Perhaps we can all be forgiven for wanting to focus a bit on a festive holiday spirit over the next few weeks. But, while we're doing that, let's not lose sight of some workplace safety issues that, while important each day of the year, are increasingly relevant during the holiday season and throughout the winter. For example, let's talk electrical and carbon monoxide hazards.
- Never remove the grounding post from a 3-prong plug so you can put it into a 2-prong outlet.
- Visually inspect all electrical equipment before use; never use any equipment with frayed cords, missing ground prongs, cracked tool casings, etc.
- Ground all power supply systems, electrical circuits, and electrical equipment.
- Don't carry equipment by the cord—only by the handle or base.
- Be sure extension cords are properly rated for the job and used only temporarily.
- Don’t staple or nail through extension cords or holiday light strings; don’t connect them to pipes or gutters.
- Save money and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by using efficient lighting.
- Don't use an electrical outlet or switch if the protective cover is ajar, cracked, or missing.
- Ensure space heaters and stoves are in good working order to reduce carbon monoxide (CO) buildup.
- CO monitors with audible alarms should be employed whenever possible.
OSHA Administrator Announces New Appointments at OSHA
Assistant Secretary of Labor Edwin G. Foulke, Jr., recently announced key executive personnel appointments at the agency, including the appointment of two deputy assistant secretaries and a new chief of staff.
C. Bryan Little, formerly of the Department of Labor's (DOL) Office of Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs (OCIA), and Donald G. Shalhoub, formerly the Ombudsman for Part E of the Labor Department's Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program, were appointed by Foulke as deputy assistant secretaries.
Little served for more than four years as a senior legislative officer in OCIA managing congressional contacts for activities of OSHA, the Mine Safety and Health Administration, and immigration-related issues relevant to DOL. Prior to arriving at DOL, Little served for six years as senior director for government relations with the American Farm Bureau Federation.
Shalhoub has held a variety of positions in the DOL's Office of the Solicitor since 1985, most recently as the deputy associate solicitor for the Occupational Safety and Health Division for more than 15 years. Shalhoub was appointed by the secretary of labor as the department's first Ombudsman for Part E of the compensation program created by the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act. He served in that capacity since February 2005.
Also joining OSHA as its new chief of staff is Gabe Sierra. For the past six years, Sierra worked for Emerson Process Management as a senior marketing manager, overseeing new technology development programs for the industrial process automation industry. Sierra also worked as a project manager for large scale construction projects in the petrochemical industry. As OSHA's chief of staff, Sierra will serve as a senior member of OSHA's management team and work with Foulke and others on agency policy, oversight and management.
Finally, Foulke announced the appointments of Steven F. Witt as director of the Directorate of Construction, and Dorothy Dougherty as director of OSHA's Directorate of Standards and Guidance (DSG). Witt recently served as an acting deputy assistant secretary for OSHA and has been with OSHA since 1983. Dougherty, an OSHA professional since 1991, has been serving as the DSG's acting director for the past two years.
"We are fortunate to have the caliber of professionals like these men and women in our agency," Foulke said. “Their experience and long history in the safety and health community will only strengthen and improve OSHA's operations as we continue to further safety and health throughout this new century."
OSHA, Association for High Technology Distribution Renew Alliance
"We are pleased to continue the commitment we made with AHTD to foster a safer and more healthful workplace environment for thousands of employees involved in machine automation," said OSHA Administrator Ed Foulke after signing a two-year renewal to the alliance in a Washington, D.C. ceremony.
Jim Norton, AHTD president, also expressed his pleasure with the renewal saying, "Our commitment to the alliance with OSHA is in keeping with our mission to educate, network, and foster cooperative agreements to make the American workplace safer."
The alliance has resulted in the development of a "Machine-Guarding Devices" training seminar already presented to more than 200 federal and state OSHA representatives in Maine, Massachusetts, and Washington, D.C.
The OSHA and AHTD formal alliance will continue to provide industry employees and employers with information and guidance to raise awareness on the importance of proper selection, use, maintenance, and installation of machine guarding equipment and the use of lockout/tagout procedures.
OSHA Cites Lyons Tool for Safety Hazards
OSHA has cited Lyons Tool and Machine for alleged safety hazards observed during a June 7 inspection at the company's Lyons, Ga., plant, and proposed penalties totaling $48,900.
"This inspection was conducted under a special emphasis program to reduce amputations," said John Deifer, OSHA's Savannah area director. "The company previously was provided safety information about mechanical power presses, machine guarding, and OSHA regulations."
OSHA issued two willful citations with proposed penalties totaling $42,000 for disconnecting a presence-sensing device on a power press and failing to have machine guards at the point of operation on other presses. A willful citation is issued when an employer has shown an intentional disregard of, or plain indifference to, the requirements of the Occupational Safety and Health Act and its regulations.
The company also received eight serious citations with proposed penalties totaling $6,900. Amputation hazards included failing to properly guard machinery belts, pulleys, and flywheels; lack of a written lockout program and procedures to render machinery inoperable during maintenance and repair; and failure to conduct periodic safety inspections of power presses. Electrical hazards that exposed workers to shocks, burns, and electrocutions were also cited. Serious citations are issued when there is substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result and the employer knew or should have known of the hazard.
OSHA Fines Contractor for Willful Cave-In Hazards
A Fall River, Mass., contractor faces $25,950 in fines from the OSHA after a spot inspection found two employees working in an unprotected 6-foot, 7-inch deep trench at a Milton, Mass., water main construction site. C N Corp. was cited for a total of six alleged violations of trenching safety standards.
OSHA inspectors driving by the jobsite stopped and opened the inspection upon seeing the apparently unprotected trench. The inspection found that the vertical cut, straight-walled trench had fissures in its walls, water accumulating in its bottom, and lacked any form of protection against its walls caving in.
"All excavations five feet or deeper must be protected against collapse," said Brenda Gordon, OSHA's area director for southeastern Massachusetts. "Employers who fail to do so are gambling with the lives of their employees. It takes only a few moments for trench walls to cave in and turn a trench into a grave."
In addition to the lack of cave-in protection and the water accumulation, OSHA found that the sidewalk overhanging the trench had not been supported or removed; excavated material and tools were stored at the trench's edge; the trench had not been inspected by a competent person who could identify and correct trenching hazards; and the workers had not been trained to recognize and avoid such hazards.
As a result of the inspection, C N Corp. was issued one willful citation, with a $21,000 fine, for the lack of collapse protection and five serious citations, carrying $4,950 in fines, for the remaining hazards.
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