OSHA Back on the Prowl

Jim Moody, CAE
President

We’re starting to hear a lot about OSHA ramping up inspections and rule-making. I suppose this was to be expected given the change in power in Washington.

Here are some facts we know:

• OSHA is adding 130 new inspectors nationwide in the coming year.
• Already, 31 new enforcement agents have been put on duty in the Southeast.
• A new rule on crane operation will be published soon. We’ve been working through the NLBMDA to make sure that our industry isn’t saddled with crazy new regulations, but we won’t know for sure whether we were successful until later in the year.
• OSHA is particularly tuned into combustible dust (like sawdust) and silica (which could be emitted as particles when crushing stone or cutting things like cement fiber board).
• Clear definitions of what levels of noise are dangerous have been withdrawn, leaving more latitude to OSHA inspectors to make a subjective determination.

If you don’t have your safety ducks in a row, now is a good time to make changes. While there is no guarantee you will be inspected, it is reasonable to assume that the chances have gone up. There are a variety of resources available to assist with safety. The cheapest first step is to seek a mock OSHA audit from CSA. Contact Larry Marler (larrymarler@gocsa.com or 770-331-7026) if you’d like to schedule a visit.

CSA also developed a safety manual in 2007, which is still relevant today. All CSA Self-Insured Fund members were provided a copy; for non-Fund members, it’s available for a small fee. The manual is provided on disc so that you can select the chapters pertinent to you, insert your business name, and create a customized safety manual for your own business. To order, contact Diane Rountree (dianerountree@gocsa.com or 678-674-1860).

Keep in mind that if you are inspected and violations are found, you are not off the hook once you pay the fine. The rate of re-inspections is going up. If they come back to find that you have not fixed what they found the first time, you will find yourself paying through the nose.

Random Thoughts

Yesterday was the start of winter. I don’t care for the cold at all. I long for the spring even though it means the yard and my nasal passages will be coated with pollen. At times I wonder if I have seasonal affective disorder (SAD), which is a condition that some people get (or think they get) in winter. I learned about this when I worked as a copy editor for a newspaper right out of college. We had a medical reporter who believed he had this, and he wrote about it a lot. Apparently the short days and lack of sunlight have a dramatic depressive effect on some people.

I don’t seriously believe I have a medical condition, but winter is truly my least favorite time of year. While I’m not depressed, I have found myself recently dwelling on the negative while forgetting the many positives that still exist in my life, the association and our industry. In years past, when I’ve been down, I’ve wrapped myself around the fact that even though it’s cold outside, the days are already getting longer and better times are ahead. Yesterday was the shortest day of the year. While we still have a brutal winter ahead (both in terms of weather and business), the mechanisms to make life better are already working.

As we celebrate Christmas and move into the New Year, all of us at CSA want to wish you the best. Thank you for allowing us to serve you. Good riddance to 2009, and here’s to a better 2010.

NLBMDA News

Pelosi Unveils House Health Care Bill
Last week, the Democratic House leadership unveiled their nearly-final draft health care reform bill. The bill makes some improvements to the employer mandate, by doubling the floor for penalties on small businesses for not providing health care benefits to employees and dependents. Previously, the penalties began at $250,000 in total wages; now, they begin at $500,000 in wages. Read more.

CPSC Issues Inconclusive Chinese Drywall Report
The Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) last week issued a summary of its findings to date on the Chinese drywall investigation. An interagency task force, comprised of the CPSC, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Agency for Toxic Substance and Disease Registry (ATSDR) and state health departments have been coordinating research and governmental response to homeowners who have complained of health and metal and appliance corrosion in their homes. Read more.

OSHA Takes Initial Step Toward Combustible Dust Rule
The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) just published an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR) in the Oct. 21 edition of the Federal Register as an initial step in development of a standard to address the hazards of combustible dust. Read more.

Home Builder Confidence Dips in October
With the expiration date for an important home buyer incentive approaching, builder confidence in the market for newly built, single-family homes slipped one point to 18 in October, according to the latest National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI).
Read more.

OSHA Inspects Another Member

By Larry Marler


Recently OSHA issued penalties to a CSA member as a result of an inspection done earlier this year. The fines are a whopping $23,000!

The purpose of this article is not to embarrass the business, but to provide a clear idea to our readers and members about the potentially high cost of non-compliance.

The listed violations are as follows:

Hazard Assessment Program unavailable

Failure to require proper Personal Protection Equipment (PPE)

Allowing sawdust and cobwebs to accumulate around electrical equipment

Improperly arranged exit routes

Unsanitary conditions in restrooms and washing facilities

Fire extinguisher violations

Improper operation of forklifts, carrying loads too high

Guards on rotating shafts and belts missing, etc.

You can draw on various resources to avoid these fines and to stay in compliance with OSHA. CSA is here to help. We offer free inspections to help find and fix potential violations at your place of business. To find out more about these free audits or to schedule one, please contact CSA at 678-674-1860.

On Safety: OSHA News - Advancing PPE Regulations

OSHA updates its PPE standards
Last month, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration revamped personal protective equipment standards for general industry, shipyard, longshoring and marine terminals.

The changes pertain to eye, face, head and foot safety. Among other things, they require that filter lenses of eye safety devices meet standards concerning the "transmission of radiant energy such as light or infrared."In revamping the standards, OSHA aims to keep them in line with technological advances and applicable national consensus standards. It also seeks to ensure that PPE design and construction responds to job-specific hazards.

The final rule takes effect on October 9. Read the OSHA Trade News Release here.

Source.

OSHA to Target Nursing Homes, Manufacturing Facilities for Inspections

OSHA said its Site-Specific Targeting 2009 program will focus enforcement efforts on nearly 4,000 high-hazard worksites on the agency's list for comprehensive safety inspections. The agency said the SST program helps it direct enforcement resources to workplaces such as manufacturing and nursing homes where the highest rate of injuries and illnesses occur.

Changes to this year's program include dividing the primary list of establishments slated for inspection into three sectors--manufacturing, non-manufacturing, and nursing homes. Rather than using one rate for all establishments, OSHA established minimum injury and illness rates for each group, allowing the agency to inspect even more establishments that exceed the minimum rates specific to that sector. Additionally, some facilities that did not answer an OSHA Data Initiative survey will be added to the inspection list. The agency said its intent is to deter employers from not responding to avoid inspection. Read more.

OSHA Safety News

From Coastal Training Technologies



OSHA NewsRevamping the EEP and increasing OSHA funding.Last April 30, the Workforce Protections Subcommittee of the House Education and Labor Committee concluded in a hearing that a "special worker health and safety program is not working and needs to be refocused." The Enhanced Enforcement Program (EEP) seeks to identify and target "high-risk employers" based on past performance.

However, as an Inspector General report revealed, OSHA did not carry out the aims of the EEP properly and did not prevent employers' from risking the lives of their workers. Witnesses in the hearing also testified that the scope of current EEP is limited, precludes "corporate-wide investigations" and neglects "the most flagrant violations that occur before workers are killed."

Several government officials are calling for and undertaking a revamp of the EEP. Last month, Labor Secretary Hilda Solis cited the details of the DOL budget, whose overall aim is to "restore worker protection programs and revitalize employment opportunities for the American workforce."

The total requested budget for the DOL is $104.5 billion, most of which will be mobilized for "unemployment insurance benefits for displaced workers and federal workers' compensation." $1.7 billion will be allocated for worker protection programs and $564 million for OSHA.

Both increases are 10 percent more than last year's. The OSHA budget increase entails the hiring 1,000 new workers, including 670 investigators. To see other details of the budget and learn more about the EEP revamp, click on Laura Walter's EHSToday article here.

OSHA To Write New Rules on Combustible Dust

Action follows recent deadly explosions; facilities working with wood likely to be affected

Source: PROSALES Information ServicePublication date: April 30, 2009
By Craig Webb

The Labor Department's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced today it is beginning work on new rules affecting companies--including facilities working with wood--that produce large quantities of potentially combustible dust. Read the full article .

Spotlight on Member Services: Regulatory Compliance Assistance

One of the many benefits of CSA membership is access to counseling and guidance regarding safety and compliance practices. It is important to pay attention to safety and employment regulations in the workplace, and we are happy to provide on-site assistance in the following areas:
-Environmental regulations
-Occupational hazards and safety
-Minimum wage and salary requirements
-Equal opportunity employment
-Labor regulations and laws
-Department of Transportation regulations by state
-Taxes – sales, fuel, highway use, etc.
-Georgia energy code compliance, both residential and commercial

Please contact Larry Marler (larrymarler@gocsa.com) or Kevin Rodgers (kevinrodgers@gocsa.com) if you have questions on any of these topics or to schedule a safety and compliance appointment.

From NLBMDA: OSHA Notifies Employers with High Injury Rates to Take Action

From the National Lumber and Building Materials Dealer Association

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has notified more than 13,500 employers, including many LBM dealers nationwide, that their injury and illness rates are considerably higher than the national average. A letter sent this month to those employers explained that the notification was "a proactive step to encourage employers to take action now to reduce these rates and improve safety and health conditions in their workplaces."OSHA identified businesses with the nation's highest rates of workplace injuries and illnesses through employer-reported data from a 2008 survey of 80,000 worksites (this survey collected injury and illness data for calendar year 2007).

Workplaces receiving notifications had rates more than twice the national average among all U.S. workplaces for injuries resulting in days away from work, restricted work activity, or job transfer.Employers receiving the letters were also provided copies of their injury and illness data, along with a list of the most frequently cited OSHA standards. The letter offered assistance in helping to reduce these numbers by suggesting, among other things, the use of free OSHA safety and health consultation services provided through the states, state workers' compensation agencies, insurance carriers, or outside safety and health consultants.