April 28, 2011, marks the 40th anniversary of the establishment of OSHA. Since OSHA's creation, the nation has seen remarkable progress in worker health and safety. Throughout 2011, OSHA is presenting a series of activities to celebrate these accomplishments. We will begin with an interactive timeline that marks important moments in the history of OSHA's efforts, along with those of its state partners, to reduce workplace injuries, illnesses and fatalities. The page will also include a special message from OSHA Assistant Secretary David Michaels.

Business owners could be held criminally liable for safety violations if the mine safety act passes.  The country watched the staggering horrors created by recent mine disasters and the apparent ineffectiveness of the Mine Safety Health Administration (MSHA) and demanded change.  The Mine Safety Act, HR 5663, came into being.  But it covers much more than just mine safety.

This bill is considered one of the most sweeping changes to the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970.  Business groups are lobbying against this bill.

Under this bill, deaths or serious injuries in the workplace become felonies rather than misdemeanors.   These felonies carry a 10 year prison sentence for a first offense and 20 years for a second.  But it is not clear who would be charged since the language states, “any officer or director”. 

The bill also removes the word “willfully” and replaces it with “knowing” when it comes to these criminal penalties.  Since “knowing” is a new term in safety, this creates confusion.  How does a director defend against “knowing”?

Another bone of contention is the requirement to immediately abate hazards that OSHA finds and cites.  These hazards have to be fixed even before OSHA proves that a standard has been violated.  If OSHA says it, it is now gospel.  Business groups says this violates the concept of “due process”.

 
Again this bill does more than just improve miner safety. It continues to reinforce the adversarial stance that OSHA has taken. 

The adversarial position that OSHA is taking seems to mirror the Obama stance on business.  Business is bad.  Business owners are evil and only the government can protect us from their evil machinations.

OSHA is proposing legislation could put a business owner in prison up to 10 years with a felony conviction  if a worker dies on the job.  This sounds like a good idea on paper, but I think it will be a disaster if implemented.

The climate between OSHA and business is now adversarial.  There is no more working together.  If you have a good safety record, you are under reporting and if you have a bad safety record, then you are…well…bad.  An inordinate amount of new laws have been enacted and changed during this president’s administration.  Some of them are good, while some are draconian or ludicrous.

Whether you believe illegal aliens should be given immunity or not.  The botton line is they did do something wrong if they entered the country illegally.  Our government turns a blind eye to that, but business owners that are providing employment and a tax base for our communities are now the “bad guys” and have to be punished.

The world has gone mad

On April 20, 2010, a BP oil rig exploded killing 11 and oil has been spewing into waters off the coast of Louisiana. 

This isn’t the first time that BP has made headlines with disasterous safety news.

In March 2005, a fire and explosion occurred at BP’s Texas City Refinery killing 15 and injuring 170 workers.

According to the Center for Public Integrity an analysis of OSHA data shows that BP recieved 97% of all serious violations written against refineries  or a total of 872 violations since 2007.  Most of the violations are due to BP’s cavalier disregard to safety and their failure to fix the problems uncovered after the 2005 blast.

This is what BP had to say about their safety program in their 2008 Annual Review, “We continue to work to establish a strong safety culture, developing deep knowledge within every employee and sharing learning. This approach has been successful in building a world-class safety culture.”

 Their actions over the last few years contradict their words.  My dad gave me this advice, “Watch how a man walks, not how he talks”.  You can put fancy words in an annual review, but that doesn’t make it true.

I agree with the deputy assistant secretary of labor for occupational safety and health, Jordan Barab when he said,  “The only thing you can conclude is that BP has a serious, systemic safety problem in their company.”

You might be surprised to learn what OSHA thinks about safety incentive programs.

Dr. David Michaels, Assistant Secretary for the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration was the guest speaker on a webinar hosted by the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) yesterday.  It was recorded and you can hear the entire talk.  There is no charge for this webinar.

Conversation with Dr. Michaels’ Link.

After listening to the recording, it became apparent that OSHA does not know what makes up a good incentive program.  Dr. Michaels did state that companies with incentive programs should reward employees for working safe, not punish employees or supervisors for injuries.  Taking something away (attendance at pizza party, bonus, raffle ticket, firing, etc.) for having an accident, actually discourages accident reporting and may get you into trouble with OSHA.   Programs where employees get penalized for having injuries are illegal (under Section 11c of the Act¹).  This would include programs that remove incentives from employees or supervisors for merely having or reporting injuries.

Be aware that OSHA frowns on terminating injured employees if the company appears to only discipline and/or punish employees when tied to unsafe acts leading to an injury.  A consistent disciplinary program is recommended.  Unsafe acts should documented and tied to an effective disciplinary program.  Don’t just act when there is an injury.

Companies with a long history of working accident free may also be discouraging accident reporting and OSHA may look at these companies to ensure that every incident is reported.

There was much discussion regarding OSHA 300 Log reporting.  OSHA uses the 300 Log to determine which companies are working unsafely and companies with lots of accidents may be targeted for an OSHA inspection.

Even though, OSHA uses the OSHA 300 Log to evaluate a company, it frowned on companie using the 300 log as part of their prequalification program.  For the record, my dad used to say, Do as I say, not as I do…I think this is what we are hearing here.  I didn’t like it then and I don’t like it now.

Companies with safety incentive policies may want to review their policies to ensure that they start moving in the same direction as OSHA.

¹(c) (1) No person shall discharge or in any manner discriminate against any employee because such employee has filed any complaint or instituted or caused to be instituted any proceeding under or related to this Act or has testified or is about to testify in any such proceeding or because of the exercise by such employee on behalf of himself or others of any right afforded by this Act.

Improving survival from sudden cardiac arrest.

There are 220,000 victims of sudden cardiac arrest per year in the United States; about 10,000 sudden cardiac arrests occur at work.

Waiting for the arrival of emergency medical system personnel results in only 5-7% survival.

Studies with immediate defibrillation have shown up to 60% survival one year after sudden cardiac arrest.

Automated external defibrillators

An automated external defibrillator (AED) is a medical device designed to analyze the heart rhythm and deliver an electric shock to victims of ventricular fibrillation to restore the heart rhythm to normal.  Ventricular fibrillation is the uncoordinated heart rhythm most often responsible for sudden cardiac arrest.

Sudden cardiac arrest

Sudden cardiac arrest occurs when ventricular fibrillation takes place or when the heart stops beating altogether. Without medical attention, the victim collapses, loses consciousness, becomes

unresponsive, and dies. Many victims have no prior history of heart disease and are stricken without warning.

Causes of sudden cardiac arrest

·       Heart attack

·       Electrocution

·       Asphyxiation (loss of consciousness and death caused by inadequate oxygen in the work environment, such as in a confined space).

Reasons for AEDs in the workplace

·       Workers may suffer sudden cardiac arrest while on the job.

·       Onsite AEDs save precious treatment time, and can improve survival odds because they can be used before emergency medical service (EMS) personnel arrive.

·       A heart rhythm in ventricular fibrillation may only be restored to normal by an electric shock.

·       The AED is compact, lightweight, portable, battery operated, safe, and easy to use.

AEDS SAVE LIVES!

These devices have a proven track record of saving lives in public places as well as in the workplace.  Please consider installing AEDs in your workplace.

If you’re covered by a state plan, is federal OSHA activity important? 

State Plan States are required to have standards, policies and procedures at least as effective as those of Federal OSHA and to respond to significant new changes to the Federal program.  So when OSHA issues a new standard or directive, a state has 6 months to implement.  A state can choose to adopt the exact federal standard or implement its own version as long as the new standard is as effective as the underlying federal regulation.

A wise safety professional pays attention to the federal activity in addition to proposed and enacted state safety laws.

There is an interesting page on OSHA’s website that shows what each state is doing in response to Federal standards and directives.

Where the State has adopted a standard or policy that is different than the Federal, the table provides either a direct link to the State’s standard, policy or procedure posted on a State website, or information on how to obtain a copy from the State.

In addition, each new Federal standard or directive posted on OSHA’s website will link back to the appropriate table on this page - 6 months after issuance.   Shown below is link to OSHA’s Interlinked State Plan Standards/Policies/Directives. http://www.osha.gov/dcsp/osp/std_fpc.html 

Currently 25 states are governed by a state OSHA plan. They are:  Alaska, Arizona, California, Connecticut*, Hawaii, Illinois*, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey*, New Mexico, New York*, North Carolina, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and Wyoming. *Plan covers public sector employees only.         

Dr. David Michaels, assistant secretary for the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration, issued the following statement announcing the opening of an OSHA office in Las Vegas, Nev.:

"Workers deserve to be kept safe on the job. When we found serious deficiencies in the way the state of Nevada was operating its safety and health program, it was necessary to take action. I am pleased to announce that the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration will be opening an office in Las Vegas.

"The new office will provide a federal presence and oversight in Nevada to improve coordination and share resources, make direct oversight easier and more effective, and provide technical assistance to the state as needed to ultimately ensure workers are better protected."

This announcement follows the issuance of a report last year that detailed significant problems in the operation of Nevada's state OSHA program. Federal OSHA and the state program are working cooperatively to ensure that the problems identified in the report are addressed.

This is an innovative way for OSHA to intervene and monitor Nevada’s state plan performance without revoking the state plan.

OSHA  is developing rulemaking that would require employers to implement an Injury and Illness Prevention Program (IIPP) to its Spring 2010 Regulatory Agenda.   This is an item that OSHA has wanted since 1989. 

OSHA’ goal for the IIPP is to help employers identify hazards and provide workers with an opportunity to participate in the safety process while reducing injuries.

Key provisions of the program may include:

A requirement that employers systematically identify and remediate risks to workers, develop procedures for inspecting their workplaces for safety and health hazards and investigate accidents.

Methods to provide workers with opportunities to participate in the program.

Provisions requiring that the program be made available to workers so they can understand it and help monitor its implementation.

A requirement that employers implement the program so the program actually protects workers.

Many states currently have requirments for a written safety program.  These programs have been shown to be effective in many workplaces in the United States.  OSHA believes that all workplaces could benefit from an effective injury and illness prevention program.

Since this us NAOSH week, a week devoted to workplace safety, I thought it would be memorable to list a few of the incidents, where a worker lost his life.  No additional comments are necessary.

1/7/10 IN - Worker climbed the roof of the furnace to shut off all water when an explosion happened. The worker fell 12 feet to the floor from the furnace roof. Four (4) other workers were injured.

1/11/10 WI - Worker was working on a roof/deck and fell into an elevator shaft, 30-feet

1/11/10 KS Worker was erecting a scaffold and fell 30-feet to the ground.

1/16/10 FL - Worker tripped and fell during a visit to a patient's home.

1/19/10 CA -Worker was crushed by a lift truck.

1/28/10 KY - Worker was working at 2:47 a.m. in a convenience store, when he was shot during a robbery attempt. He was taken off life support on 1/27/2010.

2/4/10 AL - Worker was lowered into a 30- to 35-foot deep shaft to perform hand cleaning and to drill a sample test of a rock.  He was being lifted out of the shaft by the use of a pneumatic winch system.  The winch system collapsed into the shaft, striking the worker.

2/5/10 NY - Worker fell from scaffold into a window opening and 20 feet down an elevator shaft.

2/9/10 IA - Worker was trying to grab a large piece of cardboard out of the back of the garbage truck when the driver began to close the tailgate. The driver heard the worker and opened it. The worker who had been caught by the tailgate was transported to the hospital where he later died.

2/12/10 WV - Worker was exposed to a chemical stripping agent and suffered respiratory pain / illness due to poor ventilation.

3/3/2010 OK – Worker was drilling a water well. The boom of the drilling rig contacted a high voltage power line of a cell phone tower. Worker was electrocuted.

3/4/2010 WY - A material handler was walking in a parking lot when he slipped on some ice causing him to fall, striking his head on parking lot surface.

3/12/2010 LA – Worker had climbed down a ladder into a railcar, which had been identified as a confined space, wearing an acid gas respirator with an organic vapor cartridge. As he began to exit the railcar, climbing up the ladder, he collapsed and fell back into the railcar. It is believed there was a nitrogen atmosphere in the railcar.

3/12/2010 TX – The company was applying a coat of stain and two coats of sealant. Two workers were observed outside the building getting air, as the fumes were getting to be too much. One worker fatality and one worker hospitalization.

3/17/2010 TN – Worker was standing on a flatbed trailer while a crane operator was loading three coils of steel onto the truck. The coils fell off the truck striking the worker who had jumped off the truck to get out of the way.

3/23/2010 MT – Worker was trampled by a bull.

This job gives me a headache.  I go to the first aid kit and can’t find any ibuprofen, aspirin or anything else to help me.  OSHA federal regulations refer to American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Minimum Requirements for Workplace First Aid Kits. ANSI Z308.1-2003.  This ANSI required list of items included in a first aid kit does not include any drugs.

Some states have specific and stringent laws when it comes to over-the-counter drugs and first aid kits.  California, for example, requires that a physician review items kept in first aid kits and also states that drugs shall not be kept in kit unless required by a physician.  This physician recommendation must be in writing.

Companies that service and stock first aid kits are paid by the items that they place in your first aid kit.  They have a financial interest in stocking, so OTC medications are regularly put in kits.  Just because they put them there doesn’t make it legal.  Be sure you have letter from a physician that states these medicatons are required, no matter what state you are in. 

What is your liability if an employee takes an OTC drug and has an alergic reaction?  Only doctors are allowed to dispense medicine so no OTC drugs in first aid kits.

Standard safety shoes provide protection from three main sources of foot injury.  They are falling objects, compression from rolling objects and punctures.  A standard safety shoe has an impact-resistant toe—usually steel—and non-skid soles with rubber or synthetic treads to prevent slips and falls.  Shoes with a metal insole or reinforced sole protects against puncture. 

Employees don’t want to wear steel toe shoes because of stories of a person being more seriously injured by the steel in the workboot.  To alleviate your concerns about the steel toe issue, standards have changed over the years when it comes to safety shoes.  Shoes are now safer and while a shoe might cause an injury, it’s similar to seat belts – more people are saved by wearing a seat belt than not.   

Shoe manufacturers realize that people are not going to wear heavy, ugly shoes.  Safety shoes now weigh only a few ounces more than regular shoes and they come in many styles, so there are fewer objections to wearing them.

The employer is mandated by OSHA regulation to decide what type of shoe will provide adequate protection against the workplace hazards, specify the minimum requirements that must be met, and require employees to comply, even if employees purchase their own work shoes.

On April 22, 2010, David Michaels issued a memo to the OSHA Regional Administrators outlining changes to OSHA’s penalty policies.  Some of these administrative changes are being made now and will end with the advanced reprogramming of government computers and updating OSHA Information System scheduled to be completed by October 2010.  Shown below are the anticipated changes.

Previously OSHA went back three years to check if an employer had a history of violations.  This historical look will now go back five years.  If an employer has been inspected in the last five years and has no serious, willful, repeat, or failure-to-abate violations, employer receives a 10 percent penalty reduction for history.  If an employer has been cited by OSHA in the past five years for any high gravity serious, willful, repeat or failure-to-abate, they will receive a 10% penalty increase up to the statutory minimum.  If an employer has not been inspected or received any of the citations mentioned above, they will not receive a reduction or increase.

The time period to determine repeat violations will also increase from three to five years, also.

The agency will be adopting a penalty reduction for size.  Employers with 250 employees or less will receive a reduction of 10-40 percent.  Larger employers with 251 employees or more are not eligible for a size reduction.

Good faith reduction procedures will be kept.  The good faith penalty reduction is given to an employer who has made an effort to implement an effective safety and health program.  Employers are not eligible for a good faith reduction if they are receiving a high-gravity serious, willful, repeat or failure-to-abate violation.

The 15% Quick Fix reduction is retained and given to employers who immediately abate hazards found during an inspection.  However, the 10% strategic partnership reduction is eliminated.

Another interesting modification to the penalty calculation is that the penalties will be calculated serially, rather than the present practice where all of the penalty reductions are added together and the total percentage is used.  Example:  employer receives a $5000 penalty with the following reductions:  10% - history, 15% - good faith, 15% - quick fix and a 30% size reduction. 

Old Method:  Add these together (10+15+15+30) and penalty is reduced by 70%.  The company’s penalty is $1500 ($5000 X 70%).

New Method:  $5,000 X 10% = $500 or penalty is now $4500, reduce $4500 by 15% new penalty is $3825, reduce $3825 by 15% new penalty is $3251, then apply the 30% size reduction and the employer end up with a penalty of $2275.

Old method employer pays $1500, new serially calculation method results in a $2275 penalty.

Gravity based penalties are also increased from $1000 to $3000-$5000.

In an informal hearing, smaller employers (250 or less) are eligible for an additional 20% reduction, if that employer agrees to hire an outside safety and health consultant.

Area directors have authority to offer up to a 30% penalty reduction to employers during an informal conference.  Any reduction over 30% will have to be approved by the Regional Administrator.  However, an employer has to be in good standing—any previous penalties paid (or current with penalty payment plan) to receive any penalty adjustments.

OSHA is implementing a new Severe Violator Enforcement Program (SVEP) and increasing civil penalty amounts in an effort to address urgent safety and health problems. The SVEP allows OSHA to focus enforcement on recalcitrant employers who endanger workers with indifference to their safety responsibilities.

This program has some interesting and significant changes from the Enhanced Employer Program which the SVEP replaces.

High Emphasis Hazards are targeted.  To be targeted under the SVEP, the hazard must be classified as high-gravity serious.  Low and moderate violations will not be considered for a SVEP violation.

High Emphasis Hazards are:

·       Fall Hazards

·       Amputation Hazards

·       Combustible Dust Hazards

·       Crystalline Silica Hazards

·       Lead Hazards

·       Excavation/Trenching Hazards

·       Shipbreaking Hazards

·       Hazards Due to the Potential Release of a Highly Hazardous Chemical )Process Safety Management

Nationwide Inspections of Related Workplaces/ Worksites.  OSHA has found that employer indifference to compliance responsibilities

under the Act may be indicative of broader patterns of non-compliance at related employer worksites. When there are reasonable grounds to believe that compliance problems identified in the initial inspection may be indicative of a broader pattern of non-compliance, OSHA will inspect related worksites of the same employer.

A Nationwide Referral Procedure is being initiated in which OSHA may inspect related worksites/workplaces of a SVEP employer. When the Director of Directorate of Enforcement Programs (DEP) deems it necessary to notify Regional Administrators and State Designees regarding activity of a particular company with locations (or construction company with worksites) in more than one Region and/or State Plan States, the Director will issue a SVEP Nationwide referral. The scope of inspection of a related establishment will depend upon the evidence gathered in the original SVEP inspection, and will mainly focus on the same or similar hazards to those found in the original case.

Hopefully, this will protect workers from the unscrupulous employers who just don’t care about safety.

OSHA is raising its penalties.  This is the first time that OSHA raised its penalties since 1990.  A serious violation, one that may cause death or serious injury is raised from a maximum of $7,000 to $12,000, with the average fine $3,000-4,000, up from $1,000.  The maximum penalty for a willful violation is raised from $70,000 to $250,000.

"Although we are making significant adjustments in our penalty policy within the tight constraints of our law, this administrative effort is no substitute for the meaningful and substantial penalty changes included in PAWA," said Dr. Michaels. "OSHA enforcement and penalties are not just a reaction to workplace tragedies. They serve an important preventive function. OSHA inspections and penalties must be large enough to discourage employers from cutting corners or underfunding safety programs to save a few dollars."

Training and inspections are the foundation of any safety program.  But how do you handle hazards found during an inspection?

Once an inspection or an accident investigation uncovers a hazard to employees working in the area, or operating a particular piece of equipment, the following considerations apply:

Imminent Danger.  If there is an immediate danger of serious harm, the inspection should result in an immediate  correction of the problem, or taking the piece of equipment or workstation out of service. 

This must be done in an obvious manner including physical tagout and lockout with full knowledge of the area employees, supervisors, and managers in the affected area.

Less Serious or Immediate Hazards.  Correction is required in a timely manner consistent with the severity of the hazard.  Although the standard is more flexible regarding less serious hazards, any problem that can be corrected immediately, should be.

Hilda Solis announced in her keynote address on the 14^th that Compliance Officers will begin checking to make sure that training is provided in a language or form that workers understand. 

She was speaking at the National Summit for Latino Workers.  Other than buenas tardes and muchimas gracias, what language did she use?

No need to flame me, I would hope it was translated…just tired of the government, finger pointing at business, making it seem as if no one cares, but them.  Most of the companies I work with do their utmost to provide their employees with safety equipment, procedures and training to keep them safe and don’t need one more beaurocrat insinuating that business owners don’t give a damn.

OSHA recently responded with a letter of interpretation on the use of toeboards on scaffolds.  The question:  Are toeboards required at access openings?

OSHA’s answer:

Where there is a danger of tools, materials, or equipment falling from a scaffold and striking employees below, the following provisions apply:

(i) The area below the scaffold to which objects can fall shall be barricaded, and employees shall not be permitted to enter the hazard area; or

(ii) A toeboard shall be erected along the edge of platforms more than 10 feet (3.1 m) above lower levels for a distance sufficient to protect employees below, except on float (ship) scaffolds where an edging of (¾ x 1 ½ inch (2 x 4 cm) wood or equivalent may be used in lieu of toeboards.

We note that, in some instances, such as when a stair tower is used for access, a toeboard across the access point would pose a tripping hazard that would be as great a safety concern as the potential for falling objects. In that case the employer would have to use the barricade option unless there was no danger of tools, materials or equipment falling from the scaffold at that point (in which case there would be no falling object hazard at that point, and therefore no need for a toeboard).

Real World:

Audits show that toeboards are not used anywhere on the scaffold, not just at access points.  Toeboards are part of the guardrail system.  Guardrail systems consist of toprail, midrail and toeboards.

Worker on an unopened stepladder that’s leaning against a wall—is that okay if another worker holds the ladder to prevent it from slipping?  What does OSHA say?  Violation or not?

According to a 1/21/10, OSHA letter of interpretation, the short answer is “no”.

Why? (Or the long answer.)

29CFR1926 Subpart X, 1926.1053(b)(4) states:  Ladders shall be used only for which they were designed.

Thus, using a stepladder as a non-self-supporting ladder would violate §1926.1053(b)(4) if the ladder were not designed for that purpose.  Stepladder design varies from manufacturer to manufacturer.   To further the fact that ladders can’t be used as straight ladders, American National Standards Institute (ANSI) standards state that “self-supporting ladders shall not be used as single ladders or in the partially closed section”.

OSHA also quotes 1926.1053(a)(2):  Ladder rungs, cleats, and steps shall be…level…when the ladder is in position for use.

Stepladders are typically designed so that the rungs are level when the ladder is in the open and locked position and the ladder is placed on a stable and level surface. Consequently, it is likely that positioning a stepladder for use as a non-self-supporting ladder would result in the ladder's rungs being out-of-level, which would violate 1926.1053(a)(2).

The long and short of it is only work from stepladders that are opened fully and locked.

$150,000 fine for a worker killed on the job, but a $10 million fine for killing fish in the same incident. Unbelievable!  In the 40 years, that OSHA has been around, there has been only one increase in penalties.  David Michaels, Assistant Secretary for OSHA, tells Congress it’s time for change.  OSHA’s mandate is to protect workers, but their efforts are thwarted by some unscrupulous employers who find it cheaper to pay a small fine rather than make the required changes.

OSHA can only visit a small number of workplaces each year and a way is needed to ensure employers comply with safety.  Enhanced penalties will be an incentive for employers to “do the right thing”.

Federal civil penalty for a serious violation is $7000.  A serious violation is ones that pose a substantial probability of death or serious physical harm to workers.  In fact, if a worker is killed the maximum fine is $70,000.

In no way are these penalties putting a price on a worker’s life, but a deterrent to employers to ensure compliance.  The increase in penalties will bring OSHA into the 21^st century and their penalties comparable to other government agencies. Some examples, the Department of Agriculture can fine up to $130,000 to a milk processor for willful violations and the Environmental Protection Agency can impose a penalty of $325,000 for Clean Air Act violations.

Do I think a penalty increase is a good thing?  Sometimes.  Good employers can be swept up with the bad ones.  Even though an employer is doing everything right, it is challenging to prove.  I know what you’re going to say, if there is a violation an employer is guilty and there are safeguards built in to protect them.  In my opinion the OSHA system is based on the concept of guilty until proven innocent and I have seen employers with a concern for their employee’s health and safety hit with some massive undeserved fines.  While they have been successful in proving their innocence, it is still time-consuming and expensive.

If penalty increase brings the bad apples to task and they start complying with OSHA regulations then I’m all for it. If it saves even one life, I’m all for it.  If it makes doing business for the good guys onerous and more expensive, then I’m against it.  I want OSHA to carry a big stick, let’s wait and see how they wield it.

Now is a good time to review your Safety Program to determine if it is fully implemented and you are current with your safety requirements.

First thing is to find your safety manual, dust it off and review it.  If you know where it is, kudos.  Check the following:

·       Is the company address and phone numbers correct?

·       Are the key personnel listed in safety program still with the company?

·       Review your inspection schedule.  Are you inspecting to this schedule.  Do you know where these inspection reports are?

·       Review your safety training requirements.  Did you train new employees when they were hired?  Were employees trained if new processes or equipment were added to the workplace?  How about ongoing training?  Many state OSHA’s require that construction workers attend tailgate safety meetings.  Do you comply?  This training must be documented.  Do you have the sign in sheets for this training?

·       Managers, supervisors, foremen, etc. need additional training so they can successfully do their job from a safety standpoint.  Often workers are promoted because they do a good job, but do not receive appropriate training to deal with the hazards the employees they are supervising are exposed to.  OSHA requires these employees receive additional training corresponding to their position.

·       Do you have policies and procedures covering all hazards.  All companies need policies for:  emergencies, accidents, inspections and training.  If you have chemicals, a hazard communication policy is required.  You might need a policy for one of these (not a complete list):  lockout/tagout, confined space, excavations, fall protection and scaffolding. 

·       About half the states have a state plan and these state OSHA plans may have unique requirements that must be followed.  All other states fall under federal guidelines. 

Regulations change—you must be compliant and aware of the latest laws.  Ignorance of the law is no defense to a citation.  Current regulations are updated on the corresponding OSHA website.  Go to http://tinyurl.com/yzoklua for a link to the each of the state OSHA websites or federal OSHA.

If you need help or have any questions, call us at 800-200-0888.