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

Safety should never be overlooked when it comes to working in oil fields. OSHA has now made it compulsory for all Oil & Gas companies to follow a certain set of rules and safety standards while sending workers out to the oil fields. Although rare, flash fires are the most dangerous and most feared hazards that workers can encounter on the oil fields. Taking all of this into consideration, OSHA has made it compulsory for workers in oil fields to wear flame resistant clothing, in case a flash fire occurs. However, while most people think that flame resistant clothing can make the working conditions for oil field workers safer and better, many other still believe that it can make it worse. Oil and Gas companies have made it compulsory for everybody working in oil fields to wear FRC’s or Flame Resistant Clothing in an effort to combat flash fires. However, these clothing pieces are hot and extremely uncomfortable. OSHA still maintains that although flash fires are extremely rar...

After the death of a maintenance worker, which resulted after a refrigerator, fell on him from a fourth story apartment, OSHA has begun to investigate the incident. The man died while working on a project and was an employee for the building’s owner, Milwaukee-based Wiegand Enterprises LLC. The 33 year old man was a part of a renovating crew working on an apartment and was struck by a refrigerator thrown by his co workers from the building. According to a police officer, four maintenance workers were disposing debris from the building. They were tossing few items over the west end balcony of the building. The staff called out ‘all clear’ before the refrigerator was tossed over the balcony edge. However, the victim had just walked beneath the falling refrigerator and was crushed to his death. It was a very tragic accident as he died on the spot. OSHA is investigating the scene and it is still too early to say whether the accident could lead to any citations. OSHA is quite notorious when...

OSHA has updated its Federal Agency Targeting Inspection Program directive recently for the year 2011. This directive aims to direct programmed inspections of federal agency establishments, which experienced high level of lost time injuries. This directive outlines the procedures of how the programmed inspections can be carried out at some of the most hazardous work sites. All establishments who reports 100 or more lost times cases during the year 2010 will be inspected by OSHA. Again 50% of those establishment who reports 50 to 99 lost time cases and 10% of those with 20 to 40 lost time cases. Some of the changes that you will see in this directives are definition of “lost time case” to mean an employee who loses time from work far beyond the date of the injury. Other changes seen are updated OSHA recordkeeping violation policy and direction for the inspection of federal work site with various operations. The Federal Agency Targeting Inspection Program began to operate in 2008 while r...

This December, Kilgore College will be offering two free safety classes. The course, “What to Do When OSHA Knocks your Door”, will take place on the 6th and 7th of December between 6 to 10 pm. This eight hour course aims to prepare businessmen for inspections carried out by OSHA. An instructor will be chosen for role playing and the students will be participating in the mock inspection during class. Then on the 8th and 9th of December, courses covering the cause of accidents and injuries will be covered. These courses will take place between 8 am to 5 pm. The topics covered would be accident investigation, ladder safety and fall protection. These 16 hour courses will deal with the how and why of incidents that are both unexpected and dangerous. They will also teach ways to properly conduct an investigation and how to produce information that will be valuable for prevention. Accidents involving heights are common not only at the workplace but also at home. Therefore, the topics of fall ...

Hyatt housekeepers have filed a repetitive motion and other injury complaints with the federal Occupational Safety & Health Administration. The charges refer to the Hyaat Regency Waikiki as well as eleven other properties in Los Angeles, Chicago and San Francisco and four other mainland cities. An OSHA spokesman said that the agency will be making its own determination and if there is any investigation, it would be conducted without giving prior announcement. Earlier this year, there was a record of high incidence of workplace injury at Hyatt, more so than the other hotel chains. In the record, women in general, particularly Hispanic women are prone to being injured while working. However, Hyatt defended its workplace safety record and according to them, the employees are apparently making some false charges about their work environment. All these accusations, according to them have been aimed to increase union membership and due. Hyatt has also stated that they care deeply about t...

The Federal Labor Department, recently announced that it has found serious problems with Cal/OSHA, especially with the regulatory agency's appeal board. Overall, they have ordered Cal/OSHA to improve workplace safety. On Tuesday, the United States, Labor Department in California, issued a critical report on the enforcement of workplace safety. It has ordered the state to fix this wide array of problems, which even includes, the poor training of safety inspectors and delays in responding to complaints. These Federal officials, went on to say that, the inspectors of the state Division of Occupational Safety and Health, did not always review the company's history statewide, before deciding whether to cite it for repeat violations. They even found out that the division's appeals process "falls short." The deputy assistant secretary of Labor, Jordan Barab, has acknowledged the problems that were found with the California program. He even said that they were, "rela...

Utility giant, Pacific Gas & Electric Co. has been ordered by the California workplace safety regulators to pay a hefty fine of $176,000. This Electrical organization has been penalized with such a huge fine after a worker named Maximiliano Martinez of Windsor in Benicia had died, after he was electrocuted, earlier this year. Pacific Gas & Electric Co. was ordered by the state Department of Industrial Relations to pay the fine, after Cal-OSHA, the agency's Division of Occupational Safety and Health blamed the utility for lax enforcement of safety rules. OSHA is a regulatory body that tries to maintain workplace safety by issuing and enforcing certain safety and health rules and regulations. Cal-OSHA Issued a statement that stated that the utility had committed a "serious, willful accident-related" violation of safety regulations. Martinez had been upgrading a transformer that was fed by 12,000-volt power lines in an underground vault on Panorama Drive, when he was...

The U.S Occupational Safety and Health Administration was started by the Congress of the United States, on 29th December 1970, under the Occupational Safety and Health Act. From its introduction, OSHA's main goal has been to prevent work-related fatalities and serious injuries, by enforcing and issuing certain standards and regulations, in order to assure workplace health and safety. From the very beginning, OSHA has not only emphasized the importance of safety at the workplace, but has also never spared anyone who tries to violate its safety regulations. Present below are a list of statements that highlight OSHA's priorities: The Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA, Dr. David Michaels, stated that, “All workers have the right to work in a safe environment, and the Labor Department will use all legal means necessary to ensure companies comply with established safety requirements." An OSHA spokesman, Mr. Scott Allen of Chicago recently said that, “When someone does someth...

The U.S OSHA has slapped a fine of $16.6 million on the construction companies connected with the explosion in February this year at Kleen Energy Systems, which killed 6 workers. O&G Industries, the project's general contractor was fined $8.3m, whereas, the commissioning and start up contractor for the plant, Blue-water Energy Services was fined $896,000 and 14 sub contractors were fined a total of $686,000. The assistant secretary of labor for OSHA, Mr. David Michaels said that,"These employers blatantly disregarded well-known and accepted industry procedures and their own safety guidelines in conducting the gas blow operation in a manner that exposed workers to fire and explosion hazards." he also further stated that, "We see this time and time again across industries when companies deliberately ignore safety precautions in the interest of completing jobs quickly, and workers end up being killed or seriously hurt." It is important to note that the Kleen En...

The Borough Council recently set up an ordinance that would set aside $1.1 million for any kind of alterations and improvements, throughout the municipality. For instance, some of these improvements would include Borough Hall upgrades, drainage projects throughout the borough, a new police motorcycle and even new vehicles for the Department of Public Works. The Council had introduced this very ordinance during its June 29th special council meeting. However, it was not adopted until its July 20th meeting. Mr. Heck recapped, what the municipality wants to accomplish with the allocated funds. Primarily, the Borough intends to perform drainage work on some streets including Hickory Road, Welch Road, Wanaque Terrace, Wind-beam Loop and Skyline Lakes Drive. Mr. Heck also stated that the Borough also wants to replace any faulty DPW equipment. It is also planning to buy a roll-off truck to transport recycling containers to market. The other half of the $1.1 million would go towards Borough Hal...

Oil spill workers have been playing a major role with regards to the Deepwater Horizon disaster. At any particular time, there are more than 42,500 personnel and more than 2,000 Federal employees who are directly involved in the cleanup operations across the four states. OSHA has been working along side the U.S. Coast Guard and several other government agencies that deal with health and the environment. OSHA has constantly been evaluating BP's efforts such as making sure that BP puts in place all of the precautions needed to protect workers from any hazards that are associated with their cleanup. An update on OSHA activities to protect oil spill workers in the Gulf will be available every single day. For instance Big Oil has been trying to assure everyone that it is indeed prepared for the next Massive oil spill. ExxonMobil, Chevron Corp., Conoco Phillips and Shell Oil have even agreed to come together and form a company worth $1 billion. This company would in turn respond to any O...

The Obama administration has been urged by a liberal group's online petition to take a stronger hand on providing protection for the Gulf of Mexico oil leak responders. This petition has won the support of 31 congressional candidates and 11 Houase Democrats and thousands more since its launch. The new worker-safety campaign has been the brainchild of the PCCC or Progressive Change Campaign Committee, a liberal group who is targeting the White House and other Democrats for their failure to support the public option in the health care reform bill. The petition got started by comparing between the denial of protective gear that harmed various 9/11 clean up workers and the denial of the requests for respiratory protection by BP for the Gulf oil leak responders. Now, the Obama administrative has been demanded to act firmly with BP to allow allow every clean-up worker to wear respiratory protective equipment if they want and the workers must have the necessary equipment and trainings so ...