 90-day grace period to update and resubmit written safety programs.

For questions regarding NFPA 70E safety program updates or to learn more about ISNetworld, please contact the ISN Customer Service Team at 1 (800) 976-1303. 

Resources:
http://www.nfpa.org/aboutthecodes/AboutTheCodes.asp?DocNum=70E&cookie%5Ftest=1
http://www.iaei.org/magazine/2009/05/occupational-electrical-injury-and-fatality-trends-and-statistics-1992%E2%80%932007/
http://www.nfpa.org/categoryList.asp?categoryID=143&URL=About%20NFPA