OSHA Weekly: OSHA News May 2005

Greater Illinois OSHA News May 13, 2005

Vol 1. No. 1

Welcome to the first issue of the Peoria/Fairview Heights Office newsletter. My goal is to get safety information out to the safety communities, companies, associations, and labor organizations on a bi-monthly basis.

- John Newquist – Area Director, MS, CSP, CFI

Z Project Awards

I want to thank all of those people who submitted results for the Z Project Conference, both safety and health hazard controls and programs. Your efforts are greatly appreciated by OSHA, because you made a positive and proactive contribution to workplace safety and health. For those of you who were not there, the submissions reported that 669 hazard controls were put in place in 2004, which were 153 more than for 2003. I want to especially thank those who attended and presented their hazard controls and safety and health programs, as your breathed life and depth into your submissions of challenges and successes; again, it was much appreciated and added to the value of the conference.

Finally, congratulations to the award recipients:

Alveoli Award (For Your Health): Advanced Filtrations Systems, Inc., Champaign, IL, for their noise reduction control on their vacuum blowers with baffling material, reducing it from 90 to 83.3 dBA.

Lifesaver Award (Could Save a Life): Peoria Park District, for the installation of fixed ladders (rather than using portable ladders) to ensure workers safety when accessing a roof (28 feet to ground level) to perform maintenance on roof fire vents.

Pluto Award (Innovation Saves Lives): P.J. Hoerr, Inc., Peoria, IL, For turning a Type C, unstable soil excavation, into stable rock, by injecting micro-cement into the walls of the excavation.

Area Director's Choice Award: Clinton Power Station, Clinton, IL, for going beyond the NFPA 70E Electrical Arc Flash Standards, implementing corrective actions as follows: changes to operating procedures; arc flash labeled equipment; arc flash table in electrical safety procedure; training of all electrical workers; and, taking the lead role in other Exelon Stations also getting involved in arc flash studies.

I considered all those who worked actively on hazard controls and shared them with OSHA and others as winners, as you all made a difference in the safety and health of the workplace.

Next year's conference is May 2, 2006 at the Richland Community College, Shilling Center, Decatur, Illinois. Hope to see all of you next year. - Peggy Zweber

Rogue Employees

There is nothing more frustrating to a company than providing the tools and equipment to a trained employee, only to have them not use it. Then OSHA happens to come by and the company is usually issued a citation. What can be done?

Employers should monitor their crews on a frequent basis and document the site via pictures.
Develop a written safety policy that is specific to the job at hand.
Document the employees are trained in the policy and safety rules.
Enforce that noncompliance with training and/or discipline.

OSHA does consider the foreman to be a management representative and isolated employee misconduct usually does not apply in these cases.

Recent April Accidents

We are investigating a crane operator death in the Quad Cities where a beam came down and crushed him while in the process of erecting a steel building.

Nick Walter CHST

OSHA has started a push toward many safety and health professionals becoming certified in their respective fields. Nick Walters recently passed the Construction Safety and Health Technician test which was a 4 hour, 200 question test. Congrats!

Older Desks

The Fairview office has two older metal desks for which we do not have the space. These are available free to a nonprofit organization for pickup on a first come basis by calling Bonnie Knisch at the Fairview Office at 618 632-8612.

Lifting Personnel on Forklift Platform

The ASME B56.1-2004, American National Safety Standard for Low Lift and High Lift Trucks provides guidance in this area. OSHA has used the General Duty Clause (5a1 violation) for platforms not meeting this criteria. Some of the highlights of this are:

Elevating platforms must have a slip resistant floor surface,
Have a restraining system such as a guardrail or the use of a lanyard.
Inspect all platforms before use to ensure there are no defects.
Instruct employees in the proper use of elevated platforms and their potential risks and hazards
Platform was not secured to the forks of the powered industrial truck
Labeled with the following capacity ratings:

1) maximum load, including personnel and equipment
2) weight of empty platform
3) minimum capacity of truck on which the platform can be used

The side of the platform next to the forklift mast was not sufficiently guarded to prevent employees from contacting moving parts.
An operator in the control position of the truck to operate the controls.

Where Does the OSHA Penalty Go?

A recent informal conference still showed that many people believe that OSHA gets its budget from fines. The money collected goes into the general treasury fund. Congress appropriates OSHA budget every year. The OSHA office does not keep any of the money collected.

Storage Racks

Storage racks do not have to be bolted to the floor unless the manufacturer requires it. Damaged racks are cited under 1910.176(b) – Storage of material shall not create a hazard. The Rack Manufacturers Institute has several safety guidelines for the use of metal rack systems. MH16.2 - Specification for the Use of Industrial and Commercial Steel Storage Racks-Manual of Safety Practices/A Code of Safety Practices outlines characteristics for the safe installation, use and maintenance of various storage racks. It includes sections on safety elements drawn from RMI standards and common rack problems with their solutions.

The 15 Foot Rule on Roofs.

The 11/15/2002 interpretation – “Fall protection requirements for employees, other than roofers, working on low-slope roofs” gives guidance for people who must work on roofs but not in the act of doing roofing work.

The use of a warning line 15 feet back from the edge will be considered a de minimis violation of the guardrail criteria in §1926.502(b). The conditions that must be met for the application of this policy are as follows:

A warning line is used 15 feet or more from the edge;
The warning line meets or exceeds the requirements in §1926.502(f)(2);
No work or work-related activity is to take place in the area between the warning line and the edge; and
The employer effectively implements a work rule prohibiting the employees from going past the warning line.

OSHA 10 Hour Training

We are seeing several companies that have been in business for years with no one even taking a basic safety course. Many companies send their management to an OSHA 10 Hour Course for Construction or General Industry. Several OSHA Educational centers, community colleges, and business associations teach this course. If your association, college, or nonprofit group has one open to the public, we can post a listing here.

Holland Energy Recieves VPP

The Holland Energy Power Plant, near Effingham, Ill., has been recognized for its outstanding safety program by achieving Star status under the Occupational Safety and Heath Administration's (OSHA) Voluntary Protection Program (VPP). Star is the highest safety designation given by OSHA and the federal government.

The facility celebrated this outstanding achievement on April 12 during a ceremony which the presentation of the VPP Star flag by a regional representative of OSHA. Twenty full-time employees operate the facility and drive the safety programs and culture that has contributed to Holland's impressive safety record. Holland Energy's safety committee was started when the plant began operating to help familiarize contractors with the safety issues specific to operating a power plant. To ensure all employees have the opportunity to master the plant's systems and procedures, each

employee is responsible for administering safety training at the site's monthly meetings. These safety programs and others have resulted in more than three years worked without a Restricted Work Case or a Lost Time Case, as well as more than 135,200 hours worked since the last recordable injury at the facility. OSHA has recognized the initiative taken by Holland's employees to establish effective programs and enforce a safety culture at the facility with the administration's most prestigious safety honor.

"More than anything this recognition is a testament to the 20 employees at Holland - to their hard work and commitment to safety," said Barry Hatfield, Holland General Manager. "They're the ones looking out for each other every single day - they're the real Stars in this."

Hold on, I’m coming!

This week CSHOs Koroll and Akins did a roofing inspection in Robinson, IL. They called the owner in Indianapolis, IN. He really wanted to be there to talk to them. He actually flew with his consultant via his private plane to Robinson. They went through the company’s safety program, training, inspections of other job sites, and enforcement policy. It was determined the sole employee that went outside the guardrails was an isolated misconduct event and no citations will be issued.

Top Cited Construction (National 2004) General Industry next newsletter

1926.501(b)(1) – Open sided floors without guardrails. Most commonly found on commercial jobs 2 stories and above. Elevator shafts are common areas missed.
1926.501(b)(13) – No fall protection in residential construction. STD 03-00-001: Plain Language Revision of OSHA Instruction STD 3.1, Interim Fall Protection Compliance Guidelines for Residential Construction is the guideline to follow. We are seeing shingling and sheathing without slideguards as the most common problems. Lack of fall protection on residential balconies is another problem.
1926.100(a) – No Hard Hats. People who were working under and around scaffolding seems to be the most common problem.
1926.451(g)(1) – Scaffold without guardrails. Plasterers, bricklayers, and sheet metal trades have been most common in our office using unguarded welded frame scaffolds.
1926.652(a)(1) – No cave-in protection on trenches. Working around the manhole areas is the biggest problem that we are seeing.
1926.453(b)(2)(v) – No fall protection in an aerial lift. These are the extensible boom types and many workers are in the lift. About half of them have the harness at the truck. The last one in Peoria was a worker who said he took it off to use the restroom and forgot to put it on. The leadman was watching him the whole time and said nothing. The misconduct defense did not work because the employer could not show past inspections of the work crews.
1926.451(e)(1) – improper access to scaffolds. Mostly these are climbing scaffold frames not design to be climbed such as 6 ½ foot welded frame walk-though types.
1926.503(a)(1) – No fall protection training. Everyone working at heights over 6 feet must be trained in the fall hazards including:

The nature of fall hazards in the work area;
The correct procedures for erecting, maintaining, disassembling, and inspecting the fall protection systems to be used;
The use and operation of guardrail systems, personal fall arrest systems, safety net systems, warning line systems, safety monitoring systems, controlled access zones, and other protection to be used;
The role of each employee in the safety monitoring system when this system is used;
The limitations on the use of mechanical equipment during the performance of roofing work on low-sloped roofs;
The correct procedures for the handling and storage of equipment and materials and the erection of overhead protection; and
The role of employees in fall protection plans;
The standards contained in this subpart. (ie. the OSHA fall protection standards)

1926.1053(b)(13) - Ladders not extended 3 feet above landing. Ladder to roofs are the largest source of these citations.
1926.451(b)(1) – Scaffold not fully planked. All working levels must be fully planked, not just having 2-3 planks on a welded scaffold frame.

New Area Director

John “Nuke” Newquist was selected as the Peoria/Fairview OSHA Area Director effective April 1, 2005. He has been an instructor at the National OSHA Training Institute and has been with OSHA since 1983. John has a B.S. Degree in Engineering from Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) and a M.S. in Industrial Management from Northern Illinois University. He is currently a Certified Safety Professional (CSP) and a Certified Fire Inspector (CFI). John is an authorized OSHA 10-Hour and 30-Hour trainer.

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.