OSHA Compliance Posts

To be blunt, the 2021 IFC does NOT require fire extinguishers on PITs (e.g., forklifts). The revision to the 2021 IFC merely gives storage (S) occupancies a NEW option for providing fire extinguishers. The new option is that when the S occupancy can meet certain requirements (as shown and explained below) they can put fire…...

I do not write a lot about Electrical Safety-Related Work Practices (ESRWP) as I tend to leave this area of safety to those who specialize in it.  But as safety professionals, we MUST be trained in these safety practices so as to ensure our workers are being protected by following these ESRWPs.  The #1 failure…...

From NFPA’s 2021 70E Factsheet… Article 110: Some requirements in Article 110 have been reorganized for a more logical progression, including moving general principles of lockout/tagout from Section 120.2 and general principles of an electrically safe work condition and energized work requirements from Section 130.2. New subsection 110.5(K) REQUIRES that an employer’s electrical safety program…...

At approximately 5:40 pm. on October 17, 2007, a wiring employee came to a press brake to get more pieces from Employee #1, a press operator. Employee #1 turned and put down a piece, collapsed to the floor, and experienced convulsions. The wiring employee panicked and asked the laser operator for help. The laser operator…...

On December 31, 2008, a welder was preparing to conduct TIG welding on a 2″ X 65″ run of pipe located in the vent trunk compartment of an aluminum vessel under construction. The estimated height where the pipe entered the compartment was about 1.5′ from the bottom of the deck…. Membership Required You must be...

This week we will see a new administration take over the reins in D.C., and after four tumultuous years under President Trump for OSHA and the CSB, we stand to see some serious shifting in both agencies.  OSHA has had a “wish list” ever since the last year of the Obama Administration, which some got…...

This is OSHA’s HAZWOPER (1910.120) Inspection Activity for their 2020 Fiscal year (October 2019 through September 2020).  I have broken down the data by # of Citations, # of Inspections, Penalty $’s, and NAICS Industry Classification.  As you can see, OSHA issued 38 citations from 19 inspections for a total of $130,373 in fines.  Here…...

This is OSHA’s Respiratory Protection (1910.134) Inspection Activity for their 2020 Fiscal year (October 2019 through September 2020).  I have broken down the data by # of Citations, # of Inspections, Penalty $’s, and NAICS Industry Classification.  As you can see, OSHA issued 2,408 citations from 1,018 inspections for a total of $4,267,147 in fines. …...

This is OSHA’s Permit-Required Confined Space (1910.146) Inspection Activity for their 2020 Fiscal year (October 2019 through September 2020).  I have broken down the data by # of Citations, # of Inspections, Penalty $’s, and NAICS Industry Classification.  As you can see, OSHA issued 292 citations from 80 inspections for a total of $2,666,983 in…...

This is OSHA’s LOTO (1910.147) Inspection Activity for their 2020 Fiscal year (October 2019 through September 2020).  I have broken down the data by # of Citations, # of Inspections, Penalty $’s, and NAICS Industry Classification.  As you can see, OSHA issued 1,699 citations from 962 inspections for a total of $10,602,486 in fines.  Here…...

I think I can announce my retirement, as I have collected a nickel every time a safety professional stated “we have no pressure vessels on-site, so there is no need for us to worry”.  I am always saddened by the lack of understanding of major hazards within workplaces and the fact that so many in…...