News and Updates
OSHA to Focus on Amputation Hazards
Starting on or about August of this year, the Boise Area Office of OSHA will begin conducting compliance inspections in facilities where employees have been identified as being at high risk of sustaining amputation injuries.
Letters were sent to the companies that are the focus of this initiative in early May. If you received one of these letters, it doesn't guarantee you will be inspected, but it does increase your chances. If you're interested in addressing any potential amputation hazards within your workplace, the Consultation Program may be able to help. Please feel free to contact us!
More information about sources of amputation injuries and OSHA Standards that cover them can be found here.
National Emphasis Program for Residential Care and Nursing Facilities Announced
OSHA has announced a National Emphasis Program that will focus on nursing and residential care facilities in an effort to address the high injury and illness rates associated with these businesses. Specifically, the program will focus on ergonomics with regard to patient handling; exposure to blood and other potentially infectious materials; exposure to tuberculosis; workplace violence; and slips, trips, and falls.
If your facility falls within the NAICS codes 6231, 6232, or 6233, it is likely you received a letter from the Boise OSHA Area Office informing you about the program. The Boise office plans to begin enforcement inspections related to the emphasis program on or about June 25. Receiving the letter doesn't guarantee that you will be inspected, but it does increase your chances.
More information about nursing and residential care from an OSHA perspective is available here.
If you have questions, or would like to arrange for an onsite consultation visit from our program, please contact us at (208) 426-3283, or consultation@boisestate.edu.
Hazard Communication Standard Changes are in the Works
OSHA is changing the Hazard Communication Standard to bring it in line with the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS). The new system is being implemented throughout the world by countries including Canada, the European Union, China, Australia, and Japan.
Major changes to the standard include:
Hazard Classification: Chemical manufacturers and importers are required to determine the hazards of the chemicals they produce or import. Hazard classification under the new system includes specific criteria to address health and physical hazards, as well as classification of chemical mixtures.
Labels: Chemical manufacturers and importers must provide a label that includes a signal word, pictogram, hazard statement, and precautionary statement for each hazard class and category.
Safety Data Sheets: The new format has 16 specific sections to ensure consistency in presentation of protection information.
Information and Training: To help with understanding of the new system, workers are required to be trained by December 1, 2013 on the new label elements and safety data format sheet. This is in addition to current training requirements.
For a complete explanation of the changes, including a comprehensive FAQ list, you can visit the OSHA website here.
The timeline for the changes is as follows:
|
Effective Completion Date |
Requirement(s) |
Who |
|
December 1, 2013 |
Train employees on the new label elements and safety data sheet (SDS) format. |
Employers |
|
June 1, 2015*
December 1, 2015 |
Compliance with all modified provisions of this final rule, except:
The Distributor shall not ship containers labeled by the chemical manufacturer or importer unless it is a GHS label |
Chemical manufacturers, importers, distributors and employers |
|
June 1, 2016 |
Update alternative workplace labeling and hazard communication program as necessary, and provide additional employee training for newly identified physical or health hazards. |
Employers |
|
Transition Period to the effective completion dates noted above |
May comply with either 29 CFR 1910.1200 (the final standard), or the current standard, or both |
Chemical manufacturers, importers, distributors, and employers |
OSHA Issues Hazard Alert for Grain Industry
Due to a rise in the number of deaths related to suffocation and engulfment in grain bins, OSHA has issued a hazard alert addressing the issue. The alert explains how following OSHA's work practices, and providing the training and equipment required by the standard, can help prevent these deaths. For more information, please visit the following links:
1910.272 Grain Handling Facilities - OSHA Standard (website link)
Hazard Alert: Dangers of Engulfment and Suffocation in Grain Bins (website link)
Hazard Alert: Dangers of Engulfment and Suffocation in Grain Bins (pdf version of above website link)
Grain Hazard Summary Card (pdf)
This card can be printed, laminated and distributed to workers as a reminder of what they need to do and know in order to keep themselves safe around grain bins.
This hazard alert doesn't change the current standard, or mean any new rules for employers to follow; it contains reminders and recommendations regarding the existing regulations.
Water.Rest.Shade: OSHA's Campaign to Prevent Heat Illness in Outdoor Workers
OSHA does not have a specific standard that covers working in hot environments. Nonetheless, under the OSH Act employers have a duty to protect workers from recognized serious hazards in the workplace, including heat-related hazards. As part of its campaign to reduce heat-related illness and injury rates for outdoor workers, OSHA has added a new tool to its campaign web page (campaign home page).
Using the Heat Index: A Guide for Employers offers guidance about to use the heat index to plan and implement protective measures for outdoor work sites. Using four defined risk levels, the document outlines planning steps and speific actions employers can take at each level.
The campaign web page includes a variety of educational and training resources in English and Spanish.
Interim Fall Protection Guidelines Rescinded
OSHA has issued an order to withdraw the Interim Fall Protection Guidelines for Residential Construction. This means that employers who work in residential construction will have to use conventional fall protection methods such as guardrails, safety nets, or personal fall arrest systems to protect employees from falls greater than six feet (as required by 29 CFR 1926.501(b)(13). This change came into effect June 16, 2011.
Before the order was issued, the Interim Fall Protection Guidelines let employers working in some areas of residential construction use alternative methods of fall protection such as slide guards or safety monitor systems instead of conventional fall protection. The interim guidelines were withdrawn because there is still a high number of fall-related deaths happening in residential construction. There have also been major advances made in the types and capabilities of fall protection equipment that are available.
If your residential construction job site receives a visit from an OSHA compliance officer between now and September 15, 2011, a couple of things can happen:
1. If you can use conventional fall protection on the site, and are complying fully with the old fall protection instructions, the compliance officer will not issue fines. You will instead be sent a letter explaining how you can comply. If you fall protection methods don't even meet the old instructions, then you can expect to be fined.
2.If conventional fall protection is not possible on your job site, then the enforcement officer will determine if you have a) developed a written site-specific plan and used alternative protective measures that comply with 29 CFR 1926.501(b)(13) and 1926.502(k); or b) the compliance officer will determine if you have put in place alternative measures that comply with the old policy (STD-03-00-001). If you comply with either of these measures, no citations will be issued.
If you don't have a written fall protection plan that meets the new standard, you will receive a hazard alert letter. If you don't have a compliant fall protection plan, and you haven't met the minimum requirements of STD 03-00-001 (the old policy), then you can expect to be fined.
More Information
OSHA has published a Guidance Document on Fall Protection in Residential Construction to help you with this change. You can read and download a .pdf of the document here.
You can read and download a fact sheet about the changes here.
Here are some further links to areas on the OSHA website that also address the changes:
Residential Fall Protection Directive
Residential Fall Protection Standard
Residential Fall Protection Compliance Assistance
You can also contact the consultation program at (208) 426-3283, or email consultation@boisestate.edu.