The "golden thread" running through the 52,000-employee company's global operations is its culture, which makes everyone responsible and accountable for safe performance in the drive for zero incidents, says Michael R. Gambrell, executive vice president for manufacturing and engineering operations.
"There is no excuse for employees to work in an environment where they are exposed to being crushed while working inside machinery where the energy source was not properly locked out and tagged," said Charles Adkins, OSHA's regional administrator in Kansas City, Mo.
Criticized for flaws in its enforcement mechanism for mines with a history of safety violations, the agency explained its new criteria Sept. 28.
"A Million Acts of Safety” was launched in October 2009 to challenge people to think differently about their role in safety and inspire people to get involved. The goal of the campaign is to show how small acts of safety can have a major impact. The individual and team that logged the most acts of safety and reached the most people during the campaign's first year will be recognized during the NSC National Awards Celebration.
The company is being cited for allegedly failing to keep an area clean and free of dangerous accumulations of explosive and combustible foam dust and for failing to install machine guards on cutting machines to protect workers from amputation hazards.
EPA and the Justice Department announced the penalty and posted the consent decree that has been filed in a Houston federal court. It is a record civil penalty for Clean Air Act violations at an single facility.
OSHA initiated an inspection after receiving an employee complaint alleging workplace safety and health hazards.
OSHA has cited highway construction company R. A. Cullinan and Son Inc. in Tremont, Ill., with one alleged willful and two serious alleged safety violations, including allowing workers to perform trenching and excavation work at depths of up to 8 feet without cave-in protection.
The National Safety Council recently applauded Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis and Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA David Michaels for their leadership in reducing work-related distracted driving.
FAA alleges Evergreen line pilots received ground training and a check ride on the new FMS, but that the company did not provide required familiarization flights supervised by the company’s check pilots despite being told to do so by FAA.
Hawaii's deficiencies are more serious than other states' and could result in a federal takeover if not addressed satisfactorily, according to OSHA, which said it is working with Gov. Linda Lingle's office.
Commercial motor vehicle drivers and railroad personnel are affected, with fines and suspensions possible for two or more serious violations within a three-year period by a CMV driver. A third agency, PHMSA, proposed its own texting rule Monday.
The statewide enforcement sweep conducted on Sept. 16 involved 162 restaurant inspections and resulted in the issuance of 88 citations against 79 restaurants.
The company is being cited with two repeat violations and $56,000 in proposed penalties for failing to inspect a trench after conditions changed. In addition, the company is being cited for exposing workers to engulfment hazards by not having a protective system in place to prevent a trench collapse.
Gy Bennar, a former landscaping and maintenance worker for the public golf course at the Clinton-Sherman Industrial Airpark, filed a whistleblower retaliation charge against the Southwestern Oklahoma Development Authority irrigating a golf course with untreated effluent from sewage that had not undergone proper filtration or chlorination, exposing both golfers and workers to potentially harmful toxins.
"This injury could have been prevented if the employer implemented OSHA standards for lockout/tagout procedures," said Bill Fulcher, director of OSHA's Atlanta-East Area Office.
Behr Dayton Thermal failed to provide proper personal protective gear and lockout procedures for electrical equipment, resulting in a worker being injured.
Applying to about 415 underground bituminous coal mines in the United States, it says they must increase the incombustible content of dust to at least 80 percent in underground areas by Nov. 22.
A worker died when he became caught in moving parts of a machine known as a stacker, which activated while he was inside the machine performing maintenance.
Scathing GAO report cements case for a separate whistleblower protection agency.