Tag: #osha

Stay safe when using portable light strings

Posted on by McCraren Compliance
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Photo: mokee81/iStockphoto

OSHA requires employers to ensure work areas have sufficient lighting. Sometimes that means extra help is needed. “When adequate illumination is not obtainable by permanent lighting sources,” OSHA states in standard 1915.82(a)(4), “temporary lighting may be used as supplementation.”

One solution is portable light strings. These are electric lights connected along a cable, wire or string. The Wyoming Department of Workforce Services has tips on how to use them safely:

  • Before stringing the lights, inspect the wiring and fixtures for damage.
  • Ensure the plug has a ground prong – the third prong on the plug – and test it frequently.
  • Don’t string lights near combustible items. The bulbs can get hot. Even if they’re not in direct contact with the combustible items, “heat can build up slowly until the ignition temperature is reached.”
  • All bulbs should have guards installed. “Not only will this help prevent the bulb from coming in direct contact with a combustible, it can also protect you (or someone else) from coming in contact with the bulb and getting burned.”
  • Need to replace a broken bulb on the string? Put on gloves to protect against cuts, and then disconnect the power from the light string before replacing the bulb.
  • Don’t use an ordinary light string in an area that may contain flammable vapors. “When used within an enclosed or confined space, the space must be certified as ‘Safe for Hot Work’ if a conventional string is used. If the atmosphere is not ‘Safe for Hot Work,’ then ‘explosion-proof’ lights must be used.”

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

OSHA will seek public input, ideas to improve OSHA whistleblower program outreach, training at October meeting

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Public comments must be submitted by Nov. 7, 2023

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration will hold an online meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2023, to hear public comments and suggestions as part of its effort to improve outreach and training initiatives that support the federal whistleblower laws the agency enforces.

The meeting will be held from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. EDT and is open to the public. The meeting will be offered in English and Spanish. Individuals interested in joining or participating in the meeting must register in English or in Spanish by Oct. 17, 2023. There is no cost to attend.

OSHA is seeking comments, ideas and other input in response to the following questions:

  • How can OSHA deliver better whistleblower customer service?
  • What kind of assistance can OSHA provide to help explain the agency’s whistleblower laws to employees and employers?

Comments may also be submitted to the Federal eRulemaking Portal assigned to Docket No. OSHA-2018-0005. Deadline for submitting comments is Nov. 7, 2023. Read the Federal Register notice for details.

Learn more about OSHA’s Whistleblower Protection Program.

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

OSHA announces enforcement, compliance initiative to protect workers from silica exposure in engineered stone fabrication, installation

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OSHA supplements current efforts to address serious workplace danger

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor announced that its Occupational Safety and Health Administration today launched a new initiative focused on enhancing enforcement and providing compliance assistance to protect workers in the engineered stone fabrication and installation industries.

“Many workers in the engineering stone industry are experiencing illnesses so severe that they’re unable to breathe – much less work a full shift – because of their exposure to silica dust,” explained Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health Doug Parker. “Among them is a 27-year-old worker in California who went to an emergency room with shortness of breath in 2022 and whose lung biopsy later revealed he had silicosis. Since then, he has been on an oxygen tank and unable to support his wife and three young children financially.”

Supplementing OSHA’s current National Emphasis Program for Respirable Crystalline Silica, this initiative will focus enforcement efforts on industry employers to make sure they’re following required safety standards and providing workers with the protections required to keep them healthy. It establishes procedures for prioritizing federal OSHA inspections to identify and ensure prompt abatement of hazards in covered industries where workers face exposure to high levels of silica dust.

OSHA and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health identify silica dust exposure as a health hazard for workers involved in manufacturing, finishing and installing natural and manufactured stone, which includes the man-made, engineered artificial or cultured types.

When inhaled, very small crystalline silica particles expose workers to the risk of silicosis, an incurable, progressively disabling and sometimes fatal lung disease. Unsafe silica dust exposure can also lead to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or kidney disease.

Industries subject to the prioritized programmed inspections include those engaged in Cut Stone and Stone Product Manufacturing as well as Brick, Stone and Related Construction Material Merchant Wholesalers. Outreach efforts will continue to include additional industries that may work with engineered stone.

A July 2023 study released by the American Medical Association underscores the dangers for workers in these industries. The “Silicosis Among Immigrant Engineered Stone Countertop Fabrication Workers in California” study cited 52 male patients diagnosed with silicosis caused by occupational exposure to respirable silica dust from engineered stone. Of these patients, 20 suffered progressive massive fibrosis, 11 needed lung transplants and 10 died due to their exposures.

As part of the initiative, OSHA is sending affected employers and stakeholders information on the initiative, including fact sheets on dust control methods and safer work practices for engineered stone manufacturing, finishing and installation operations.

Learn more about crystalline silica.

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

Workplace fire safety: What’s your plan?

Posted on by McCraren Compliance
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Photo: s-c-s/iStockphoto

If a fire broke out at your workplace, would workers know what to do? Do they know what procedures to follow?

OSHA has advice for creating a workplace fire safety plan:

  • Describe the escape routes workers will use. If you have employees with a disability, clearly state the procedures to follow so they can evacuate safely.
  • Address how employees who stay behind to shut down critical equipment will evacuate.
  • Explain the preferred methods for alerting employees of a fire emergency.
  • Ensure workers receive emergency training.
  • Provide for an employee alarm system throughout the workplace.
  • Require employer review of the plan with new employees, as well as with all employees when the plan changes.

Want more tips on designing and implementing fire drills? check out Workplace fire drills: Regular practice keeps workers prepared for emergencies.

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

Criminal Charges

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Colorado contractor awaits sentencing on manslaughter charge after failing to protect employees in 2021 trench collapse that killed 23-year-old worker

A4S LLC, owner Peter Dillon failed to use legally required trench protection systems

BRECKENRIDGE, CO – The owner of an Avon construction company whose failure to follow required federal safety standards led to the 2021 trench collapse death of a 23-year-old employee in Breckenridge now awaits a November sentencing date after pleading guilty to manslaughter on Aug. 3, 2023.

The plea follows a criminal referral by the U.S. Department of Labor after Peter Dillon and his now defunct company, A4S LLC refused to require the use of proper safety equipment to protect his workers. The refusal contributed to a trench collapse in which a company employee, Marlon Diaz, suffered fatal injuries as he installed a residential sewer line.

After an investigation of the incident by the department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration, A4S LLC received three willful citations in May 2022 for not ensuring the excavation was inspected by a competent person, failing to instruct employees on the recognition and avoidance of unsafe conditions and not having a trench protective system in place. OSHA also issued the company a serious citation for not having a safe means of exit within 25 lateral feet of employees working in a trench.

Continue reading “Criminal Charges”

Holding Violators Accountable

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US Department of Labor sues Waukegan contractor who refuses to pay more than $360K in penalties for repeatedly endangering roofing employees

Contractor operating as ECS Roofing Professionals cited 9 times since 2014

Photo: OSHA

CHICAGO – The U.S. Department of Labor has filed suit in federal court to force a Waukegan roofing contractor to pay $360,531 in penalties for repeatedly exposing employees to falls from elevations, the leading cause of fatal injuries in the construction industry.

Filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois in Chicago, the action follows an Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission decision on March 6, 2023, that affirmed the citations issued by the department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration after its investigation found that Joshua Herion — operator of ECS Roofing Professionals Inc. — exposed employees to deadly fall hazards at two separate job sites in Illinois and Wisconsin in October 2022.

Specifically, OSHA determined the contractor did not provide employees required fall arrest systems, a safety net or guardrails as they installed siding and roofing materials atop roofs in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, and at a job site in Waukesha, Wisconsin.

After OSHA issued citations and fined ECS Roofing $226,530 for the Illinois violations and $134,001 for violations in Wisconsin, the company contested the citations and penalties with the commission. Despite the commission’s decision affirming the penalties in full, Herion has failed to pay the penalties which led the department’s Office of the Solicitor in Chicago to file suit to recover the penalties.

Continue reading “Holding Violators Accountable”

Fatal Safety Failure

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Federal inspectors find Missouri roofing contractor allowed employees to work without fall protection, leading to young worker’s fatal injuries

Troyer Roofing & Coatings continues to defy safety standards

TRENTON, MO – On March 27, 2023, an 18-year-old employee of a Missouri contractor was applying sealant to a commercial building’s roof when he fell more than 22 feet and suffered serious injuries that left him in a coma for five days before dying.

After the tragic fall, the employer — Troyer Constructors LLP, operating as Troyer Roofing & Coatings — allowed a foreman and another worker to continue working without fall protection until they finished their shift. In addition, inspectors with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration learned the Jamesport employer had fall protection available but allowed employees to decide if they wanted to use it.

“Troyer Roofing & Coatings could have prevented this young worker’s death by requiring their employees to use fall protection equipment. Disturbingly, the employer allowed other workers to go back to work on the same roof without fall protection,” said OSHA Area Director Karena Lorek in Kansas City, Missouri. “Employers have an obligation to comply with requirements that are designed to prevent tragedies such as this from occurring.”

OSHA investigators determined that, in addition to not ensuring that employees used fall protection, the contractor failed to train them on how to use it. Investigators also found Troyer Roofing did not train employees on proper forklift operations, failed to provide workers with face and eye protection, and did not have a written hazard communication program for sealants and other chemicals the employer used.

OSHA cited Troyer Roofing & Coatings for one willful violation, three serious violations and one other-than serious violation and proposed penalties of $205,369. The agency cited the company for similar fall protection violations in 2015.

Based in Jamesport, Troyer Constructors LLP is a third-generation, family owned and operated business with more than 20 years of roofing industry expertise. Troyer Roofing & Coatings provides commercial roofing restorations and repairs to customers in north and central Missouri.

OSHA’s stop falls website offers safety information and video presentations in English and Spanish to teach workers about fall hazards and proper safety procedures.

The company has 15 business days from receipt of its citations and penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA’s area director, or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

Learn more about OSHA. For small employers, OSHA’s On-Site Consultation Program offers no-cost and confidential occupational safety and health services, with priority given to high-hazard worksites, like construction. Companies interested in the program should contact their local OSHA On-Site Consultation program to discuss details and schedule an on-site safety and health evaluation. Find the On-Site Consultation program nearest you by calling 1-800-321-OSHA (6742) or visiting OSHA’s program website.

McCraren Compliance offers many opportunities in safety training to help circumvent accidents. Please take a moment to visit our calendar of classes to see what we can do to help your safety measures from training to consulting.

Original article published by OSHA

Disregard for Workers

Posted on by McCraren Compliance

Nationwide auto services provider exposed workers to potentially deadly electrical hazards at Beachwood Take 5 Car Wash, federal inspectors find

Driven Brands subsidiary faces $256K in penalties for 13 safety, health violations

BEACHWOOD, OH ‒ While the potential deadly risks of mixing electricity and water are well known, Take 5 Car Wash, a Beachwood company operated by a subsidiary of one of the nation’s largest automotive services companies, ignored reports of employees suffering electrical shocks for more than 14 months, a U.S. Department of Labor investigation has found.

In response to a complaint of unsafe working conditions, the department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration opened an inspection of the car wash in March 2023 and learned that employees were assigned to clean the walls of the facility with high-pressure water near electrical equipment, including a 480-volt electrical panel not rated for wet or damp locations and showing signs of deterioration.

“Our investigation found that Take 5 Car Wash’s management knew that live electrical hazards existed throughout the facility, and that employees suffered electrical shocks repeatedly, yet allowed them to continue working in these conditions and took several weeks to make repairs after a worker suffered electrical shock,” said OSHA Area Director Howard Eberts in Cleveland. “It is unsettling that a company with such vast resources would expose employees to the potentially deadly risks of electrical shock.”

Inspectors also found rusted electrical boxes with live wires, improper use of flexible cords, and restrooms without properly grounded outlets, all of which exposed workers to potential shocks. Additionally, inspectors found multiple energized electrical cabinets and boxes were not guarded to prevent contact with live parts.

Continue reading “Disregard for Workers”

Preventing Suicide

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A purple and teal ribbon with the text "September is National Suicide Prevention Month. osha.gov"

 

As a mental health provider, I have seen firsthand the consequences of not paying attention to mental health, substance use and suicide prevention in workplaces. Unfortunately, workplaces are often overlooked when the reality is that mental health impacts workers’ productivity and performance, as well as the employers’ operations and mission. Employers need to recognize the misconception that pre-existing mental health conditions are not a concern in the workplace. Ignoring the warning signs of an individual’s mental health struggles could potentially escalate to the risk of suicide.

Suicide is a complex and distressing issue that touches all demographics in all industries. While suicide prevention awareness has grown there is more we need to do to address this issue in the workplace. The workplace is a significant part of people’s lives because of the time we spend there and often acts as a catalyst for stress, anxiety and other mental health challenges. Employers should consider mental health as part of their safety and health management system.

Recent studies show a concerning rise in suicide rates among workers, underscoring the urgency of this issue. Recognizing this increase is the necessary first step in taking effective prevention measures. The next step is promoting mental health awareness and eliminating the stigma of seeking help for psychological distress.

To cultivate a supportive environment that champions mental well-being and reduces the risk of suicide, employers can:

  • Implement mental health programs.
  • Provide resources for workers to get help.
  • Foster a culture of openness and understanding around mental health issues.
  • Train managers and staff to recognize the signs of mental distress and potential suicidal ideation.
  • Encourage open dialogue about mental health to destigmatize these issues and help those workers struggling to seek help.

Employer-provided resources such as Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs), mental health days and access to mental health professionals can offer crucial support for workers in need. By taking these steps, workplaces can not only help prevent suicide but also enhance overall employee well-being and productivity. Raising awareness among employees and providing training on suicide prevention can empower colleagues to identify warning signs and take appropriate actions.

The importance of suicide prevention awareness in the workplace cannot be overstated. By prioritizing mental health support and prevention strategies, we can create healthier, more supportive workplaces that benefit everyone.

Find OSHA resources to help reduce workplace stress and support your workers’ mental health. You can also call or text 988, or visit 988lifeline.org.

McCraren Compliance offers many opportunities in safety training to help circumvent accidents. Please take a moment to visit our calendar of classes to see what we can do to help your safety measures from training to consulting.

Original article published by OSHA

Catastrophic Safety Failure

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Federal investigators find Ohio foundry’s failure to follow required safety procedures led to fatal steam explosion

Photo by: News 5 Cleveland

1 fatality, 15 injuries, and work site’s complete loss

BEDFORD, OH – A federal workplace safety investigation into a Beford foundry explosion that caused the death of a maintenance supervisor and injuries to 15 other employees found the operator, I. Schumann & Co. LLC, failed to protect workers from the hazard of steam explosions.

Inspectors with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration learned the explosion happened while employees inspected a water leak on a furnace used to smelt solid metals. OSHA determined water leaked onto the molten metal inside the furnace, causing a steam explosion. Inspectors found the company did not make sure that required lockout/tag out procedures were followed during the inspection of the furnace.

“This terrible tragedy could have been avoided if the employer followed well-known machine safety standards that are meant to prevent this type of explosion,” explained OSHA Area Director Howard Eberts in Cleveland, Ohio. “Sadly, a worker lost his life and 15 others were hurt in an incident that was entirely preventable. It’s exactly why employers need to follow required safety procedures and train their employees.”

OSHA cited the company for six serious violations and has proposed $62,500 in penalties. The foundry remains closed since the explosion.

Based in Bedford since 1917, I. Schumann & Co. today recycles material into metal alloys, ingots and pellets.

OSHA’s machine guarding and control of hazardous energy webpages provide information on what employers must do to limit worker exposures to machine hazards.

McCraren Compliance offers many opportunities in safety training to help circumvent accidents. Please take a moment to visit our calendar of classes to see what we can do to help your safety measures from training to consulting.

Original article published by OSHA