Month: November 2023

MSHA – Mine Fatality #36

Posted on by McCraren Compliance

MINE FATALITY – On November 13, 2023, a rotating drill steel of a roof bolting machine entangled a miner, causing fatal injuries.

Accident scene where a rotating drill steel of a roof bolting machine entangled a miner, causing fatal injuries.
Photo property of MSHA
Best Practices
  • Always follow manufacturer recommendations when conducting maintenance on equipment, including:
    • Turn off or de-energize the machine.
    • Secure the equipment against hazardous motion.
  • Never touch or hold the drill steel, wrench, or bolt while it is rotating.
  • Do not wear loose-fitting or bulky clothing when working around any machinery with rotating parts.
Additional Information

This is the 36th fatality reported in 2023, and the 14th classified as “Machinery.”

McCraren Compliance offers a full range of safety and health training and consulting services. Plus we can help you incorporate well-being into your traditional systems in order to support the Total Worker Health of your workforce.

Call 888-758-4757, email info@mccrarencompliance.com or visit our website www.mccrarencompliance.com

Original article published by MSHA

OSHA, National Commission for the Certification of Crane Operators, NCCCO Foundation form alliance to protect crane operators

Posted on by McCraren Compliance

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration today signed an agreement with the National Commission for the Certification of Crane Operators and the NCCCO Foundation to protect workers who operate cranes better.

The two-year agreement will provide certified crane operators with training and resources to reduce and prevent exposure to the four construction workplace issues that contribute to the majority of hazards in the industry: falls, caught-in or between objects or machinery, struck-by objects or equipment, and electrocution.

“Workers who operate or work near cranes can face serious and potentially life-threatening hazards if they are not properly trained or protected,” said Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Doug Parker. “Our alliance with these industry leaders focuses on training workers and working with employers to make safety and health a core value by implementing best industry practices to ensure workers’ safety.”

Alliance participants will use data and review trends and incident information to develop safety alerts for employers, crane operators and others working around cranes. They will also address safety issues near a crane’s load, provide updates on OSHA’s load-handling regulation and enforcement, including certification and evaluation requirements.

Participants will also assist employers and operators in complying with OSHA regulations and develop relationships between the CCO’s test sites and OSHA’s field offices to provide training opportunities for crane certificants and OSHA personnel.

The CCO was established in 1995 to develop effective performance standards for safe load-handling equipment operation to assist all segments of general industry and construction. The NCCCO Foundation is a charitable organization formed by the commission in 2018 to conduct research, advocate for personnel safety and certification, and help youth, military personnel and underserved communities access scholarships and grants for education, training and certification.

Through its Alliance Program, OSHA works with organizations such as trade and professional associations, labor unions, educational institutions, community and faith-based groups, and government agencies to share information about OSHA’s initiatives and compliance assistance resources with workers and employers, and educate workers and employers about their rights and responsibilities.

McCraren Compliance offers a full range of safety and health training and consulting services. Plus we can help you incorporate well-being into your traditional systems in order to support the Total Worker Health of your workforce.

Call 888-758-4757, email info@mccrarencompliance.com or visit our website www.mccrarencompliance.com

Original article published by OSHA

MSHA – Mine Fatality #22

Posted on by McCraren Compliance

MINE FATALITY – On June 8, 2023, a miner died after climbing over the handrail onto a conveyor belt to gain access to a magnet belt that needed adjustment. When the miner stepped onto the magnet belt, the belt started, throwing the miner 16 feet to the ground below.

Accident Scene where a miner died after climbing over the handrail onto a conveyor belt to gain access to a magnet belt that needed adjustment.
Photo property of MSHA
Best Practices
  • De-energize, lock-out, tag-out, and block machinery against motion before performing repairs or maintenance on a belt conveyor.
  • Install a system which provides visible or audible warning to warn miners that the conveyor will be started.
  • Provide and maintain safe access to all workplaces and establish safe work procedures.
  • Use fall protection when a fall hazard exists. Ensure fall protection has a suitable fall arrest and secure anchorage system, and that miners are properly trained.
Additional Information

This is the 22nd fatality reported in 2023, and the second classified as “Slip or Fall of Person.”

McCraren Compliance offers a full range of safety and health training and consulting services. Plus we can help you incorporate well-being into your traditional systems in order to support the Total Worker Health of your workforce.

Call 888-758-4757, email info@mccrarencompliance.com or visit our website www.mccrarencompliance.com

Original article published by MSHA

FMCSA Warning: Drivers Who Drug-Test Positive Will Lose CDLs

Posted on by McCraren Compliance
Final Rule Goes Into Effect in Late 2024
drug test form

A substance abuse professional will evaluate when a driver has successfully completed his or her eligibility to be retested. (Thinkstock)

Federal trucking regulators have issued a warning that late next year truck drivers who test positive for drug use will not only be placed on prohibited driving status, but will lose their commercial driver licenses and not be issued learning permits until they complete the federal return-to-work process.

“A driver with a drug-and-alcohol program violation is prohibited from performing safety-sensitive functions, including operating CMVs, for any DOT-regulated employer until the return-to-duty process is complete,” said a Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration notice on Nov. 28. “By November 18, 2024, as part of new federal regulations, drivers with a ‘prohibited’ status in the Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse will lose or be denied their state-issued commercial driving privileges.”

FMCSA’s final rule was issued in October 2021, but the message went out this week to remind drivers that positive drug tests will require state driver licensing agencies to take action when the drug test failures are posted in the Clearinghouse, said an agency spokeswoman.

“A CDL license will remain prohibited until FMCSA has received notification that the driver has satisfied and completed the return-to-duty process,” the spokeswoman said. “Subsequently, FMCSA removes the violation from the Clearinghouse.”

The final rule said it will help keep unsafe drivers off the road by increasing compliance with the CMV driving prohibition.

A driver’s employer is required to provide a driver a list of DOT-qualified substance abuse professionals for education and treatment. Drivers can then select their SAP based on their own research. The SAP will then evaluate when a driver has successfully completed his or her eligibility to be retested.

“To remain in a ‘not prohibited’ status, your employer must complete the follow-up testing plan with you as specified by the SAP, which must include a minimum of six unannounced follow-up tests in the first 12 months of returning to performing safety-sensitive functions,” according to FMCSA. “If you are an owner-operator, your designated consortium/third-party administrator must complete your follow-up testing plan.”

FMCSA says the Clearinghouse is having the intended effect of taking large numbers of drivers caught using drugs off the highways. However, a persistent concern is that large numbers of drivers remain in prohibited driving status after failing their drug tests, suggesting that many have been leaving the profession rather than enroll in the return-to-duty program.

Since the Clearinghouse was opened in January 2020, there have been 224,000 positive drug and alcohol tests recorded, the majority for positive marijuana drug tests.

As of the end of September, 149,374 drivers remained in prohibited status, with 113,639 not yet starting the return-to-work program.

Despite a recent illuminating research report by the American Transportation Research Institute that focused on driver marijuana test failures, FMCSA said it has no research of its own yet to explain why the large majority of drivers who test positive for at least one of the 14 substances tested appear to be moving to what they view as greener pastures — maybe even for less money.

ATRI notes that marijuana is a unique problem. While it is legal in many states, truck drivers cannot use marijuana at all. There is zero tolerance. Smoking a joint can cause a driver to fail his or her drug test.

The ATRI study concluded: “Data confirms that most [drivers] have not completed the return-to-work process and instead opted to remain outside of the interstate trucking industry.”

In a recent statement, FMCSA noted that in calendar years 2021 and 2022, more than 1 million new CDL driver records were added to the Commercial Driver’s License Information System by states — a “robust indicator of new drivers entering the industry. Therefore, we believe FMCSA’s drug and alcohol program is improving safety by directly holding individual drivers accountable for drug and alcohol violations and completing the RTD requirements.”

McCraren Compliance can help you understand and comply with FMCSA, USDOT and ADOT and ensure your drivers and your vehicles operate safely and efficiently.

Call us Today at 888-758-4757 or email us at info@mccrarencompliance.com to schedule your free FMCSA Compliance Assessment.

Original article published by Transport Topic

MSHA announces findings of October 2023 impact inspections at 13 mines, many with histories of repeated safety, health issues

Posted on by McCraren Compliance

Inspections resulted in 50 significant, substantial violations. 

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor announced today that its Mine Safety and Health Administration completed impact inspections at 13 mines in 10 states in October 2023, issuing 215 violations.

MSHA began impact inspections after an April 2010 explosion in West Virginia at the Upper Big Branch Mine killed 29 miners.

To date, impact inspections in 2023 have identified 2,307 violations, including 654 significant and substantial or S&S and 46 unwarrantable failure findings. An S&S violation is one reasonably likely to cause a reasonably serious injury or illness. Violations designated as unwarrantable failures occur when an inspector finds aggravated conduct that constitutes more than ordinary negligence.

The agency conducts impact inspections at mines that merit increased agency attention and enforcement due to poor compliance history; previous accidents, injuries, and illnesses; and other compliance concerns. Of the 215 violations MSHA identified in October, 50 were evaluated as S&S and six had unwarrantable failure findings. The agency completed October’s inspections at mines in Alabama, Colorado, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Utah, Virginia and West Virginia.

“The October 2023 impact inspections show miners’ safety and health continues to be put at risk and in ways that are completely preventable,” said Assistant Secretary for Mine Safety and Health Chris Williamson. “We remain troubled and concerned with the continued trend in our impact inspections. This trend include inspectors finding violations that put miners’ lives at risk, such as float coal dust, improper fall protection and a lack of adequate workplace examinations.”

The Longview Mine in Volga, West Virginia, was among the mines MSHA inspected in October. Selected given its history of accidents and inadequate examinations, the mine is operated by Century Mining LLC. The inspection identified 12 violations, including three S&S and four unwarrantable failure findings.

The inspection led the agency to issue an imminent danger order. Specifically, MSHA inspectors found:

  • Accumulations of float coal dust on two separate conveyor belt lines, resulting in two unwarrantable failure orders.
  • Inadequate examinations on the same conveyor belt line resulted in two more two unwarrantable failure orders. Inadequate examinations have contributed to serious mine accidents and have been identified as a root cause in several mining fatalities in 2023. MSHA has placed a priority on improving workplace examinations including the identification, correction and documentation of hazardous conditions to ensure miners’ safety and health.
  • Two miners working for a contractor were observed on a roof 20 feet above ground wearing safety harnesses that were not tied off as required. MSHA issued an imminent danger order and a related S&S citation and withdrew the two miners from the mine. MSHA issued a safety alert in 2023 regarding falls from height and continues to remind operators and contractors on best practices for preventing falls, such as designing an effective fall prevention and protection program as well as providing task training.

“Violations are not just numbers. Each one represent a hazard to miners whose safety, health and lives are being put at risk needlessly. MSHA will continue to enforce the law, while also providing compliance assistance to mine operators, so that the mining industry makes progress in reversing the troubling upward trend in fatalities,” Williamson added.

McCraren Compliance offers a full range of safety and health training and consulting services. Plus we can help you incorporate well-being into your traditional systems in order to support the Total Worker Health of your workforce.

Call 888-758-4757, email info@mccrarencompliance.com or visit our website www.mccrarencompliance.com

Original article published by MSHA

Safety in Cold Weather – Safety and Health Alert

Posted on by McCraren Compliance

Cold weather can cause cold stress, which can lead to hypothermia, frostbite, and other severe injuries, and illnesses.

Best Practices
Wind Chill Chart
  • Monitor your physical condition and that of your coworkers.
  • Wear appropriate clothing.
  • Wear clothing that allows a full range of motion necessary for the tasks of the work.
  • Move into warm locations during breaks.
  • Include chemical hot packs in your first aid kit.
  • Avoid touching cold metal surfaces with bare skin.

 

In addition, some portable heaters can emit deadly carbon monoxide (CO).  CO is odorless and colorless and can accumulate in confined spaces and enclosed areas such as the cabs of vehicles, work trailers, and unventilated areas.  Exposure to 200 parts per million of CO for 15 minutes can cause disorientation, unconsciousness and eventual death.

Best Practices

  • Maintenance of fuel-burning equipment and vehicles is crucial. Vehicle exhaust systems need to be regularly inspected for leaks or other damage.
  • Monitors and audible alarm systems should be in place wherever CO is a potential hazard. Use portable CO detectors as necessary.
  • Properly ventilate work areas. The ventilation system should be designed and maintained to remove contaminants from the mine atmosphere.
  • Maintain travelways and keep them free of ice and debris.

McCraren Compliance offers a full range of safety and health training and consulting services. Plus we can help you incorporate well-being into your traditional systems in order to support the Total Worker Health of your workforce.

Call 888-758-4757, email info@mccrarencompliance.com or visit our website www.mccrarencompliance.com

Original article published by MSHA

FMCSA Portal Updates — Action Required

Posted on by McCraren Compliance

FMCSA Portal Users –

If you have or use an FMCSA Portal account, you must act now to maintain access.

How you log on to the FMCSA Portal is changing.  FMCSA is making access more secure by implementing multifactor authentication. As of January 1st, User ID and Passwords will no longer be used to access the FMCSA Portal.

You will access the FMCSA Portal through a Login.gov account instead of using your current FMCSA Portal username and password.

(U.S. Department of Transportation users should refer to the internal email notifications for specific instructions on creating accounts and logging in via government issues PIV cards.)

What actions do you need to take now?

To ensure you have continued access to the FMCSA Portal, you must set up a Login.gov account. Please follow the attached step-by-step directions, which can also be found on the FMCSA website, to establish your account.

Don’t delay – set up your Login.gov account now for immediate access to the FMCSA Portal that is easier and more secure. Once you have created your Login.gov account, instead of entering a User ID and Password, simply click the “Sign In With Login.gov” link and follow the attached instructions to log in.

Have questions or need help setting up your Login.gov account?

What is Multifactor Authentication?

Multifactor Authentication is a method to verify your identity requiring two or more pieces of evidence (factors). These factors can be something you know (like a password), something you have (like an access card) or something you are (like facial recognition or fingerprint).

Why is FMCSA implementing Multifactor Authentication?

The Federal Cybersecurity plan under White House Executive Order 14028, Improving the Nation’s Cybersecurity, and Office of Budget Memorandum M-22-09, Moving the U.S. Government Toward Zero Trust Cybersecurity Principles (Federal Zero Trust Strategy) requires all Federal agencies to adopt secure MFA to enhance information security by Dec. 31, 2023.

McCraren Compliance can help you understand and comply with FMCSA, USDOT and ADOT and ensure your drivers and your vehicles operate safely and efficiently.

Call us Today at 888-758-4757 or email us at info@mccrarencompliance.com to schedule your free FMCSA Compliance Assessment.

Original article published by FMCSA

Clearinghouse-II and CDL Downgrades

Posted on by McCraren Compliance
CDL Drivers in a “prohibited” status in the Clearinghouse will lose their commercial driving privileges.

The second Clearinghouse final rule (Clearinghouse-II) compliance date—November 18, 2024— is less than a year away. As part of these new Federal requirements, CDL drivers who have open violations in FMCSA’s Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse will soon lose their commercial driving privileges.

FMCSA added the following frequently asked questions on the Clearinghouse website to help CDL drivers understand the new regulations, and what actions they can take to retain or reinstate their commercial driving privileges, if needed.

How will the second Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse final rule (Clearinghouse-II) affect CDL drivers?

As established in the first Clearinghouse final rule (81 FR 87686), drivers with a “prohibited” Clearinghouse status are prohibited from operating a commercial motor vehicle (CMV). The second Clearinghouse final rule (Clearinghouse-II) further supports this by ensuring that drivers with a “prohibited” Clearinghouse status do not continue to hold a commercial driver’s license (CDL) or commercial learner’s permit (CLP).

The Clearinghouse-II final rule (86 FR 55718) requires that, beginning November 18, 2024, State Driver Licensing Agencies (SDLAs) must remove the commercial driving privileges from the driver’s license of an individual subject to the CMV driving prohibition. This would result in a downgrade of the license until the driver completes the return-to-duty (RTD) process.

This means that, beginning November 18, 2024, having a “prohibited” Clearinghouse status will result in losing or being denied a CDL or CLP.

Note: SDLAs with legislative authority currently have the option to voluntarily query the Clearinghouse and downgrade CDLs for prohibited drivers and may do so before the November 18, 2024 compliance date.

How will the second Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse final rule (Clearinghouse-II) improve safety on our Nation’s roads?

The requirement to downgrade commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs) of drivers in a “prohibited” Clearinghouse status rests on the safety-critical premise that drivers who cannot lawfully operate a commercial motor vehicle (CMV) because they engaged in prohibited use of drugs or alcohol or refused a drug or alcohol test should not hold a valid CDL or commercial learner’s permit (CLP). The Clearinghouse-II final rule (86 FR 55718) supports FMCSA’s goal of ensuring that only qualified drivers are eligible to receive and retain a CDL, thereby reducing the number and severity of CMV crashes.

My commercial driver’s license (CDL) was downgraded due to my “prohibited” Clearinghouse status. How can I get my commercial driving privileges reinstated?

To have your Clearinghouse status change from “prohibited” to “not prohibited,” you must complete the return-to-duty (RTD) process, as established by 49 CFR part 40, subpart O. After you complete the RTD process and your Clearinghouse status is updated to “not prohibited,” your State Driver Licensing Agency (SDLA) will allow you to reinstate your commercial driving privileges.

FMCSA has created a resource that outlines the steps drivers take to complete their RTD process: download the Return-to-Duty Quick Reference Guide. For more information about the RTD process, visit the Clearinghouse Learning Center.

McCraren Compliance can help you understand and comply with FMCSA, USDOT and ADOT and ensure your drivers and your vehicles operate safely and efficiently.

Call us Today at 888-758-4757 or email us at info@mccrarencompliance.com to schedule your free FMCSA Compliance Assessment.

Original article published by FMCSA

‘Be willing to listen’: Experts discuss suicide prevention in construction

Posted on by McCraren Compliance
male-workers-BW.jpg
Photo: A-Digit/iStockphoto

Itasca, IL — Smaller construction companies may have an advantage when it comes to helping workers find counseling and mental health services amid the industry’s ongoing suicide crisis.

To Jessica Bunting, director of the Research to Practice initiative at CPWR – The Center for Construction Research and Training, companies with fewer employees are “already ahead of the game” in that regard. Bunting was one of a panel of experts who spoke during a Nov. 9 webinar hosted by the National Safety Council Divisions.

“It’s so much easier to accept help from someone that you already know and trust,” she said. “And so, I think if the leaders of these small companies can find it within themselves to be vulnerable and they’re building a sense of community, that sets them up to really change the whole culture of the company when it comes to both mental health and safety.”

Research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that construction occupations have the second-highest rate of suicide, ranking behind mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction.

Increasing awareness and limiting stigma around the issue is the goal of the Construction Industry Alliance for Suicide Prevention, whose executive director, Sonya Bohmann, facilitated the discussion with various members of the CIASP board of trustees.

Nick Robins – an environmental, health and safety official with Lendlease, a multinational construction and real estate company – called on employers to go beyond simply forming strategies for prevention. A good place to start? Acknowledging the issue and keeping an open dialogue about resources available to workers.

“The more you talk about it, the less stigma there is with it,” Robins said. “But to talk about it, you have to start the conversation. Once you start it, it’s hard to stop people. It really is. Because there will be people, the advocates, who will step forward and they’ve been waiting for this. So, start the conversation. Be willing to listen, give the time.”

Justin Azbill, director of national EHS at Milwaukee Tool, said assistance must be proactive rather than reactive. One step toward accomplishing this, he said, is educating employers “to be able to learn how to have conversations” about mental health as well as on “the importance of not diagnosing but understanding ways to get help.”

McCraren Compliance offers a full range of safety and health training and consulting services. Plus we can help you incorporate well-being into your traditional systems in order to support the Total Worker Health of your workforce.

Call 888-758-4757, email info@mccrarencompliance.com or visit our website www.mccrarencompliance.com

Original article published by Safety+Health an NSC publication

Should transit workers have standards for hours of service and fatigue?

Posted on by McCraren Compliance
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Photo: vanbeets/iStockphoto

Washington — Citing high-profile transit incidents in which worker fatigue played a role, the Federal Transit Administration is considering minimum standards for hours of service and fatigue risk management programs for the industry.

In an advance notice of proposed rulemaking published Oct. 30, FTA notes that public transit is the only mode of transportation without these measures.

The agency doesn’t offer specific proposals for HOS or fatigue risk management programs, but it asks for public input on each issue.

The notice details HOS and fatigue risk management program recommendations from the National Transportation Safety Board and FTA’s Transit Advisory Committee for Safety. Additionally, it includes information on American Public Transportation Association consensus standards and other relevant federal regulations.

APTA’s consensus standard for train operator HOS is 12 hours, with a “maximum duty day” of 16 hours. It also includes a minimum off-duty time of 10 hours and a max of seven consecutive workdays.

The deadline to comment is Dec. 29.

McCraren Compliance offers a full range of safety and health training and consulting services. Plus we can help you incorporate well-being into your traditional systems in order to support the Total Worker Health of your workforce.

Call 888-758-4757, email info@mccrarencompliance.com or visit our website www.mccrarencompliance.com

Original article published by Safety+Health an NSC publication