Safe Workplace and Safety News

Another OSHA citation, that involves Lockout/Tagout is in the news. In this case employees were allowed to service and repair machinery that was energized.


OSHA Press Release - Tuesday, November 21, 2006

U.S. Labor Department's OSHA Cites Magee, Miss., Water Bottling Company following Investigation of Fatal Accident. OSHA is proposing penalties totaling more than $164,000

JACKSON, Miss. -- The U.S. Labor Department's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Mountain Pure MS and proposed penalties totaling $164,150 following the investigation of a fatal May 24 accident at the company's Magee, Miss., facility.

"This tragic accident could have been prevented if OSHA regulations and equipment manufacturer's instructions had been followed," said Clyde Payne, OSHA's Jackson area director. "Significant penalties are proposed when employers are aware of unsafe conditions and fail to abate them."

OSHA's investigation revealed that employees were routinely allowed to operate unguarded machinery and to service and repair equipment while machinery was energized. The fatality occurred when a worker was caught in an unguarded palletizer, part of a conveyor system used to move pallets.

The company received two willful citations directly related to the fatal accident, each with a proposed penalty of $49,000. Cited items were failure to train employees and develop energy control procedures that rendered machinery inoperable during repair, maintenance or servicing, and failure to install machine guards on moving parts of equipment. OSHA issues a willful citation when an employer has shown an intentional disregard of, or plain indifference to, the requirements of the Occupational Safety and Health Act and regulations.

The drinking water bottler also received 28 serious citations, with penalties totaling $66,150 for safety and health hazards. Alleged violations include lack of eye wash stations and personal protective equipment for employees working with corrosive materials; exposing workers to ozone well above the permissible levels; failing to train and certify forklift operators; improper use of a rough terrain forklift; lack of a hearing conservation program; lack of proper electrical equipment; improperly stored chemicals; and lack of machine guarding on other equipment not involved in the accident. A serious citation is issued when there is substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result and the employer knew or should have known of the hazard.

The company has 15 working days from receipt of the citations to contest the citations and proposed penalties before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. The worksite was inspected by staff from the OSHA's area office in Jackson located at 3780 I-55 North, Suite 210; phone: (601) 965-4606.

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing a safe and healthful workplace for their employees. OSHA's role is to assure the safety and health of America's working men and women by setting and enforcing standards; providing training, outreach and education; establishing partnerships; and encouraging continual process improvement in workplace safety and health. For more information about trenching safety and other safe work practices, visit www.osha.gov.

Labels: Industrial Safety, LOTO, OSHA Citations, OSHA Fines, workplace safety

Volks Constructors has been cited by OSHA for, among other safety violations, not having proper RTK labeling and for lack of energy control procedures (Lockout/Tagout procedures). The following is the press release from OSHA:

Press Release - Wednesday, Nov. 15, 2006

U.S. Department of Labor's OSHA Cites Volks Constructors in Baton Rouge for Job Safety and Health Violations

BATON ROUGE, La. -- A Baton Rouge, La., industrial vessel, pipe and steel fabrication company's alleged failure to maintain accurate injury and illness records and protect employees from occupational hazards has resulted in proposed penalties totaling $47,600 from the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).

AKM, LLC, doing business as Volks Constructors, was cited for the alleged violations following an inspection that began May 10, under a national emphasis program by OSHA aimed at preventing work-related amputations. Volks Constructors employs approximately 350 workers.

"Worker injury and illness records are vital for identifying injury trends," said Greg Honaker, OSHA's area director in Baton Rouge.

Sixteen serious citations were issued for potential atmospheric hazards in confined spaces, lack of energy control procedures to protect against electrical and amputation hazards, no eye wash station available while working with corrosives, no machine guarding to protect against amputation hazards and lack of guarding for chains, sprockets, belts and pulleys. A serious citation is issued for violations that could cause death or serious physical harm to employees due to hazards about which the employer knew or should have known.

Seventeen other-than-serious citations were issued for failing to complete "OSHA 301 Logs" used for a first report of injury; failing to record 102 injuries and illness on the "OSHA 300 Logs"; company executives certifying OSHA 300 Logs that were neither correct nor complete; and failing to provide the OSHA 300 and 301 Logs upon request. Additional violations included lack of rating capacity for alloy steel chains/synthetic web slings, restricted work space in front of electrical equipment, use of hazardous chemicals from unmarked containers and lack of material safety data sheets for hazardous chemicals. An other-than-serious violation is a condition that would probably not cause death or serious physical harm but would have a direct and immediate relationship to the safety or health of the employees.

The company has 15 working days from receipt of the citations to comply, request an informal conference with the Baton Rouge area director, or contest the citations and penalties before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing a safe and healthful workplace for their employees. OSHA's role is to assure the safety and health of America's working men and women by setting and enforcing standards; providing training, outreach and education; establishing partnerships; and encouraging continual process improvement in workplace safety and health. For more information, visit www.osha.gov.

Labels: LOTO, OSHA Citations, OSHA Fines, rtk labels, safety labeling

A new section on our web site features information about lockout / tagout, including descriptions and information about Master Lock Safety Series lockout devices.

Master Lock has a complete line of Safety Lockout devices, as well as a full range of safety padlocks. Their innovative designs include cable lockouts, gate valve, ball valve, circuit breaker, plug covers and more.

The Master Lock Safety Series of products and services are designed to help you successfully develop and implement the best possible lockout/tagout system for your facility. The goal is for your facility to meet or surpass OSHA’s LO/TO requirements. While it’s important to satisfy regulations, preventing accidents and protecting your employees is critical. You can rely on the Safety Series lockout and tagout products.

You'll find the new section on our web site at: http://www.safe-workplace.com/lockout/index.html

Labels: Industrial Safety, LOTO

Yesterday we started to add lockout/tagout information to the Safe Workplace web site, and this morning I noticed this press release from OSHA. Among other citations, VTCU Corp. was issued a serious* citation for inadequate lockout/tagout procedures. Lockout/tagout is important. A recent study revealed that 20% of workplace fatalities are caused by lack of or inadequate lockout/tagout. Use the link above to visit our pages about lockout/tagout and to learn more about Master Lock Safety Series lockout/tagout products.

*An OSHA serious violation is one in which there is a substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result from a hazardous condition about which the employer knew or should have known.

OSHA Region 10 News Release
Date: November 13, 2006

U.S. Department of Labor's OSHA Again Cites VTCU Corp. in Pocatello for Alleged Safety Violations
SEATTLE -- The U.S. Labor Department's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has issued citations against VTCU Corp., a manufacturer and renovator of electrical transformers, for alleged safety violations found during inspections at the company's Pocatello, Idaho, facility. The failure to abate, repeat, serious and other-than-serious citations carry proposed penalties totaling $211,200.

The inspections were initiated following complaints OSHA received and as follow-up to an inspection OSHA conducted in 2005 that found numerous violations resulting in citations issued to VTCU Corp.

The failure to abate citation alleges that inadequate load testing of cranes, for which the corporation was originally cited in 2005, had not been corrected. The repeat citations allege violations related to deficiencies in information and training on hazardous materials, walkways, combustible waste, personal protective equipment, cranes, slings and electrical hazards.

The serious citations were issued for inadequate lockout/tagout procedures to render machinery inoperable during maintenance and repair, as well as insufficient emergency preparedness, fire prevention, and housekeeping, and hazards associated with flammable liquids, confined space entry, personal protective equipment, cranes, hoisting units, electrical, slings, machine guarding and welding.

The other-than-serious citation alleges violations of standards for fire extinguishers and sanitation.

VTCU Corp. has 15 working days following receipt of the citations to contest the violations or request a meeting with OSHA to discuss the violation notices, including methods of correction, length of abatement periods and proposed penalties.

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing a safe and healthful workplace for their employees. OSHA's role is to assure the safety and health of America's working men and women by setting and enforcing standards; providing training, outreach, and education; establishing partnerships; and encouraging continual process improvement in workplace safety and health. For more information, visit www.osha.gov.

Labels: Industrial Safety, LOTO, OSHA Fines

When it comes to the legal costs of accidents, everything we've posted here has been related to OSHA fines. But it does not stop with the OSHA fine. Another result of a workplace accident can be a civil lawsuit. The article I'm recommending today opens with the following paragraph:

"Recently I have been contacted by several attorneys who were interested in retaining me to be an expert witness on their industrial powered trucks [forklifts] accident cases. Two cases involved other employees being injured by operators on these types of vehicles."

The article, published in Plastics Distributor and Fabricator Magazine, is titled "SAFETY SOLUTIONS: Working Safely On Powered Industrial Trucks (Forklifts)". It discusses the causes of forklift accidents and how they can be prevented. As in many other areas, fundamental principles of safety such as proper training, proper procedures, and proper preventative maintenance will reduce the likelihood of a forklift accident.

Labels: workplace safety

Here is an article from Quality Magazine that discusses the British OHSAS 18001 standard. The article opens by stating:

"As anyone working in the United States knows, occupational health and safety is highly regulated in many industries. There are so many local, state, and national laws and regulations that it's difficult to keep them all straight. We even find conflicting compliance issues that are virtually impossible to resolve. This might be one reason why many Americans haven't heard much about the British Standards Institutes's new standard, Occupational Health and Safety Assessment Series 18001. However, it will likely become important for any manager who's concerned about employee health and safety."

The topics covered include:

- Overview
- The BSI OHSAS Standard
- Scope of OHSAS 18001
- Basic Elements (The structure of OHSAS 18001 is similar to the model found in ISO 14001.)
- Case study: Applying OHSAS 18001 in the United States

There is also a sidebar article that discusses "OSHA and OHSAS 18001". To briefly summarize, it appears that OSHA would prefer that the OHSAS 18001 standard not come into the United States.

Labels: global hazmat classification, OSHA, safety labeling, workplace safety

Another aspect of workplace safety is ensuring your workplace is safe from violence. A brochure (available online) on the UC Davis web site states:

"Workplace safety has become a major concern to managers and employees alike. Media attention has resulted in fear and apprehension, yet violence is less common than is popularly believed. Given the many millions of workers, the probability is very low that any single individual will be involved in a violent workplace incident leading to serious injury. Still, prevention is critical. Incidents involving disruptions and threats are increasing, and early intervention helps prevent more serious acts."

This brochure provides some good information about preventing workplace violence. The topics covered by the brochure include:

- What is disruptive, threatening, or violent behavior?

- Preventive steps to maintain a safe workplace

- Dealing with performance problems or conflicts

- Indicators of problem behavior

- How to respond to disruptive, threatening, or violent behavior

- Post-incident response

Labels: workplace safety

We have a new free offer on our web site (www.safe-workplace.com). It is an introductory guide to Kaizen.

Kaizen is a system for making continuous improvement in all aspects of your business or organization, including safety, productivity, employee retention, and quality. By continuously making small improvements based on employee suggestions, changes are implemented quicker and are more readily accepted.

Kaizen is suitable for any type of organization, from an industrial manufacturing facility to a social service nonprofit. It provides a structured approach to finding ways to improve, and for implementing changes to make those improvements.

Labels: Free Safety Guides, Lean Manufacturing