July 2005 OSHA News

Greater Illinois OSHA News                   July 8, 2005

Vol 1. No. 3

Why Am I Responsible for Them?

We had a long settlement meeting with a trenching contractor in June. His two employees were in a trench that was nine feet deep with vertical walls. The cave-in protection was nearby; no manager was on site. The owner had not been at this site for a few days. The employer did not meet the employee misconduct defense due to three elements. There was no written safety program, no surveillance documented for any jobsites, and no records of enforcing the program. He had covered the requirements for trenching when he bought the equipment. The workers said they would have used it if they felt unsafe and were in it longer. The employer wanted to know why he was responsible for employees that don’t follow his rules. The employer said he would fire people if they took his excavator and did a side job on company’s time, but never conduct any discipline for safety violations. The employer is responsible for these employees because he didn’t meet the four elements of employee misconduct. There are no provisions in the OSHA Act for fining his employees. We do not expect a company to provide constant management surveillance. If you have a crew that cannot comply, then surveillance needs to be increased until they do. 

In another case, a roofing contractor met the elements of a program, training and surveillance, but failed on the enforcement aspect. This 70 year old company could not document any corrective actions for prior safety issues. Past practice was to have the superintendent chew the guys out and make them fix it. Fall protection on the roof was a constant problem, but workers’ only consequence was to get a verbal barrage. This sends the unintended message that violations of safety only result in getting yelled at and then you have to comply. 

Confined Space in Manholes

Toxic gases can accumulate in manholes. A recent double fatality in WI is an example how hazardous these can be. On June 19th, in Reedsburg, WI at about 11 a.m,  rescue workers responded to a report of two unconscious men in a manhole where a subdivision is being built. Emergency personnel found the two workers about 8-10 feet below ground. Both later died. At the time of the printing, it was unknown what the gases were. 

Top Cited Construction General Duty Clause Violations (2004 Region V - Illinois)

1. Working platform not secured to forks of rough terrain forklift. 
2. Lifting employees on the forks of a rough terrain forklift. 
3. Standing on the top/midrails of an aerial lift.
4. No electrical protection against arc flash. See NPFA 70E
5. Riding the excavator bucket to access the trench
6. Leaving rough terrain forklift unattended while it was running
7. Not protecting the swing radius of an excavator by use of flags, cones, or other means. 
8. Improper material hoist setup. 
9. Riding on the tail gate of a truck
10. Riding on equipment buckets or fenders.

Danville Worker Killed

On June 29, a 19 year old temporary employee was killed in the morning when he was pulled into a lathe machine. 

Explosion

On June 9 in Rantoul, an explosion rocked a factory there and  killed one worker when a chemical process ignited. 

Tom Bielema CHST

We want to congratulate Tom for receiving the Construction Health and Safety Technician Exam on June 30th. The examination, which became computer-based in 1997, contains 200 multiple choice questions. Candidates have four hours to complete the examination. The eight task areas covered by the examination (and the portion devoted to each) are as follows: 

1. Safety and Health Inspections (30%)
2. General Safety Training and Safety Orientation (20%)
3. Safety and Health Record Keeping (5%)
4. Hazard Communication Compliance (10%)
5. Safety Analysis and Planning (10%)
6. Accident Investigation (10%)
7. Program Management and Administration (10%)
8. OSHA and Other Inspections (5%) 

Monsanto Centralia Receives a STAR

The Centralia facility of Monsanto received a STAR designation under OSHA’s Voluntary Protection Program (VPP). Under the VPP, management, labor and OSHA establish cooperative relationships at workplaces that have implemented a comprehensive

safety and health management system. OSHA's verification includes an

application review and a rigorous onsite evaluation by a team of OSHA safety

and health experts. Some factors that were very commendable at this facility were:

• No lost days for 626 days in a row.
• Great documentation of before and after for corrective action. 
• One of the most innovative solutions for dock safety. See article below. 
• Active community involvement with farm safety. 
• Teaching on the job safety and “Off the job” safety at house to its workers. 
• Having other potential VPP candidates see their facility. 

Dock Safety

Monsanto facility in Centralia came up with some innovative dock safety ideas. 

The first photo shows a window that they installed so operators can see if the trucks are chocked. We have investigated 3 fatalities where dock workers were crushed when they got hit by backing up trucks or got their body between the dock wall and the truck bed. 

The second innovation was a sliding dock door that prevents falls off the dock..

Comments

If you would like to receive this newsletter via E-mail, contact "newquist.john@dol.gov". Due to costs, this cannot be mailed to individual companies. 

Comments on the newsletter should be addressed to John Newquist c/o OSHA, 2918 West Willow Knolls Rd. Peoria, IL 61614 

Peoria office - Phone (309) 589-7033. 

Fairview Heights office - Phone (618) 632-8612

The information contained herein has been compiled and reported with the intent that it is

both reliable and up-to-date, and is offered for general guidance only. Additional safety

measures may be required by your facility under certain conditions or circumstances.

Professional advice should be sought for specific situations.

APPENDIX 

OSHA 10 Hour and Safety Training

These are sponsored by nonprofit groups and open to the public and we welcome any submissions from them in future newsletters.  Please email with any safety courses. 

Waubonsee Community College in Aurora/Sugar Grove IL. 

OSHA 10-hour For Construction - 7am to noon on 9/14 and 15 

OSHA 10-hour For Industry - 7am to noon on 9/28 and 29 

Machine Guarding Safety - 9 am to noon on 10/13 

Electrical Safety - 1pm – 4pm on 10/13 

PPE - 9 am- noon on 11/3 

Confined Space 1pm – 4pm on 11/3 

OSHA 30-hour For Industry on August 25, 26 and Sept. 8 and Sept. 9 @ 7.5 hours each day 8 am to 4 pm

Phone number to register is  (630) 801-7900 ext. 4120