Safety at the Rodeo

I went to a rodeo in Mesquite, Texas last night and had a good time. I enjoyed the beef brisket, sausage and fixins' too. I also found it interesting that some of the riders took safety precautions, while others did not. Bull riding is a very dangerous sport. I watched as rider after rider was thrown from a wildly kicking bull. The fall was always hazardous, but I also watched as some riders were bounced about by the bull while still on board. One in particular took a nasty bouncing and fall resulting in unconsciousness. He walked away, but at what cost.

Anyway, some of these brave men have taken to wearing PPE. That's right, not just a cowboy hat to stave off head injury. I saw some of them wear protective helmets similar to those worn by motorcycle riders. I also saw some of them wearing kevlar vests - you know, like bullet-proof vests. They said that it won't protect from broken ribs, but does prevent punctures and softens - at least a little - the blows.

I wonder when PPE will become necessary for this hazardous sport.

OSHA's Final Rule on PPE

My friend Frank reminded me that in January 2009, OSHA published its final rule "Clarification of Employers' Duty to Provide PPE and Train Each Employee. "As of January 12, 2009, employers that do not provide personal protective equipment (PPE) and training to every covered employee can be penalized for a separate violation for EACH unprotected or untrained worker.

The significant thing here is that prior to this new rule, OSHA could only issue one citation no matter how many employees were involved. For example, if 10 workers weren't wearing their required hard hats, you only got one citation. Under the new rules, you could receive 10 citations, one for each offending worker. This should get your attention!

OSHA Letter May Help Respirator Manufacuturers

According to an article in OH&S, "OSHA may have given respirator manufacturers an important assist with a letter dated Jan. 9 that was addressed to Daniel K. Shipp, president of the International Safety Equipment Association. Posted by OSHA on Jan. 14 among a batch of letters of interpretation, this one was signed by Acting OSHA Assistant Secretary Thomas Stohler. ISEA specifically asked on May 19, 2008, for OSHA to take a position on whether the OSHAct and OSHA regulations preempt state court tort law claims, and Stohler answered yes. The question is whether his letter influences state judges to reject hundreds of thousands of state court claims, more than 325,000 asbestos and silica claims filed since 2000 against respirator manufacturers, according to ISEA. Shipp's letter requesting the opinion said MSA, Moldex-Metric, North, and Sperian Protection experienced a 500 percent increase in silica claims between 2002 and 2004."

This is a very interesting article (click here to read the entire article) and I suspect that this will be a long, on-going court challenge. Keep your eyes and ears open for more on this topic.

NOTW for 1/9/09

We get to start off the new year with a photo highlighting fall hazards, ladder safety and PPE all in one.

These three guys are working on a balcony on the 3^rd floor. They completely ignored the “Fall Protection Required Beyond this Point” sign posted on the secured door to the balcony. Yes, the sign was in both English and Spanish! One guy is not wearing the required hard hat – this was a hard hat required job, but even minimum OSHA requirements dictate head protection when workers are engaged above you. One guy doesn’t care that standing on the top step of the step ladder is not safe, he even goes further by also standing on the bracing on the other side of the ladder. All three of these guys are clearly working above 6’ and in danger of falling at least 20’. And, it looks like they had already done the same thing on the balcony to the left – or were about to do so.

When asked to safely leave the area and don fall protection gear before returning, they didn’t seem to understand why. Were they properly trained by their employer, or was this simply a case of employee misconduct?

Workplace Death Injures Co-Worker

The Canadian Press, about a week ago, reported that "a worker fell to his death from a building under construction" in Saskatoon. Apparently, the worker who fell "landed on his co-worker who was bent over picking up tools."

The man who fell six stories died and the man on whom he landed, is still in hospital with broken vertebrae, a broken jaw, and a concussion. He claims that his hard hat saved him from more serious injuries.

We caution our workers to be constantly aware of work overhead and spend a lot of time trying to protect workers from falling objects - we have never contemplated that another worker might be the "falling object."

OSHA Issues Final Rule on PPE

The final rule on Clarification of Employers' Duty to Provide Personal Protective Equipment and Train Each Employee was published in the Federal Register on December 12th. The rule revises OSHA standards to clarify that, for employers to be in compliance, they must provide personal protective equipment (PPE) and hazards training for each employee covered by the standards.

Each employee not protected may be considered a separate violation and penalties assessed accordingly. This revised language is consistent with language in other standards for which per-employee citations have been upheld.

The final rule amendments do not add new compliance obligations. Employers are not required to provide new kinds of PPE or hazards training or use a different approach than what is already required. Additionally, employers are not required to provide PPE or training to employees not already covered by existing requirements.

"This technical correction to the PPE standard brings it in line with other OSHA safety and health standards," said Acting Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA Thomas M. Stohler. "By making this change, those few employers who egregiously violate the OSHA PPE standard can be held fully accountable for violations affecting each employee who is not provided proper PPE. This kind of vigorous enforcement is a vital component of OSHA's balanced approach to workplace safety and health."