For the past eight years under President Bush, and in large part in the preceding eight years under President Clinton, OSHA transformed itself from an agency dedicated to promoting safety through ENFORCEMENT to one promoting safety through EDUCATION and cooperative efforts between government and business… the “Strategic Alliance” program between OSHA and major industry groups being a good example of the latter.

Well, as they say, “There’s a new sheriff in town,” and things are changing. OSHA’s recent reputation as being mostly bark with little bite will be a thing of the past, if the Obama administration has its way. The government is sending a message to employers that it plans to crack down on employer violations of the OSHA with a one-two punch: first, by greater enforcement of existing laws; and second, by passing legislation that would amend the OSH Act to expand coverage to more workers, increase civil and criminal penalties for violators, and increase protections for whistleblowers. (more…)

Here are some excerpts from Michaels’ 2007 testimony which clearly signal his views on recordkeeping, ergonomics, rulemaking and the General Duty Clause, among other topics: 

• “Preventable work related injuries and illnesses … are unacceptably high. Furthermore, the true incidence of these conditions is far higher than reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.”
• OSHA enforcement does not appear to be effective in further reducing injury rates. … Statistical analyses indicate that (any reported) decrease can be attributable to changes in OSHA recordkeeping rules.
• “For most hazardous chemicals, OSHA’s standards are either inadequate or totally absent. One could write a book about the hazards that OSHA has failed to regulate adequately.”
• “The primary blame (for OSHA’s failure to issue appropriate health standards) rests in a system that makes OSHA standard setting inordinately difficult and resource-intensive.”
• “OSHA has abandoned the general duty clause. It is time for the agency to start using it again.”
• “Ergonomic injuries cost employers $15-20 billion annually in workers’ compensation costs alone, yet this number one workplace safety and health problem is not even mentioned on OSHA’s most recent regulatory agenda.”
• “OSHA doesn’t have the staff to work on more than one or two standards at a time, and … each standard takes years to complete. Unless things change radically, only a handful of the thousands of chemicals in daily use in American workplaces will ever be the subject of an OSHA standard.”

Transcript of Michaels’ testimony before Congress in 2007:

http://www.defendingscience.org/newsroom/upload/Michaels_OSHA_Testimony.pdf

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From the above, we see who the major players in the Department of Labor and OSHA are, and what they would like to see the agency become.

What changes have been made so far?

(more…)

As noted above, OSHA has begun an aggressive new program of enforcement of the OSHA Recordkeeping requirements.
 

U.S. Labor Department’s OSHA begins National Emphasis Program on recordkeeping to determine accuracy of worker injury and illness data WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is initiating a national emphasis program (NEP) on recordkeeping to assess the accuracy of injury and illness data recorded by employers. The recordkeeping NEP involves inspecting occupational injury and illness records prepared by businesses and appropriately enforcing regulatory requirements when employers are found to be under-recording injuries and illnesses. ”

Accurate and honest recordkeeping is vitally important to workers’ health and safety,” said acting Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA Jordan Barab. “This information is not only used by OSHA to determine which workplaces to inspect, but it is an important tool employers and workers can use to identify health and safety problems in their workplaces.” The inspections include a records review, employee interviews, and a limited safety and health inspection of the workplace. The NEP will focus on selected industries with high injury and illness rates. (more…)

Most of your will recall that, in the final days of the Clinton administration, OSHA enacted a new Ergonomics Standard. This massive standard was quickly repealed by the Congress in 2001. The way the law is written, the repeal of an agency regulation also bars that agency from issuing a similar rule in the future. Because the repealed Standard was so broad and comprehensive, it has been thought that it would be difficult for OSHA to pass a new Ergonomics standard. This hasn’t stopped OSHA’s enforcement on ergonomics, and OSHA recently reported that the agency has issued 19 “General Duty Clause” citations for ergonomics since 2002.

Now, under the Obama administration, OSHA Ergonomics is getting another look… (more…)

The Swine Flu is spreading rapidly in the USA, and the workplace, where large numbers of people congregate, is a major factor in this spread, says the CDC. The CDC estimates that between 14 million and 34 million cases of 2009 H1N1 occurred between April and October 17, 2009. The mid-level in this range is about 22 million people infected with 2009 H1N1.

Swine Flu is costing employers countless millions of dollars in lost productivity, sick pay, medical costs, etc. There are, however, some things that you as an employer can do to reduce the spread of Swine Flu in your workplace. (more…)

Big changes are coming to the OSHA Hazard Communication Standard!

 

In 2003, the United Nations (UN) adopted the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS). The GHS includes criteria for the classification of health, physical and environmental hazards, as well as specifying what information should be included on labels of hazardous chemicals as well as safety data sheets. The United States was an active participant in the development of the GHS, and is a member of the UN bodies established to maintain and coordinate implementation of the system.

OSHA published a proposed rulemaking on September 30, 2009 to align OSHA’s Hazard Communication standard (HCS) with the GHS.

To make a long story short… (more…)

Studies have shown that drivers using cell phones, and especially when trying to text and drive, are as impaired as if they have had several drinks.  Hands-free devices are a start, but not a final solution, because the real impairment comes from the fact that the driver’s MIND is not on the road (and, in the case of texting, neither are his eyes!)

Employers should take a strong role to ensure that mobile workers are using their cell phones safely and not putting their life or that of others at risk due to cell phone usage. Employers can create cell phone safety policies to outline situations and repercussions for those who fail to follow the policies. Polices can be created with input from both management and remote workers to help ensure that there is a fair balance and that the policies are realistically workable and enforceable… (more…)

There are safety meetings and then there are safety meetings. For instance, you might have a weekly safety meeting on a specific topic, providing new information to your rookies and a review for the experienced workers.

 Another kind of safety meeting is the quick get-together before a specific job when you review the hazards and outline the procedures and emergency measures. These are called tailboard or tailgate meetings, because they often take place around the back of a truck at a construction job site. However, Tailgate Meetings can be used in ANY work environment, from confined space entry to moving furniture in the office, and especially when something new or unusual is to be done. (more…)

During 2008 there was a tremendous focus from OSHA and employers on personal protective equipment: who is required to provide the equipment, who pays for the equipment and who is to maintain and replace. For all that effort, many times it simply boils down to the fact that the equipment is available, but not necessarily always worn.

It’s one of the top challenges safety pros face year after year. In a recent survey, 290 safety professionals were asked about about their experiences to find out the top reasons workers give for not wearing PPE. And we also asked safety managers how they deal with the problem. Here are the results: (more…)

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, in a 2-1 decision, ruled that in the case of Elaine Chao v. Summit Contractors, OSHA regulation 29 C.F.R. Sec. 1910.12(a) “is unambiguous in that it does not preclude OSHA from issuing citations to employers for violations when their own employees are not exposed to any hazards related to the violations.” Therefore, according to the ruling, the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC) “abused its discretion in determining that the controlling employer citation policy conflicted with the regulation.” (more…)

It has been said many times that children are our most precious resource. While parents throughout time have loved their children enormously, today’s parents have taken this saying to heart in more visible ways than previous generations. From the “Caution - Baby on Board” window decals of the early 1980s to the ubiquitous “My child is an honor student at…” bumper stickers of today, modern parents use the family car as a billboard to showcase their parental pride and their children’s accomplishments.

But the same motor vehicle that goes from school to soccer practice to piano lessons ­- in which Mom, Dad and the kids seem to live ­- may also be the vehicle in which our teenagers die. (more…)

The truth of the matter is that the average small or medium-sized employer will never see an OSHA Compliance Officer in the life of the business. On the other hand, if you have a serious accident or fatality, or if you are in the news for some safety-related problem, or an employee files a complaint against you, you might see a Compliance Officer tomorrow. Your IWLAIC Safety Manual has a chapter on how you should prepare for an OSHA inspection, and what you should do if you receive a complaint notice by fax from OSHA, or if an OSHA Compliance Officer shows up at your door. It is important to read this section in advance, so you will be ready when the time comes… (more…)

In recognition of the increasing importance of giving safety training to Hispanic workers in today’s workplace, OSHA’s Directorate of Training and Education collaborated with the University of South Florida, an OSHA Training Institute Education Center, to author a series of safety and health PowerPoint presentations in Spanish. You can find these presentations on-line here:

http://www.consultationconnection.org/oti/

These new resources are designed to assist OSHA construction and general industry outreach trainers and others in conducting Spanish-language training for employees. There are also links on this page to other Spanish-language safety training materials.

Employers who use forklifts in their workplaces have a new resource to help keep their employees safe on the job. OSHA’s Powered Industrial Trucks (Forklift) eTool…

http://www.osha.gov/dcsp/products/etools/pit/index.html

…is the latest Web-based training tool unveiled by OSHA. This eTool, which identifies forklifts commonly used in general industry, provides a review of potential hazards and a summary of key OSHA requirements and industry-recommended practices for forklift operations. It includes four modules examining the types of forklifts, safe operating practices, workplace conditions affecting operation, and operator training. OSHA offers other eTools on occupational safety and health topics on its eTools web site at:

http://www.osha..gov/dts/osta/oshasoft/index.html

If you are a safety director who has to justify the cost of safety-related activities or expenditures to management, or if you are a manager who wants to understand why you should make those expenditures, the bottom line reason is that it is in your company’s own selfish best interests to do so. 

Many employers tend to think of safety and accidents as things that exists ALONGSIDE their regular business activities, rather than being a PART OF those business activities. Instead, we should “bring it home” by expressing the cost of accidents in terms of our regular business operations. (more…)

The other thing that government agencies pay attention to is stories in the news media, especially stories of major catastrophes that point the finger of blame on the government agency. Last year saw one such major catastrophe involving combustible dust, and so it is no surprise that OSHA has announced that combustible dust will be one of their emphasis points for 2009.

Most often, when safety professionals think of combustible dust explosions, we think of grain dust. Years ago, it was common for grain elevators in the farming regions to explode due to combustible dust. How does this happen? (more…)

If your company is not exempt from the OSHA Recordkeeping standard, you are required to post your 2008 Summary of Injuries and Illnesses (OSHA Form 300-A) no later than February 1, 2009 and leave it posted through April 30, 2009.  (more…)

The US Navy’s Safety Center maintains an archive of interesting and humorous safety-related pictures. Although safety is a serious matter, we can often make the audience pay better attention if we spice up the presentation with some humor. See the first additions to the 2009 photo archive here, and be sure to click the link for the “Archive 2007/08″ to see last year’s photos.

http://www.safetycenter.navy.mil/photo/archive/default.htm

 

Other interesting information is also linked from their photo archive page. Check it out.

Despite the above fatalities number, the rate of workplace injuries and illnesses in private industry declined in 2006 (the most recent year for which full data is available) for the fourth consecutive year, according to a recent report by the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).  Full details here:

 

http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/osh.pdf

 

We must be doing something right!

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