Looking SHARP

              LookingS HARP Volume 11 Issue 2 Autumn 2011 “Improving Safety & Health For SHARP Companies”
In This Issue
See Workplace Violence, page 5
OSHA Issues Guidance on
Workplace Violence Prevention
Nearly 2 million American workers report having been
victims of workplace violence each year. Unfortunate-ly,
many more cases go unreported. The truth is, work-place
violence can strike anywhere, anytime, and no
one is immune. Research has identified factors that
may increase the risk of violence for some workers
at certain work sites. Such factors include exchang-ing
money with the public and working with volatile,
unstable people. Working alone or in isolated areas
may also contribute to the potential for violence. Pro-viding
services and care, and working where alcohol
is served may also impact the likelihood of violence.
Additionally, time of day and location of work, such as
working late at night or in areas with high crime rates,
are also risk factors that should be considered when
addressing issues of workplace violence. Among those
with higher risk are workers who exchange money with
the public, delivery drivers, health care professionals,
public service workers, customer service agents, law
enforcement personnel, and those who work alone or
in small groups.
In most workplaces where risk factors can be identi-fied,
the risk of assault can be prevented or minimized
if employers take appropriate precautions. One of the
best protections employers can offer their workers is to
establish a zero-tolerance policy toward workplace vi-olence.
This policy should cover all workers, patients,
clients, visitors, contractors, and anyone else who may
come in contact with company personnel.
By assessing their work sites, employers can iden-tify
methods for reducing the likelihood of incidents
occurring. OSHA believes that a well written and im-plemented
Workplace Violence Prevention Program,
combined with engineering controls, administrative
controls and training can reduce the incidence of work-place
violence in both the private sector and Federal
workplaces.
This can be a separate workplace violence preven-tion
program or can be incorporated into an injury and
illness prevention program, employee handbook, or
Get The Shot - Not The Flu!
Last year, there was a great deal of concern regarding poten-tial
threats of a flu pandemic. While it’s difficult to know exactly
when the next major outbreak will occur, one thing is certain
- seasonal flu can be deadly. Since September 1, 2010, 1,006
cases of influenza-associated hospitalizations or deaths have
occurred in Oklahoma. According to the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC), on average, an aver-age
of 36,000 Americans die from seasonal flu.
According to the CDC, the best strategy to protect
yourself from influenza is to start with a flu shot. The
CDC recommends everyone 6 months and older
should be vaccinated. Flu shots are available almost
everywhere now - at the airport,
the drug store, the health depart-ment
and - oh yeah, at the doc-tor’s
office.
For additional recommendations
on workplace flu prevention, visit
the OSHA web site at www.osha.
gov.
OSHA Issues Guidance on Workplace Violence . . . 1
Get the Shot, Not the Flu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Policy Change Has Res. Con. Focused on Safety . . . 2
Multi-Employer Citation Policy Explained . . . . . . 3
Record Quakes Prompt Emergency Plans . . . . . . . . 3
The Writer’s Block: Spread The Word! . . . . . . . . 4
Recognizing Excellence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
You’ve Got Questions - We’ve Got Answers . . . . . 5
Things that Make You Go ‘Huh’? . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Oklahoma Department of Labor Looking SHARP – Page 2 Volume 11, Issue 2
See Residential Construction page 4
Policy Change Has Res. Construction Focused On Safety
(MSDS), hazards of non-routine tasks, and employee training. A site specific chemical inventory list must also be maintained.
•Emergency action plans - your emergency action plan should identify how employees will be alerted to emergencies on the job site, where they will go during an evacuation or where they will shelter in severe weath­er,
and how employees will be accounted for once they reach shelter or the assembly area. You should also ad­dress
procedures for those who must stay behind to shut down operations, training, and contact information for a person who can answer any questions employees may have related to your program. If you have 10 or more employees, the plan must be in writing.
•Personal protective equipment - in most cases, the employer must provide personal protective equip­ment,
such as respirators, fall protection equipment, hard hats, gloves, hearing protection, visibility vests, and safety glasses. The employer is re­quired
to assess the work environment to deter­mine
what hazards are present and what types of protective equipment is necessary to protect employees from these hazards. In construction, this assessment is typically done as part of a comprehensive job hazard analysis.
•Fire prevention plans - a fire prevention plan must be developed to cover all phases of construction work. Methods to reduce fuel for a fire, such as good housekeeping and proper chemical storage; methods to reduce ignition sources, such as open flames, welding, hot-work, and electrical controls, should be addressed. Ad­equate
fire fighting equipment, such as fire extin­guishers
must be readily available and any em­ployee
who may use such equipment must have proper training in its use.
•Posting and Recordkeeping requirements - there are several postings that are required at all employment sites, including OSHA’s manda­tory
poster, informing employees of their work­place
rights and responsibilities. Emergency numbers and the job site address must also be posted. Additionally, employers with more than 10 employees (at any time during the calendar year) are required to main­tain
injury and illness records in accordance with OSHA Recordkeeping requirements. Sites expected to be in op­eration
for one year or greater must have a site specific OSHA 300 and 300A form maintained for that site. If a compliance inspector requests the injury and illness re­cords,
the employer has four business hours to have the
The residential construction industry has found itself in quite an uncomfortable spot. In the past, OSHA issued a directive that allowed the residential construction indus­try
to utilize “alternative fall protection” measures – which many took to mean “no fall protection required”. Recent­ly,
OSHA rescinded the old directive and issued a new compliance directive that was originally scheduled to be implemented in June, however, OSHA allowed a three month “phase in” period to help the residential construc­tion
contractors comply. That phase-in period has now expired, and OSHA is conducting inspections to ensure compliance with the Fall Protection Standards, as well as other OSHA regulations.
Despite the fact that fall protection is the #1 topic on the minds of those in this industry, it’s not uncom­mon
to find that many of OSHA’s other standards are not well known in the residential construction indus­try,
thus making this additional scrutiny all the more stressful for the industry.
To help those who are wondering where to start, here’s a basic primer on general safety and health requirements for the construction industries, including residential construction:
•Working at heights - whenever employees are working at heights greater than 6', fall pro­tection
is required. While most people think that means a harness and lanyard, with a place to tie off (i.e., fall arrest systems), that’s not the only method that may be utilized. Guardrail systems, fall prevention harness systems, working from scaffolding, and other methods of passive fall pro­tection
may also be used. When no other methods of fall protection are feasible (it’s the employer’s burden to prove infeasibility), a site specific fall pro­tection
plan may be used to identify alternative fall protection procedures. (A sample plan is included in the fall protection standard.) All employees who climb a ladder, scaffold or work above ground lev­el
must be trained on the hazards of working at heights.
•Injury and illness prevention plan - 1926.20(b) requires the employer to implement “such programs as may be necessary” to prevent injury and illnesses and ensure compliance with the standards. Your safety plan should include: management commitment, employee in­volvement,
hazard recognition and control, including a regular schedule of inspections, and employee training.
•Hazard communications program - you must devel­op
a written hazard communication program to address chemical safety on your job sites. Your program must ad­dress
labeling requirements, material safety data sheets Oklahoma Department of Labor Looking SHARP – Page 3 Volume 11, Issue 2
On construction sites, and even in some general in­dustry
settings, more than one employer is involved in work at a single site. On most construction sites, you’ll have a general contractor, and several subcontractors (electricians, plumb­ers,
masons, HVAC Installation, just to name a few). At a general industry site, you may have the primary employer, as well as con­tracted
trades such as janitorial or sanitation employers who also work in the same space. OSHA calls these “multi-employer work sites”.
Where more than one employer is present, employ­ees
of all trades may be exposed to the same hazards, thus, more than one employer is responsible for workplace safety. How does OSHA view these multi-employer work sites? And who gets cited, if OSHA finds a hazard?
OSHA’s multi-employer citation policy states, “citations normally shall be is­sued
to employers who’s employees are exposed to the hazards (the exposing em­ployer).”
Additionally, the employer who actually creat­ed
the hazard (creating employer) and the employ­er
who is responsible, by contract or through actual practice (i.e., the employer who has the authority for ensuring hazards are corrected - aka, the controlling employer), may also be cited. Additionally, the employ­er
who has the responsibility for correcting the hazard (the correcting employer) may be cited as well.
But OSHA cannot issue citations in­discriminately.
There are protocols OSHA must follow before citing an employer. OSHA must first determine whether the available facts indicate that the employer has a legitimate defense to the ci­tation.
Such defenses include:
• The employer did not create the hazard;
• The employer did not have the responsibility or the authority to have the hazard corrected;
• The employer did not have the ability to correct or remove the haz­ard;
• The employer can demonstrate that the creating, the controlling and/or correcting employers, as appropriate were specifically notified of the haz­ards
to which his/her employees were exposed
• The employer has instructed his/her employees to recognize the hazard and, when necessary, informed them how to avoid the dangers asso­ciated
with it. Where feasible, an exposing em­ployer
must have taken appropriate alterna­tive
means of protecting employees from the hazard and when extreme circumstances justify it, the exposing employer must have removed his/her employees from the job site to avoid citation.
If an exposing employer meets all these defenses, OSHA may not cite the employer. If all employers on a work site with employees exposed to a hazard meet these conditions, then OSHA may only issue a citation to the employers who are responsible for creating the hazard and/or who are in the best position to correct the hazard.
So, if you are on a multi-employer work site, and you identify a hazard that you did not create. What do you do? The best step is to notify the creating and control­ling
employers, in writing. Document your efforts to get the hazard corrected. Don’t be afraid to remove your employees from an unsafe condition, and at a mini­mum,
ensure other interim protections are in place.
Creating Employer:
The employer that
caused a hazardous
condition that violates an
OSHA standard.
Controlling Employer:
An employer who has gen-eral
supervisory authority
over the work site, including
the power to correct safety
& health violations itself or
them.
Exposing Employer:
An employer whose
own employees are
exposed to the hazard.
Correcting Employer:
An employer who is
engaged in a common
undertaking, on the same
work site, as the exposing
employer and is respon-hazard.
Multiple Roles:
A creating, correcting or
controlling employer will
often also be an exposing
employer. Exposing, creat-ing
and controlling employ-ers
can also be correcting
employers if they are
authorized to correct
the hazard.
Multi-Employer Citation Policy A Concern for Many Businesses
Source: OSHA CPL 02-00-124
Did you know, that Oklahoma had about 50 earth­quakes
every year until 2009, but there’s been a spike and over 1,000 quakes shook the state last year, ac­cording
to the US Geological Survey. November 5th’s 5.6, the largest in state’s history, was felt as far away as Kansas City, Mo. Since then, there have been over 70 recorded aftershocks.
If you haven’t already, it may be time to develop that emergency response plan for earthquakes. Here are a few good resources to help you out: www.ready.gov/earth­quakes
and www.earthquake.usgs.gov/prepare.
Record Quakes Prompt Emergency Plans: Resources for PlanningOklahoma Department of Labor Looking SHARP – Page 4 Volume 11, Issue 2
See Residential Construction on page 6
The Writer’s Block: Spread The Word!
By Betsey Kulakowski, CSHO
Kulakowski
records transmitted or delivered to the site, of course, sooner is always better than later.
•First Aid Supplies - the employer must maintain an adequately stocked first aid kit readily available. If the job site is more than 4 minutes from emergency respond­ers,
employees with first aid training must be at the site. Where the eyes or body of any person may be exposed to injurious corrosive materials, suitable facilities for quick drenching or flushing of the eyes and body, such as an eyewash station, must be provided within the work area for immediate emergency use.
•Electrical safety - all electrical equipment used on the site must be installed, used and maintained in accordance with its listing and labeling. Periodic testing of GFCI must be done in accordance with the manufacturer’s specifica­tions
(typically monthly), and electrical cords, tools and equipment must be inspected for defects/hazards prior to each days use. Unsafe equipment must be removed from the job site promptly and not used. Only qualified employees may be permitted to perform electrical work, and must follow electrical safety-related work practices.
•Ladders/Scaffolding - falls are the leading cause of fatalities in construction, and often times, an unsafe lad­der
or scaffolding is primarily to blame. Ladders must be used as designed and must be maintained free from de­fects.
Scaffolds must be properly assembled and used under the guidance of a competent person. Ladders and scaffolds should be inspected daily, prior to use, and when unsafe, must be removed from use and tagged, “Do not use” (or similar language). Many scaffolds fail because they are not properly supported with mud sills and base plates, or are not plumb and level. Addition­ally,
scaffold must be fully decked and must not be over loaded.
•Excavations - no employer may permit an employee into an unprotected excavation greater than 5' in depth. Trench collapses are more common than employers real­ize
and too many are willing to risk their employees lives by trying to hurry up and get the job done, rather than renting a trench box or installing appropriate shoring. OSHA standards require a competent person to evaluate trenches and determine the soil type and implement the proper methods of protecting, such as bracing, shoring, sloping or benching. Underground utilities must be pro­tected
and supported, and existing buildings, roadways and sidewalks must not be undercut, and must be pro­tected
to prevent their collapse into the excavation.
•Hand/power tools - hand and power tools must be in­spected
and properly maintained, regardless of whether they are employee-owned or provided by the employer. Unsafe equipment must be removed from service, and
Web employers work-employers, OSHA’s questions or or the or recordkeeping basic at Residential Construction (continued from page 2)
I find it ironic that when we talk to em­ployers
about our On-Site Consulta­tion
Services, they act like they’ve never heard of us. In truth, many employers may not know that OSHA provides free assis­tance
to employers, but they should.
The “OSHA Poster”, which is required to be prominently displayed in every workplace in America includes the fol­lowing
statement:
Still, OSHA Consultation remains the best kept secret in government. Not that we’re trying to keep it a secret, in fact just the opposite! The good news is getting out. We have been busy promoting our services from Guy­mon
to Idabel, Altus to Miami, and everywhere in be­tween.
Commissioner Costello has been out visiting grain handling facilities across the state, and both Commis­sioner
Costello and members of our staff have been burning up the phone lines, attending trade shows and conferences, and working to reach businesses across the state, and the response has been excellent, still there are many businesses who could benefit from our services that we just haven’t found yet.
That is why we are asking you, our Looking SHARP readers, to help us spread the word. If you know a com­pany
who’s struggling to develop or improve their safety program, or even one with a top notch safety and health management system and who might be a good candi­date
for our SHARP program, won’t you tell them about us? Share Looking SHARP with them, and encourage them to call. (Previous issues are available on our web site!)
Our services can be tailored to meet every businesses’ needs, and we work with companies of all types, and all sizes, in all industries from manufacturing to construc­tion,
to oil and gas, to retail, medical and everything in between. As an added bonus, companies who complete a full service safety and/or health consultation are eli­gible
for a $1,000 tax exemption!
For more information, call us at (405) 521-6140 or visit our web site at www.labor.ok.gov. Oklahoma Department of Labor Looking SHARP – Page 5 Volume 11, Issue 2
Source: OSHA Letter of Interpretation 10/27/09
Things That Make You Go ‘Huh?’
Sources: Yahoo! News
Recognizing Excellence
Man vs. Food - A 77-year-old Ukrainian man won a dump­ling
eating contest and promptly died. Ukrainian media re­ports
Ivan Mendel ate 10 dumplings in 30 seconds to win a one-liter jar of sour cream and first place in the annual con­test.
The dumplings called “vareniki” are a staple of Ukrai­nian
cuisine, and are often stuffed with a range of filings from mushrooms to cherries. Shortly after the contest, Mr. Mendel became “unwell” and died a short time later. No re­ports
yet on the cause of death. It is suspected, however, in the ultimate challenge of man versus food: Food won!
Buried Treasure? - A 7-year-old boy made a gruesome discovery while playing behind the gymnasium of his school in a town just south of Paris: a liquid filled jar, containing four partially decomposed fin­gers.
The boy told his father, who called local police. The police were able to track down the orig­inal
“owner”, a local carpenter who used to live near the gymna­sium
who lost four of his fingers 30 years ago in a work-related accident. At the time, the fingers could not be reattached, so the carpenter put the fingers in a jar full of alcohol and buried them near his home. The carpenter, who is still alive, has since moved away and police were trying to contact him to reunite the man with his missing digits.
manual of standard operating procedures. It is critical to ensure that all workers know the policy and under­stand
that all claims of work­place
violence will be investi­gated
and remedied promptly. In addition, OSHA encourages employers to develop addi­tional
methods as necessary to protect employees in high risk industries.
For other valuable worker pro­tection
information on ways to stop workplace violence and information such as Workers' Rights, Employer Responsibili­ties
and other services OSHA offers, visit the OSHA web site at www.osha.gov.
Workplace Violence (Continued from page 1)
Source: OSHA
Q: Is it against the rules to put stickers on a hard hat?
A: OSHA standard 29 CFR 1910.132(a) requires that PPE be "...maintained in a sanitary and reliable condi­tion..."
To ensure a helmet is and remains in a "reli­able"
condition, the helmet must be inspected prior to use for signs of dents, cracks, penetration, and any damage due to impact, rough treatment, or wear that might reduce the degree of protection originally pro­vided
and used and maintained in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions. Paints, paint thinners and stickers may eliminate electrical resistance and – depending on the location and quantity – conceal de­fects,
cracks, penetration, and any damage that would be otherwise readily identifiable during the employee's inspection to ensure reliability. For these reasons, painting or applying stickers must be performed in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions. Protective helmet manufacturers usually provide very specific instructions for care and maintenance. OSHA would consider painting or placing adhesive stick­ers
acceptable if the manufacturer authorizes the alteration or the employer can demonstrate that the reliability of the helmet is not affected by the paint or the adhesive on the stickers; and the paint or place­ment
of stickers would not reduce the ability to iden­tify
defects (i.e., use of see-through stickers) or other conditions that would indicate a reduced reliability.
You’ve Got Questions - We’ve Got Answers
“People don’t care what you know until they know you care” – Corrie Pitzer
At Looking SHARP we’re very proud of all our com­panies
who have achieved SHARP status. These companies represent the cream-of-the-crop for work��place
safety in Oklahoma. Currently, the following companies are currently SHARP certified: QuikSer­vice,
Autoquip, Metals USA (Muskogee), Steel Coil Services, SKF Sealing Solutions, Arrow Wrecker Service, McElroy Manufacturing, - Fulton Campus, Bent River Lumber, ABB, Inc., Cameron Glass, Inc., Wellmark Co., Sweeper Metal Fabricators (2), Baity Screw Machine Products, SMC Technologies, T&L Foundry, Acord Transportation, Air Power Systems, Metals USA (Enid), OK-1 Manufacturing, Port City Metal Services (3), Transformer Disposal Specialists, Duncan Industrial Solutions (OKC), Cust-O-Fab, Pel­co
Structural, Thermal Engineering International, L-3 Communications, Aleris Recycling.
Congratulations on your prestigious designation as SHARP-certified companiesOklahoma Department of Labor Looking SHARP – Page 6 Volume 11, Issue 2
Looking SHARP is a quarterly publication by the Oklahoma Department of Labor, Safety Pays® OSHA Consultation Division. This publication
is intended to assist employers pursuing SHARP Certification, as well as other employers, with improving safety and health conditions in their
workplaces. If you have questions and/or suggestions for future issues, or if you would like to subscribe to our mailing list, contact the editor, Betsey
Kulakowski, via e-mail at betsey.kulakowski@labor.ok.gov or call (405) 521-6145
Fifty (50) copies of this publication were produced by the Oklahoma Department of Labor, as authorized by Labor Commissioner Mark Costello,
at a production cost of $2.55 to the taxpayers of Oklahoma. Copies have been deposited with the Oklahoma Department of Libraries Publications
Clearinghouse.
Oklahoma Department of Labor
Safety Pays® OSHA Consultation Division
3017 N. Stiles, Suite 100
Oklahoma City, OK 73105
Visit us on the web at www.labor.ok.gov
make-do repairs are not permitted. Guards must be pro-vided,
maintained and used where required.
•Heavy equipment - all powered industrial trucks re-quire
some level of employee training. Forklifts, includ-ing
rough-terrain vehicles and other “non-earth-moving”
equipment require the operator to be
trained and certified. Earth-moving
equipment also require the operators
to be trained in safe operation of the
vehicle. Back up alarms, and interlock
switches/seat belts are required to be
functional, properly maintained and in
use. Daily inspections are required at
the start of each shift.
•Concrete & Masonry - Portland ce-ment
is very caustic to the skin, so its important employ-ers
provide appropriate skin protection, as well as access
to hand-washing facilities. Silica dust is often present
in concrete and various types of mortar and bricks, so
saws used to cut into these building materials should be
equipped with a method of delivering water or other wet-ting
agents to minimize dust. Alternatively, workers need
to be provided appropriate PPE and baseline samples
need to be conducted to determine the exposure levels
to silica, to ensure the right respirator/filter are provided.
Any exposed rebar that may pose an impalement hazard
must be protected with approved rebar caps (“mushroom-type”
caps are not approved, however
flat top caps are.) Proper shoring and
bracing is required to prevent wall col-lapse.
These items are just the tip of the ice-berg,
so to speak, but employers are
not alone in their efforts to ensure a
safe and healthful workplace for their
employees. The Oklahoma Department
of Labor’s Safety Pays OSHA Consul-tation
Division provides no-cost on-site safety and health
consultations upon request, and can help your business
work towards the goal of a safe and healthful workplace.
For more information, call (405) 521-6140 or visit us on
the web at www.labor.ok.gov.
Residential Construction (continued from page 4)
Source: OSHA