According to the Accident Fund Insurance Company of America and United Heartland, slips and falls accounted for one-third of all of the state’s workers’ compensation claims during Michigan’s winter.
“Every employer should have an effective safety and health management system in place to protect its most valuable asset: its employees,” said MIOSHA Director Martha Yoder. “As part of this program, they should prepare for winter conditions and provide helpful information to their employees on how to avoid injury and illness.”
Ensuring workplace safety makes good business sense, too.
“Worker injuries can negatively affect a business’s bottom line, resulting in increased workers’ compensation and insurance costs, overtime, and lost work days for employees,” said WCA Director Kevin Elsenheimer. “By taking the proper safety precautions this winter, job providers can avoid nasty slips and falls that will cost them in the future.”
Lower workers’ comp costs save Michigan employers on overhead expenses and give them additional resources to grow their business, hire new workers and increase their employees’ salaries.
Tips for Winter Workplace Safety:
- Keep all walkways cleared of ice and snow
- Have de-icing products handy for hard-to-remove ice or snow
- Make sure all walkways and passageways are clearly marked and well-lit
- Be careful of slippery surfaces inside buildings
- Wear slip-resistant footwear
- Practice safe walking on slippery surfaces by taking slow, small steps
- Avoid carrying heavy loads that may offset your balance
- Clearly mark or barricade hazardous areas
- Wear sunglasses on sunny days to lessen winter glare
- Take extra precaution when entering and exiting vehicles
- Know the symptoms of frostbite and the first aid steps to address it
How to Implement OSHA’s Globally Harmonized Hazard Communication Standard (GHS)
OSHA has issued a final rule revising its Hazard Communication Standard, aligning it with the United Nations’ globally harmonized system (GHS) for the classification and labeling of hazardous chemicals. This means that virtually every product label, safety data sheet (formerly called “material safety data sheet” or MSDS), and written hazard communication plan must be revised to meet the new standard. Worker training must be updated so that workers can recognize and understand the symbols and pictograms on the new labels as well as the new hazard statements and precautions on safety data sheets.
Cleveland RCRA and DOT Training
Raleigh RCRA, DOT, IATA/IMO, and SARA Training
Anaheim RCRA and DOT Training
Training Helps to Reduce Risks for Emergency Responders Who Work Long Hours
A new free, web-based training released by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) will help emergency responders and their managers better cope with the demands of emergency operations when deployed to a disaster site. Interim NIOSH Training for Emergency Responders: Reducing Risks Associated with Long Work Hours is designed for emergency workers who respond to epidemics such as Ebola, weather-related disasters, earthquakes, and other catastrophic events.
The 30-minute online training program provides strategies to reduce the health and safety risks that are linked to working long hours during the daytime. Long work hours, coupled with the high physical and emotional strain associated with emergency response and recovery operations, can prevent responders from getting enough sleep. Insufficient sleep puts responders, and those around them, at risk for fatigue-related mistakes that can lead to injuries and death.
“Workers and their managers across many sectors—healthcare, public safety, utilities, construction, humanitarian aid, and clean up services—need to address the importance of sleep and plan for it like other critical logistical items to carry out operations, such as having enough water, food, and supplies,” said NIOSH Director John Howard, M.D. “This training is an important resource to promote the health resilience among those who are on the front lines of a natural or man-made disaster.”
The training is designed to increase knowledge and promote better personal behaviors and workplace systems that will reduce the risks associated with working long hours. The training covers the following topics:
- Dangers of working while sleepy and fatigued
- Basic information about sleep and fatigue
- Personal factors that could lead to higher health and safety risks
- Better work schedule design and other management strategies
- Signs and symptoms of fatigue in response workers
- Tips for improving sleep at night and alertness on the job
- Preventing fatigue from strain to muscles and joints
- Protecting from fatigue due to excessive heat
Budweiser Fined $162,500 for Serious Safety Violations
A distribution warehouse for beverage manufacturer Anheuser-Busch InBev SA, makers of Budweiser, Bud Light and Corona beer, willfully put workers at risk of serious injury. Penalties totaled $162,500.
“These employees faced the risk of serious injuries due to Anheuser-Busch’s failure to provide appropriate training, properly working equipment, and safe exit routes, which is unacceptable,” said Kris Hoffman, director of OSHA’s Parsippany Area Office. “This company is fully aware of the safety hazards in its Jersey City facility and should immediately take corrective action.”
OSHA investigators determined that powered industrial truck operators were not trained by Anheuser-Busch, and defective trucks were not removed from service. These willful violations have a $121,000 penalty. A willful violation is one committed with intentional, knowing, or voluntary disregard for the law’s requirement, or with plain indifference to the law.
The Anheuser-Busch warehouse also had obstructed exit routes, damaged storage racks and additional powered industrial truck hazards. The company also failed to provide both chemical hazard communication and powered industrial truck training. These violations carry a $41,500 penalty. 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.
OSHA Says Formed Fiber Technologies Ignored Violations and Exposed Workers to Dangerous Machinery
The Sidney, OH facility produces motor vehicle interior trimmings for Toyota Motor Corp., General Motors Co., and other manufacturers and was cited by OSHA in 2013 and twice in 2014.
“Formed Fiber Technologies has a culture that values production and profit over workers’ safety,” said Kim Nelson, OSHA’s area director in Toledo. “Employees have suffered puncture wounds, lacerations and other serious injuries because the company has failed to protect them from dangerous machines. OSHA is committed to doing all it can to force needed changes at Forced Fiber Technologies.”
OSHA issued two willful citations, with proposed penalties of $140,000, during a June 2014 inspection. The agency found that when workers changed molds on trim presses, steps were not taken to ensure the equipment would not unintentionally operate during the changing process. The company also failed to conduct audits of the procedures used to ensure that employees did not work with live machinery.
OSHA cited Formed Fiber Technologies previously in October 2013 for 11 violations, many of which involved the same standards. The company entered into a settlement agreement that included terms involving the abatement of hazards and paying a $69,000 penalty. Formed Fiber Technologies then violated the agreement by providing false documentation and assurances that hazards related to hydraulic presses had been corrected, and was cited again in July 2014 in response. The company has contested those violations and associated proposed penalties of $816,500.
The company, based in Auburn, Maine, manufactures nonwoven fabrics and polyester staple fibers for the automotive industry. It employs 750 workers companywide, with 340 at the Sidney facility.
Birds Eye Foods Fined $109,400 for Extreme Temperatures, Other Safety Hazards
One would expect subzero temperatures in the Arctic Circle and understand the need for a coat, but employees working in a 40-degree-below-zero Fahrenheit freezer at Birds Eye Foods, Inc., in Darien were left in the cold. OSHA also discovered slip, trip, and fall hazards on unclean freezer floors.
“OSHA’s investigation uncovered that entry-level workers bought thermal protective equipment because Birds Eye Foods had not provided it. It was ridiculous that workers needed to spend money on protections their employer failed to provide,” said Kim Stille, OSHA’s area director in Madison.
OSHA initiated an inspection on May 27, 2014, after it received a complaint that alleged unsafe working conditions. The inspection of the frozen-food processing plant resulted in one repeat and 12 serious safety violations.
The company was issued a repeat violation for failure to install fixed stairs to access elevations with tools and equipment, which exposed workers to fall hazards. Inspectors found the same violation at the Darien facility in June 2013. OSHA issues repeat violations if an employer was cited previously for the same or a similar violation of any standard, regulation, rule, or order at any other facility in federal enforcement states within the last five years.
An industrial process, such as welding on stainless steel or other alloy steels containing chromium metal, usually produces hexavalent chromium. Exposure to hexavalent chromium could cause cancer and adversely affect the respiratory system, kidneys, liver, skin, and eyes.
Birds Eye Foods employs about 600 workers at the Darien facility and is a division of Pinnacle Foods, Inc., based in Parsippany, New Jersey. Pinnacle Foods also operates the Duncan Hines Grocery Division.
Dollar Tree Stores Fined $103,000 for Exposing Workers to Hazards
For willfully and repeatedly exposing workers to serious hazards there, OSHA has proposed penalties totaling $103,000.
The incident is the latest on a long list of violations for which Dollar Tree Stores, headquartered in Chesapeake, Virginia, has been cited. As of October 2014, OSHA has issued more than $800,000 in fines to Dollar Tree Stores for the same or similar violations. In October 2013, three employees were injured at a Wilmington store by falling boxes.
“The continued complaints and subsequent OSHA inspections demonstrate Dollar Tree’s disregard for worker safety. The company has not addressed hazards we see repeatedly nationwide. Dollar Tree continues to make sizable profits at the expense of exposing workers to serious injuries,” said Erin G. Patterson, OSHA’s area director in Wilmington.
Since 2009, OSHA has received complaints from its employees in 26 states and has cited the company for 234 safety violations. These violations include willful violations found during 2014 inspections in Delaware, Massachusetts, and Montana. Dollar Tree employs approximately 87,400 full-time and part-time workers at more than 5,200 discount stores across the US and Canada.
During the recent Delaware inspection, OSHA inspectors saw overhead boxes fall on an employee and cited Dollar Tree for one willful violation for improperly stored boxes. The violation carries a $70,000 penalty.
In addition, one repeated violation, with a penalty of $33,000, was cited for failure to keep the work area around electrical panels clear.
Metro-North Ordered by US Labor Department to Pay Maximum Punitive Damages
Metro-North’s actions against an injured worker have resulted in the largest punitive damages ever in a retaliation case under the Federal Railroad Safety Act. A recent investigation by OSHA uncovered these details and revealed that the worker, who is employed as a coach cleaner for the commuter rail carrier, was retaliated against after reporting the knee injury he suffered on November 17, 2011. As a result, the company has been ordered to pay the employee a total of $250,000 in punitive damages, $10,000 in compensatory damages and to cover reasonable attorney fees.
While driving the injured employee to the hospital, a Metro-North supervisor also intimidated the worker, reportedly telling the worker that railroad employees who are hurt on the job are written up for safety and are not considered for advancement or promotions within the company.
Unofficial reports from other employees appear to corroborate the supervisor’s claims. For instance, one worker smashed her foot with a barrel while on the job, yet she did not file an accident report and showed up to work every day using crutches in hope of keeping her injury record clean. Another worker was injured when her hand was caught in a broken door but, like her coworker, she did not fill out an incident report for fear of reprisal.
Shortly after the Connecticut employee reported the work-related injury, Metro-North issued disciplinary charges against him. An amended complaint was filed on April 9, 2013, after the railroad issued additional disciplinary charges against him.
“When employees, fearing retaliation, hesitate to report work-related injuries and the safety hazards that caused them, companies cannot fix safety problems and neither employees nor the public are safe,” said Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Dr. David Michaels. “In this case, the Metro-North’s conduct was deliberate and discriminatory, and we have assessed the maximum amount in punitive damages allowed under the law.”
OSHA’s investigation found that the employee engaged in protected activity when he reported his injury and filed his complaints with OSHA, that Metro North knew these were protected activities and that these protected activities were contributing factors in Metro North’s subsequent disciplining of the employee.
The NTSB noted in their findings that, “Metro-North Railroad did not have an effective program that encouraged all employees to report safety issues and observations.” OSHA’s findings here provide another example of this: if employees are discouraged from reporting injuries, the employees and the public are endangered as Metro-North cannot correct the conditions, which caused the injuries.
In addition to paying punitive and compensatory damages, OSHA ordered Metro-North to expunge the employee’s record of all charges and disciplinary action. The company must also conduct training for all supervisors and managers on employee whistleblower rights and post a notice to employees of their whistleblower rights.
Under these laws enacted by Congress, employers are prohibited from retaliating against employees who raise various protected concerns or provide protected information to the employer or to the government.
Basic Grain Products Cited after Two Workers Injured at Rice-Cake Plant
Following the investigation, OSHA has cited Basic Grain Products, Inc., for two repeated and five serious safety violations.
The employee missed two days of work due to the electrical shock injury, which occurred August 18, 2014. OSHA also learned that another employee missed 20 workdays and was on restricted duty for an additional 22 days after part of his ring finger was amputated on June 19, 2014, as he adjusted a machine used to make rice cakes.
“Basic Grain Products must ensure that its workers are not exposed to dangerous machinery and are never expected to conduct maintenance without shutting down electrical and energy sources,” said Kim Nelson, OSHA’s area director in Toledo. “Those actions can prevent severe injuries like those suffered by these workers.”
OSHA’s investigation determined that the employee who suffered the amputation injury while servicing the rice-cake machine was exposed to the operating parts of the machinery because it had not been properly powered down before maintenance.
The investigation also found Basic Grain Products failed to implement electrical safety-related work practices, which included no use of personal protective equipment; untrained workers; and inadequate clearance in front of electrical panels. These violations resulted in five serious safety citations.
OSHA also cited the company for exposing workers to unguarded rice-cake machines that had been improperly powered down to prevent them from starting up during maintenance. These violations exposed workers to amputation and laceration hazards. Similar violations were found at the company in 2013. OSHA issues repeated citations when a company has been cited previously for the same or a similar violation at any facility within federal enforcement states in the past five years.
Based in Coldwater with about 130 employees, Basic Grain Products is one of the largest private-label manufacturers and suppliers of rice cakes and other healthy snacks to supermarkets nationwide. The company faces proposed penalties of $58,410.
M. Durrance Construction Willfully Exposes Workers to Dangerous Falls
M. Durrance Construction, Inc., of Jacksonville, Florida, was cited by OSHA for exposing workers to dangerous falls during framing work at a residence on Hawthorn Way in Orange Park.OSHA has cited the company three times since 2010 for lack of fall protection. Most recently, OSHA issued M. Durrance a willful citation for failure to provide workers with fall protection at a work site in October 2013.
“This isn’t the first time we’ve found dangerous fall hazards at this company’s work site. Failure to fix these problems proves how little regard M. Durrance has for the safety of its employees,” said Brian Sturtecky, OSHA’s area director in Jacksonville. “These blatantly unsafe acts put workers at risk of serious injury or death. Not only is it wrong for this company to ignore this risk, it is illegal.”
OSHA issued one willful citation, with a $53,900 penalty, for allowing employees to conduct roofing operations on a pitched structure without fall protection. This exposed workers to falls of up to 16 feet.
M. Durrance, a framing and siding contractor, was under contract with Lever Rock Construction to build a single-family residence in the Oakleaf Plantation subdivision.
The page offers fact sheets, posters, and videos that vividly illustrate various fall hazards and appropriate preventive measures.
Worker Fatally Struck by Car Surlean Foods Meat Processing Plant
“When working in low light near moving vehicles, employees must be provided with high-visibility clothing,” said Alejandro Porter, OSHA’s acting area director in San Antonio. “Surlean Foods must find and fix hazards that could expose workers to needless injuries or death.”
PSM has process and equipment requirements and procedures employers follow to address chemical hazards proactively.
OSHA also cited Surlean Foods for failure to implement a written PSM with key provisions, including employee participation, equipment inspection requirements, proper plan management and development of an emergency action plan.
Surlean Foods received a $52,000 fine.
Republic Metals Exposes Workers to Lead, Copper Fumes
The investigation found that the company failed to implement engineering controls and maintain areas free of lead dust and accumulation. The August 4, 2014, inspection of the Cleveland facility resulted in 19 serious safety and health citations, with proposed penalties of $42,800.
Lead exposure can cause long-term damage to the central nervous, urinary, blood, and reproductive systems.
“Lead is a leading cause of workplace illness and a common health hazard. Lead particles can travel from work sites on clothing and materials, which endangers workers’ and families’ lives,” said Howard Eberts, OSHA’s area director in Cleveland. “Republic Metals failed to protect employees from known dangers in its manufacturing process, and this must stop.”
OSHA found workers were exposed to copper fumes and lead in excess of levels allowed over an eight-hour period. The agency identified the company’s failure to implement engineering controls that would have limited exposure and to train employees about exposure hazards. Republic Metals also did not monitor worker overexposure and failed to post warning signs in overexposure areas, and it did not provide properly fitted respirators or train workers in respiratory protection use.
Moisha’s Kosher Discount Supermarket Fined $42,000 after Worker Fatality
A 22-year-old employee of Moisha’s Kosher Discount Supermarket, Inc., in Brooklyn was fatally crushed between a cement wall and a forklift on June 10, 2014, as employees used an electrical pallet jack to push a broken forklift up a ramp to the supermarket’s roof. While doing so, the forklift rolled back down the ramp, and then pinned the worker against the wall. An inspection by the OSHA on the same day as the fatality found that his death was preventable.
OSHA determined that the broken 8,600-pound forklift weighed twice the pallet jack’s maximum capacity of 4,000 lb; the defective forklift had not been removed from service, as required; and workers had not been trained to operate the forklift or the pallet jack safely.
“The pallet jack and forklift were not used and moved correctly, which resulted in a needless, avoidable loss of a worker’s life,” said Kay Gee, OSHA’s area director for Brooklyn, Manhattan and Queens. “Tragically, Moisha’s Kosher Discount Supermarket employees were not trained to use these machines safely and could not recognize their exposure to a deadly hazard.”
The standard also prohibits pallet jacks and forklifts from lifting or moving objects heavier than their maximum lifting capacity.
OSHA’s inspection identified nine serious violations of workplace safety standards in the supermarket’s warehouse. These included blocked exit aisles and passageways; missing exit signs; misuse of portable ladders and a battery charger; lack of quick drenching eyewash for employees who worked with corrosive chemicals; and lack of a chemical hazard communication plan.
“Nothing can bring this worker back to his loved ones. This employer must take immediate, effective steps to identify, minimize and eliminate hazardous conditions to avoid another senseless tragedy,” said Robert Kulick, OSHA’s regional administrator in New York.
Located at 315 Avenue M in Brooklyn, Moisha’s Kosher Discount Supermarket faces $42,000 in fines.
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