The March 4 "OSHA Listens" meeting did not lack for out-of-the-box thinking. What OSHA does with the input from ASSE President Chris Patton and others is the crucial part, of course.
Falls and falling objects can result from unstable working surfaces, ladders that are not safely positioned, and misuse of fall protection. Workers are also subject to falls or to the dangers of falling objects if sides and edges, floor holes, and wall openings are not protected. Any time a worker is at a height of six feet or more (construction industry) or four feet or more (general industry), the worker must be protected.
The new B101.1 floor safety standard will change the way you address the growing problem of slip-and-fall accidents.
The roundtable discussion will include opinions and insights from panelists representing Carhartt, Glen Raven Technical Fabrics, and Old Toledo Brands.
"This case is a clear and grave example of the human cost incurred when required fall protection safeguards are absent, ignored, or inadequate," said Rosemarie Ohar, OSHA's New Hampshire area director.
The National Association of Tower Erectors worked with tower owners and operators to develop the content, which will guide on-site employees of owners, carriers, broadcasters, and general contractors.
Guidelines highlight transport platform operation, inspection, maintenance, and fall protection.
The two deadly incidents, which befell separate worksites, were among five that occurred during a 15-day span in the Pittsburgh area last summer.
More than 60 sessions will be offered throughout the event’s three days, including sessions on fall protection, power line safety, worker’s compensation issues, electrical safety, industrial hygiene issues, and work zone safety. NIOSH Director Dr. John Howard will deliver the event’s keynote address.
Among the imposed sanctions, the company, its owner, and former owner must pay outstanding monetary penalties, which continue to accrue interest, and other miscellaneous fees, in the current amount of $258,582.08; and the current owner must pay a $100 daily penalty, calculated from the time of default, in early 2008, on the ignored OSHRC final order.
Dan Jaquez, occupational safety & health manager for public works in Ventura County, Calif., for the NAVFAC SW Naval Facilities Engineering Command, won a new ExoFit NEX fall harness in the Capital Safety/OH&S essay contest.
"Company management was aware of the requirements to establish a lockout program and did not take action," said Kurt Petermeyer, director of OSHA's Mobile (Ala.) Area Office.
The job will consist of replacing all 6,350 windows in the 73-story, downtown-Atlanta Westin Peachtree Plaza hotel, which was damaged by a tornado in March 2008.
Industry operations covered include the transfer of cargo between ships, trucks, pipelines, and other modes of transportation, and the operation and maintenance of piers, docks, and associated buildings and facilities.
"This case is a clear example of what can and does happen when adequate and effective scaffolding and fall protection are lacking at a jobsite," said OSHA's Brenda Gordon, commenting on the incident in Boston's Roxbury neighborhood.
The new resource from NIOSH is sure to be needed: BLS has projected this occupation will grow faster than any other through 2016.
"OSHA determined that this company is fully aware of the deficiencies it has in its safety program and what needs to be changed to provide safe work conditions for employees but hasn't acted to correct those deficiencies," said Roberto Sanchez, director of the agency's area office in Birmingham, Ala.
"There's no excuse for workers being repeatedly and needlessly exposed to potentially fatal or disabling falls," said Brenda Gordon, OSHA's area director for Boston and southeastern Massachusetts.
"[W]e will shine a spotlight on the hazards and challenges faced by this vulnerable sector of the nation's workforce so that we can begin crafting new, badly needed strategies to prevent thousands of injuries and deaths every year," said OSHA chief David Michaels.
Tim Fisher, ASSE's director of Practices and Standards, said ASSE is developing technical briefs for ANSI/ASSE A10.47-2009, "Work Zone Safety for Highway Construction," and ANSI/ASSE A10.16-2009.