PROJECT INFO

TITLE: Safe and Sound: Making Workplace Safety Your Top Priority (Cover Article)

PUBLICATION: PestWorld Magazine, the official trade publication for the National Pest Management Association (NPMA)

DESCRIPTION: Safety tips for pest management companies

TESTIMONIAL

“I look forward to reading Amy’s assignments when I receive them. She has such a knack for interweaving facts, anecdotes and related content so that you don’t even realize you’re learning something as you’re reading it.”

–Janay Rickwalder, Editor of PestWorld

EXCERPT:

In 2013, 4,405 U.S. workers lost their lives on the job, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). That’s an average of 85 deaths a week or more than 12 deaths a day. Although these numbers are certainly disheartening, this is actually a major improvement over previous years. In fact, the workplace death toll for 2013 is the lowest since the BLS first started conducting the fatal injury census in 1992. 

Things were much bleaker back in 1970, when an average of 38 U.S. workers were killed on the job every single day. Since then, workplace fatalities have plummeted by more than 65 percent, and occupational injury and illness rates have dropped by 67 percent, reports the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Yet since 1970, more than 100 million employees have joined the U.S. workforce. 

Considering that U.S. employment has doubled since 1970, how is it possible that workplace deaths have declined at such a rapid rate? The answer is simple: It all comes down to an increased focus on safety in the workplace. 

In an effort to decrease workplace deaths and injuries, the U.S. government passed the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970. As part of this Act, Congress created OSHA to ensure U.S. workers had safe, healthy working conditions by setting and enforcing safety standards and providing ongoing training, education and assistance. In the 44 years since OSHA was created, the administration has had a dramatic impact on workplace safety.