OSHA Rescinds Old Residential Fall Protection Directive

As a long-time safety director in the construction industry I say "IT'S ABOUT TIME!!!"

OSHA finally announced the withdrawel of a 1995 directive that allowed residential builders to ignore many fall protection requirements. According to OSHA, the 1995 directive was meant to be "temporary" until feasible fall protection solutions could be found. Well, there have been feasible solutions long before now so, IT'S ABOUT TIME!

OSHA's action rescinds the Interim Fall Protection Compliance Guidelines for Residential Construction, Standard 03-00-001. Prior to the issuance of this new directive, Standard 03-00-001 allowed employers engaged in certain residential construction activities to use specified alternative methods of fall protection rather than conventional fall protection required by the residential construction fall protection standard. With the issuance of this new directive, all residential employers must comply with 29 CFR 1926.501(b)(13). Where residential builders fine that traditional fall protection is not feasible in residential environments, 29 CFR 501(b)(13) still allows for alternate means of providing protection. In my opinion, it will be very rare that conventional fall protection cannot be used. About 1996, the Saf-T-Strap made creating safe anchor points very easy.

Construction and roofing companies have up to six months to comply with the new directive. OSHA has developed training and compliance assistance materials for small employers adn will host a webinar for parties interested in learning more about complying with the standard. To view the new directive, visit http://www.osha.gov/doc/residential_fall_protection.html.

It is also my opinion that compliance, in most cases, is very easy and inexpensive, and it should not take six months to comply.

Construction & Safety Acronyms

The newly revised 2010 edition of "Construction & Safety Acronyms" is now available for purchase. For details, visit www.lulu.com/product/paperback/construction-safety-acronyms/13052749

OSHA's Semiannual Regulatory Agenda is Available

OSHA's regulatory plan contains a statement of the Department's regulatory priorities and regulatory actions. It can be viewed at www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=FEDERAL_REGISTER&p_id=21872

Among other things, OSHA will be continuing its review of the Bloodborne Pathogen standard. It will also be looking at exposure to Crystalline Silica, Confined Spaces in Construction, Electric Power Transmission and Distribution; Cranes and Derricks, and Methylene Chloride.

Click the hot-link above to get the details and time schedules for various actions.

OSHA Appoints New Head of the Construction Directorate

Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health David Michaels, Ph.D., MPH, has appointed Jim Maddux as the new director of the agency's Directorate of Construction, effective 20 December 2010. Maddux most recently served in OSHA's Directorate of Standards adn Guidance as teh Director of the Office of Physical Hazards adn Acting Director of the Office of Engineering Safety. Maddux has held several leadership positions at OSHA, including Director of the Office of Maritime and Acting Deputy Director for the Directorate of Standards and Guidance.

He began his career with OSHA in 1990 as a statistician in the Office of Statistics, and joined the Directorate of Standards and Guidance in 1998. Maddux has been a project director, author and contributor to numerous OSHA standards and guidance projects, including the payment for personal protective equipment standard, injury and illness recordkeeping regulations, ergonomics guidelines, and several maritime standards and guidance products. He has a bachelor's degree in economics from the University of Maryland, University College, an associate's degree in computer information systems from Laramie County Community College, and an associate's degree in chemistry from Northern Wyoming Community College.

"Jim has been a valuable member of the OSHA team for over 20 years," said Michaels. "I congratulate him on his new position, and I am confident that he will be an effective leader in construction safety working to accomplish the agency's mission of protecting America's workers."

I will withold judgement on his appointment until I see how he performs, but I don't see any field experience listed in his credentials. Although field experience may not be necessary, it certainly gives an individual a different perspective.

Fatal Fall From Scaffold

Trying to convince workers on construction sites that scaffold platforms must be "fully planked," and to get them to understand just what that means, can be difficult. Often, they cannot understand why it is so important.

Well, you can tell them about the guy in Canada who fell 20 feet to his death because he stepped through an opening in the scaffolding on which he was working.

Canada's "Journal of Commerce" reported yesterday that a 60 year old worker was found dead after the accident - there were no witnesses to the accident.

Read the whole story at www.journalofcommerce.com/article/id41936/

Ryobi Recalls Cordless Drills Due to Fire Hazard

Ryobi Recalls Cordless Drills Due to Fire Hazard

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed. It is illegal to resell or attempt to resell a recalled consumer product.

Name of Product: Ryobi Model HP 1802M Cordless Power Drills

Units: About 455,000

Importer: Ryobi Technologies Inc., of Anderson, S.C.

Hazard: The switch on the cordless drill can overheat, posing a fire and burn hazard to consumers.

Incidents/Injuries: Ryobi has received 47 reports of the drills overheating, smoking, melting or catching fire, including 12 reports of property damage to homes or vehicles. Two of the incidents involved minor burns from touching an overheated switch.

Description: The Ryobi Model HP 1802M cordless drill is powered by an 18 volt rechargeable NiCad battery. The drills are blue and black in color with "Ryobi" appearing in red and white on the left side. The model number can be found on a white label on the right side of the drill.

Sold at: Home Depot from January 2001 to July 2003 for about $100.

Manufactured in: China

Remedy: Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled drill, remove the rechargeable battery and contact Ryobi to receive a free replacement drill.

Consumer Contact: For additional information, contact Ryobi Customer Service at (800) 597-9624 between 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. ET Monday through Friday or visit the firm's website at www.ryobitools.com

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CPSC is still interested in receiving incident or injury reports that are either directly related to this product recall or involve a different hazard with the same product. Please tell us about it by visiting https://www.cpsc.gov/cgibin/incident.aspx

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is charged with protecting the public from unreasonable risks of serious injury or death from thousands of types of consumer products under the agency's jurisdiction. The CPSC is committed to protecting consumers and families from products that pose a fire, electrical, chemical, or mechanical hazard. The CPSC's work to ensure the safety of consumer products - such as toys, cribs, power tools, cigarette lighters, and household chemicals - contributed significantly to the decline in the rate of deaths and injuries associated with consumer products over the past 30 years.

To report a dangerous product or a product-related injury, call CPSC's Hotline at (800) 638-2772 or CPSC's teletypewriter at (301) 595-7054. To join a CPSC e-mail subscription list, please go to https://www.cpsc.gov/cpsclist.aspx. Consumers can obtain recall and general safety information by logging on to CPSC's Web site at www.cpsc.gov.

NOTW for 8-31-10

This week's NOTW photo was courtesy of your safety friends in the US Navy. If you have followed NOTW for some time, you may remember several references to "Bucket Man." Well the Naval Safety Guys refer to this guy as "Gutter Perch," and suggest that the Gutter Perch should become extinct.

You might also notice the inadequate scaffold - where's the guardrail (and the lack of any other type of fall protection). Or the lack of a hard hat - remember that hard hats are required on all scaffolds. And, who knows what other hazards we might find if we could see the whole picture. I'm betting that these guys climbed the crossbraces rather than using a ladder too.

Have a safe week.

Training-Training-Training

I have been pontificating for years about the critical need for training of workers. In my opinion, the lack of adequate training is the single biggest cause of jobsite injuries and fatalities. Well, if you didn't "get it" before, you had better start paying attention because OSHA has finally caught up.

Last week, during a speech to the National Action Summit for Latino Worker Health and Safety, Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis addressed worker training. She stressed the need for training in a form that can be understood by our Hispanic workforce - nothing new there. But she also stated that, effective on Workers Memorial Day (April 28th), "OSHA will also assure that its Compliance Officers check and verify not only that the training has been provided, but that it was provided in a format that the workers being trained can understand."

WARNING: you subcontractors that think that you are not responsible for the training of those "independent contractors" to which you "subcontract" the work (you know - piece workers), you had better rethink that idea. It is up to you to assure that every one of the workers in your workforce has adequate safety training. You might even want to review you subcontracts - you may find language in there that says you will assure that the workers for whom you are responsible, will be adequately trained in jobsite safety.

Don't know what training is required, Click here for assistance.

Construction Worker Injured in Building Collapse

New York City must be a pretty dangerous place to work if you are in the construction business. The New York Times reported on the 29th that a worker was critically injured in the collapse of a Brooklyn building being renovated.

The cause? Nobody knows for sure yet.

Cranes Again?

Well, it looks like we just don't know how to operate cranes safely in New York City. Do you remember all that flap about tower cranes a couple of years ago? If you had cranes on your construction sites back then, you probably re-visited your crane safety policies and procedures. I know that I did. We were okay, but it certainly put the spotlight on how often I checked crane records. And I also found out that the State of Florida didn't require crane operators to be licensed. I also found out that the same was true in many parts of the country. But, that's another story.

To get back to the point, a couple of days ago in NYC, another crane collapsed into a building (read about it in the New York times of 3/27 and again on 3/28. Officials don't know what happened yet, but they believe that a contributing cause was that the crane operator did not lower the boom far enough before he left the site at the end of the workday. And, although they are not sure that there isn't another contributing cause, NYC officials suspended the crane operator's license.

Conclusions? Read the articles and you decide. But if I had a crane on my site, I'd be re-visiting my crane policies again.

Tragic Death of a Safety Director

On 7 February there was a gas plant explosion in Middletown, CT. Tragically, 5 people were killed in that explosion. One of those people, Chris Walters, was the Safety Manager for Keystone Construction and Maintenance Services.

Like many of us in these difficult economic times, Chris was working a long way from home. In November of last year, Chris had been laid off after 6 years as Safety Manager for Hunt Construction. I remember how delighted Chris was to have landed his new position after only about six weeks. He hated being away from his family, but like most of us in the safety profession, he loved what he did for a living and went where the work was found.

I first met Chris about 10 years ago when he worked with Martin K. Eby Construction in Florida. He was working on the Co-Generation Power Plant in Sanford, Florida. After that, we kept in touch - usually through Facebook. Apparently, the explosion happened when one of the subcontractors purged a gas line. The incident is under investigation by several agencies, including OSHA.

Chris leaves a wife and 3 children in Missouri. It is ironic that he was killed while working to keep workers from being hurt or killed. My thoughts and prayers go out to his family. He leaves a big hole in our safety family.

New Federal Safety Guidelines for V.A. Construction

New Federal safety guidelines require that all construction workers on Veteran's Administration (V.A.) construction sites have an OSHA 10-hour card. It's not hard to obtain, but it requires that your workers attend an OSHA 10-hour construction outreach program. Yep, that's 10 classroom hours! Whatever you do, don't try to circumvent the process by buying bogus cards from unscrupulous "trainers."

There is a new V.A. Hospital construction project gearing up in Southwest Florida and if you need to have your workers properly trained, I highly recommend the services of Frank Subzda at U.S. Safety. I know Frank well and know that he offers a top-of-the-line program.

Anyway, if you are going to have workers on the SW Florida site, U.S. Safety will be offering an OSHA 10-hour class on Saturday, 13 March 2010 beginning at 7 am. For more information and/or to register, send Frank an e-mail at frank@ussafety.us, or give him a call at (239) 481-3777.

NOTW? OSHA Plays Hardball

This story from OSHA could come under the heading of NOTW – without the photo. Forget the monetary penalties imposed and take a look at the sanctions. How would you like to be required to tell OSHA where you’ll be working. I don’t think that I would want this guy as a sub on my job – you know that OSHA will be showing up regularly.

You may want to pass this little tidbit along to your subs, just in case they think OSHA isn’t serious.

Contempt orders issued against St. Louis employer for ignoring OSHA citations

ST. LOUIS -- The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) today announced issuance of contempt of court orders against Brian Andre, former owner of Andre Tuckpointing and Brickwork (AT&B), Andre Stone and Mason Work Inc. (AS&MW) and Regina Shaw, owner of AS&MW. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit issued the contempt orders against the St. Louis-area company and individuals for failing to comply with court orders enforcing citations of the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC).

"Companies that expose employees to hazards, and then blatantly ignore citations requiring correction of those hazards, will not be overlooked," said Charles E. Adkins, OSHA regional administrator in Kansas City, Mo. "Employers must fulfill their responsibility to keep employees safe, as well as satisfy any sanctions levied for failing to do so."

The cases stem from numerous citations OSHA issued to AT&B and its successor, AS&MW, for willful, repeat and serious violations related to fall hazards, scaffolding erection deficiencies, power tool guarding and other hazards in connection with multiple projects in the St. Louis area.

When the companies failed to comply with the court's order enforcing OSHRC's final order, the secretary of labor filed petitions for contempt. As a result, a special master of the Court of Appeals concluded that Brian Andre, AS&MW and Regina Shaw were in contempt of the order, and recommended various sanctions. The Eighth Circuit substantially accepted the master's recommendations, found all three parties in contempt, and imposed sanctions, including: Brian Andre, AS&MW and Regina Shaw must pay outstanding monetary penalties, which continue to accrue interest, and other miscellaneous fees, in the current amount of $258,582.08; AS&MW and Regina Shaw must pay a $100 daily penalty, calculated from the time of default, in early 2008, on the OSHRC final order; AS&MW must provide OSHA weekly notification of all current jobs, and known future jobs, at least 72 hours prior to commencement of work for a period of three years; and, AS&MW must provide "competent person" training to all people currently and subsequently designated as jobsite "competent persons," prior to beginning any work, and provide the secretary records of such training.

Unloading a Backhoe

Okay, so I've been away for awhile. My work life got pretty crazy beginning around Thanksgiving so I was distracted. But, I'm back now.

An old friend sent me the following video. Although my first reaction is to applaud the talent of the backhoe operator - he might want to go on "America's Got Talent" - but if he pulled a stunt like that on a jobsite, he should receive direction from Donald Trump - You're Fired!

Training, Training, Training

Every day that I spend on a construction jobsite I am more convinced that the lack of adequate training on the part of contractors is the key element in construction accidents. I see workers everyday who try to do their jobs safely, but have no real idea of how to do things the safe way.

When, for example, I see a roofer wearing his safety harness backwards (with the d-ring in front), I see a worker who knows that he is supposed to be tied-off, but nobody showed him how. That is just wrong!

Training workers is not that difficult, if you know how. It doesn't take a long time or a classroom. It doesn't even take a group. Training can be accomplished very easily by taking one or two workers aside and teaching them the right way to tie-off, or the correct way to set up a ladder, etc. Documentation? That's easy too. Simply make a note in your daily log that you trained John Doe on the safe way to erect a step ladder.

For years, I have offered OSHA 10-hour classes for employees of my company (usually only 10 or 12 at a time), then offered to fill the rest of room with employees of subcontractors - free of charge. Very rarely do the subs take advantage of this offer.

There are also many free programs available for training too. Over the past several years, the AGC of America has been the recipient of an OSHA Susan Harwood Grant. Under that grant they developed a program called "Focus 4 for Construction" and taught that course free of charge all over the country. Currently, there is a push for combustible dust training and there are programs developed using Susan Harwood Grant money available for your use. If you are a trainer with your company, some of these can be found on YouTube - take a look! Actually, there are quite a few videos on YouTube that you might be able to use at your next training session.

Silica Hazards

OSHA has proposed a total of $38,100 in fines against Sealcoating Inc. of Hingham, Mass., chiefly for silica-related hazards identified during restoration work on bridge M-12-28 on the southbound side of I-93 in Melrose, Mass.

The contractor was cited for 11 alleged repeat and serious violations of workplace health and safety standards following a nighttime inspection conducted in July of this year as part of OSHA's Boston North Area Office's efforts to target inspections to construction worksites - such as road resurfacing and bridge repair - where silica is generated.

"Employers should not assume that OSHA will not conduct inspections because much of this work is done at night," said Paul Mangiafico, OSHA's area director for Middlesex and Essex counties. "We will conduct inspections where and when we must to ensure that employers implement and maintain effective controls to minimize this hazard to their workers."

Crystalline silica, a basic component of soil, sand, granite and many other minerals, can be inhaled when workers chip, cut, drill or grind objects that contain the substance. It has been classified as a human lung carcinogen, and breathing crystalline silica dust can cause silicosis, a disabling or even fatal lung condition.

OSHA found employees at the jobsite exposed to excess silica levels while jack hammering concrete, no controls to lower exposure levels, failure to evaluate employees' exposure levels, an inadequate respiratory protection program and training, and no fit-testing of respirators. These conditions resulted in the issuance of seven serious citations, with $20,100 in proposed fines. Serious citations are issued when death or serious physical harm is likely to result from hazards about which the employer knew or should have known.

In addition, four repeat citations, with $18,000 in fines, were issued for conditions similar to those cited by OSHA following an April 2009 inspection of a Sealcoating Inc. jobsite in Springfield, Mass. These include lack of a site-specific respiratory protection program, employees wearing respirators without having first obtained medical clearance, ineffective hazard communication training and lack of an effective hearing conservation program.

Most construction sites have a silica exposure, but on many of them it is usually small, in well ventilated areas, and probably presents only a small, brief exposure to the workers. However, for many others, there is the potential for significant exposure when grinding concrete, cutting/sawing masonry products, etc. If you have silica exposures on your site, this is a good time to review your company's response to that exposure. If you need to know more, take a look at "A Guide to Working Safely with Silica." Did you know that there is an OSHA National Emphasis Program (NEP) on silica exposure?

Fall Protection & Residential Construction

For many of us, the term "residential" has to do with the type of occupancy of a structure. However, for OSHA, residential has to do with the type of construction. To wit, an apartment building constructed of wood framing materials is considered "residential," but that same apartment building constructed of concrete or concrete block would be considered by OSHA to be "commercial." Even a block single family home is considered to be "commercial" pursuant to OSHA. I'm not sure why OSHA can't use terminology consistent with everyone else's definition, but that's another issue.

At any rate, pursuant to OSHA's definition, in late 1995, OSHA published an "interim residential fall protection standard" that "relaxed" many of the fall protection rules enforced in the "commercial" construction marketplace. I had a great deal of difficulty with these differences as I made the transition from condo construction in Florida ("commercial") to apartment building construction in Texas ("residential"). I met great resistance from framing subcontractors as I tried to enforce the same fall protection rules under which I worked in Florida. NOTE: since almost every building in Florida is constructed of masonry materials, there are virtually no residential projects in that state.

At every turn, that "interim rule" was pushed under my nose as I was told "we don't have to tie off under those conditions. I've had a difficult time trying to understand why you can be exposed to a 6'+ fall from a wood-frame building but not from a masonry building. And the use of "safety monitors" is just plain silly. Although allowed by OSHA in some circumstances, I just don't see how that protects a worker from a fall.

Well, after 13 years of "interim rule," it seems that OSHA is reconsidering that rule. OSHA's Advisory Committee on Construction, Safety and Health has recommended that OSHA rescind the interim fall protection standard for "residential" construction. And, it seems likely that OSHA will accept that recommendation prior to the end of this year. Hallelujah!

Although this is likely to be a shock to residential contractors, and they will probably comply with a great wailing and gnashing of teeth, rescinding that rule is in the best interest of jobsite safety. If a worker can find an anchor point for tie-off on a concrete deck, there shouldn't be a problem finding an anchor point on a wooden deck. There are products designed for that purpose that are reasonably priced and easy to use.

So, if you are in the "residential" construction business and fall hazards are a part of your everyday concerns, be prepared.

4 Fatal Falls in Pittsburgh area this week!

And they say Texas is bad! Four fatal falls in Pennsylvania in one week? Maybe OSHA should reconsider the location of their "enhanced enforcement" efforts.

The Pittsburgh CBS affiliate station reported that OSHA is investigating all four of those fatalities. According to the report, OSHA Area Director Bob Szymanski said "it's the employer's responsibility to provide fall protection, to meet our standards and not only to provide but to enforce the use of it."

From my vantage point, the lack of proper training is a critical factor in fatal falls. And, the use of "independent contractors" contributes to the problem. Many contractors, to avoid workers compensation premiums, etc. don't hire workers directly, but hire individuals (designated as "independent contractors") to do the work. They think that since those workers are not technically their employees, it also relieves them of the responsibility to provide harness, lanyards, etc. and the responsibility to train those workers.

Anyway, in this article, a 53 year old mason fell from the roof (12 stories). He was not wearing a harness, he was not protected by a guardrail system, and there was no safety net. And, you guessed it - he was an "independent contractor."

If you want to read the entire article, click here.

OSHA's "Enhanced Enforcement" in Texas

When I arrived at work this morning, I found an article torn from a newspaper or newspaper-type publication on my desk. I have no idea who provided the piece, nor the name of the publication (other than the fact that it appeared on page 9 of that publication). The article was entitled "OSHA's enhanced enforcement effort in Texas" and was written by Joann Natarajan, compliance assistance specialist OSHA in Austin, Texas.

I found it interesting how the district office people soften the "SWAT Team" language fomented by Hilda Solis, but whatever it's called, those of us in Texas can expect some of that so-called "enhanced enforcement." This is no surprise. If you follow this blog, or even read any safety publications, announcements, etc., you already know that part of the article.

The article states that "more workers die in Texas than in any other state." Remember how they said the same thing about Florida last year? Since Florida isn't doing much work right now, nobody would think that they might remain at the top of the list. What's more interesting is that the author notes a 125% increase in Hispanic fatalities between 1992 and 2005 in southeastern states. Duh!! If you've visited any construction sites since 1992, you'll find that the vast majority of the construction workforce is Hispanic. Isn't it interesting how we can make statistics say what we want? Remember the old saying? "There are liars, damn liars, and statistics? More appropriate data should compare the percentage of Hispanic fatalities based upon the number of Hispanic workers or Hispanic "manhours" vs. the same percentage among the non-Hispanic workforce.

But, the above is not the most interesting part of the article. At the end of Ms. Natarajan's article, she lists "The top twenty construction violations OSHA is looking for," presumably when they conduct their "enhanced enforcement" in Texas. The title of the list implies not that the list is an historical perspective, but that the list represents what we should expect as an inspection focus when a compliance officer visits a construction site in Texas.

Here is the list as presented by Ms. Natarjan:

1. General Safety requirements for scaffolds - 1926.451
2. General Duty to provide fall protection - 1926.501
3. Ladders - 1926.1053
4. Worker Training on Fall Protection - 1926.502
5. Hazard Communication - 1910.1200
6. Aerial Lifts - 1926.453
7. Written safety and health programs - 1926.20
8. Specific requirements for excavations - 1926.651
9. Providing and ensuring workers wear hard hats - 1926.100
10. Worker training on scaffold hazards - 1926.454
11. Electrical wiring design and protection - 1926.404
12. Electrical Wiring methods, components, and equipment for general use, including extension cords - 1926.405
13. Protection for employees in excavations - 1926.652
14. General worker training requirements on workplace hazards - 1926.21
15. Requiring and using eye and face protection - 1926.102
16. Fall protection systems criteria and practices - 1926.502
17. Stairways - 1926.1052
18. Additional requirements applicable to specific types of scaffolds - 1926.452
19. Respiratory protection - 1926.134
20. General electrical requirements - 1926.403

Isn't it interesting that three of the top 20 include training requirements. My own experience indicates that if contractors properly trained their workers, many of the safety violations on the jobsites would disappear. And, one would assume that it would have a similar effect on the number of injuries and fatalities.

Heat-Related Construction Death in Austin

Kvue in Austin, Texas has reported on "the first heat-related death in Travis County for 2009." It also notes that the employer failed to notify OSHA of the fatality, so I expect we'll hear more on this issue before too long.

This might be a good time for employers to review their training records. When was the last time that you updated workers on heat-related illnesses - how to avoid them, how to recognize the symptoms, and what action to take if it occurs?

Protecting workers from heat-related illnesses is not difficult. Fortunately, most responsible employers provide adequate shade, adequate work-breaks and an ample supply of drinking water in high-heat/high-humidity situations.

To read more, click here.