OSHA Compliance Posts

It is important to understand that the temporary enforcement guidance memoranda do NOT offer blanket waivers or exemptions for complying with any OSHA standards or provisions of such standards, including the Respiratory Protection standard (e.g., annual fit-testing requirements). Rather, they allow for enforcement discretion by CSHOs during the COVID-19 pandemic period in circumstances where an…...

The United States Coast Guard (USCG) has issued a Safety Alert to emphasize the importance of properly installed and maintained listed or certified safe electrical equipment in hazardous areas in order to reduce the risk of fire or explosion on board vessels. The publication follows an increasing number of instances by the Coast Guard where…...

It’s been 8 years since we have been using the Globally Harmonized System for our Hazardous Communications.  This much-needed update to OSHA’s HAZCOM standard was intended to correct many bad practices and to “harmonize” the USA with the rest of the world.  One of the big drivers for this change was the need to formalize…...

Does your business allow workers to carry their personal lighters in their pockets?  In my word of Flammable Liquids and Gases (FLAGs) and HAZ MATs we never allowed people to have lighters on them while on our property – some companies do not even allow them in parking lots. In most of my plants, our…...

At 12:00 p.m. on November 5, 2019, Employee #1 was making a small spot weld on a piece of metal. He was performing the weld on a drum that contained windshield washer fluid, a CATEGORY 3 Flammable Liquid. There was an explosion, and the drum hit the employee’s face. Liquid splashed on the employee and…...

This new Instruction establishes OSHA’s field inspection and enforcement procedures designed to ensure uniformity when addressing respirable crystalline silica exposures in the workplace. These two new expanded health standards, general industry/maritime (29 CFR § 1910.1053) and construction (29 CFR § 1926.1153), were published in the Federal Register on March 25, 2016, and became effective June…...

If you have not seen it yet, just wait and one of your anti-mask friends will be sure to share it with you.  My phone blew up this weekend from e-mails, texts, and FB messengers from friends concerned with what they saw before their very eyes.  I tried to explain what they were seeing, but…...

I am sharing this citation as Nitrogen (N2) use is becoming more and more popular in businesses that often times may not have the level of safety necessary to store and handle this level of hazardous materials.  I have personally seen N2 being used in personal grooming services and microbrewing and now this was a…...

In light of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, OSHA understands that some employers may face difficulties complying with OSHA standards due to the ongoing health emergency.  Widespread business closures, restrictions on travel, limitations on group sizes, facility visitor prohibitions, and stay-at-home or shelter-in-place requirements may limit the availability of employees, consultants, or contractors who…...