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OSHA Inspection Priorities and Penalties for 2021

Sun, 21 Feb 2021 23:07:00 GMT

OSHA Inspection Priorities Penalties for 2021 as of 1/15/2021

Note this information may change at any time.

Determined by the Area Director listed in 29CFR1903. Inspections, Citations and Proposed Penalties.

Violation

Penalty

Willful: Employers who show and intentional or careless disregard.

Possible criminal violations if there is a fatality.

$9735 to $136,532

Repeated Violation: If it is the same violation within 3 years at any location.

Up to $136,532

Serious Violation: These violations impact safety and are perceived to pose a significant risk of death or injury.

Up to $13,653

Other-than-serious violationSuch violations do not impose an immediate threat but are in recognition of a flaw in your OSHA compliance, such as not storing materials properly, poor recordkeeping or not posting required notices in work areas.

Up to $13, 653

Failure to correct violation If the company does not abate the problem it’s been cited for by the due date,

Up to $13,653

From: Federal OSHA Complaint Handling Process

OSHA evaluates each complaint to determine how it can be handled best--an off-site investigation or an on-site inspection. Workers who would like an on-site inspection must submit a written request . Workers who complain have the right to have their names withheld from their employers, and OSHA will not reveal this information. At least one of the following eight criteria must be met for OSHA to conduct an on-site inspection:

A written, signed complaint by a current employee or employee representative with enough detail to enable OSHA to determine that a violation or danger likely exists that threatens physical harm or that an imminent danger exists;
An allegation that physical harm has occurred as a result of the hazard and that it still exists;
A report of an imminent danger ;
A complaint about a company in an industry covered by one of OSHA's local or national emphasis programs or a hazard targeted by one of these programs;
Inadequate response from an employer who has received information on the hazard through a phone/fax investigation;
A complaint against an employer with a past history of egregious, willful or failure-to-abate OSHA citations within the past three years;
Referral from a whistle blower investigator; or
Complaint at a facility scheduled for or already undergoing an OSHA inspection.

Inspection Priorities

OSHA's top priority for inspection is an imminent danger-a situation where workers face an immediate risk of death or serious physical harm. Second priority goes to any fatality or catastrophe-an accident that requires hospitalization of three or more workers. Employers are required to report fatalities and catastrophes to OSHA within eight hours.

Third priority is employee complaints and referrals. Lower inspection priorities include inspections targeted toward high hazard industries, planned inspections in other industries and, finally, follow-up inspections to determine whether previously cited violations have been abated.

Evaluating Employee Complaints

Before beginning an inspection, OSHA staff must be able to determine from the complaint that there are reasonable grounds to believe that a violation of an OSHA standard or a safety or health hazard exists. If OSHA has information indicating the employer is aware of the hazard and is correcting it, the agency may not conduct an inspection after obtaining the necessary documentation from the employer.

Complaint inspections generally are limited to the hazards listed in the complaint, although other violations in plain sight may be cited as well. The inspector may decide to expand the inspection based on his/her professional judgment or conversations with workers.

Complaints are not necessarily inspected in "first come, first served" order. OSHA ranks complaints based on the severity of the alleged hazard and the number of employees exposed. That is why lower priority complaints can often be handled more quickly using the phone/fax method than through on-site inspections.

Worker Involvement in OSHA Inspections

The OSH Act gives the workers' representative the right to accompany the OSHA inspector during the inspection. The representative is chosen by the union (if there is one) or by the employees, never by the employer.

If the employees are represented by more than one union, each union may choose a representative. Normally, the representative of each union will not accompany the inspector for the entire inspection, but will join the inspection when it reaches the area where those union members work.

Workers have a right to talk privately to the inspector on a confidential basis whether or not a workers' representative has been chosen. Workers are encouraged to point out hazards, describe accidents or illnesses that resulted from those hazards and relate past worker complaints about hazards. Workers should also inform the inspector if working conditions are not the same as usually exist in the workplace.

Keeping Workers And Worker Representatives Informed

After OSHA conducts a phone/fax investigation or an on-site inspection, the agency sends a letter to the worker or worker representative who filed the complaint outlining the findings, including citations and proposed penalties. Copies of citations also must be posted by the employer at or near the site of the violation. This assures that all workers who might be exposed to a hazard are aware of it and understand the need and the schedule for correction.

States Operating Approved Safety and Health Programs

States with OSHA-approved state plans provide the same protections to workers as federal OSHA, although they may follow slightly different complaint processing procedures. There are currently 23 states and jurisdictions operating OSHA-approved state occupational safety and health programs that cover both the private sector and state and local government authorities. Two other states operate approved state plans that cover state and local government employees only. Complaints to federal OSHA from workers in states with OSHA-approved state plans will be forwarded to the appropriate state plan for response.

[downloaded from https://www.osha.gov/as/opa/worker/handling.html on February 18 , 2021)

Double Legged Lanyard Hazards

Tue, 03 Nov 2020 21:40:00 GMT

Recently I attended the fall protection competent person class at Honeywell. One of the questions from a student was “Can I use both clips of a double legged lanyard on the same anchorage”. Some of these lanyards are also called “Y-lanyards” or “Twin-Leg Lanyards”.

Let’s review some fall protection basics

1.OSHA requires free falls of less than 6 feet and a maximum arresting force of 1800 lbs.

a. 1926.502(d)(16)(ii) limit maximum arresting force on an employee to 1,800 pounds (8 kN) when used with a body harness;

b. 1926.502(d)(16)(iii) be rigged such that an employee can neither free fall more than 6 feet (1.8 m), nor contact any lower level;

2. ANSI 359 (Industry Standard) requires the maximum arresting force to an average of less than 900 lbs (a 2:1 safety margin).

3. Anchorage Points for Fall Protection should be capable of holding 5000 lbs or double the maximum intended load.

4. 1926.502(d)(15). Anchorages used for attachment of personal fall arrest equipment shall be independent of any anchorage being used to support or suspend platforms and capable of supporting at least 5,000 pounds (22.2 kN) per employee attached, or shall be designed, installed, and used as follows:

The instructor directed us to the Honeywell link https://sps-support.honeywell.com/s/article/Can-I-have-both-legs-of-a-twin-leg-lanyard-or-SRL-connected-at-the-same-time .

I have always been told not to use both clips on a y-legged lanyard at the same time because the fall protection forces would increase. According to the latest data from Honeywell the fall protection forces might exceed 2400 lbs. for a worker.

What could 2400 lbs. do to a worker? In short it is a potentially fatal fall, if not then severe spinal damage or displacement of your internal organs or “suspension trauma”. Many of these injuries may not show up until long after the accident.

So what are we to do?

1. Consider all fall injuries serious, even with a harness and lanyard, always get a medical evaluation from a qualified medical provider. Even if a person says, “I’m Ok.”

2. Learn to recognize Orthostatic stress/suspension trauma https://www.osha.gov/dts/shib/shib032404.html and communicate the potential of it to EMT’s and medical professionals. They likely do not know about fall protection equipment.

3. Consider two-legged lanyards attached to the same anchorage point an IDLH situation. The only exception is when maintaining 100% fall protection when transferring from one anchorage to another.

Pushback and Tactics Faced by Safety Professionals

Fri, 16 Oct 2020 06:29:00 GMT

Pushback and Tactics Faced by Safety Professionals
(and other people too!)

During safety training younger safety people or managers ask, “How do I manage a workforce that often is 100% against safety?”

First of all, the workforce is not “100% against safety” the workforce wants to work safely. The discussion should be how do we attain a safe workplace? Finding common ground, common goals, patience and understanding is a good starting point. If you don’t have these your job becomes much harder and jobsite less safe.

My training classes include the classic Rules for Radicals by Saul Alinsky. Alinsky wrote the book to teach progressives to implement change. When I first learned about the rules, I recognized them as many of the same tactics used in organizations to prevent change. They contribute to toxic work environments and negatively impact safety.

Employ these rules and you will not have a “safe” work environment. If you recognize them in your behavior, you are likely a part of the “problem”. The solution is changing your thinking and behavior first, then you can worry about everyone else’s. Be the safety person you aspire to..

Alinsky uses the word “Enemy”. Do not to think of your co-worker as an enemy but as a team member that you need to work with towards a common goal. You need to be a leader.

We don't recommend that you use these tactics on your co-workers, but it is critical that you understand them. If you understand these tactics then you can manage, prepare, and respond to them positively.

The 13 Rules are as follows:

1. "Power is not only what you have but what the enemy thinks you have."

This could be as simple as hearing “I have worked here a long time. I am a <insert your favorite relationship or association>.” Then the person says, “leave me alone and don’t rock the boat, or I’ll make trouble.”

This is can be done overtly or it can be implied. Often this is the reason why a company hires you to manage their problems. Sometimes this is better left to the human resource department.

The end result is that you cannot do your job effectively and might lose it. The person who said this keeps theirs and people get hurt.

Usually once you finish your assignment you discover that person lied to you. They often are not respected in their organization and you were called to “manage” them.

Identify these situations and handle them early.

2. "Never go outside the expertise of your people.”

Provide expertise and advice about what you know. Tread carefully into areas you don’t have expertise in. You might be told that you are wrong thus destroying your credibility.

If you find yourself outside your expertise. Admit it, ask, research, and get an answer from someone qualified. Better yet, ask someone for their opinion. Gaining other people’s input gets better solutions and perhaps gets them on your side.

3. “Whenever possible go outside the expertise of the enemy."

Rules 2 and 3 complement each other. One strategy to undermine you is to find your strengths and weaknesses then concentrate what you do not know.

For example, you know little about forklifts and you are auditing a one trade. You identify a problem, the response is “Why are you worrying about this? You should be worried about Frank upstairs on the forklift.” You learn that there is no one named Frank, and there is no forklift.

4. "Make the enemy live up to its own book of rules."

Prior to enforcing a rule make sure you obey it. Don’t make a rule you don’t intend to enforce. This can be as easy as telling someone to wear a hard hat, and then not wear one yourself. The easiest way to show good leadership is to lead by example.

Be especially careful if management encourages the breaking of rules, they will often blame you, and will mention it during your annual review or other inopportune moment.

5. "Ridicule is man's most potent weapon."

This is the “go-to” especially if you have the potential to be successful or to achieve some success with changing a culture. People who are against change often use ridicule behind your back.

The strategy for managing this includes not taking yourself seriously and not getting upset. Getting upset invites more ridicule. Get the leadership of the team on board with safety and the group will follow the leadership and ridicule will curtail.

Concentrate on problem solving not emotional reactions. Emotional reactions seldom lead to good results.

6. "A good tactic is one your people enjoy."

and

7. "A tactic that drags on too long becomes a drag."

How can you use this to your advantage with safety programs? Learn an activity that the workforce enjoys, is easy to do, hopefully is affordable, and gives effective results.

How are these used against safety? If the workforce enjoys a negative tactic, they will continue to use it. React emotionally to it, its guaranteed to continue.

When you use an old safety program that does not work or is stale and the team cannot relate to it you will have failure.

8. "Keep the pressure on."

Know your weak spots ahead of time and make sure they are fixed or at least have a way to manage them.

If someone finds a weak spot then they focus on it, repeating the attack or casually mentioning it—always at inopportune moments. This is done to undermine you.

Grow a thicker skin and don’t take yourself too seriously. If the activity is illegal, then document it and bring in third parties.

9. "The threat is usually more terrifying than the thing itself."

Your own imagination can be your own worst enemy. People who have been at rock bottom and worked their way out of it will tell you that rock bottom isn’t so scary. Something not scary can’t be used as a threat. If you are not intimidated, you disarm the other person.

10. "The major premise for tactics is the development of operations that will maintain a constant pressure upon the opposition."

These tactics usually manifest themselves in the following ways:

Call you on days off to ask questions that can be left until your return.
On the same day people coordinate and come to you with all the problems. This is usually not a “coincidence”.
Change paperwork, lose paperwork and then blame you or somebody else.
Steal resources. It could be something as simple as dry erase markers for a presentation, to taking critical equipment
General sabotage.
Favoritism.

Continue to do your job and be professional. One result of these tactics is to get a reaction out of you, then the perpetrators play the “victim card” and report you as the problem. Document these situations, secure your own resources, documents, and equipment. Call people out professionally when they try these tactics and get caught. Work for positive solutions.

11. "If you push a negative hard and deep enough it will break through into its counterside."

Make a negative into a positive.

I had a hostile site leader complain to me during a meeting about one of the other contractors. He told me that I should be arguing on his team’s behalf. I knew that if I did as he asked, I would likely be thrown off the project. This was his main goal.

I told him that his ideas had merit and he can argue them himself to the decision makers, with everyone’s support.

He knew that if he did that, he would be thrown off the project. When he did not follow through it made him look bad to his team of 80 people. He never confronted me in front of so many people again.

I kept a cool head, which is what he did not want and it turned out in my favor.

12. "The price of a successful attack is a constructive alternative."

Offer a solution, don’t just say something is wrong. Turn it into a positive. If you have no alternative plan, then you look like a “blow-hard” or malcontent.

The same rule applies to the people you supervise. Work towards positive solutions.

13. "Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it."

This takes many forms from bullying to just making people look bad. Some ways this manifests itself are

Being excluded from meetings or not being invited to meetings.
Not having the correct equipment.
Breaking equipment you need.
Unreasonable schedules.
Rushing an accident investigation.
Not having resources, time, or personnel to do the job.
Not budgeting professional training or development.
No scope of work is communicated for a contract.
Colluding with others or simply bullying you.
Overloading you with work.
Distracting you from duties.
Team members doing work on projects you know nothing about and not telling you. Then making you responsible for them.
Blindsiding you. Surprising you with information or situations that need your immediate attention or put you in a bad situation.

There is not much you can do to counteract this except document it, report it to human resources and consider moving to another position or company. Don’t let these tactics get the best of you and rise above it.

They are trying to illicit an emotional reaction from you or don’t know any better. If you try get revenge or try to vindicate yourself, you will not be successful. Revenge in any form is fleeting, and these people are usually not worth your time, effort or soul. Concentrate on the positive people with potential, don’t waste time with these folks. And remember:

GET AWAY FROM TOXIC WORK ENVIRONMENTS!

A positive safety culture is very difficult to achieve as it is. Having a culture working against safety or you makes it even more difficult. Especially when you are contributing to the overall negativity. Hopefully, these “rules” will give you information on what to recognize in yourself, so you can fix that first, then help others.

Changing a safety culture does not happen overnight. It takes years.

Managing people and situations effectively will ultimately save lives. Isn’t this is why we are safety people?

First Aid and CPR on Construction Sites

Thu, 05 Dec 2019 17:17:00 GMT

First Aid and CPR Requirements for Construction Sites by Jim Poesl, December 2019

Few topics raise more controversy in the “back office” of companies than First Aid and CPR requirements at construction jobs. After all of the training required by the state and OSHA this normally “falls through the cracks.” Some companies feel that First Aid CPR training is all that is necessary and neglect everything else. As a result, safety takes a back seat to emergency response.

So in response to some of the feedback we have received I will answer what OSHA requirements are for First Aid and CPR, through their Letters of Interpretation and Regulations.

Question 1: Are you actually a construction site?

The first thing you need to do is determine whether you are on a Construction, General Industry, Maritime, or Agricultural workplace. OSHA defines construction as: 1926.32(g)

"Construction work." For purposes of this section, "Construction work" means work for construction, alteration, and/or repair, including painting and decorating.

Question 2: What are the relevant regulations for First Aid on a construction site?

29CFR1926.23. First aid services and provisions for medical care shall be made available by the employer for every employee covered by these regulations. Regulations prescribing specific requirements for first aid, medical attention, and emergency facilities are contained in Subpart D of this part.

29 CFR1926.50(b). Provisions shall be made prior to commencement of the project for prompt medical attention in case of serious injury.

29CFR1926.50(c). In the absence of an infirmary, clinic, hospital, or physician, that is reasonably accessible in terms of time and distance to the worksite, which is available for the treatment of injured employees, a person who has a valid certificate in first-aid training from the U.S. Bureau of Mines, the American Red Cross, or equivalent training that can be verified by documentary evidence, shall be available at the worksite to render first aid.

Question 3: How do we define “reasonably accessible”?

In a letter of interpretation to Charles F. Brogan on January 16, 2007 OSHA states: “However, the requirements that emergency medical services must be "reasonably accessible" or "in near proximity to the workplace" are stated only in general terms… While the standards do not prescribe a number of minutes, OSHA has long interpreted the term "near proximity" to mean that emergency care must be available within no more than 3-4 minutes from the workplace, an interpretation that has been upheld by the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission and by federal courts.”

Question 4: How do I determine the response time for emergency services?

It depends on the state that you live in. The State of New Jersey issues monthly response times for Basic Life Support and Advanced Life Support (BLS/ALS). In October 2019 the response times for each County is as follows:

State of NJ Response Times for BLS/ALS

County

Response Time

County

Response Time

Camden