What GAO FoundOSHA’s process for accrediting Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratories (NRTL) is lengthy due to the scope of staff members’ responsibilities and unclear application procedures for accreditation. Among the 13 recently approved applications, OSHA took between 1 and 5 years to make accreditation decisions. All of these applications took much longer to approve than OSHA’s […]
James Hodgson once said: “I’ve never had any ambitions; only enthusiasms.” As the nation’s 12th Secretary of Labor, he leaves behind an extraordinary legacy in Occupational Safety and Health. Under his leadership as Secretary of Labor, the Occupational Safety and Health Act was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Nixon in 1972. “Safety
OSHA will extend its temporary enforcement measures in residential construction for three (3) more months. The temporary enforcement measures, now extended through March 15, 2013, include: priority free on-site compliance assistance, penalty reductions, extended abatement dates, measures to ensure consistency and increased outreach
Most everyone knows that electrical panels must be kept clear at all times and last year I wrote an article explaining the “why’s” of this clearance requirement. Well now, NFPA is driving home the importance of these clearance requirements with a REVISION to the NEC, Sections 110.26(A) and 110.32. These PROPOSED revisions would more clearly define the
Jordan Barab, Deputy Assistant Secretary of OSHA, gives an OSHA UPDATE at the COSH conference. He covers OSHA compliance efforts to improving the integrity of the VPP effort. A nice update on what OSHA has been doing and the direction they are going.
The United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that MICHAEL DINARDO was sentenced today in Manhattan federal court, before U.S. District Judge Naomi R. Buchwald, to two years in prison for his role in a scheme to issue fraudulent safety training certifications. DINARDO pled guilty in May 2011 to conspiring to
The Propane Education and Research Council has put out some GREAT training resources that we can all use to better train our employees who handle propane. This little tidbit is from “Module 8 – Cylinder Safety”. Depending on the requalification method and the propane cylinder’s specifications, it must be requalified every 5, 7, or 12
Injuries Hidden at TVA Nuclear Sites to Obtain Over $2.5 Million in Safety Bonuses Following a 12-day trial in U.S. District Court, a jury convicted the former Shaw Group Safety Manager, 55, of eight counts of major fraud against the United States. Sentencing is set for 2:00 p.m., Feb. 21, 2013, in U.S. District Court
October 1st of this year, the UK’s Health and Safety Executive insitituted a “Fee for Intervention” (FFI) cost recovery scheme. Under The Health and Safety (Fees) Regulations 2012, those who break health and safety laws are liable for recovery of HSE’s related costs, including inspection, investigation and taking enforcement action. Novel idea? Good idea? Imagine not
On June 22, 2012, OSHA published a direct final rule (DFR) in the Federal Register that revised its Head Protection standards for general industry at 29 CFR 1910.135, shipyard employment at 29 CFR 1915.155, marine terminals at 29 CFR 1917.93, longshoring at 29 CFR 1918.103, and construction at 29 CFR 1926.100 by updating a reference to the American National Standards Institute
OSHA has cited an energy services company with 13 safety and health violations – including two willfuls and three repeats – for exposing workers to flash fires and other hazards. OSHA opened an inspection after two workers were injured by a fire that occurred in an oil and gas field tank (e.g. frac tank). Proposed
This is an AWESOME database that will be helpful beyond anything we could have asked for from NIOSH!!! It actually breaks down eleven (11) type of power tools from eighteen (18) manufacturers with 41 specifications.
