At 7:00 p.m. on December 4, 2019, an employee was working at a machine shop. He was operating a CNC (computer numerical control) lathe to machine material. The machine was equipped with an interlock system. The interlock system was supposed to prevent the lathe from functioning if its door was open; however, the interlock system […]
I am going to guess that the facility’s inventory was less than 10,000 pounds of Propylene as OSHA issued no PSM citations, only a HAZCOM training citation and a GDC citation for four (4) issues they found with how the flammable gas was managed. Another incident showing OSHA’s weakness with “flammable gases”; they NEED a
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
This week I received a call from a client who had yet another visit from OSHA regarding COVID-19 complaints, but this time the CSHO was an experienced safety professional who peeled that onion back a few more layers and thus she was recommending a serious violation of HAZCOM related to the COVID-19 safety program. What
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
This citation is what we call a “gimme” as this can be found at just about every workplace that has loading docks. We have written this up many times during our S&H audits, only to get some lovely looks and compliments from the facility personnel. Many seem to think that if the dock is only
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
