OSHA Compliance

In August 2013, a 32-year-old machine helper entered a large wire mesh manufacturing machine to retrieve a fallen metal bar, and he was struck and killed by a part that feeds the wire into the machine’s welding area. The light curtain that would have automatically turned the machine off before he entered the danger zone…...

We have all heard the complaints about the evil OSHA inspectors and how much power their reign over USA businesses.  We also hear statistics that there are only enough OSHA Compliance Safety and Health Officers (CSHO) to visit each US business every 99 years.  So I had to ask the question… should OSHA just get…...

This Federal Register Notice contains the regulatory flexibility agenda. In addition, the Department’s Regulatory Plan, a subset of the Department’s regulatory agenda, is being published in the Federal Register. The Regulatory Plan contains a statement of the Department’s regulatory priorities and the regulatory actions the Department wants to highlight as its most important and significant…....

From the accident files @ MSHA… This incident involves a failure to LOTO equipment during servicing and maintenance, with a contributing factor involving the mis-programming of the Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) which permitted equipment to be inadvertently energized without warning. A mechanic/repairman, age 37, was fatally injured about 12:30 p.m. on January 8, 1997 when the…...

OSHA has announced that it will extend the comment period to March 8, 2014 on the proposed rule to improve workplace safety and health through improved tracking of workplace injuries and illnesses. The proposed rule would amend recordkeeping regulations to add requirements for the electronic submission of injury and illness information that employers are already…...

This is a great example of how businesses make the mistake of viewing LOTO as a “maintenance function” and therefore ONLY maintenance personnel need to be trained in LOTO.  This case covers Training, Machine Specific procedures, and application of LOTO devices.  It also shows how operations personnel can actually do “maintenance and servicing” activities (as…...

CAL-OSHA has issued a Notice of Rulemaking (pdf) after Emergency Adoption to make permanent the recently adopted Process Safety Management Program Assessment regulations.  A public hearing has been scheduled for 10 a.m., February 3, 2014 in the auditorium of the Elihu Harris Building, 1515 Clay Street, Oakland, CA 94612. Members of the public may also submit…...

FYI OSHA issued this memo on 12/27/13 to Regional AD’s to close the gap on how Combustible Dust will be handled under the new HAZCOM std.  Until OSHA addresses these issues through rulemaking, CSHOs will use this memo to determine if manufacturers and importers (from now on “classifier”) are in compliance with the obligations of…...

OSHA has announced a request for information seeking public comment on potential revisions to its Process Safety Management standard and related standards, as well as other policy options to prevent major chemical incidents.  The RFI is in response to executive order 13650, which seeks to improve chemical facility safety and security, issued in the wake…...

OSHA is making two (2) main revisions to its Mechanical Power Presses Standard. First, OSHA is revising a provision that requires employers to develop and maintain certification records of periodic inspections performed on the presses by adding a requirement that they develop and maintain certification records of any maintenance and repairs they perform on the…...

Most safety professionals practice the hierarchy of controls:  Elimination/Substitution, Engineering Controls, Administrative Controls, and LASTLY Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).  But there is always this thing called “feasibility” when it came to asking for capital to install “engineering controls”.  Earlier this year OSHA issued a memo discussing how they would enforce 1910.95(b)(1), which requires employers to…...