OSHA News for August
2020
Hello,
August was nonstop
writing with training thrown in. I created
a four hour competent person respirator
fit test class that was popular. I realized that many have never done the fit
testing and need to see it performed correctly in real-time for Bitrex and
Irritant smoke.
This month’s
powerpoint is Rigging for the construction industry. It has been 7 years since I sent out a ppt on that topic.
OSHA news was
slow. I never saw a month without a $40,000 case from OSHA in 40 years. Yet,
the Covid-19 virus means virtual OSHA inspections and not willful or big
cases.
John
OSHA News.
1) Portable floor
cranes are under ASME PALD. Here is a general duty clause citation.
OSH ACT of 1970
Section (5)(a)(1): The employer did not furnish employment and a place of
employment which was free from recognized hazards that were causing or likely
to cause death or serious physical harm to employees in that employees were
exposed to struck by and crush hazards resulting from inadequate vehicle
support stands being used: a) Manufacturing floor - On or about November 22,
2016 and at times prior thereto, vehicle support stands used to support
forklifts were not adequately marked and identified with the rated capacity,
safety marking, and manufacturer information exposing employees to struck by
and crushing hazards. Abatement note: Among other methods, one feasible means
of abatement for this hazard is to ensure that vehicle support stands comply
with the general and vehicle support stand requirements of ASME/PALD (American
Society of Mechanical Engineers/Portable Automotive Lifting Devices-Safety
Standard for Portable Automotive Lifting Devices), 2009 edition, and ensure the
following requirements are met: -All PALDs shall have the rated capacity marked
in a prominent location on the PALD by casting imprint, metal stamp, or use of
durable materials and attachment methods (ASME/PALD 2009 1.1). -Each PALD shall
include identification or identifying marks of the original manufacturer or
supplier by casting imprint, metal stamp, or use of durable materials and
attachment methods. The manufacturer or supplier shall be able to identify the
date of manufacture of each PALD (ASME/PALD 2009 1.2). -Each PALD shall include
safety signs and/or labels developed by the manufacturer or supplier. The signs
and/or labels shall be affixed by use of durable materials and attachment
methods to each PALD in a location visible to the operator. The ANSI Z535
series of standards containing guidelines for product safety signs shall be
followed (ASME/PALD 2009 1.3). -Safety markings shall conform to the ANSI Z535
series of standards. (a) Study, understand, and follow all instructions before
operating this device. (b) Do not exceed rated capacity. (c) Use only on hard
level surface. (d) Center load on saddle. (e) Use as a matched pair only. (f)
Failure to heed these markings may result in personal injury and/or property
damage. (g) Stands are not to be used to simultaneously support both ends of a
vehicle (ASME/PALD 2009 4-3.1). -Additional safety messages include the
following: (a) Stands are not to be used to simultaneously support both ends of
a vehicle. (b) No alterations shall be made to this product (ASME/PALD 2009 4-3.2).
2) OSHA cut back in inspections.
3) Particles in the eye?
Recordable?
If
the foreign body is not embedded, removal by means of irrigation or the use of
a cotton swab are considered first aid. Any other means of removal (e.g. spud,
etc.) must be considered medical treatment.
4) Can an employee request
a manager to be their representative in an OSHA inspection?
Per
the OSHA Field Operations Manual
Employer
Interference.
Where
entry has been allowed but the employer interferes with or limits any
important
aspect of the inspection, the CSHO shall determine whether or not to
consider
this action as a refusal. See §1903.7(b).
Examples
of interference are employer refusals to permit:
Ø the walkaround;
Ø the examination of records essential to the inspection;
Ø the taking of essential photographs and/or videotapes;
Ø the inspection of a particular part of the premises;
Ø private employee interviews; or
Ø the attachment of sampling devices.
This
is a very rare occurrence. Maybe 5 times in my 29 years. The union members
usually would have a union Steward be there. A nonunion member is allowed a
representative, but I would take the employee interview under deposition. I
would probe to why this employee wants a manager present. Is there criminal
coercion like I saw in the Abbott Contractors case? Is there criminal
falsification of documents like the Stickle case? Both cases resulted in
criminal charges against the managers. We saw last month two managers plead
guilty to federal charges of lying to OSHA in the Extrudex case out of Ohio. We
have seen criminal charges in Kansas City for consultants obstructing the OSHA
investigation a couple of years ago.
Other Major News
Stories.
1) COVID-19 deaths ( I did not count the
presumptive cases.
Friday, August 28, 2020
– 168367deaths, 5,869,692 infected
Friday, August 20, 2020
– 162236 deaths, 5,576,089 infected
Friday August 14, 2020
– 156704 deaths, 5,296, 7879
infected
Friday, August 7, 2020 -
148,048 deaths, 4,884,406 infected
2) Exelon to close
Bryon and Dresden nuclear plants.
3) Three dead in sewer in Indiana
4) 11 year old dies in an auger at farm.
5) Two Iowa workers die when hitting underground power line.
OSHA Citations
ZERO!!!! Over $40
K
Safety Training
at Non-Profits (Check Sites for Starting Dates)
OSHA 10 Rockford Sep
22-23
NIU 7500
Intro to safety online September 8
Machine Guarding
Free Live Streaming September 3, 9, 24 , 28
7845 Recordkeeping
Sep 16
7115 ‘Lockout Sep
18
7105 Emergency
Planning Sep 29
NIU is Northern
Illinois University OSHA Education Center http://www.nsec.niu.edu
FREE machine
Guarding https://www.nsec.niu.edu/nsec/course-schedules/free-courses/free-machinery-courses/index.shtml
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, Minnesota, and Indiana.
All presentations
are put on slideshare.net for free downloading. I put this presentation at this
link. https://www.slideshare.net/JohnNewquist/rrigging-safety-2020
I use your
feedback to make changes to make corrections.
