September 2019 OSHA News

OSHA News for September 2019

The end of the third quarter was quite busy with machine guarding training and CET exam studying.  The Certified Environmental and Safety Trainer exam was 200 questions on needs assessment, training program development, evaluations, learning theory and many more. I am glad to pass this difficult test.

The Machine Guarding Grant training was very popular and the last two week there was a class going on every day. Every company said they didn’t want to call IL Consultation because they were funded by OSHA. Light curtain installation was the difficult topics for most employers.

The ASSE Conference topics was recordkeeping and I was surprised to see over 30 people show up. Many temporary employee questions and what to do with marijuana being legal in 2020 were the hot topic.

This month ppt is Safety with Children. I am seeing too many children getting killed near worksites or at work.

John

OSHA News. 

1)  OSHA win big Exposure assessment at Appellate level.

Whenever it is reasonable to suspect that an employee may be exposed to concentrations of airborne contaminants at levels where a respirator would be necessary to protect the health of the employee, the employer must evaluate the work environment so that exposures to the employee can be determined or reasonably estimated. In these situations, where the employer cannot identify or reasonably estimate the employee exposure, the employer must consider the atmosphere to be IDLH

https://www.natlawreview.com/article/ninth-circuit-holds-osha-respiratory-protection-standard-requires-employers-to

2) OSHA released the cited violations for FY2019 at the NSC conference.

1. Fall Protection - General Requirements (1926.501) (6,010

violations)

2. Hazard Communication (1910.1200) (3,671 violations)

3. Scaffolding (1926.451) (2,813 violations)

4. Lockout/Tagout (1910.147) (2,606 violations)

5. Respiratory Protection (1910.134) (2,450 violations)

6. Ladders (1926.1053) (2,345 violations)

7. Powered Industrial Trucks (1910.178) (2,093 violations)

8. Fall Protection - Training Requirements (1926.503) (1,773

violations)

9. Machine Guarding (1910.212) (1,743 violations)

10. Eye & Face Protection (1926.102) (1,411 violations)

3) Scott Ketchum picked to head #OSHA Directorate of Construction.

4) Congrats to the 2020 Harwood Grant recipients in the Chicagoland/IL are:. NIU, CAF, CSC, U of I, SIU, Harper College, Latino Worker Center. The training classes are free and cover everything from trenching to machine guarding to silica.

https://www.osha.gov/news/newsreleases/national/09202019?fbclid=IwAR1G1O6MM_lGTXjOPhh9XvV3_iIJwniVBfnS-WOucITn0_nb3Q4_0szVmkQ

5) A Michigan contractor must pay OSHA fines and close their operations after a 2017 inspection led to fines over $507K related to excavation. From the article: "Company owner and founder Daniel J. Kamphuis agreed to surrender his North Dakota contractor license. Both he and the company also agreed not to have any ownership or managerial interest in any construction business conducting trenching and excavation activities within the U.S. in the future. They may engage in such activities in other capacities but must notify OSHA and take appropriate training if they intend to resume such work."

https://lnkd.in/es2TtUQ

6) OSHA announced that it has recently implemented the OSHA Weighting System (OWS) for fiscal year (FY) 2020. OWS will encourage the appropriate allocation of resources to support OSHA’s balanced approach of promoting safe and healthy workplaces, and continue to develop and support a management system that focuses enforcement activities on critical and strategic areas where the agency’s efforts can have the most impact.

7) OSHA has fewer inspectors than any time in the agency’s almost 50-year history, and it is conducting a near record low number of actual inspections targeting health hazards like silica. _ Dr. David Michaels Sep 27, 2019.

8) OSHA has issued a final rule that adds two fit testing protocols to the agency’s respiratory protection standard (1910.134).

According to a Sept. 25 press release, the additions are:

•            The modified ambient aerosol condensation nuclei counter quantitative fit testing protocol for full-facepiece and half-mask elastomeric respirators

•            The modified ambient aerosol CNC quantitative fit testing protocol for filtering facepiece respirators

https://www.safetyandhealthmagazine.com/articles/18957-osha-approves-two-protocols-for-respirator-fit-testing

9) Good tips on OSHA informal conferences.

If your goal is to have OSHA vacate a citation, prepare to explain why it is incorrect or unwarranted. Possibilities include: OSHA cited the wrong standard; the standard applies to some activities at the workplace, but not to the specific activities cited; or the company has an affirmative defense. Find supporting documents, or consider whether pictures or a video will help tell your story. Draft an outline of points to make to OSHA.

https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/making-the-most-out-of-an-osha-informal-63714/

10) Bench Grinders are often cited by OSHA for tongue guarding within a 1/4 inch and work rest openings greater than 1/8 inch.

Several amputations have occurred over a year. Here is a typical one.

1276572.015 11/08/2017 J.G. Boswell

At 3:30 p.m. on October 26, 2017, an employee was using a defacing tool on a pedestal grinder and was moving a tool back and forth using both hands while wearing cotton gloves. The employee caught his left thumb between the grinding wheel and the grinder rest platform. The employee partially amputated his left thumb and was hospitalized

Here is OSHA's checklist for grinding safety.

https://www.osha.gov/…/machinegu…/new-grinder-checklist.html

The photo shows a typical violation.

Other Major News Stories.

1) An Ohio construction company owner has been sentenced to three years in prison for failing to provide safety equipment when an employee fell from a roof and died.

$100 To protect a worker on a roof.

https://www.wkyc.com/article/news/local/akron/construction-company-owner-gets-prison-for-workers-death/95-813ad464-cc91-4e23-8d3b-40b92824b5d2?fbclid=IwAR1m1GRQrL6aDjygr2AwRkKY9Y6Q8XceK2BW1CJQp-IV3pKDkJNzoduCAD8

2) .  “Wider cannabis use will require employers to take action to ensure safe work environments for their employees, especially in safety sensitive settings.  Drug policies must be updated and must address discrimination concerns.”  https://www.environmentalsafetyupdate.com/cannabis/high-times-continue-illinois-enacts-recreational-cannabis-law/

Safety Training at Non-Profits

OSHA 511 Dekalb                                                                     Oct 7-10

OSHA 7210 Rockford Pan Flu                                                 Oct 2

OSHA 7415 Construction Hazard Prevention CSC               Oct 17-18

OSHA 10 Hoffman estates                                                      Oct 18-19

OSHA 7215 Combustible Dust                                                Oct 24

NIU is Northern Illinois University OSHA Education Center http://www.nsec.niu.edu

CSC is the Construction Safety Council in Hillside. Www.Buildsafe.org

TRMA is Three Rivers Manufacturers Association   www.trma.org

NSC is National Safety Council http://www.nsec.niu.edu/nsec/

I usually teach only part of the 30 hour and the 500 series. I have been teaching many 10/30 hour class for private companies.  I have taught 1874 people this year. I teach evenings, weekends, early mornings too. I teach in Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa, and Indiana.   

All presentations are put on slideshare.net for free downloading. I put this presentation at this link. https://www.slideshare.net/JohnNewquist/safety-for-children use your feedback to make changes to make corrections.

OSHA Citations

GA       1378228.015   Atlanta Kitchen, LLC   DECATUR            08/06/2019      $43,569.00      Exit routes; Lockout / Tagout; Machine guarding; Operator certification of powered industrial trucks.

GA       1379393.015   Atlanta Kitchen LLC    DECATUR            08/06/2019      $89,035.00      Occupational noise exposure audiometric testing program; Annual training for each employee included in the hearing conservation program; Foot protection; Respirable crystalline silica; Respiratory protection; Posting a copy of the annual summary in a conspicuous place where notices to employees are customarily posted.

NY       1377408.015   Arbre Group Holding   HOLLEY            08/06/2019      $174,270.00    Duty to have fall protection; Eye and face protection; Lockout / Tagout; Guarding horizontal shafting; Machine guarding.

CA       1376013.015   STONE ETC INC        GARDENA            08/05/2019      $417,325.00    [no violations linked]

NC       1408636.015   Industrial Fabricators, Inc.      GASTONIA            08/05/2019      $46,000.00      [no violations linked]  

NY       1379391.015   Rex Harper DBA REH Property Maintenance            JAMESTOWN 08/05/2019      $168,772.00    Asbestos; Respiratory protection.

WA      1413829.015   NATIONAL PRODUCTS INC SEATTLE            08/05/2019      $51,700.00      [no violations linked]

GA       1395261.015   CROWN CANDY CORPORATION    MACON            08/02/2019      $44,754.00      Eye and face protection; Hand protection; Lockout / Tagout; Eye wash stations.

MO      1379034.015   J.H. BERRA CONSTRUCTION CO., INC.            SAINT CHARLES       08/02/2019      $143,206.00    Means of egress from trench excavations; Daily inspections of excavations; Protective systems for excavations.

VA       1376355.015   County of Henrico Dept of Public Utilities            HENRICO       08/02/2019      $127,254.00    [no violations linked]

MI        1376380.015   Fair Salvage Company           CLARE            08/01/2019      $40,000.00      [no violations linked]

NY       1380198.015   Highbury Concrete, Inc.          NEW YORK            08/01/2019      $53,040.00      Written hazard communication program; Safety data sheets; Hazardous chemical training; Limit employee exposure to gases, vapors, fumes, dusts, and mists; Written confined spaces permit program; Internal atmosphere testing of confined spaces; Procedures for rescue and emergency services in confined spaces; Confined spaces permit training and issuance.