It is with great sadness that I have to inform you that we have lost a good friend and business associate.  Last Thursday 9/13/2012,  Bruce Dalton was killed in a single, small plane accident in the Colorado mountains.  Bruce was traveling as a passenger on a  single engine aircraft that was piloted by a friend.  Initial reports seem to indicate that the crash happened at an elevation of 12,000 feet.

Bruce has been a friend and co-worker going back to the old days with Health & Hygiene and U.S Health Works.   Bruce was also one of the founding members of Workplace Group, and has spent the last couple of years running OccuHealth.

Bruce will be missed by everyone who knew him.  Please take the time to remember him, and pray for his family.

A memorial service has been scheduled for 3:00pm Saturday, Sept 22 at the St. Matthews Episcopal Church in Hillsborough, NC.

Regards,

David Pinchot, President

More information:

The Herald Sun

CBS Denver

The Pueblo Chieftain

Workplace INTEGRA, Inc has just finalized its 2013 CAOHC training schedule. New locations on the 2013 schedule: Tallahassee, FL, Columbus, GA, and adding a class in New Orleans, LA

Here are the dates and locations for the first quarter of 2013:
Certification                           Re-Certification

January 9-11 Toledo, OH    1/10
January 9-11 Greensboro, NC    1/10
January 23-25 New Orleans, LA    1/24
February 6-8 Louisville, KY     2/7
February 12-14 Greenville, SC    2/13
March 6-8 Indianapolis, IN    3/7
March 13-15 Greensboro, NC    3/14
March 20-22 Bloomington, IL    3/21
March 20-22 Tallahassee, FL    3/21

Look for the entire 2013 schedule soon at www.workplaceintegra.com

Source: Industrial Safety & Hygiene News

Is your job causing hearing loss? Your hearing is an incredibly valuable asset in the workplace. Unfortunately, some workplace environments may be more damaging to your eardrums than others. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health estimates that 22 million US workers are exposed to potentially dangerous levels of noise in the workplace each year. Unhealthy noise levels are one of the most common causes of hearing loss, and can lead to shocking statistics in some occupations. If you work in one of these six loudest workplaces, you may want to consider the effects your work environment may be having on your hearing.

Hearing Loss in Manufacturing
Hearing loss is the most commonly recorded occupational illness in manufacturing, accounting for 1 in 9 recordable illnesses. The reasons behind these staggering numbers are obvious, with all the large and loud machinery in this line of business. And this problem is all over the nation. Manufacturing is one of the largest industries in the U.S., which means hearing loss can spread rapidly. In fact, a study in Michigan reveals that more than half of all cases of permanent workplace hearing loss is caused by the manufacturing sector. Learn about Personalized Hearing Protection for Manufacturing Companies.

Hearing Loss in Construction, Carpentry and Mining
Whether outside your window, on your walk to work or anywhere else on the street, you may be painfully familiar with the extreme noise levels of construction sites. Now imagine working there. For the country’s construction workers, these sounds can be particularly hazardous to hearing health. Long periods of exposure to noise over 85dB is considered dangerous to one’s hearing, yet many of the most common construction tools make noise well above this cautionary value. Let’s consider one the noisiest yet most common construction tools: the hammer drill. This ear-shattering tool registers at nearly 115dB. With these dangerous decibels, whether you are performing construction work at home or for pay, make sure to wear the right kind of ear protection.

Click here for full article.

What should I use for my upcoming Hearing Conservation Training?    What can I use that will educate and motivate employees in a new way?  This may be a question you ask yourself whenever training is on the horizon.  I will be giving you ideas on how to present HC training in fresh and novel ways.  Your employees will exclaim, “Wow, I never knew that about my ears!”  I will present an idea about every 3 months on this Blog.  My first idea is to incorporate a YouTube video  The one I have picked, Auditory Transduction, is a basic anatomy and physiological account of how our ears hear.  Give it a look!  Your employees may walk away with new respect for their ears!

Make sure OSHA’s 3 topics are covered with every annual training:
1) The effects of noise on hearing
2) Purpose and procedure of hearing testing
3) Purpose, selection, fit, use and care of hearing protectors, the advantages, disadvantages and attenuation of various types.

Cheryl Nadeau, M.Ed., FAAA
Senior Occupational Audiologist