Tips & Updates about OSHA & Hazwoper Training Courses | Safety Tips

OSHA is looking for feedback on its recent plans to alter the 300 Log, a form which contains all the details on various workplace illnesses and injuries that should be completed by most businesses in the United States on a regular basis. OSHA has been aiming to restore a column of the log that requires employers to fill in details on the various musculoskeletal disorders at the workplace. Many opponents of this decision to restore the column have complained that it is in reality an attempt to actually revive an ergonomics’ standards that was repelled a decade ago. Before this, OSHA’s injury and illness log consisted on a column that put the MSD’s and hearing together. OSHA had planned to separate these two columns, but the MSD column was removed entirely. Opponents to this have claimed that the new column might come as an unnecessary burden to most businesses. However, OSHA head, Mr. David Michaels has said that most small businesses will not be required to update the log, and only tho...

OSHA maintains a very strict set of guidelines as far as workplace safety is concerned, in any industry type. These guidelines and procedures are regularly updates with the latest information, health concerns and technology releases. OSHA maintains a complete record on all the current federal regulations. According to OSHA, a laboratory is a facility where the use of hazardous chemicals takes place for laboratory purposes. It is a workplace where small quantities of hazardous chemical are used for non-production purposes. Such chemical usage is done for the purpose of research and development or for testing. Laboratory safety includes a set of guidelines that maintain a safe and hazard-free working environment in a laboratory. OSHA also defines the use and handling of hazardous chemicals in a laboratory as the usage of chemicals on a laboratory scale. All hazardous chemicals are used in small quantities for non-production purposes. Multiple chemicals are sometimes used on a daily basis...

OSHA has released a new directive that updates and details compliance for employers to provide employees and workers with personal protective equipment. This enforcement guidance was issued for the general industry workers. This directive replaces the previous guidelines of 29 CFR Part 1910 Subpart l, which were the revised standards issued in 1995 for the workers of the general industry. The most significant changes made were: The type of personal protective equipment that must be provided at no cost, when employers are required to pay or are required to replace equipment, and when employers are not required to pay for the equipment. The payment requirements for the personal protective equipment that is worn off the job site, for the equipment that must be left at the job site and for the equipment that is owned by employees. Enforcement policies that give details about court and review commission decision with regards to protective equipment. Guidance that helps employers to use equi...

OSHA has recently recognized the management and employees of NuStar Energy’s facility in Amarillo for 3 years of achieving an excellent employee workplace safety and health program. This facility has been marked as a “Star” site. Some of NuStar’s outstanding efforts at this site include maintaining an injury and illness rate that is 70% below that of other facilities in its industry. Nu Star should be set as an example for what managers and employees all over the country can accomplish if they work together to eliminate hazards. OSHA has since presented the company with a flag and a plaque in recognition of its efforts to comply with the OSHA standards and keep its employees safe.

Recently, OSHA was commended for its efforts by the NAHB (National Association of Home Builders). OSHA has made a decision of withdrawing the interim fall protection guidelines for all residential construction projects that were issued in 1995 and has now decided to revert back to the previous guidelines. Safety at the job site should be the number one concern for builders anywhere. This action taken by OSHA will clarify what builders need to do in order to comply with the OSHA standards and regulations, in an effort to keep the work sites safe. The interim guideline, which was originally intended to be a temporary policy, was first brought about in 1995 in order to allow all employers to use alternative methods of fall protection without having to provide any specific written fall protection plan or to prove that the fall protection systems were not feasible. Before 1995, OSHA had made it compulsory for builders to provide specific fall protection systems for all workers involv...

The United States, Occupational Safety and Health Administration has recently penalized an Elizabeth, N.J.-based freight carrier, for committing 17 serious, other-than-serious and repeat safety violations. The company in question is none other than the, New England Motor Freight Inc. The OSHA inspectors had found several instances where forklifts were not being operated appropriately. This in turn resulted in serious injuries and collisions. Furthermore, many employees failed to wear their seat belts, while they were operating on the forklifts. Moreover, none of the workers ever received any form of safety training. As a result, the organization is being penalized with a hefty fine of $76,000. Generally, serious citations are issued by OSHA when there is a substantial probability that serious physical harm or death could result from a hazard. More so, the employer either knew about the hazard or should have known about its presence. OSHA's area director for Rhode Island, Patrick Gr...

Two plumbers were working in a ditch that was near Allen Homes off Blum Street when the water started rushing in. This resulted in a wall of dirt collapsing on them. OSHA is now investigating into the matter. The firefighters were able to successfully save one man. Unfortunately, the other, Jimmy Robles, died. The company, Universal Plumbing, is the one that is responsible for the trench collapse. However, it has not yet released a statement about what really happened or if the workers had followed the precautionary measures during the collapse. According to the representative of Universal Plumbing, the company is still preparing a statement. Mark Bowen, the Richmond County Chief Deputy Coroner, says that the body was recovered from about six feet underground. As per OSHA regulations, it is necessary to use steel boxes and reinforcements on trenches that are deeper than five feet. “Before you go in there or send someone down, think of sending your child in there. You never put anybody ...

The United States, Department of Labor's, OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration), has penalized, The McDuffie Box Co. Inc. in Thomson, for serious safety violations. According to the press release that was issued by this government regulatory agency, the Box company has been fined, a total sum of $47,550. As usual, like every other company that's come under OSHA's wrath, this company has 15 business days to either comply with or contest these findings in front of an independent OSHa Review Commission. However, when the McDuffie Mirror, contacted McDuffie Box Company's owner, Chris Mercer, he said that he did not wish to comment on this subject. His exact statement was, "It's still pending, and I have no comment to make until it's closed." Furthermore, the director of OSHA's Atlanta-East Area Office, Bill Fulcher, said that, "This injury could have been prevented if the employer implemented OSHA standards for lockout/tagout proced...

Although the major regulatory agency is so widely demonized and feared by most American businesses, OSHA is a relative push over. It may be true that OSHA penalizes the bigger organizations with hefty fines, for instance, like the whopping $50 million that BP recently agreed to pay. Unfortunately, not many know that the 40 year old law, under which this agency operates, usually limits its ability to threaten miscreants with stiff prison sentences. This age old law even, on many occasions, has prevented the agency from holding the company executives personally accountable for the dangerous conditions that go uncorrected. Unlike the Environmental Protection Agency that has tough regulations and standards, such as the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act at its disposal, OSHA is merely just a paper tiger. In order to give this regulatory giant more ammunition, the Democrats in the Congress cleverly crafted an OSHA reform legislation that was folded several months ago into another bill, that ...

An probe has been launched by OSHA, in order to investigate the death of a worker, at the Minnesota Power facility, which is under construction in Schroeder. The Minnesota OSHA investigator was sent to the scene,to study and determine whether any lurking workplace hazards contributed to the power worker's death. An OSHA spokesman, Mr. James Honerman, said that, “We will be working with the employer on-site to piece together what happened,” he further went on to say that, “We’re working with Minnesota Power to determine what events were going on at the work site, the scope of the activity and whether any safety and health training may have been given to employees,” Mr.Honerman, also applauded the Minnesota Power facility, for having a good track record with OSHA. He even stated that, “They’ve been working with us for years to go beyond basic OSHA standards to prevent job-related illnesses and accidents at all their work sites.” In accordance to the Cook County Sheriff’s Department,...

According to the latest news, Molalla mill of Interfor Pacific was honored by Oregon OSHA with congratulatory Best in Class comments for five years without a lost time injury. The Interfor Pacific has not even had a single employee miss a days work or more due to injury since purchasing the plant in 2005. OSHA, even recognized the Molalla mill, as being one of the best mills in the lumber manufacturing industry in the Northwest Pacific. The production manager, Mike Richardson stated that, "Three years prior to Interfor purchasing the mill there were 32 lost time injuries reported", he further stated that, "Five years with zero lost time injuries is a big safety accomplishment for our company" Inferor Pacific, managed to pull off such a herculean task by making sure that certain safety systems and programs were in place, to ensure every employee returned home safely at the end of each day. The Molalla mill is also a part of the Oregan OSHA SHARP. Inferor, in one of t...

OHSA (U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration) has found the Ford Motor Co. Buffalo Stamping Plant in Hamburg, N.Y., allegedly violated OSHA safety standards. The company did not repair or remove the unsafe overhead cranes from their service. OSHA inspected the site in January 2010 in response to a complaint from workers at the plant. OSHA standards require the employers to inspect the cranes or other heavy vehicles that are used in their workplace to identify if there is any unsafe condition. And while find any such condition, the employers need to remove it from operation until the hazards are corrected. OSHA has found five instances of using overhead cranes to lift and set dies or lift coils of steel were allowed to remain in service after defects were identified during inspections conducted in 2008, 2009 and 2010. The citation included worn brake drums, loose or sheared coupling bolts, and worn or damaged gears. Arthur Dube, OSHA's area dir...

BP seems to be in the limelight these days, but under a negative light. With people becoming more interest in them, some horrible secrets have come ashore. BP has been fined by OSHA 760 times, in complete contrast to the oil giant ExxonMobil (XOM) that has been fined only once. The question is, with all these citations, how did OSHA allow BP to operate? Before, we were unaware of these skeletons in the closet but now, BP or OSHA has an explanation to give. Let us take a look back into the past and browse through the track record of BP’s safety violations: In 2007, 200,000 gallons of crude oil were spilled into the Alaskan wilderness and BP got hit with $16 million in fines. Approximately $353 million was paid to the Justice Department as part of an agreement to hold prosecution on charges that BP contrived to manipulate the propane gas market. Prior to Deepwater Horizon, 30 BP workers were killed in two separate disasters and more than 200 were seriously injured. In the last three year...

OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration), the main federal agency of US department of labor has now confirmed to effect the rule that will require the employers to notify their workers of all hexavalent chromium exposures. The rule will be effective from June 15, 2010. Workers who are to expose to toxic chemicals are at maximum risks to suffer from lung cancer, damage to throat, nose and respiratory tract. Now the new rule suggests the employers that when there is chance to exceed the permissible exposure limit, then the employers will need to follow the OSHA's Hexavalent Chromium standard and they must have to notify it to the workers. Hexavalent chromium occurs while working with pigments, operating chrome plating baths, spray paints and coatings containing chromates, and welding or cutting metals containing chromium, like stainless steel. Worker involving in such works for a long time can suffer from lung cancer, irritation or damage to the eyes and skin. Before comi...

The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Sewon America Inc. in LaGrange, Ga., for several safety violations after receiving a complaint. OSHA did extensive inspection of the company's facility in March. Penalties total is $135,900. Sewon America Inc. has been cited with two willful violations; one for failing to provide workers with appropriate hand protection and second was failing to protect workers from arc welding flash burns. According to OSHA a willful violation as one committed with plain indifference to or intentional disregard for employees' safety and health. The company also has been cited for other 12 serious safety violations and proposed penalties for failing to train or evaluate all workers operating industrial trucks,during wielding operations failing to guard against confined sparks, failing to provide tagout/lockout procedures for energy sources, failing to provide proper machine guarding on various mac...

Each year there are nearly 800,000 work-related eye injuries, resulting in approximately 2,000 workers receiving some form of medical treatment every day. Because 90% of eye injuries are preventable, Defog It antifog is promoting Healthy Vision Month 2010 with workplace eye safety tips. There are various statistics that emphasize the costs of workplace eye injuries to companies, individuals and society and the need for vigilance about eye safety. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics about $924 million in workers' compensation payments were made in a recent year. Bureau of Labor Statistics further adds; almost $4 billion in wages and productivity were lost in a recent year. Approximately 60% of workers suffered from eye injuries were not wearing proper protective eye wear. Vision loss is among one of the top ten workers disabilities. In recent years, mining,construction and manufacturing have had the highest incidence of eye injuries. Jodi Groh, Director of Marketing for...

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration(OSHA) has fined a Montana company $7,000 after a worker faced death from injuries sustained while he was working for a seismograph crew near the Beach. On 5th March, about three miles north of Beach, Christopher Whalen, 22, of Havre, Mont., was doing seismographic drilling operations for Erickson Contract Surveying, Inc. when he was injured badly after a 250-pound steel pipe fell on his head. As a driller with his assistant were pulling pipe out of a hole on a rig, the 20-foot section of pipe was placed on the “beaver slide” and the fast plug failed or the pipe released, and that caused the steel pipe to strike Whalen in the head, according to OSHA documents. On May 5, OSHA had issued two citations. The first one was for $3,500, cites Erickson Contract for not providing a place of employment free from recognized hazards that may likely to cause serious harm or death. The second citation was of $3,500 was due to a lack of ensuring each a...

A southern Indiana shipyard has been visited by OSHA for the second time in a week. The agency has to open two open investigation when two workers died after a fall in different occasion. The incident happened only two days apart from each other when a worker died on May 10 after falling 20 ft from a walkway on a barge. Right two days after, another employee fell from a ladder and died the next day after sustaining head injuries. Ken Martin,VP and GM of Jeffboat L.L.C later said, "Despite Jeffboat's constantly improving safety record, and the fact that the facility meets or exceeds OSHA standards at all of its work stations, it is still a heavy metal manufacturing plant with all of the challenges of an outdoor assembly line." Jeffboat has been investigated before by OSHA. As per the records filed on OSHA's website, it indicates there were 4 investigations at the Jeffersonville shipyard between the period of 2007 and 2009. An investigation resulted with the company get...

The construction workers of South Florida is going to receive free training that will help them recognizing and preventing of construction and health hazards on Saturday, May 15. The training will be conducted from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. EDT at the Sheridan Technical Center in Hollywood, Fla. This training is co-sponsored by OSHA, the South Florida and Florida's East Coast Associated General Contractors of America chapters and the Sheridan Technical Center. The free training is intended to provide formal and interactive training for the employees in the construction industry. This huge expo is going to offer 15 safety courses in two languages: English and Spanish. Darlene Fossum, area director of OSHA in Fort Lauder dale said, "Once again Florida's construction community is demonstrating its commitment to worker safety and health by coming together in support of the 10th annual South Florida Safety Expo." The demand of OSHA safety trainings are increasing as many horrible...

For yet another violation by a company, OSHA has slap them with a fine of about $558,000. USPS, a postal service was cited as they ignored the long established OSHA safety standards and put their workers into harm knowingly. The violations was for exposing the workers to serious and potential fatal hazards of electrocution, shock and arc-flash at the Providence facility. The Postal service failed to adhere with the OSHA standards for electrical safety. Moreover, during the inspection at the Providence Processing & Distribution Center, the agency found untrained and unqualified workers testing on live electrical equipment. They generated 8 citations for willful safety violations and a fine of $530,000. A remaining $28,000 fines were associated with 4 citations for serious safety violations that included the employers failure to instruct the workers on proper procedures to lock out machines’ power sources that would prevent unexpected start-up during the maintenance or related hazard...