Safety Tidbit 4.02 - A 5A1 Refesher

Safety Tidbit 4.02 – A 5A1 Refresher

Reference:        The OSHAct

                        OSHA Field Operations Manual

Under Section 5(a)(1), Duties, of the OSH Act, it states:

“Each employer -- shall furnish to each of his employees employment and a place of employment which are free from recognized hazards that are causing or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm to his employees.”

This is the “general duty” under which OSHA may cite employers for recognized hazards for which a standard may not currently exist. This is the one that strikes fear into many employers as they may not realize a particular circumstance or material is hazardous. For instance, in the past year, OSHA’s Pittsburgh Area has issued thirteen citations using Section 5(a)(1) or the General Duty Clause as justification.

However, for OSHA to use the General Duty Clause four key items must be proved:

1.     The employer failed to keep the workplace free of a hazard to which employees of that employer were exposed;

2.     The hazard was recognized;

3.     The hazard was causing or was likely to cause death or serious physical harm; and

4.     There was a feasible and useful method to correct the hazard.

Number Two is the one that may be hardest for OSHA to prove “was the hazard recognizable?” In the OSHA Field Operations Manual, recognition is split into three main sources Employer Recognition, Industry Recognition, or “Common-sense” Recognition.

Employer recognition is easy. If the employer points out the problem or has operating procedures that say how a job is to be safely completed and it was not being done that way. Then that fits for employer recognition.

Secondly, industries commonly develop and publish methods to safely perform various tasks so that every company can take advantage of the lesson learned. National examples of industries might include the American National Standards Institute (ANSI).

Lastly, is “common-sense” recognition. Hazard recognition can still be established if a hazardous condition is so obvious that any reasonable person would have recognized it. OSHA says this form of recognition is to be used in flagrant or obvious cases.

An example given by OSHA:

“In a general industry situation, courts have held that any reasonable person would recognize that it is hazardous to use an unenclosed chute to dump bricks into an alleyway 26 feet below where unwarned employees worked.”

Bottomline, OSHA can and do use the General Duty Clause to cite hazards. However, they must do a lot more investigation. Conversely, as Safety and Health professionals we must be vigilant in our learning to keep abreast of ever emerging industry knowledge of occupational hazards.

Hope this was helpful and thank you for reading my Safety Tidbits! Comments and questions are always welcome. ~ Bryan

P.S. If you have an interesting safety or health question please let me know.

Safety Tidbit 4.01 - Flood Safety

Safety Tidbit 4.01 – Flood Safety

Reference:        NOAA Significant Climate Anomalies and Events for July 2018

                        Weather.gov Turn around Don’t Drown

We have had more than our fair share of rain this summer. Areas in Western Pennsylvania typically average between 3.3 and 5.1 inches of rain during July. According to NOAA, For Pennsylvania, July goes on the record as the wettest with 176% the average precipitation. Yes, we had rain day in and day out but, more importantly, we had short periods of extreme downpours. It is at these times we can get caught out in cars getting groceries are picking up the kids. Ultimately, we must get home but getting there could be the most dangerous thing we do.

Each year, more deaths occur due to flooding than from any other thunderstorm related hazard. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that over half of all flood-related drownings occur when a vehicle is driven into hazardous flood water. The next highest percentage of flood-related deaths is due to walking into or near flood waters. People underestimate the force and power of water. Many of the deaths occur in cars swept downstream. Many of these drownings are preventable. Never drive around the barriers blocking a flooded road. The road may have collapsed under that water.  A mere 6 inches of fast-moving flood water can knock over an adult. It takes just 12 inches of rushing water to carry away most cars, and just 2 feet of rushing water can carry away SUVs and trucks. It is NEVER safe to drive or walk into flood waters.

The National Weather Service issues various precautionary statements in the press as storms are tracked. Below are their definitions and what they recommend you do for each:

·       Flash Flood Warning: Take Action! A Flash Flood Warning is issued when a flash flood is imminent or occurring. If you are in a flood-prone area move immediately to high ground. A flash flood is a sudden violent flood that can take from minutes to hours to develop. It is even possible to experience a flash flood in areas not immediately receiving rain.

·       Flood Warning: Take Action! A Flood Warning is issued when the hazardous weather event is imminent or already happening. A Flood Warning is issued when flooding is imminent or occurring.

·       Flood Watch: Be Prepared: A Flood Watch is issued when conditions are favorable for a specific hazardous weather event to occur. A Flood Watch is issued when conditions are favorable for flooding. It does not mean flooding will occur, but it is possible.

·       Flood Advisory: Be Aware: A Flood Advisory is issued when a specific weather event that is forecast to occur may become a nuisance. A Flood Advisory is issued when flooding is not expected to be severe enough to issue a warning. However, it may cause significant inconvenience, and if caution is not exercised, it could lead to situations that may threaten life and/or property.

Hope this was helpful and thank you for reading my Safety Tidbits! Comments and questions are always welcome. ~ Bryan

P.S. If you have an interesting safety or health question please let me know.

Safety Tidbit 3.50 - OSHA Consultation Program

Safety Tidbit 3.50 – OSHA Consultation Program

Reference:       OSHA Fact Sheet – The OSHA Consultation Program

Benefits of the OSHA On-site Consultation Program – An Economic Analysis

This is my 150^th Safety Tidbit! Tomorrow I embark on a new chapter of my career, mentoring a new generation of professionals as I begin teaching at IUP. Before, however, I wish to pause and reflect on a well-kept secret (which shouldn’t be a secret at all!). For the past five and half years, I have worked in Pennsylvania’s OSHA Consultation Program. Throughout the Commonwealth, the Program helps small employers keep their workers safe and healthy.

The program is administered by IUP for the state government using well-trained professionals (in PA, all consultants are nationally credentialed as either a Certified Industrial Hygienist (CIH) or a Certified Safety Professional (CSP) and many have a graduate degree).  Its mission is to help employers identify hazards in the workplace, providing kinds of assistance available to reduce the hazards, and giving detailed findings with recommendations. They also provide training and education, air sampling or noise dosimetry. In short, the Program gives small businesses peace of mind that they’re protecting their workers enabling each of them to go home to their families at the end of each workday.

A couple things about the Program. It does not issue penalties and it strictly maintains confidentiality of the client. In Pennsylvania, the program performs more than 600 visits to employers each year.

In an OSHA Working Paper dated August 1, 2018, researchers reviewed the economic benefits of the State Consultation program based on a hazards removed approach. The study showed the benefits of the program to the national economy to be $1.55 Billion annually. I ask you to spread the word and let small businesses know they have a resource that truly wants to help them. As this is completely voluntary, employers just need to request their services. (https://www.iup.edu/pa-oshaconsultation/request/)

Hope this was helpful and thank you for reading my Safety Tidbits! Comments and questions are always welcome. ~ Bryan

P.S. If you have an interesting safety or health question please let me know.

Safety Tidbit 3.49 - Safe + Sound

Safety Tidbit 3.49 – Safe +Sound

Reference:        OSHA’s SAFE + SOUND webpage

For years, OSHA has promoted the value of integrated safety and health programs in the workplace. In 1989, they published there first formal guidelines as to what that program may look like. However, even earlier in 1982 the Voluntary Protection Program (VPP), a program recognizing companies that have truly embraced a safety culture, which started in California had the key elements of those used in the 1989 OSHA guidelines. For months now, OSHA has been promoting its Safe + Sound event which is happening next week (August 13-19). Below is some of the information taken directly from OSHA’s homepage for this event.

What Is Safe + Sound Week?
A nationwide event to raise awareness and understanding of the value of safety and health programs that include management leadership, worker participation, and a systematic approach to finding and fixing hazards in workplaces.

Why Participate?
Safe workplaces are sound businesses. Successful safety and health programs can proactively identify and manage workplace hazards before they cause injury or illness, improving sustainability and the bottom line. Participating in Safe + Sound Week can help get your program started or energize an existing one.

Who Is Encouraged to Participate?
Organizations of any size or in any industry looking for an opportunity to show their commitment to safety to workers, customers, the public, or supply chain partners should participate.

How to Participate
Participating in Safe + Sound Week is easy. To get started, select the activities you would like to do at your workplace. You can host an event just for your workers or host a public event to engage your community. Examples of potential activities and tools to help you plan and promote your events are available. After you've completed your events, you can download a certificate and web badge to recognize your organization and your workers.

Hope this was helpful and thank you for reading my Safety Tidbits! Comments and questions are always welcome. ~ Bryan
P.S. If you have an interesting safety or health question please let me know.

Safety Tidbit 3.48 - Competent Person

Safety Tidbit 3.48 – Competent Person

Reference:        Construction Industry Definitions – 1926.32(f)

                        OSHA Safety and Health Topics Page – Competent Person

In the construction world, where work crews are on different sites and oftentimes several different sites simultaneously, companies rely on one person to be “in charge.” For safety, this person is known as the competent person. For the purposes of OSHA's safety and health standards for the construction industry, "competent person" is defined in 29 CFR 1926.32(f) as "one who is capable of identifying existing and predictable hazards in the surroundings or working conditions which are unsanitary, hazardous, or dangerous to employees, and who has authorization to take prompt corrective measures to eliminate them."

Overtime, many OSHA regulations have used the term competent person mainly in the construction but also in the maritime industries. More recently the term has been used in the general industry specifically in the Respirable Crystalline Silica (RCS) rule. For quite some time now, I’ve been providing a two-hour class to the masonry and concrete trades throughout Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia on how to complete the Exposure Control Plan for Silica. The class teaches students how to predict and identify silica hazards in their respective workplaces, catalog the control measures necessary to ensure workers are not overexposed to RCS. Furthermore, the class develops insights into how exposures may be reduced before work begins to avoid unnecessary worker exposure.

The class has been given more than twelve times with more than 350 attendees. Anecdotally, feedback indicates that many attendees have been able to significantly reduce their workplace dust concentrations. Furthermore, the methodology taught in the class can be used to assess risk for any workplace hazard.

How does this relate to my opening about the competent person? I am giving the class again next week, and I was asked by a prospective attendee if the class would meet the requirements for a silica competent person? I told the client that the class will definitely meet the first half of the definition of competent person: “one who is capable of identifying existing and predictable hazards in the surroundings or working conditions which are unsanitary, hazardous, or dangerous to employees…” However, I reminded the client that only by giving the competent person “authorization to take prompt corrective measures to eliminate hazards” will the safety and health of workers be assured.

Hope this was helpful and thank you for reading my Safety Tidbits! Comments and questions are always welcome. ~ Bryan

P.S. If you have an interesting safety or health question, please let me know.