"Enforcement is critically important, but it will not solve every problem," he said at the VPPPA Safety+ symposium here at the Gaylord Opryland Convention Center.
Eliminating backlogged applications at some OSHA regional offices and instituting a national process for handling them are two goals the agency is working on.
Cal/OSHA issued three citations to Outfront Media totaling $32,435 in proposed penalties. Since 2015, the state agency has opened 11 inspections of outdoor and display advertising employers.
Montes Construction LLC was previously cited in January 2018 for failure to provide fall protection, and now faces a willful citation.
OSHA has cited rubber and plastic manufacturer Sperry & Rice LLC for 44 safety and health violations at its plant in Killbuck, Ohio, and issued a total of $400,775 in penalties.
"This was a case of the company completely failing to grasp the importance of HAVS health surveillance," HSE Inspector Janet Hensey said. "“If they had understood why health surveillance was necessary, it would have ensured that it had the right systems in place to monitor workers' health and the employees' condition would not have been allowed to develop to a severe and life-altering stage."
Supported by the 17th annual Checkpoint Strikeforce outreach campaign, increased enforcement will take place from Aug. 17 through Labor Day weekend and resume periodically through "target moments" such as Halloween, Thanksgiving, and New Year's Eve.
The speakers at Safety+, which takes place Aug. 28-31 at the Gaylord Opryland Convention Center in Nashville, Tenn., include Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam; Phyllis L. Bayer, assistant secretary of the Navy (Energy, Installations and Environment); and Steve Hawkins, Tennessee Occupational Safety & Health Administration assistant commissioner.
The inspection was conducted in February 2018 after OSHA personnel saw employees working in an unprotected trench; OSHA cited the company for serious and willful violations.
The parties had submitted a tentative consent decree to the Los Angeles County Superior Court on Aug. 8 to settle the litigation over the Aliso Canyon natural gas leak. At least 109,000 metric tons of methane emissions were released during the leak at the Aliso Canyon natural gas storage facility, according to CARB.
Ohio Gov. John Kasich signed a bill July 30 that requires drivers to move over when passing waste collection trucks with flashing lights.
The burn injury happened at a National Products facility where workers were carrying molten aluminum from one machine to another in ladles slung over their backs, and they were not wearing proper personal protection equipment.
OSHA has issued $370,358 in proposed penalties to Vigor Marine Inc. and cited the company for 16 willful and serious violations following an inspection at the shipbuilder's Portland, Ore., facility.
Alejandro Sandoval and his company, Sandoval Construction, were sentenced after pleading guilty to false reporting and first-degree theft. Sandoval Construction has been ordered to reimburse the workers for their unpaid wages, and Sandoval will be responsible for unpaid workers' comp insurance payments to the state. Under separate civil proceedings, he also owes L&I at least $197,000 in unpaid premiums, interest, and penalties.
The new regulations bolster the existing requirements for fire-fighting and life-saving equipment, establish standards for construction and arrangement of newly constructed vessels, and phase in machinery and electrical standards during the next decade.
Edward "Andy" Shuttleworth has been selected as the new director of the Office of Investigations, which develops policy, procedures, and standards for conducting all NRC investigations of alleged wrongdoing by licensees and other entities.
OSHA personnel inspected the facility in December 2017 after an employee suffered an injury while using an improperly guarded punch press and had three fingers subsequently amputated.
Three employees were killed and two others critically injured following an explosion aboard a towboat in Calvert City, Ky., on Jan. 19, 2018. The five contractors collectively received 55 violations with proposed penalties totaling $795,254.
Deaths from red light-running crashes in the United States have been rising since 2012, and the number of communities with the cameras has been falling.
An explosion and fire the Pembroke Refinery on June 2, 2011, killed four workers and serious injured another worker.