OSC Updates & Response to COVID-19
During these unprecedented times, the Oklahoma Safety Council is committed to providing our employees and customers with a safe and healthy work and training environment. OSC continues to monitor the everchanging situation and the CDC and health department recommendations daily to help slow the spread and the impact of COVID-19. Please see below OSC’s updated response to COVID-19 *Updates and policies are subject to change at …
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Don’t Zoom While You Zoom! By Betsey Kulakowski, CSHO, COSS The pandemic has changed things for everyone. We spend more time on Zoom (or other meeting apps) than we do almost anywhere. Unfortunately, I have seen an increase in the number of people logging into meetings on Zoom while driving; even safety professionals. Still, I am surprised at the number of people who do not recognize the hazard of driving while having a phone conversation – or while …
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OSHA Revisiting Recordkeeping Electronic Reporting Requirements
By Betsey Kulakowski, CSHO, COSS – Executive Director In May of 2016, OSHA’s new Improved Tracking of Workplace Injuries and Illnesses final rule was issued. The new standard required certain employers to submit their OSHA 300, 301 and 300A forms electronically each year. However, under the previous administration in 2019, the rule was scaled back to require employers to submit only the Form 300A. A notice of proposed rulemaking is scheduled to be published in December that …
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Keeping Young Workers Safe & Complying with Child Labor Laws
By Lester Claravall, Child Labor Compliance Officer, Oklahoma Department of Labor With the return of summer, many Oklahoma teens will be working in restaurants, retail establishments, movie theatres, and offices. As students move into the workforce, it’s important for them to understand workplace rights and job safety requirements. The Child Labor Division of the Oklahoma Department of Labor (ODOL) is eager to provide employers, educators, parents, and students …
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4 Way to Get Involved in National Safety Month – 2021
Betsey Kulakowski, CSHO, COSS Executive Director Now, more than ever, safety is essential in the workplace and anyplace, which is why the Oklahoma Safety Council, in partnership with the National Safety Council is recognizing June as National Safety Month. National Safety Month is a call to action; to focus on saving lives and preventing injures at work, at home, and on the road. With unintentional injuries at an all-time high, safety does not stop in the face of a pandemic. In …
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Choose to Be Safe Driver
Recently, the cause of Tiger Woods’ catastrophic motor vehicle crash was released by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. The 45-year-old golfer was driving 84-87 miles per hour on a downhill stretch of a road outside Los Angeles in an area with a speed limit of 45 miles per hour; a stretch of road known for wrecks and drivers hitting speeds so high that there is an emergency exit for runaway vehicles just beyond where Woods crashed. The sheriff’s …
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2020: The Deadliest Year
Betsey Kulakowski, CSHO, COSS Executive Director, Oklahoma Safety Council If you’d asked me what I was thinking about this time last year, I can promise you it certainly wasn’t what a messed-up, awful year was ahead of us. If memory serves me, I think we’d heard some rumblings about the “coronavirus” that was just popping up in China, but we were on the road, headed to Colorado for a family trip to a secluded cabin in the mountains over the holidays. It …
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6 Tips for Hosting the Holidays in the Age of COVID-19
Betsey Kulakowski, CSHO, COSS Executive Director, Oklahoma Safety Council No one wants to miss out on holiday celebrations. Many families and employers are trying to navigate the best way to enjoy their traditional festivities but wondering if they shouldn’t cancel altogether. With this in mind, the Center of Disease Control has issued guidelines for the best way to host gatherings, but still protect everyone in attendance from the risk of spreading COVID-19. If …
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The Oklahoma Safety Council (OSC) is proud to announce Oklahoma-based Manhattan Construction Company as its 2020 Pinnacle Safety Award winner. “The distinguished Pinnacle Safety Award recognizes an Oklahoma Safety Council Member company that displays the highest levels of excellence and quality in their industry,” said Betsey Kulakowski, executive director of the OSC. “Manhattan Construction is committed to safety and fostering a safety culture, which has resulted …
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Betsey Kulakowski, CSHO, COSS Executive Director The Oklahoma Highway Safety Office released its crash statistics for our state. The statistics come from the nearly 80,000 crash reports submitted to the Department of Public Safety (DPS) during 2019. In all, officials say the number of fatalities on Oklahoma roadways dropped from 655 in 2018 to 640 in 2019. Oklahoma also saw a significant drop in motorcycle fatalities; from 89 in 2018 to 66 in 2019. There were 399 fewer people …
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Betsey Kulakowski, CSHO, COSS Executive Director COVID-19 is on the forefront of every business leader’s minds these days. No reputable business person wants to put their staff in harm’s way. Balancing economics and safety has always been a juggling act, but now, more than ever, it is a tightrope act. Many employers are facing budget shortfalls along with additional expenses related to their COVID-19 response. Some may think cutting the safety budget …
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by Betsey Kulakowski, CSHO, COSS Executive Director, Oklahoma Safety Council In the Age of COVID-19, employers are arming themselves with as many lines of defense as possible. Frequent housekeeping and alcohol-based hand-sanitizers and household cleaning supplies are all important weapons in the spread against infection. But as businesses begin to return to something akin to “normal”, having those products available is essential, but finding those products we rely on …
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by Betsey Kulakowski, CSHO, COSS Executive Director, Oklahoma Safety Council The Centers for Disease Control is closely monitoring an outbreak of a respiratory illness caused by a novel (new) virus (named 2019-nCoV), known as the Coronavirus. The virus appears to be linked to a large seafood and animal market in Wuhan, China. Symptoms include fever, cough, and shortness of breath. The first confirmed cases of the infection spreading person-to-person was identified on January 30, …
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by Kyle Krueger District Manager Industrial Scientific April 6, 2020 | Printed with Permission Over the past few weeks, I have had numerous conversations with health and safety professionals. Many of these folks have been tapped with either leading or heavily contributing to their respective COVID-19 response plans. However, during these difficult times, the ever-present challenges with managing a gas detection fleet still exist. Unfortunately, these challenging times …
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by Betsey Kulakowski, CSHO, COSS Executive Director, Oklahoma Safety Council On behalf of members of the All Kids Buckled Up coalition Last again. If this were OU Football, the fans would be up in arms. But this is something much more important than football. This is about protecting the lives of our children. Oklahoma currently ranks #50 in protecting our children in car crashes, which is the #1 cause of death and injury among those 8 and older in our state. Each year 67 …
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by Dean Findley, Ph.D Assistant Professor at University of Central Oklahoma The University of Central Oklahoma’s Bachelor in Industrial Safety has been reviewed by the Board of Certified Safety Professionals (BCSP) and approved as a Graduate Safety Practitioner® (GSP®) Qualified Academic Program (QAP), providing the program’s graduates the opportunity to apply with BCSP for the GSP designation after graduation. The GSP meets the credential …
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by Dean Findley, Ph.D Assistant Professor at University of Central Oklahoma The University of Central Oklahoma’s Bachelor in Industrial Safety has been reviewed by the Board of Certified Safety Professionals (BCSP) and approved as a Graduate Safety Practitioner® (GSP®) Qualified Academic Program (QAP), providing the program’s graduates the opportunity to apply with BCSP for the GSP designation after graduation. The GSP meets the credential …
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by Betsey Kulakowski, CSHO, COSS, OSC Executive Director For many parents like me, back to school is a big deal; not so much for our kids. This year, however, is different at the Kulakowski house. This year, we’re sending our oldest off to college. That means more safety concerns for me. Today, we’ll move Jr. into his dorm and the first thing I’ll be doing is a safety check. I want to make sure my son and his roommate are safe. We’ve already had the talk – …
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OSC is excited to announce that Darren Alexander has joined our team as the Manager of Training and Development in the OKC office. With Betsey Kulakowski assuming the OSC Executive Director position in July, the search was on to find a safety professional with many years of safety training under his/her belt and who could also bring new areas of safety training to the OSC course offerings. Darren has 25 years of safety training and spent the last 11 years training US Postal …
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The Oklahoma Safety Council (OSC) announced PT-Plastic Injection Molding as the 2019 Pinnacle Safety Award recipient on July 12, 2019, at the annual Oklahoma Safety and Health Conference in Oklahoma City. The Pinnacle Safety Award recognizes an OSC member company that has achieved the highest levels of excellence. This achievement is judged on management commitment, safety culture and above-and-beyond performance in the area of safety and health. “I am extremely proud that the …
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by Betsey Kulakowski Training Development Manager Oklahoma Safety Council Walking is one of the oldest, most basic, and arguably most beneficial forms of human transportation. However, according to Consumer Reports, Oklahoma City ranked third behind Albuquerque and Phoenix as ‘The Deadliest Cities for Pedestrians’. Auto-safety experts have become increasingly alarmed by the rising number of pedestrians killed by vehicles over the past decade, the report said. The report …
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The Oklahoma Safety Council (OSC) announced Betsey Kulakowski has been named executive director of the non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the adoption of safety practices and procedures at home, on the road and in the workplace. Dave Koeneke, who has served as the OSC Executive Director since 2007, will retire on July 1. “It is important to have a leader that provides strategic guidance and support to the Council,” OSC Board chairperson Charles Hightower, Jr. said. …
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published in McAfee & Taft EmployerLINC | March 15, 2019 For more information, visit McAfee & Taft | Printed with Permission Oklahoma took its second major step into the field of medical marijuana on March 14, as Governor Stitt signed into law the so-called “Unity Bill” — a comprehensive measure designed to add regulatory clarity in the industry made lawful last summer by State Question 788. While the law affects the industry in numerous ways, a …
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