OSHA Compliance

OSHA today issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that clarifies an employer’s continuing obligation to make and maintain an accurate record of each recordable injury and illness throughout the five-year period during which the employer is required to keep the records.   OSHA is issuing this proposed rule in light of the decision of the U.S…....

This paper company had 39 VPP Sites in 2013 and today they were placed in OSHA’s SVEP for this incident.  Here is a breakdown of the citations that took them from VPP to SVEP.  A 57-year-old general mechanic was removing burned filter bags of combustible fly ash dust from a dust collector in the facility’s…...

Today OSHA announced that they have placed International Paper (IP) into their Severe Violator Enforcement Program (SVEP) following a combustible dust ignition incident involving fly-ash at one of their facilities.  This development is HUGE in the respect that IP was once one of OSHA’s top participants in the Voluntary Protection Program.  To go from one of OSHA’s…...

Ever wonder about that 5 o’clock shadow and the impact it may have on a respirator face-to-mask seal?  How about 2-3 days growth… what is that impact on respiratory protection safety?  Well now we have a much better idea!  The UK’s Health and Safety Executive (HSE) did a small study to find out just how…...

The Hazard Communication standard (HCS) has been revised to align with the United Nations Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS Revision 3, 2009). This includes updates to the requirements for labeling and for safety data sheets (SDSs). This instruction outlines the revisions to the HCS, such as the revised hazard classification…...

Back by popular request… Coverage: National Period: 30 days, 6/10/15 to 7/10/15 New Inspections: Opened in the last 30 days = 4,553 Closed Inspections: Closed in the last 30 days = 4,319 Ongoing Inspections: Opened prior to 30 day reporting period and still not closed = 118,209 Inspections with Violations = 150 Inspections with no…...

DOL/OSHA RIN: 1218-AB80 Publication ID: Spring 2015  Title: Walking Working Surfaces and Personal Fall Protection Systems (Slips, Trips, and Fall Prevention)  Abstract: In 1990, OSHA published a proposed rule (55 FR 13360) addressing slip, trip, and fall hazards and establishing requirements for personal fall protection systems. Slips, trips, and falls are among the leading causes…...

Subpart I specifies several paperwork requirements. The following describes the information collection requirements in subpart I and addresses who will use the information: Hazard Assessment and Verification (§ 1910.132(d) Paragraph (d)(1) requires employers to perform a hazard assessment of the workplace to determine if hazards are present, or likely to be present, that make the…...

The information collection requirements specified in the Noise Standard protect employees from suffering material hearing impairment. The information collection requirements of the Noise Standard include: Conducting noise monitoring; Notifying employees when they are exposed at or above an 8-hour time-weighted average of 85 decibels; Providing employees with initial and annual audiograms; Notifying employees of a…...

One standard that OSHA failed to update when they revised 1910.1200 was 1910.1020 – Access to employee exposure and medical records.  This standard still uses the term MSDS and does not address my question about the changing of MSDS for the new SDS.  Granted, a lot of the exposure info on the new SDS(s) has…...

As summer heat intensifies, OSHA’s focus on preventing heat related illness intensifies.  With this intensity, many employers are going hi-tech to collect “heat exposure data” to establish work practices based on exposures.  I have seen a recent increase in advertising for devices that can measure wet-bulb temperatures in workplaces and they are tying these reading…...