Getting Ready for an OSHA Visit

If you run a business, you can be sure that an OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) inspector will stop by unannounced. They will require complete access to your facility in their search for potential health and safety risks in the workplace.

Do not worry about these periodic random checks conducted by OSHA inspectors or the agency's state representatives in the 26 states that perform their own health and safety inspections. If you own a small business, have no record of past violations, have not willfully disregarded standards and show good faith in rectifying insufficiencies, then OSHA may lower or cancel penalties.

Remember that aside from making random checks, OSHA also targets businesses where major accidents have occurred or where potential hazards, accidents or illnesses have been reported. In fiscal year 2001, federal and state inspectors performed roughly 92,000 inspections, discovered 220,000 workplace violations and charged over $156 million in penalties. Of these infractions, 82% were categorized as "willful" or "serious" violations.

If your business has 11 or more workers, you should maintain records of work-related injuries or illnesses. However, those in low-risk industries such as retail, service, finance, insurance and real estate do not have to keep such records.

All employers are required to put up the federal or state OSHA poster to inform employees of their safety and health rights. You can obtain a printed copy from OSHA Publications by calling 1-800-321-OSHA or you can download and print the poster from OSHA's web site (http://www.osha.gov).

The OSHA web site is a valuable resource, providing information on health and safety topics. In fact, through the site, employers can get free on-site help in pinpointing and eliminating hazards or establishing safety and health programs. You can get such assistance by contacting your state's OSHA Consultation Program Office—just click the blue "Outreach" box on the left side of the web page, then click on "Consultation Offices" and scroll down to find your state.

You can also get in touch with the OSHA Area Office closest to your workplace to talk to the compliance assistance specialist about training and education in occupational safety and health issues.

Another resource for employers is OSHA Advisors, interactive software that explains certain OSHA standards such as asbestos and helps you find potential risks in your workplace.

If you are an employee who would like to discuss a workplace safety issue, you can phone the nearest OSHA Area Office or you can post a complaint online through the OSHA Workers' Page.

OSHA Ties Down Steelworkers

OSHA recently unveiled new regulations to protect steelworkers. The new guidelines are more detailed than previous ones and require harnessing at lower heights.

"The previous standard was on two pages, this one is 50 pages," says Paul McCain, a construction consultant who is instructing a course for the Carolinas Associated General Contractors in Raleigh.

Under the newly implemented regulations, workers lifting up beams and laying down the metal decks that are needed to pour cement will have to be harnessed at lower floor levels. In addition, the guidelines also identify who is accountable for the proper installation of the building footings that provide the foundation of a steel-erected facility.

"The bottom line is that workers erecting steel need to be tied off at a lower elevation," says McCain. Under the old standard, connectors—the workers who first put the steel beams in place—had to be "tied off," or harnessed in a certain manner, at 25-30 feet. In comparison, under the new standards, they have to be "tied off" starting at an elevation of 15 feet. New guidelines are also in effect for the workers positioning metal decks.

The standards also identify the person who must ensure that the concrete footings are strong enough—the general or controlling contractor. He or she is not only responsible for the footings' strength but also for the ground's stability—its ability to support the weight of the cranes that erect the steel beams. "It used to be that (if something happened) everyone said it was someone else's fault," says McCain.

The new guidelines cap years of negotiations between OSHA and the construction industry. The regulation process began over 10 years ago and, the industry says, is one of OSHA's first uses of a procedure introduced by the Reagan Administration that favors working with the industry being regulated instead of enforcing rules.

Surprisingly, it was the steelworkers, particularly the connectors, who most vehemently opposed OSHA's "tie-down" proposals, not steel construction firms concerned about the standards' effect on construction speed. "You've got some colorful personalities out there," says McCain. "There has been some grumbling."

Connectors have said that they are afraid that being "tied off" will hamper their movement, preventing them from jumping or falling to safety if, for example, a beam attached to a crane swings in the opposite direction. "A lot of connectors don't believe it's safe to be tied off," says Chip Pocock, former head of the safety committee for the Steel Erectors Association of America. Now with the guidelines, employers can require it since they'll be slapped with OSHA fines if their employees don't adhere to the regulations.

While Pocock understands the connectors' fears, he says, "I think with modern equipment it is not as big a factor as it once was." He observes that connectors may have the most risky jobs but they tend to get hurt less. That's the reason he's most pleased with the new standards for metal grid workers, who are typically the most inexperienced.

All in all, McCain believes the guidelines will improve the safety of the workers and reduce workmen's compensation and liability insurance bills for their employers. "It might affect their mobility a little bit, but it'll be a whole lot safer," he says.

OSHA Awards Over $11 Million in Training Grants

In late September, OSHA conferred more than $11 million in grants to 64 nonprofit organizations for safety and health training programs. The Susan Harwood Training Grants focus on ergonomics, response to workplace emergencies and training for small firms and non-English speaking employees. Many of the grants support the production of training materials, which other organizations can utilize in their training sessions.

"Education is the foundation for ensuring safety and health in the workplace," says U.S. Labor Secretary Elaine L. Chao. "And these grants will help deliver that education—through training and compliance assistance—which contributes to our mission of protecting America's workers from being injured on the job."

This year OSHA gave out two kinds of grants. The first category—targeted topic grants—supports ergonomics training for ergonomics injury-prone industries and homeland security programs for emergency response preparation. The second category of grants—institutional competency building grants—helps organizations further develop safety and health training and education and outreach programs.

"Outreach and education are important tools for us to use in reducing injuries and illnesses," says OSHA Administrator John Henshaw. "The grants will help these organizations train employees in targeted occupational safety and health topics, and develop materials and curricula that will be made available to others so that a larger audience can benefit in the future."

Twenty of the 64 grants were given to new recipients chosen through a national competition announced in May. The remaining 44 endowments went to previous grantees, extending their awards for one year.

The training grants are named after the late Susan Harwood, a former director of the Office of Risk Assessment in OSHA's health standards directorate, who passed away in 1996. She served in the agency for 17 years and helped establish OSHA standards to safeguard workers in contact with bloodborne pathogens, cotton dust, benzene, formaldehyde, asbestos and lead in construction.

To view the full list of the 2002 Susan Harwood Grant recipients, please go to http://www.osha.gov/media/oshnews/sep02/national-20020927.html.

Sources: OSHA Awards More than $11 Million in Grants for Safety and Health Training Programs
National News Release, Sept. 27, 2002
http://www.osha.gov/media/oshnews/sep02/national-20020927.html

Prepare for, Don't Worry About, Inevitable OSHA Visit
Scott Clark
The Business Journal Portland, Oct. 11, 2002
http://portland.bizjournals.com/portland/stories/2002/10/14/smallb2.html

New Rules Strap in More Steel Workers
Catherine L. Traugot
The Business Journal, Sept. 13, 2002
http://triangle.bizjournals.com/triangle/stories/2002/09/16/focus5.html