A few weeks back I posted a OSHRC decision where an OSHA citation for not treating the CNC doors as guards was upheld. Since then I have received numerous e-mails and a few phone calls telling me I am crazy, as if it was my decision. Then last week the Video of the Week was […]
A fire extinguisher is often times looked upon as a safety device and therefore many overlook these devices potential hazards. It is true, they can save lives, but they can also take lives and limbs as was the case in this accident. Back in February, as I reported in the Incident Alerts, two workers were
This case is significant in a number of ways: 1) manufacturer of the equipment put warning signs on their machines pointing out the hazard(s), 2) manufacturer considered the “doors” on their CNC mills and lathes to be “guards”, 3) manufacturer installed interlocks on the “doors” (i.e. guards), 4) company bought the machines “used” and many of the interlocks were not operational at
This past week I worked with a client who’s safety contact is the HR manager and we had several discussions about OSHA’s revised recordkeeping requirements and all the recent reporting changes. One thing I noticed is that ALL MANUFACTURING facilities are considered “high risk” and are on the list of NAICS’s number that must report. So the
Holy cow batman, have we really come to this in the safety profession?!?!?! An apprentice is crushed to death while standing inside (or technically under) a “machine” looking at some fans he was going to be working on, while the facility technician was performing the LOTO on “the machine”. To get this “machine” to the
In November 2015, Congress enacted legislation requiring federal agencies to adjust their civil penalties to account for inflation. The Department of Labor is adjusting penalties for its agencies, including the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). OSHA’s maximum penalties, which were last adjusted in 1990, will increase by 78%. Going forward, the agency will continue
The final rule to Improve Tracking of Workplace Injuries and Illnesses prohibits employers from discouraging workers from reporting an injury or illness. The final rule requires employers to inform employees of their right to report work-related injuries and illnesses free from retaliation; clarifies the existing implicit requirement that an employer’ s procedure for reporting workrelated injuries and illnesses must
Inspections New Inspections= 3886 Closed Inspections= 4101 Inspections With Violations= 46 Inspections With No Violations= 3840 Current Penalties= $183925.00 Inspection Types Inspection Type Accident = 142Inspection Type Complaint = 1002Inspection Type Referral = 680Inspection Type Followup = 142Inspection Type Unprog Related = 174Inspection Type Planned = 1445Inspection Type Other = 204 Violations Serious Violations = 2335 Willful Violations =
On October 29, 2009, Employee #1 was performing pressures tests on 30-pound fire extinguisher bodies, using a test machine run in automatic mode. Employee #1 loaded four bodies/cylinders into the machine and started the test cycle by activating the two-hand control. The machine submerged the fire extinguishers into a water bath, and the bodies were
As a result of a 2012 inspection, Respondent was cited for five repeat violations, which were issued on March 27, 2013. The citations upon which the repeat violations were based were issued to Wynnewood Refining while owned and operated by Gary Williams Energy (GWE), most of which became final orders of the Commission in April
In 2015, Congress passed the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act to advance the effectiveness of civil monetary penalties and to maintain their deterrent effect. The new law directs agencies to adjust their penalties for inflation each year using a much more straightforward method than previously available, and requires agencies to publish “catch
KMCL has noted that OSHA has been very aggressive in its enforcement efforts and in seeking large penalties over the last several months. As described below, the initiatives the agency has recently announced signal that this intensity will continue to ratchet up over the coming months and likely beyond. As a result, employers should consider
