EDITORIAL DIRECTOR: JIM MCCANNEY EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: FIONA HERNANDEZ OFFICE MANAGER: SHARON CONNELL Safety Alert for Supervisors (ISSN 1541-7379), April 20, 2026, Vol. 23, No. 549, is published 24 times per year by Institute of Business Publications, P.O. Box 1340, Havertown, PA 19083; PHONE : 484-472-8227; FAX : 484-472-8708. Phone: 866-572-1352 Web: iobp.com Subscription Rate (for 24 issues): Users Annual price Users Annual price 1-5 $265 flat 25-29 $44/user 6-9 $53/user 30-34 $43/user 10-14 $49/user 35-40 $42/user 15-19 $47/user 41+ Call 20-24 $45/user 866-572-1352 New analysis reveals the time of day when injuries are most likely Of course you’re focused on the safety of your crew members all the time, but a recently released report suggests that you could reduce the chances of work- related injuries by ratcheting up your safety focus at one particular time of day: 9 a.m. That’s the time when injuries are most likely to happen in the workplace, according to an analysis of 75,000 incidents reported between 2018 and 2024 by users of HammerTech safety software. HammerTech suggested that 9 a.m. is a prime time for injuries because of high intensity levels on construction worksites in the morning. Researchers also pointed out that supervisors are often coordinating multiple crews and dealing with last- minute safety challenges that weren’t addressed the day before. Furthermore, 9 a.m. is a common time for staffers to take breaks and potentially lose their focus. What to do: In addition to increasing your safety enforcement emphasis, you could also schedule toolbox talks for 9 a.m. if feasible or encourage your staffers to perform their least risky job duties around 9 a.m. Deadly incident shows the danger of elevating workers using forklifts For new proof that it’s rarely a good idea for your workers to raise themselves to an elevated location by using a basket attached to the forks of a forklift truck, consider the recent death of Randy Doy Woodall, 68. Woodall needed to measure some pipes on the ceiling of a warehouse at Diamond City Trailers, Delight, AR, so he climbed into a basket that was loosely attached to the forks of a forklift and asked a coworker to elevate him to the ceiling. But as Woodall was walking from one side of the elevated basket to the other, the basket became unstable and tipped over. Woodall fell to the floor and struck his head, and the basket landed on top of him. Paramedics arrived a short time later, but Woodall was already dead from his severe injuries. Organization penalized after crew member dies inside industrial oven Is everyone on your crew who might have to perform equipment maintenance aware of your company’s lockout/tagout procedures? If you’re not sure, you should be aware of the recent death of Nicolas Lopez Gomez, 38, at the Glister-Mary Lee cereal plant in Perryville, MO. The crew member died after he got stuck in an industrial oven he was trying to repair. Following the incident, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration hit Glister-Mary Lee with a lockout/tagout citation and a proposed fine of $207,112, which was later negotiated down to a $91,262 payment. safety news for supervisors 2 Safety Alert for Supervisors April 20, 2026 Another reason for workers to protect themselves from heat Let any folks on your work crew who are reluctant to safeguard themselves from high temperatures know this fact: Heat exposure has been associated with temporary infertility among men. One study, for instance, found that occupational heat exposure is a significant risk factor for male infertility because excessive heat exposure affects the shape of an individual’s sperm, which can lead to delayed conception. Users of personal respirators still have to comply with safety rules Remember: If a member of your crew decides to use his or her own respirator for protection against toxic airborne hazards, you still have to abide by all the requirements of the Respiratory Protection standard enforced by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, including medical evaluations and annual fit testing. That means you should let your safety manager know if someone on your crew has chosen to use his or her own respirator. What happens to staff members who fall behind on their sleep? Now might be a good time to remind your staff members of the dangers posed by sleep debt, which happens when someone gets behind on his or her sleep and has trouble making up for lost sleep. Over time, the debt accumulates and the individual with the sleep debt is at risk for falling asleep on the job. Key: The best way to avoid sleep debt is to get enough sleep at night. Encourage staffers to shoot for at least 7.5 hours of sleep overnight. That way, they’re less likely to struggle with sleep debt. SafetyAlert FOR SUPERVISORS Click Here to Subscribe Now Copyright © 2026 Institute of Business Publications. Reproduction of this material is prohibited without prior permission. All rights reserved in all countries. quick ideas