As part of continuing efforts to improve safety and health for electrical workers, OSHA has renewed a strategic partnership with the Central Ohio Chapter of the National Electrical Contractors Association, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local Union 683 of Columbus and Union 1105 of Newark.
"This partnership reflects our mutual recognition of the importance of electrical workers' safety and health, and solidifies our cooperative goal to develop effective safety programs while improving communication," said Deborah Zubaty, OSHA's area director in Columbus. "Together, we will take an aggressive and positive approach to place workplace safety and health at the forefront every day."
The goals of the partnership include researching and implementing safety and health programs, decreasing employees' injury and illness rates, and achieving measureable improvements in electrical worker safety by designing an open and continuous communication channel among OSHA, its partners and participating companies. The partners also will work in conjunction with the National Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee to develop improved, effective, and meaningful safety training programs for the electrical trades and construction industries.
The partners have agreed to adopt and require the use of an industry standard checklist designed to exceed OSHA's requirements for performing work on energized circuits, require mandatory OSHA safety courses for all field employees and supervisors as well as site-specific safety training for new hires, and conduct regular third-party safety audits and quarterly meetings to discuss industry best practices. The partnership will be evaluated annually.
Through its Strategic Partnership Program, OSHA works with employers, workers, professional and trade associations, labor organizations and other interested stakeholders to establish specific goals, strategies, and performance measures to improve worker safety and health.
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FMCSA Implements Improvements to its Safety Measurement System
The US Department of Transportation's Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) recently implemented 11 new improvements to its Safety Measurement System (SMS). The changes, developed over several months with feedback from the public and stakeholders throughout the industry, will enhance the agency’s ability to identify and take action against trucks and buses with safety and compliance concerns.
The SMS uses all available inspection and crash data to prioritize carriers for interventions. SMS quantifies on-road safety performance of carriers to identify the specific safety problems the carrier exhibits and to monitor whether performance is improving or worsening. SMS helps FMCSA more efficiently apply its resources and bring carriers and drivers into compliance with Federal safety regulations in order to prevent crashes and save lives.
"Safety is our number one priority,” said US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “These improvements will enable us to more accurately identify unsafe truck and bus companies and intervene before tragedies occur.”
The SMS improvements will give FMCSA more precise information to assess a company’s on-the-road safety performance. The enhancements implemented include:
- Changing the Cargo-Related BASIC (Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Category) to the Hazardous Materials (HM) Compliance BASIC to better identify HM-related safety and compliance problems. Motor carriers and law enforcement can view this new BASIC in December; however, FMCSA will conduct further monitoring before the BASIC is made public.
- Strengthening the Vehicle Maintenance BASIC by including cargo and load securement violations that were previously in the Cargo-Related BASIC
- Counting intermodal equipment violations found during drivers’ pre-trip inspections
- Aligning speeding violations to be consistent with current speedometer regulations that require speedometers to be accurate within 5 mph. The change applies to the prior 24 months of data used by the SMS and all SMS data moving forward.
- Changing the name of the Fatigued Driving BASIC to the Hours-of-Service (HOS) Compliance BASIC to more accurately reflect violations contained within the BASIC
- Aligning the severity weight of paper and electronic logbook violations equally on the SMS for consistency purposes
FMCSA provided a four-month preview period to give the public and industry ample opportunity to review and comment on the proposed changes to FMCSA's SMS. Overall, more than 19,000 companies and 2,900 law enforcement personnel participated in the public preview.
“These SMS enhancements reflect FMCSA’s commitment to listening to our stakeholders and researching and analyzing enhancements in the name of safety,” said FMCSA Administrator Anne S. Ferro. “By strengthening our cornerstone enforcement program, we are continuing to raise the bar for truck and bus safety.”
OSHA Establishes Alliance with Wisconsin Agri-Business Association
OSHA has established an alliance with the Wisconsin Agri-Business Association that will focus on addressing the grain and feed industry's six major danger areas, which are outlined in OSHA's Local Emphasis Program for Grain Handling Facilities. These include engulfment, falls, auger entanglement, "struck-by," combustible dust, and electrocution hazards.
"This alliance is an opportunity for OSHA and the Wisconsin Agri-Business Association to work together to train employers and workers about the unique hazards of the grain and feed industry," said Kim Stille, OSHA's area director in Madison. "We will continue to improve the safety and health of workers on Wisconsin farms."
OSHA and the Wisconsin Agri-Business Association will provide information and guidance to employees and employers, and develop training programs to reduce injuries and improve overall safety and health. Emphasis will be placed on using effective machine guarding as well as implementing programs for locking out the energy sources of equipment and entering confined spaces. Additionally, the partners jointly will identify and develop speaker resources for local meetings and conventions, and informational materials to be disseminated at these events.
Through its Alliance Program, OSHA works with businesses, trade associations, unions, consulates, professional organizations, faith- and community-based organizations, and educational institutions to prevent workplace fatalities, injuries, and illnesses.
OSHA Cites ATW Automation with Nine Safety Violations Following Worker's Death
OSHA has cited ATW Automation, Inc., for nine safety violations after a worker sustained blunt force trauma injuries at the company's machine manufacturing facility in Dayton, Ohio. The worker was caught and pinned by a conveyor that had lowered during a "power down" process, and he died from his injuries a few days later.
"ATW Automation has a responsibility to mandate effective measures that control hazardous energy in its manufacturing facility to ensure that machines will not become unexpectedly energized, which poses a risk of injury or death to workers. Failing to do so resulted in a tragedy," said Bill Wilkerson, OSHA's area director in Cincinnati. "Employers who are cited for safety, especially repeat violations demonstrate a lack of commitment to employee safety and health."
One repeat violation is failing to conduct and document periodic inspections of specific energy control procedures in the fabrication and tool room departments. A repeat violation exists when an employer previously has been cited for the same or a similar violation of a standard, regulation, rule, or order at any other facility in federal enforcement states within the last five years. ATW Automation was cited for this violation based on a July 2008 inspection, which was conducted under OSHA's National Emphasis Program on Amputations and resulted in citations for a total of five serious violations. At that time, the company operated as Advanced Automation, Inc.
Seven serious violations from the most recent inspection involve a failure to guard the area around the roller lift conveyer to prevent workers from being exposed to moving parts, train employees on personal protective measures when working around electrical equipment, ensure that workers wear proper safety glasses, provide appropriate personal protective equipment for workers using a metal grinding wheel, implement an effective lockout/tagout program for machines' energy sources and notify affected workers of "power down" conditions, develop specific energy control procedures for equipment, and train workers on the proper procedures to isolate and lock out all energy sources for machines in the fabrication and tool room departments. A serious violation occurs when there is substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result from a hazard about which the employer knew or should have known.
One other-than-serious violation is failing to conduct semiannual testing of insulated rubber gloves that are used for work with energized electrical equipment. An other-than-serious violation is one that has a direct relationship to job safety and health, but probably would not cause death or serious physical harm.
The incident that led to the most recent inspection occurred on July 27. Proposed penalties total $63,000.
OSHA Adds Pandrol USA To Severe Violator Enforcement Program After Willful Violations
OSHA has cited Pandrol USA, LP, a rail fastening system manufacturer, with 25 safety and health violations—including three willful—at the company's Bridgeport facility. A complaint alleging hazards prompted OSHA's inspection. Proposed penalties total $283,500.
The willful violations involve the employer's failure to use energy control, or "lockout/tagout" procedures, for mechanical and hydraulic presses; provide machine guarding; and ensure that employees performing maintenance and repairs on machinery are properly trained on energy control procedures. A willful violation is one committed with intentional knowledge or voluntary disregard for the law's requirements, or with plain indifference to worker safety and health.
Due to the willful violations, Pandrol has been placed in OSHA's Severe Violator Enforcement Program, which mandates targeted follow-up inspections to ensure compliance with the law. The program focuses on recalcitrant employers that endanger workers by committing willful, repeat, or failure-to-abate violations.
Twenty serious violations relate to OSHA's noise exposure standard, electrical hazards, a lack of machine guarding and personal protective equipment, not periodically inspecting energy control procedures, failing to develop and implement a confined space program, and not mounting fire extinguishers.
Two other-than-serious violations are not having a written hazard communication program and not labeling spray bottles.
"A lockout/tagout program ensures that machines are shut down and their power sources locked out before employees work on them," said Paula Dixon-Roderick, director of OSHA's Marlton Area Office. "Employers are responsible for ensuring safe and healthful workplaces, and will be held legally accountable when they fail to do so."
OSHA Cites CPI-Lansing LLC for Exposing Workers to Grain Bin Hazards
OSHA has cited CPI-Lansing, LLC, a grain storage facility in Red Cloud, Nebraska, with three safety violations-including two willful-for allowing workers to enter grain bins while sweep augers were operating. OSHA initiated the complaint inspection in May under the agency's grain handling local emphasis program. Proposed penalties total $144,400.
"CPI-Lansing allowed workers to enter grain bins to loosen or sweep grain into the operating sweep auger. This is a dangerous practice that has been associated with serious injury and death," said Charles E. Adkins, OSHA's regional administrator in Kansas City, Missouri. "Hazards associated with grain handling are well-recognized within the grain industry, and OSHA regulations must be followed to keep workers safe."
Two willful violations address hazards associated with failing to lock out the energy sources of mechanical equipment during bin entry and to ensure workers are using a body harness and lanyard while working in grain bins and provide rescue equipment for workers entering bins.
The serious violation involves hazards associated with the use of a deficient handrail on a stairway.
OSHA's grain bin local emphasis program addresses specific recognized hazards in grain handling, such as falls, electrocution, engulfment, auger entanglement, "struck by" dangers and combustible dust explosions.
OSHA Issues New Fact Sheet on Mold Hazards and Safeguards for Workers During Sandy Cleanup
As part of its ongoing effort to educate workers and employers about hazards associated with cleanup work in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, OSHA has issued a new fact sheet highlighting the hazards and necessary safeguards to protect workers who may encounter mold during cleanup activities.
"Workers will be exposed to mold during hurricane response and cleanup activities. Remediation of mold-contaminated building materials and surfaces can and must be done safely, so that no worker is sickened or injured while performing this vital work," said Robert Kulick, OSHA's regional administrator in New York. "Critical to this is employers knowing the hazards of mold, developing an effective mediation plan, the use of effective controls, work practices and personal protective equipment, and training employees to recognize and protect themselves against mold."
The fact sheet provides background on mold and why it is hazardous, the elements of a mold cleanup plan and the use of appropriate engineering controls, work practices and personal protective equipment to protect workers during mold remediation. It is written in clear language for both employers and workers and provides links to additional sources of information.
"The fact sheet is a tool for employers and workers, but it does not replace the employer's responsibility to ensure that workers are equipped with the knowledge and safeguards to protect themselves against mold and other work-related hazards," said Richard Mendelson, OSHA's deputy regional administrator in New York. "We have teams on the ground working with employers to ensure that workers are trained to recognize and avoid hazards. We will not hesitate to take action if employers refuse to do so."
In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, OSHA has been conducting daily briefings, safety and health field interventions, and other outreach activities to identify and remove employees from hazards and to provide Sandy cleanup workers and employers with safety and health information. To date, OSHA has conducted more than 3,500 briefings and interventions, reaching almost 51,000 workers and employers performing recovery work in Sandy-impacted areas.
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