OSHA Safety Standards

Drug-Free Work Week is sponsored by the Department of Labor; it takes place October 19 to 25th and is a dedicated time each year to highlight the benefits that drug-free workplace programs bring to employers, workers and communities. It is a time to work toward making every week a drug-free work week!  Supporting this national public awareness campaign provides an opportunity to reinforce the importance of being drug free to maintaining workplace safety and health and to encourage workers with alcohol and drug problems to seek help.  It spreads the word that working drug free works to…

•    Prevent accidents and make workplaces safer
•    Improve productivity and reduce costs
•    Encourage people with alcohol and drug problems to seek help

According to recent research, it’s a message that many workers need to hear.

•    75 percent of the nation’s current illegal drug users are employed—and 3.1 percent say they have actually used illegal drugs before or during work hours.
•    79 percent of the nation’s heavy alcohol users are employed—and 7.1 percent say they have actually consumed alcohol during the workday.

Drug-Free Work Week is a time to reinforce the importance of working drug free in positive, proactive ways. To get Drug-Free Work Week resources or learn more about how your organization can participate, select one of the following:

Ideas for Individual Employers and Their Employees
Drug-Free Work Week Tool Box

This 4th annual Drug-Free Work Week is a good time for you to address this issue for the benefit of your company, your employees and your community

James Norton is the President of the JHN Group, he can be contacted regarding Machine Safety Consulting at jamesnorton@jhngroup.com

On July 28th President Obama announced that he would nominate David Michaels to the office of Assistant Secretary for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Department of Labor.  David Michaels, PhD, MPH, is an epidemiologist and is currently Research Professor at the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health at the George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services.  He has conducted numerous studies of the health effects of occupational exposure to toxic chemicals, including asbestos, metals and solvents, and has written extensively on science and regulatory policy.  From 1998 to 2001, Dr. Michaels served as Assistant Secretary of Energy for Environment, Safety and Health, responsible for protecting the health and safety of workers, neighboring communities and the environment surrounding the nation’s nuclear weapons facilities.  In that position, he was the chief architect of the historic initiative to compensate nuclear weapons workers who developed occupational illnesses as a result of exposure to radiation, beryllium and other hazards.  In 2006, Dr. Michaels received the American Association for the Advancement of Science’s Scientific Freedom and Responsibility Award for his work on behalf of nuclear weapons workers and for his advocacy for scientific integrity. He is also the recipient of the 2009 John P. McGovern Science and Society Award given by Sigma Xi, the Scientific Research Society.

OSHA has been without a permanent administrator since Edwin Foulke Jr. resigned in November 2008. Thomas M. Stohler was named acting assistant secretary of labor for OSHA at that time. In April 2009, U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis named Jordan Barab, senior labor policy advisor for health and safety for the House Education and Labor Committee, OSHA’s deputy assistant secretary and acting assistant secretary until a permanent administrator could be named.

What direction will this new leader take OSHA (assuming he is confirmed)?  In a paper he presented in April of 2007 he stated “I strongly believe that to better protect American workers from workplace hazards, OSHA needs to move away from hazard-specific  standard setting.  There are some steps toward this goal that OSHA could implement immediately.”  Further he states “When Congress passed the OSHA  Act, the  bill’s authors recognized that the agency could not have a standard for every conceivable  workplace hazard”.  “Congress gave OSHA the general duty clause … it needs to use the clause when its inspectors document hazards”.

If you haven’t gotten the message before please get it now, more enforcement is coming, bigger fines (including into the millions) are coming, you ignore hazards and safety standard violations at your peril.
Using safe work practices and conforming to current safety standards is the right thing to do for yourself, your employees and your company.  If you can’t do it because it is right at least do it because it is the smart way to stay in business and not face large fines, huge lawsuits, or the family of any employee who has died.

James Norton is the President of the JHN Group, he can be contacted regarding Machine Safety Consulting at jamesnorton@jhngroup.com

Yikes! I thought that the proposed fine we last talked about was large.  Milk Specialties Co. in Whitehall, Wisc., was cited by OSHA for a number of violations and the proposed total fine is $1,145,200.00.

In December of 2008 OSHA in response to a complaint alleging a variety of safety hazards at the company’s whey processing plant, began an investigation.  As a result of that OSHA issued 17 willful citations for the employer’s failure to comply with OSHA’s confined space entry and control of hazardous energy requirements. Proposed penalties for the willful violations total $1,071,000. OSHA defines a willful violation as one committed with plain indifference to or intentional disregard for employee safety and health.  Seventeen serious citations, with proposed penalties totaling $52,400, include combustible dust and electrical hazards; lack of exit route lighting and signage; lack of confined space evaluations; uninspected fire extinguishers; and untrained and uncertified powered industrial truck operators, among other issues. A serious citation is issued when death or serious physical harm is likely to result if an accident were to occur from a hazard about which the employer knew or should have known. Four repeat violations with penalties totaling $21,800 address the guarding of floor and wall openings, ladders and respiratory protection, and other issues addressed in previous inspections of this company. OSHA issues a repeat citation when it finds an employer’s violation is substantially similar to a previously cited condition that was affirmed as a violation through a final order of the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

Milk Specialties has been inspected by OSHA 15 times since 1974, including four inspections in Wisconsin between 2006 and 2008, with citations resulting from many of the same safety and health hazards cited in the most recent inspection.

Labor Secretary Hilda Solis and Acting Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA Jordan Barab have been speaking out about the future goals of OSHA. Enforcement leads the list. Their goal is to hire 150 new inspectors, increase the number of annual inspections from 38,000 to 44,000, increase penalties, scrutinize incentive programs, review the VPP program, and be more aggressive with standards and recordkeeping.

This is the agenda, for the agency, and they have the support of Congress and the Administration.

The days of a slap on the wrist with a promise to sin no more are over. Our best advice to you is make sure you are in compliance.

James Norton is the President of the JHN Group, he can be contacted regarding Machine Safety Consulting at jamesnorton@jhngroup.com

U.S. Labor Department’s OSHA proposes more than $255,000 in fines against New Hampshire firearms manufacturer for 60 safety and health hazards

On June 11th 2009 OSHA proposed a $255,000 in fines against a New Hampshire firearms company.
Sturm Ruger & Co. Inc. is one of the nation’s leading manufacturer of high-quality firearms for recreation and law enforcement, and a major producer of precision steel investment castings. OSHA conducted their inspections between November 2008 and May 2009.

According to Rosemarie Ohar, OSHA’s area director in New Hampshire, “Our inspections identified a large number of mechanical, respirator protection, electrical, lead, fire, explosive and other hazards that must be effectively and continuously addressed to protect the workers at this plant from potentially deadly or disabling injuries and illnesses now and in the future,”

OSHA found that the company failed to guard rotating parts on drill presses, sanding and polishing machines despite its knowledge that employees were exposed to severe or fatal injuries if they came in contact with the rotating parts. As a result, OSHA has issued the company one willful citation with $63,000 in proposed fines. OSHA defines a willful violation as one committed with plain indifference to or intentional disregard for employee safety and health.

Additional safety hazards include the lack of spark detectors or suppression systems to minimize fire and explosion hazards in ventilation systems that collect combustible wood and metal dust; allowing combustible dust to accumulate; unguarded floors and platforms; lack of eyewashes and adequate personal protective equipment; inadequate procedures, equipment and training to lock out machines’ power sources; improper storage of compressed gas cylinders; damaged, improperly used or ungrounded electrical equipment; additional unguarded machinery; and deficiencies with paint spray booths, confined space rescue, compressed air, forklifts and the transfer of flammable liquids.

The health inspection identified employees exposed to excess levels of lead dust; inadequate lead monitoring, training, hygiene, cleaning and disposal methods; inappropriate selection of respirators for lead; improper respirator fit-testing and use; no medical evaluations for employees using respirators; no refitting and retraining for employees who experienced a hearing threshold shift; and unlabeled containers of hazardous chemicals.

These conditions resulted in the issuance of 55 serious citations with $188,550 in fines. OSHA issues serious citations when death or serious physical harm is likely to result from hazards about which the employer knew or should have known.

The company also has been fined $3,600 and issued four other-than-serious citations for inadequate recordkeeping.
Sturm Ruger has 15 business days from receipt of the citations and proposed penalties to comply, request an informal conference with the area director or contest them before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. The inspection was conducted by OSHA’s Concord Area Office;

We have talked in the past about the fact that OSHA will, most likely, be increasing their inspections and their enforcement.  This is an example of what that may mean in the “real world”.

It is time to get your house in order.

James Norton is the President of the JHN Group, he can be contacted regarding Machine Safety Consulting at jamesnorton@jhngroup.com

Free training is available but you must sign up by June 7th

Anytime you can get something for free you should take advantage of it and now is your chance to get safety training or free, training that may save your life or the life of an employee or a loved one.

June is National Safety Month and in “Recognizing National CPR and AED Awareness Week, the National Safety Council is offering you and your family free online CPR and AED training. You must register for the training between June 1 and June 7 and you will have 45 days to complete the training. The opportunity is an easy and convenient way for you to learn or renew critical skills that could make the difference between life and death for family member, colleague or any individual experiencing cardiac arrest.” to sign up for the training go to: http://www.nscfirstaid.com/nationalCPRweek.

“NSC is also offering the “Alive at 25 Parent Program” which is an engaging, science-based course that educates parents about the risks teen drivers face. Through this two-hour online program, parents will learn how to reinforce basic driving skills and good decision-making that can help teens become safe and responsible drivers.  Free registration is available through June 7 by visiting www.parentprogram25.com/NSM.”

Do not wait sign up for these courses now!

For more information on all the opportunities available for National Safety Month visit
http://www.nsc.org/nsm

James Norton is the President of the JHN Group, he can be contacted regarding Machine Safety Consulting at jamesnorton@jhngroup.com

About ten days ago I was at the Department of Labor in Washington for the kick off of NAOSH Week.

As part of that meeting we received a brief talk from Jordan Barab, Acting Assistant Secretary for
Occupational Safety and Health. In his talk Mr. Barab made it clear that OSHA would be changing its focus on enforcement, and that companies who were on this year’s list of Workplaces with High Injury and Illness Rates (the “so called” OSHA Hit List)can expect a much more aggressive response from OSHA than they have in the past.

While at the kick off meeting I also received an update on the OSHA Inspection Data for OCT to MAR for the Federal Fiscal Year 2009. As of the end of March 2009 (about ½ way thru the FY 09) OSHA has conducted 17,381 inspection which puts it on target for about the same as last year which was 38,450. The unprogrammed portion of those (That would be inspections triggered by accidents or by employee complaints) were about 38% of those inspections. As a result of all of the inspections OSHA has issued, as of March 42,820 citations for violations. Of which only 7% have been contested. The average penalty for the serious violations in this time frame was $1,030.

The most cited standards so far for FY 2009 have been:
1. Scaffolding
2. Hazard Communication
3. Fall Protection
4. Respiratory Protection
5. Lockout/Tagout
6. Electrical, General Requirements
7. Powered Industrial Trucks (Forklifts)
8. Ladders
9. Electrical, wiring methods
10. Machine Guarding

For those reading this blog I would pay close attention to number 9. Know the rules that apply to your company, follow those rules, and make sure that your employees follow them also.

Remember forewarned is forearmed.

James Norton is the President of the JHN Group, he can be contacted regarding Machine Safety Consulting at jamesnorton@jhngroup.com

Are you or your employees concerned or even overly concerned about the Swine Flu Virus?  If so here are a few resources you can use to get the most accurate information:

WHO (the World Health Organization) “WHO is coordinating the global response to human cases of swine influenza A (H1N1) and monitoring the corresponding threat of an influenza pandemic. Information on this page tracks the evolving situation and provides access to both technical guidelines and information useful for the general public.”

CDC  (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) “CDC has implemented its emergency response. The agency’s goals are to reduce transmission and illness severity, and provide information to help health care providers, public health officials and the public address the challenges posed by the new virus.”

According to the CDC the latest status in the U.S. as of 11:00 AM EST is:

Arizona: 1 Confirmed Case
California: 14 Confirmed Cases
Indiana: 1 Confirmed Case
Kansas: 2 Confirmed Cases
Massachusetts: 2 Confirmed Cases
Michigan: 2 Confirmed Cases
Nevada: 1 Confirmed Case
New York City: 51 Confirmed Cases
Ohio: 1 Confirmed Case
Texas: 16 Confirmed Cases, 1 Death

Should I use facemasks or respirators?

According to the CDC:
“When crowded settings or close contact with others cannot be avoided, the use of facemasks or respirators in areas where transmission of swine influenza A (H1N1) virus has been confirmed should be considered as follows:
1.    Whenever possible, rather than relying on the use of facemasks or respirators, close contact with people who might be ill and being in crowded settings should be avoided.

2.    Facemasks should be considered for use by individuals who enter crowded settings, both to protect their nose and mouth from other people’s coughs and to reduce the wearers’ likelihood of coughing on others; the time spent in crowded settings should be as short as possible.

3.    Respirators should be considered for use by individuals for whom close contact with an infectious person is unavoidable. This can include selected individuals who must care for a sick person (e.g., family member with a respiratory infection) at home.
These interim recommendations will be revised as new information about the use of facemasks and respirators in the current setting becomes available.
What is the one single thing you can do to protect yourself,  your family, or your employees from the flu?

Simple “WashYour Hands” follow this guide line from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health:
Perhaps the simplest and most effective way is to wash your hands often– with soap and warm water. Rub your hands vigorously together and scrub all surfaces. Wash for at least 20 seconds. (Tip: have your children sing the “Happy Birthday” song twice while washing.) It is the soap combined with the scrubbing action that helps dislodge and remove germs. Use regular soap. Antibacterial soap is not necessary. These soaps may contribute to the growing problem of antibiotic resistance.
When soap and water are not available, use alcohol-based disposable hand wipes or gel sanitizers. You can find them in most supermarkets and drugstores. If using a gel, rub the gel in your hands until they are dry. The gel doesn’t need water to work; the alcohol in the gel kills germs that cause colds and the flu. However, alcohol-based disposable hand wipes or gel sanitizers do not remove dirt.

Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Germs are often spread when people touch something that is contaminated with germs and then touch their eyes, nose or mouth. Germs can live for a long time (some can live for 2 hours or more) on surfaces like doorknobs, desks and tables.

Cover your mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing. Viruses that infect the nose, throat and lungs cause illnesses like the flu (influenza). The flu usually spreads from person to person when an infected person coughs or sneezes and the droplets from the cough or sneeze move through the air and are deposited on the mouth or nose of people nearby. So, always cough or sneeze into a tissue and then throw it away. Cover your cough or sneeze if you do not have a tissue. Then, wash your hands, and do so every time you cough or sneeze.

If you feel ill, stay home from work and keep sick kids home from school or daycare. And keep in mind; most people with flu will recover just fine.

Finally if you are an employer encourage your employees to “stay home if they are sick” it is better to be short one employee that to have all of them and all of your customers get sick.
Stay healthy, use common sense and don’t panic.

James Norton is the President of the JHN Group, he can be contacted regarding Machine Safety Consulting at jamesnorton@jhngroup.com

On Wednesday afternoon April 8th U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis announced that Jordan Barab, will become the acting head of the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration OSHA. Barab will also become the deputy assistant secretary for OSHA.  Barab will lead the agency until a permanent director is chosen and then will become OSHA’s deputy assistant secretary on a permanent basis.

Barab’s appointment signals that the agency is moving in the direction of stricter enforcement of workplace safety laws.

Jordan Barab is currently the Senior Labor Policy Advisor at U.S. House of Representatives.  Previously he was Recommendations Manager at U.S.Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board, Health and Safety Specialist at AFL CIO , Special Assistant to the Assistant Secretary at Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and Asst Director of Research for Health & Safety at AFSCME

His education includes The Johns Hopkins University – Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), and Claremont McKenna College.

Jordan Barab had a Blog which he stopped writing in May of 2007, in that he spelled out “who I am and why I am here”.  The under “Why I am Here Section” gives you an insight to his philosophy on safety in his own words:

“Working people need more workplace health and safety resources; not just fact sheets and health and safety manuals and Material Safety Data Sheets. All that is important, but they also need opinion and commentary on the politics of workplace health and safety.
Everything in this country is political — with a capital “P” or a small “p.” We all know about workplace politics. It’s often not lack of information or guidelines that’s keeping your employer from making the workplace safe. It’s money, or control issues, or willful negligence. And in Washington D.C. or your state capitals, it’s Politics with a capital “P.” The Republicans and a good number of Democrats find more to fear (or more $ to gain) from the business lobbyists than from workers or unions. And then they lie about it. We can’t have workplace protections because they cost too much, or there’s not enough science, or they’re “one size fits all” or the best government is the least government, or, or, or, or….

There are millions of people out there who go to work every day fearing that they won’t come home alive or healthy at the end of the day; or that they won’t live long enough to enjoy their retirement. Some are in unions, most aren’t. They all need to know that there are technical resources out there. And they all need to know that politics matters, voting matters — in national and local elections. It matters in big ways and small way, but it also matters in how safe their workplaces are going to be. It matters whether their children are going to grow up with unhealthy injured parents, or no parents at all. People need to understand that everything is connected. Tax cuts, growing deficits, appropriations, executive orders, regulatory “reform” — it all affects our safety every day.

And much of the most grievous harm is done in the most invisible ways. After 10 years of struggle, OSHA finally issued an ergonomics standard in November 2000. The Republican-controlled Congress, with virtually no debate, repealed those protections in March 2001. They used a little-known, and never-before-used law called the Congressional Review Act, a piece of legislation, tacked onto a larger bill way back in the early Gingrich years, a bomb lying dormant and unnoticed until it was activated when Bush Administration was selected. No one knew until it was too late — and millions of American workers now pay the price every year in painful disability.

So, to make a long story short, I have a grandiose notion that this Weblog might make a difference. Might make a few more people aware that something evil this way comes. It’s here. And we need to recognize it, talk about it and do something about it.”

We wish Mr. Barab the best in his new role and hope that the American workplace will be a safer place, while it continues to be productive and competitive, as a result of his service.

James Norton is the President of the JHN Group, he can be contacted regarding Machine Safety Consulting at jamesnorton@jhngroup.com

I recently had a discussion with some friends of mine, who work in the electrical industry, they were complaining that some of the regulations from OSHA make it difficult to work in an efficient and yet safe manner.  One in particular that they complained about was the requirement in 29 CFR 1926.405 (d) that access to live electrical parts be limited to qualified persons.  They said that this section meant that when wiring in a new electrical panel or adding to an existing panel every time they walked away from the panel they had to replace the covers and all the screws. This procedure could add hours to a job lasting a day or even more time to a job running over a few days.

This I told them was easy to fix. In September of 2007 OSHA issued an interpretation letter (see the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB)) that stated that a temporary panel cover “If used in accordance with the manufacturer recommended procedures for use, use of this product would not violate the limited accessibility provision in 1926.405(d). That provision states:

Switchboards that have any exposed live parts shall be located in permanently dry locations and accessible only to qualified persons. Panelboards shall be mounted in cabinets, cutout boxes, or enclosures designed for the purpose and shall be dead front. However, panelboards other than the dead front externally-operable type are permitted where accessible only to qualified persons. Exposed blades of knife switches shall be dead when open.
(Emphasis added).

The applicable part of the manufacturer recommended procedures states:

2) TempCovers are intended to be used only for a period of a work shift or consecutive multiple work shifts that are manned by a qualified and/or licensed persons.

3) Qualified person and/or persons shall be properly trained as per all applicable OSHA Standards and NFPA 70E.

4) The use of proper PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) and the additional use of a barrier is the responsibility of the user/user’s employer. Refer to applicable OSHA Standards and NFPA 70E.
(Emphasis added).

The combination of the three instructions/procedures listed above, which includes an instruction to use a barrier in conjunction with the panel, is designed to ensure that the live electrical parts are “accessible only to qualified persons.” If a TempCover is used in accordance with these instruction/procedures, the requirement in 29 CFR 1926.405(d) regarding accessibility would be met.”

Looking just at the OSHA sections is not always enough you need to find out “what is OSHA’s interpretation” of that section.

James Norton is the President of the JHN Group, he can be contacted regarding Machine Safety Consulting at jamesnorton@jhngroup.com

The President yesterday announced “Help for small business”.  The President stated “”This is America’s story — a place where we believe all things are possible; where we are limited only by our willingness to take a chance and work hard to achieve our dreams.”  The President emphasized what has already been done through the Recovery Act: raising the guarantees on SBA loans to 90 percent, eliminating costly fees for borrowers and lenders, and a series of tax cuts for small businesses and tax incentives to encourage investments in small businesses. He noted further that in his budget, he proposes permanently reducing to zero the capital gains tax for investments in small or startup businesses, as well as instituting tax credits for health care as part of his broader health reform effort.

Did you know that there is, under the Department of Labor, the “Office of Small Business Programs”  The Office of Small Business Programs (OSBP) administers the Department of Labor’s responsibility to ensure procurement opportunities for small businesses, small disadvantaged businesses, women-owned small businesses, HUBZone businesses, and businesses owned by service-disabled veterans.

As just part of the service provided by OSBP, you can download posters required by some of the statutes and regulations enforced by agencies within the Department of Labor. These include OSHA required posters such as Job Safety and Health.

There are many other resources available to you at OSBP, you may want to take some time and explore this site.

Remember parts of your tax dollars go to supporting programs that are designed to help you. If you want a true return on your tax dollar investment you should use all that you can from these programs.

James Norton is the President of the JHN Group, he can be contacted regarding Machine Safety Consulting at jamesnorton@jhngroup.com