Federal workplace safety officials just issued a press release announcing new enforcement guidance to make its penalties more effective in, as they describe it, “stopping employers from repeatedly exposing workers to life-threatening hazards or failing to comply with certain workplace safety and health requirements.” According to OSHA’s January 26 press release, the goal of this new guidance is to save lives, target employers who “put profit over safety,” and hold employers to greater accountability for safety and health failures. Below is a summary of the key points from the press release and six tips for employers to help maintain good workplace safety practices as OSHA turns up the heat on inspections and citations. Click HERE for the full article from Fisher & Phillips LLP.

On December 9, we held the Past President’s Dinner at the Somerville Elks in Somerville, NJ. It was great to see everyone sharing good holiday joy while talking about everyone’s past experiences as one of the best ASSP chapters. We had the first female president, Joann West, discuss her career journey and Joseph Schwed, talked about the challenges during the horrors of 9/11. Every past president discussed their experiences, successes, and most importantly, the lifelong friendships they have made through the ASSP. It was a celebration of everyone’s hard work and volunteerism that has made the NJ ASSP chapter Platinum level year after year after year.

The food and venue were tremendous.

The venue and food were so good in fact, we are coming back to the Somerville Elks on January 31st, where our very own, Linda Tapp, is hosting a book signing and presenting on the FUNdemntals of Safety Training. The event will be available to register for right after the new year. Keep your eye out for that and future ASSP events in February, March, April, and May.

This interview features Chapter members Corinne & Margot Chowansky. Conducting the interview is Jack Fearing, CPEA, Chapter Community & Youth Outreach Chair. Corinne and Margot have been members of the New Jersey Chapter since 2022 and has more than 5 years of experience in safety, health and environmental management. Margot and Corinne are co-founders and partners in Simple Safety Solutions LLC located in Newark, NJ. Margot is a graduate of Florida Southern Collage and Corinne is a graduate of Marymount Manhattan College.

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This interview features Chapter Membership Standing Committee Chairperson John Duffy, CHST. Conducting the interview is Jack Fearing, CPEA, Chapter Community & Youth Outreach Chair. John has been a member of the New Jersey Chapter since 2020 and has nearly 20 years of experience in safety, health and environmental management. John is an Executive EHS Consultant at Signature Safety LLC located in Jackson Township, NJ. He is also an OSHA-Authorized 10/30 construction industry trainer. John is a graduate of Thomas Edison State University in Trenton, NJ.

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This interview features Chapter member Orlando Fernandez. Conducting the interview is Jack Fearing, CPEA, Chapter Community & Youth Outreach Chair. Orlando has been a member of the New Jersey Chapter since 2020 and has more than 9 years of experience in safety, health and environmental management. Orlando is a Site Safety Manager with HazTek, Inc. Safety Consulting & Training located in Medford, NJ.

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Please find THIS SYNOPSIS of the 2022 Salary Survey performed by the National Safety Council (NSC) and sponsored by Columbia Southern University. The PDF file is an excerpt from the Safety + Health “magazine” that the NSC publishes.

On October 4, we had ASSP members, new and old, join us at Picatinny Arsenal to receive a detailed tour of the Helicopter and Tank Technological Advancements Group. Every day, the best technological advancements are tested every day at this military research center. It was awesome seeing the helicopters and tanks up close and what goes into the fabrication, maintenance, and even transporting the equipment. We learned that the tanks hold 500 gallons of fuel while getting an environmentally friendly .4 miles per gallon (not a misprint).

Part of the visit included a gun turret robotics tour where different tests with multiple different variables are measured and adjusted constantly.  We were instructed not to take any photos for national security concerns.  This illustrates how state-of-the-art technology is being designed to help protect us.

This interview features Alex Ruiz, MS, CIH, CSP, CHMM, CET, SMS, CHST. Alex is the
Chair of the Professional Development Standing Committee and a past Chapter President.
Conducting the interview is Jack Fearing, CPEA, Chapter Community & Youth Outreach Chair. Alex has been a member of the New Jersey Chapter since 1999 and has more than 23 years of experience in safety, health and environmental management. Alex is a graduate of New Jersey Institute of Technology with a BS in Electrical Engineering and an MS in Industrial Hygiene. He is currently a PhD candidate at the Rutgers School of Public Health. He is the Executive Director of REHS and University Safety Officer at
Rutgers University in Piscataway, New Jersey.
Click Here to listen