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: Six Ways to Address Distracted Driving

At least one of the organizations sending an official to speak at next week's Distracted Driving Summit supports technology as part of the solution. The Governors Highway Safety Association listed six ways the federal government could address the problem without penalizing states that fail to enact texting or calling bans; GHSA is already on record as stating drivers should not use cell phones for any purpose while they are driving.

"To address this growing problem, the federal government does not need to sanction states that do not pass cell phone or texting while driving bans. Rather, there are a variety of actions the federal government can take to help states best respond to distracted driving," the organization stated in a Sept. 14 statement of its position. GHSA Chairman Vernon F. Betkey Jr. is scheduled to speak Oct. 1 at the summit as one of the Legislation, Regulation and Enforement panelists at the summit. Read more.

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.

News You Can Use - Safety Corner

The National Burglar and Fire Alarm Association (NBFAA) recommends the following safety tips for protection against carbon monoxide poisoning.

• Install CO alarms outside each sleeping area of the home and on each floor of the home. For greater protection, connect the CO alarms throughout the home so that when one activates, they all activate.
• Adhere to all manufacturer’s guidelines and instructions for installation.
• Identify and store all local emergency contact numbers for a CO alarm emergency.
• Program these numbers in your cell phone as well, in case you are not at home when an alarm activates.
• Test monthly and confirm that each CO alarm is operating properly to the manufacturer’s instructions. Read more.

Sister Organization Launches Safety Webinars

Florida Building Material Association to Offer OSHA Recognized Training Webinars
CSA’s sister organization in Florida, the Florida Building Materials Association is conducting safety webinars and CSA members are invited to participate at minimal cost. This Hard Hat Safe-T-Zone webinar series makes it easier than ever to obtain OSHA recognized safety education.

Beginning in August 2009, FBMA will present a series of webinars including fire safety, housekeeping, material handling, electrical safety, slips, trips and falls, and how to achieve and maintain a drug free workplace.

Each topic will be covered twice a month on different days and times to accommodate multiple shifts and positions in need of training. The duration of each webinar will vary between 20-30 minutes and will include a question and answer period. Following the webinar, each registrant will be e-mailed a certificate of completion for the webinar attended, as well as PDF's or helpful documents of materials covered.

Fire Safety, the first webinar in the Hard Hat Safe-T-Zone series, will be held August 13 and 25 at 7:00 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. in eastern, central, mountain and pacific time zones. 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.

Workplace Emergency Tips

Security Products has a great article on their website about how to deal with workplace emergencies.

If a fire or other emergency happened in your workplace, would you know what to do? Planning ahead and staying calm can mean the difference between safety and injury.

"We're calling everyone to action to start thinking about fire safety not just at home, but at your place of work or any building you're in," said John Drengenberg, global consumer affairs manager at UL. "Preparation now could lead to an effective escape in the event of a fire."

UL safety professionals offer these common sense steps that should be taken now to prevent serious injury or even death in the event of a workplace emergency. Read
the full article.

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.