OSHA Compliance Posts

At 1:00 p.m. on December 16, 2022, an employee monitored the start-up and operations of a high-pressure Water Tube Generator Boiler in preparation for an anticipated winter storm. A threaded plug on the boiler wall failed during the boiler’s start-up as system pressure was building, allowing the release of high-temperature and high-pressure steam. The steam…...

As with some state plans, KY-OSHA has some standards that are more in-depth than the federal version.  Although, a couple of years ago, the KY legislature passed a bill that restricts KY-OSHA from adopting any standards that are more stringent than federal OSHA.  But for now, KY-OSHA’s 1st Aid standard goes much further than federal…...

Where an employee is confronted with a choice between not performing assigned tasks or being subjected to death or serious injury arising from a dangerous condition at the workplace, such employee may refuse in good faith to expose himself/herself to the dangerous condition. The condition causing the employee’s apprehension of death or injury must be…...

This instruction establishes policies and strategies to be followed when scheduling and conducting programmed regional emphasis inspections of seafood processing operations and related merchant wholesaler operations in two targeted North American Industry Classification System codes (NAICS): 311710, 311711 and 311712 Seafood Product Preparation and Packaging, and 424460 Fish and Seafood Merchant Wholesalers These industries use…...

OSHA clarifies the term “chemicals associated with formaldehyde gas” under OSHA’s Formaldehyde standard, 29 CFR § 1910.1048. The questions answered are: Question 1: Is the term “chemicals associated with formaldehyde gas” in paragraph 29 CFR § 1910.1048(m)(1)(iv) correct? Question 2: What does OSHA mean by “chemicals associated with formaldehyde gas?” Question 3: How does the…...

Scenario: As part of their normal workday, an employee commutes in his personally-owned vehicle from home to the workplace. At the end of his 8-hour work shift, the employee commutes from the workplace to his home. Later that same day, there is an emergency at the workplace, and the employee’s supervisor calls him to return…...

The state of Connecticut is passing a bill that would require a volunteer fire department or volunteer ambulance company to comply with the state’s Occupational Safety and Health Act (Conn–OSHA) as an employer, unless it is regulated by the federal OSHA law. By law, Conn–OSHA governs workplace safety for the state and its political subdivisions…...

This new NEP on falls covers: Roof top mechanical work/maintenance Utility line work/maintenance (electrical, cable) Arborist/tree trimming Holiday light installation Road sign maintenance/billboards Power washing buildings (not connected to painting) Gutter cleaning Chimney cleaning Window cleaning Communication Towers For other non–construction work activities where a worker is observed working at height, an inspection may be…...

This Notice cancels STD 01-12-002 Guidelines For Robotics Safety, which has been replaced by the OSHA Technical Manual Section IV: Chapter 4 –Industrial Robot Systems and Industrial Robot System Safety.  The 1987 STD 01-12-002 Guidelines For Robotics Safety was outdated. The 2021 update to the OSHA Technical Manual Section IV: Chapter 4 – Industrial Robot Systems…...

What is an Injury & Illness Prevention Program (I2P2)?  It is a very basic, 8-element, safety management system (SMS).  It is OSHA’s attempt to fundamentally change from the complaince model to an SMS model to manage workplace safety and health.  OSHA has been talking about I2P2 for nearly 20 years and has faced relentless pushback…...

Control banding is a generic technique used to guide the assessment and management of workplace risks for chemicals without an occupational exposure limit (OEL). The majority of chemicals in commercial use do not have an established OEL. OELs include NIOSH Recommended Exposure Limits (RELs) and OSHA Permissible Exposure Limits (PELs). OELs help to assess and…...