Archive for July, 2011
DB Schenker Uses Temperature-logging Tags to Monitor Drug Shipments
The German logistics services provider is using radio frequency identification to track the conditions under which sensitive pharmaceuticals and reagents are transported to the United States.
July 27, 2011—German logistics giant DB Schenker is employing RFID tags with temperature-logging capabilities to track the conditions under which sensitive medical goods are transported to the United States. The tags are being rolled out for temperature-tracking applications involving products forwarded by air, sea, land and rail.
According to Eleftherios Skountridakis, who leads DB Schenker’s RFID implementation efforts in Germany, the temperature-tracking project for airfreight—which began with an initial pilot in January 2010, and continued in October with ongoing testing of the technology—is now utilizing 350 battery-assisted passive, reusable tags. Most were rolled out to track goods that begin their journey at DB Schenker’s warehouse in Mannheim, and that must be stored at temperatures between 2 degrees and 8 degrees Celsius (35.6 degrees and 46.4 degrees Fahrenheit), or between 15 degrees and 25 degrees Celsius (59 degrees and 77 degrees Fahrenheit), depending on the product.
DB Schenker relies on tags designed by Siemens that were originally created for blood-monitoring applications.
“Our research showed that the solution was the best one from a pricing, calibration and battery-life perspective,” Skountridakis explains. Only the tags’ software was modified, in order to make it compatible with the company’s database, as well as provide greater detail for the DB Schenker application. The tags include a small LED light that blinks red multiple times if temperatures fall outside of a pre-designated range. If temperatures have remained within the defined range, the light blinks green every six seconds. The 13.56 MHz high-frequency (HF) tags, known as SensoTags, are manufactured by Schweizer Electronic, located in Germany. These tags contain 60 kilobytes of memory, and comply with the ISO 15693 RFID standard. Each tag is encoded with a 16-digit alphanumerical unique ID number, which is also printed on the tag’s exterior as a bar code.
Each week, DB Schenker and its client—a global pharmaceuticals company that DB Schenker declines to name—decide which goods will be monitored in two temperature-controlled shipments to the United States. The selected goods are often reagents—liquid solutions transported in small jars, and used to identify illnesses. The firm’s client is using RFID tags to monitor shipping temperatures as part of its quality-control measures, and to comply with regulations of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
DB Schenker is covering the cost of the RFID test, which involves shipments to five U.S. companies. The firm is utilizing the application to demonstrate to its customers its ability to manage the cold chain. “The proof will be in the RFID tags,” Skountridakis states. “It’s a door-opener with new customers.” What’s more, DB Schenker wants to verify that airlines are meeting their commitments to control temperatures.
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US Department of Labor’s OSHA cites 2 companies at Hamilton, Ala., plant; proposes more than $112,000 in fines
Region 4 News Release: 11-1098-ATL (365)
July 27, 2011
Contact: Michael D’Aquino Michael Wald
Phone: 404-562-2076 404-562-2078
Email: d’aquino.michael@dol.gov wald.michael@dol.gov
US Department of Labor’s OSHA cites 2 companies at Hamilton, Ala., plant;
proposes more than $112,000 in fines
Illinois-based NTN-Bower and Advanced Technology Services cited for 19 violations
HAMILTON, Ala. – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited NTN-Bower Corp. and on-site contractor Advanced Technology Services Inc. for a total of 19 safety and health violations at NTN-Bower’s Hamilton plant. Proposed penalties total $112,200 following a January inspection, which was a follow-up to a 2009 inspection.
NTN-Bower Corp. is one of the largest manufacturers of precision roller bearings used in industrial and agricultural equipment, with its main office located in Macomb, Ill. Advanced Technology Services Inc. is headquartered in Peoria, Ill., and performs maintenance support activities within host companies.
NTN-Bower was cited for one repeat safety violation with a penalty of $22,000 for failing to label hazardous chemical containers. A repeat violation exists when an employer previously has been cited for the same or similar violation of a standard, regulation, rule or order at any other facility in federal enforcement states within the last five years. The Hamilton plant received a citation for the same violation in 2009.
Additionally, ten serious safety violations with $50,600 in proposed penalties including not requiring employees working with corrosive chemicals to wear eye, face, hand or body protection; failing to have an eyewash station or other means available for drenching; not protecting a battery charger from being damaged by trucks; failing to secure and balance crane loads; missing machine guarding; and an electrical disconnect switch that was not readily accessible.
Two serious health violations with $8,800 in penalties include not establishing a baseline hearing test for employees and failing to follow up with annual tests for employees. A serious violation occurs when there is substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result from a hazard about which the employer knew or should have known.
Advanced Technology Services was cited for six serious safety violations with penalties of $30,800 for allowing unguarded, open-sided platforms to not have handrails; not providing a landing platform for ladders when employees had to step a distance greater than 12 inches; failing to provide an evaluation of confined space rescue and emergency services; having disconnect switches that were not marked with their purpose; and blocking disconnect switches in the tool room.
“This inspection identified a range of safety and health deficiencies that need to be addressed by the employers in order to protect employees,” said Roberto Sanchez, OSHA’s area director in Birmingham. “It is the employers’ responsibility to provide a safe and healthful workplace.”
The companies have 15 business days from receipt of the citations and proposed penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA’s area director or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. The site was inspected by staff from OSHA’s Birmingham Area Office located at 950 N. 22 St., Suite 1050, Birmingham, Ala. 35203; telephone 205-731-1534. To report workplace incidents, fatalities or situations posing imminent danger to workers, call the agency’s toll-free hotline at 800-321-OSHA (6742).
Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA’s role is to ensure these conditions for America’s working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education and assistance. For more information, visit http://www.osha.gov.
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U.S. Department of Labor news materials are accessible at http://www.dol.gov. The information above is available in large print, Braille, audio tape or disc from the COAST office upon request by calling 202-693-7828 or TTY 202-693-7755.
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US Labor Department’s OSHA cites Jamesville, NY, lumber mill for 35 serious safety violations following worker’s death
Region 2 News Release: 11-1086-NEW/BOS 2011-263
July 26, 2011
Contact: Ted Fitzgerald
Phone: 617-565-2074
Email: fitzgerald.edmund@dol.gov
US Labor Department’s OSHA cites Jamesville, NY, lumber mill
for 35 serious safety violations following worker’s death
SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited B&B Lumber Co. Inc. for 35 alleged serious violations of workplace safety standards following the Feb. 7 death of a worker at the Jamesville sawmill.
The worker, who was changing the blades on an edging saw, was killed when another employee inadvertently started the saw. OSHA’s inspection found that the saw’s power source had not been locked out, as required by OSHA’s hazardous energy control, or “lockout/tagout,” standard. That standard mandates that machines be shut down and their power sources locked out before employees perform maintenance.
“This is exactly the type of needless and devastating occurrence that the hazardous energy control standard is designed to prevent,” said Christopher Adams, OSHA’s area director in Syracuse. “One unintended or unknowing turn of a machine’s ‘on’ switch can end a worker’s life in seconds. That’s why effective lockout/tagout safeguards must be implemented and maintained at all times.”
OSHA’s inspection also identified several other unrelated hazardous conditions at the mill encompassing fall, electrical, machine guarding, ladder use and personal protective equipment hazards, as well as inadequate means of egress. Left uncorrected, they expose employees to the hazards of falls, electrocution, lacerations, amputation, being caught in moving machine parts and being unable to exit the workplace swiftly in the event of an emergency. B&B Lumber faces a total of $152,100 in proposed fines for these conditions.
A serious violation occurs when there is substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result from a hazard about which the employer knew or should have known. Detailed information on OSHA’s hazardous energy control standard, including an interactive eTool, is available online at http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/controlhazardousenergy/index.html.
“One means of eliminating hazards such as these is for employers to establish an injury and illness prevention program in which workers and management continually work to identify and eliminate hazardous conditions,” said Robert Kulick, OSHA’s regional administrator in New York.
The company has 15 business days from receipt of its citations and proposed penalties to comply, meet with OSHA or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. The inspection was conducted by OSHA’s Syracuse Area Office; telephone 315-451-0808. To report workplace incidents, fatalities or situations posing imminent danger to workers, call the agency’s toll-free hotline at 800-321-OSHA (6742).
Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA’s role is to ensure these conditions for America’s working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education and assistance. For more information, visit http://www.osha.gov.
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U.S. Department of Labor news materials are accessible at http://www.dol.gov. The information above is available in large print, Braille, audio tape or disc from the COAST office upon request by calling 202-693-7828 or TTY 202-693-7755.
* Accessibility Assistance Contact OSHA’s Office of Communications at 202-693-1999 for assistance accessing PDF materials.
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US Labor Department’s OSHA cites Brenner Tank Services of Wisconsin for lack of machine guards and protection from respirable dust, other hazards
Region 5 News Release: 11-1047 -CHI
July 25, 2011
Contact: Scott Allen Rhonda Burke
Phone: 312-353-6976 312-353-4807
Email: allen.scott@dol.gov burke.rhonda@dol.gov
US Labor Department’s OSHA cites Brenner Tank Services of Wisconsin for
lack of machine guards and protection from respirable dust, other hazards
Company faces proposed penalties of $114,000
MAUSTON, Wis. – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited Brenner Tank Services in Mauston for 11 safety and health violations, including one willful violation. The company faces proposed penalties of $114,000 as a result of health and safety inspections conducted in January.
“Failing to take basic precautions, such as installing guards on machines and monitoring employees’ exposure to respirable dust, is irresponsible and illegal,” said Kim Stille, OSHA’s area director in Madison. “Workers’ safety and health should be paramount on any job site.”
The willful violation, with a proposed penalty of $70,000, was cited for failing to guard the point of operation on the shear so that operators were prevented from reaching the danger zone while the shear was being used. A willful violation is one committed with intentional knowing or voluntary disregard for the law’s requirements or with plain indifference to worker safety and health.
Nine serious violations include failing to have a point-of-operation guard on a press brake; overexposing employees to respirable crystalline silica while sandblasting; lack of engineering controls to reduce silica exposures below the permissible exposure limit; not running exhaust through a dust collection system; allowing dust to accumulate outside of the blast enclosure; failing to evaluate respiratory hazards; failing to conduct medical evaluations for workers using respirators; respirator couplings not being compatible with air hose couplings; failing to ensure surfaces were kept as free as possible of hexavalent chromium; and lack of hazard communication training. A serious violation occurs when there is substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result from a hazard about which the employer knew or should have known.
One other-than-serious violation was cited for failing to sample employees expected to have the highest hexavalent chromium exposure levels. An other-than-serious violation is one that has a direct relationship to job safety and health, but probably would not cause death or serious physical harm.
Brenner Tank Services has 15 business days from receipt of the citations to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA’s area director, or contest the citations and penalties before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. Employers and employees with questions regarding workplace safety and health standards can call OSHA’s Madison Area Office at 608-441-5388. To report workplace incidents, fatalities or situations posing imminent danger to workers, call the agency’s toll-free hotline at 800-321-OSHA (6742).
Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA’s role is to ensure these conditions for America’s working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education and assistance. For more information, visit http://www.osha.gov.
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U.S. Department of Labor news materials are accessible at http://www.dol.gov. The information above is available in large print, Braille, audio tape or disc from the COAST office upon request by calling 202-693-7828 or TTY 202-693-7755.
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2011 RFID Journal Award Winner: Best RFID Implementation—Gerry Weber’s Pain-Free RFID Revolution
The clothing designer and retailer tracks garments from manufacturing sites to warehouses and retail stores, to improve inventory management and deter theft.
July 25, 2011—Change is tough, and Gerry Weber International, a German-based women’s clothing designer and retailer, had big changes in mind—using radio frequency identification technology to track items throughout its supply chain and in its retail stores. The idea was to incorporate RFID tags with electronic article surveillance (EAS) functionality for loss prevention into each garment’s product-care label. So when the company set out on its ambitious plan, it adopted a conservative strategy. “We revolutionize business processes where it doesn’t hurt,” says Gerry Weber CIO Christian von Grone.
Gerry Weber’s philosophy dates back to summer 2009, when the company first piloted RFID technology in four stores. von Grone says that’s when he discovered that to many store employees, “RFID is voodoo.” The company decided to minimize confusion regarding RFID by leaving some of its most important processes—including checkout—unchanged. Similarly, the implementation of RFID at the point of manufacture didn’t require suppliers to adjust any of their procedures.
Marrying its ambitious RFID plans with a managed approach has allowed Gerry Weber to realize its goals. Today, the company is RFID-tracking approximately 20 percent of the 25 million items it produces annually, under brand names including Gerry Weber, Gerry Weber Edition and G.W., as well as Samoon and Taifun by Gerry Weber. This involves working with some 240 outsourced manufacturing partners in China, Turkey and other countries, as well as the company-owned plant in Romania, a handful of third-party transport and warehouse logistics partners, and roughly 200 House of Gerry Weber stores in Germany.
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