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by:
Jeff Vincent, CITEC Field Engineer
In
1970 the United States Congress passed the Occupational Safety
and Health Act. The OSH Act was created to "...assure so
far as possible, every working man and woman in the nation safe
and healthful working conditions and to preserve our human resources."
That's
the history lesson; now for some cold, hard facts...
Over
34,000 federal inspections were conducted during the fiscal year
1997 (the most recent year statistics are available). From those
inspections, 87,710 violations were reported with penalties
nearing the $90-million mark. More important still, over 6.2
million workers suffer from job-related injuries/illness
annually -- about 17 Americans die every day on the job.
Though
it's hard to argue with facts like these, many Northern new York
companies believe the cost to follow safety regulations will
be too costly; or that OSHA won't want to be bothered with small,
North Country companies.
When
you hired your first employee, you went from being self-employed
to being an employer and the OSHA umbrella opened over your operations.
The General Duty Clause kicked in...
Employers
shall furnish...a place of employment which is free from
recognized hazards that are causing or are likely to cause
death or serious physical harm to his employees.
Perhaps
you have successfully expanded your business over the years and
now employ 11 people or more. That's great...it also means different
standards for safety apply that didn't before. And it means that
an OSHA inspector could come knocking on your door based on the
following:
imminent
danger
complaints
programmed inspections
random inspections
fatality/catastrophe
Would
you pass an inspection if OSHA came to call on your tomorrow?
Take this quick quiz:
- Do
you have a copy of the 29 CFR 1910 OSHA Standard?
- Has
an OSHA poster been displayed in a prominent location?
- Who
is responsible for treating injured employees? Do you have
a written program?
- Who
has responsibility for cleaning washrooms?
- Do
you have written programs for HazCom, PPE, BBP, Lockout/Tagout,
etc.?
- Do
you have a Safety Committee? How often do they meet? Are meeting
minutes kept?
- Are
safety training records kept? Do they include a written test?
- How
often are plant safety inspections conducted? By whom? What
is the procedure to correct identified hazards?
Health
and Safety programs should not be "back burner" projects
or the first things to be cut when times are busy or money is
tight. Proper H & S programs can benefit your company in
many ways -- from monetary to improved employee morale.
In
November, the New York State Dept. of Labor issues requests for
safety-related proposals under the Hazard Abatement (HazAb) Grant.
If you are interested in applying for a HazAb Grant, the deadline
is rapidly approaching, so don't delay.
Your
employees are counting on you.
JV
CITEC
has successfully completed HazAb proposals for companies
across Northern New York, as well as working with them to
implement improved safety programs. Our field engineers can
also help you identify trouble areas by conducting on-site
safety inspections. Contact Jeff
Vincent or Eric Myers for
details.
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