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Industry Corner
Cleaning and Maintenance Industry


A new safety and health topics web page that focuses on common hazards found in the cleaning and maintenance industry is available from OSHA.

Developed as part of an alliance between OSHA and ISSA, a cleaning industry trade association, the page provides possible solutions to hazards that include bloodborne pathogens, cleaning chemicals, and slips, trips and falls.

Transportation
Truck Drivers Hours of Work
Under an Interim Final Rule that was made public December 11, 2007 by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, truck drivers will continue to be limited to driving 11 hours within a 14-hour duty period, after which they must go off duty for at least 10 hours. The IFR also allows drivers to restart their weekly on-duty clocks after 34 consecutive hours of rest. The IFR was developed after new data showed that safety levels have been maintained since the 11-hour driving limit was first implemented in 2003. The agency is gathering public comments for 60 days.

Dangers from manual truck brake adjustment
The National Transportation Safety Board issued an advisory warning that automatic slack adjusters that are used to set the distance between the brake drum and tire lining, should not be manually adjusted after the initial installation adjustment. If manually adjusted, the brake will go out of adjustment and could result in a serious accident.