Clarifying Representation: The Department of Labor's Newest Regulatory Update
Discover the latest regulatory update by the Department of Labor, aiming to redefine representation during OSHA workplace inspections. This pivotal adjustment could significantly enhance inspection effectiveness and safety outcomes, marking a new ...
On August 29, 2023, the Department of Labor proposed a change to its Representatives of Employers and Employees regulation. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, this rule serves to clarify who can be authorized to serve as a representative during OSHA workplace inspections; stating that the representative may be an employee or someone from a third-party. It also clarifies that third-party representatives are not limited to industrial hygienists or safety engineers, a common misunderstanding of the existing regulation. If the compliance officer deems the individual has skills, knowledge, or experience that would be helpful, they may be granted permission to represent the employee during the inspection. The main goal of this proposed change is to have a more effective inspection conducted to prevent possible injuries (Godinez, 2023).
Should this pass, this would mean that Cornerstone could be a third-party representative for clients who have a scheduled OSHA inspection. Frequently, however, physical OSHA inspections occur without a heads-up from the OSHA officer. In this case, it would be very difficult for a third-party to be involved. That said, in the case that an inspection is scheduled ahead of time, bringing in outside representation would be much easier to coordinate.
Another limiting factor to Cornerstone’s involvement would be whether the client knows what areas of the workplace will be inspected. If the OSHA officer does not provide a scope of what will be inspected, then consulting oversight might be a moot point. That said, Cornerstone can help clients review inspection results and propose recommendations accordingly, regardless of our ability to be involved in the inspection itself.
Ultimately, this change would be a benefit to all parties involved with physical OSHA inspection. It will help make sure the right people are involved and, therefore, will lead to better outcomes.
Godinez, Victoria. “Department of Labor Announces Proposed Changes to Clarify Regulations on Authorized Employee Representation during Workplace Inspections.” Occupational Safety and Health Administration, August 29, 2023. https://www.osha.gov/news/newsreleases/national/08292023.
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OSHA's New National Emphasis Program: Safeguarding Workers in High-Risk Industries from Warehouse Injuries and Heat Hazards
OSHA recently launched an NEP focused on preventing injuries in warehouses, processing facilities, distribution centers, and high-risk retail establishments. Learn more.
National Emphasis Programs, also known as NEPs, are “temporary programs that focus OSHA's resources on particular hazards and high-hazard industries,”(OSHA 2023). On July 11th, 2023, OSHA launched a NEP focused on preventing injuries in warehouses, processing facilities, distribution centers, and high-risk retail establishments. This NEP decision was made based on ten years of injury history in these workplaces. According to the OSHA national news release, warehouses and distribution centers currently employ 1.9 million people, and the injury and illness rate is higher than the overall private industry.
The NEP will last three years and will consist of inspections focused on hazards related to powered industrial vehicle operations, material handling and storage, walking and working surfaces, means of egress, and fire protection. These safety focuses would be considered high-risk, which means if an injury occurs then there is a higher chance it will result in a serious injury or fatality.
The NEP also focuses on other safety topics that are not considered high-risk but attributed to the high injury rate: heat and ergonomic hazards. Additionally, OSHA may expand an inspection’s scope when evidence shows that violations may exist in other areas of the establishment. Overall, these are great areas of focus within these industries. Throughout my five years of being in the warehouse and distribution center sector, sprains and strains have been the most frequently occurring injury type and contributed to around half of all injuries I encountered. OSHA inspections related to ergonomics should look at packaging and loading workstations. The workforce in warehouse and distribution centers tend to be diverse, and one employee’s size and height could be completely different from another. Workstations, however, will be fixed. Heat-related illnesses vary throughout the United States, but states like Arizona tend to have 40-50 work-related fatalities due to heat stress.
For more information, visit: https://www.osha.gov/news/newsreleases/national/07132023#:~:text=%22This%20emphasis%20program%20allows%20OSHA,ensure%20worker%20health%20and%20safety.%22
Tyler Sandy is a Health and Safety Specialist and consults with clients in the area of worker safety. Tyler's experience includes industrial hygiene services, safety training, RCRA as well as OSHA and EPA compliance. His experience includes working with the packaging industry, railroad, welding, warehouse, food and medical waste, chemical manufacturing, and casting.
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Occupational Exposure to Crystalline Silica: Possible Revisions
There are 2.3 million people in the U.S. alone that are exposed to silica at their workplace. Silica can be found in materials like sand, stone, concrete, and mortar which are in products such as glass, pottery, ceramics, brick, and artificial stone. High exposure to silica can result in diseases like Silicosis, lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and kidney disease. The action level OSHA established is 25 µg/m3 and the permissible exposure limit is 50 µg/m3.
On March 25, 2016, OSHA made a final decision regarding occupational exposure to respirable crystalline silica. The standard established much needed action levels and permissible exposure limits which are calculated based on an eight-hour time-weighted average. The standard, however, did not establish a medical removal provision and only established medical surveillance provisions. Medical removal provisions are important for OSHA recordkeeping because if an employee meets or exceeds the limits during their medical surveillance, the employee must be removed from work. When an employee is removed from work for a medical condition or after surveillance, it is considered a recordable injury/illness due to an employee accumulating days away from work or restricted work. As of January 2023, there is not an established medical removal provision for crystalline silica, but there is a strong possibility this may change this year.
In the Spring of 2022, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit concluded that OSHA failed to explain why a medical removal provision was not included in the 2016 decision. As a result, a meeting to discuss further consideration was created and deliberation is currently scheduled for May 2023. If the change is made, it would have a major impact on industries across the country.
The importance of adding a medical removal provision, from an OSHA recordkeeping and employee health standpoint, is apparent but this doesn’t include a company’s financial and employee and employer relations point of view. Hypothetically, let’s assume that a company’s grinding operation exposes a dozen associates to a level where they are required to be medically removed from work. The grinding operation would need to be halted completely until certain controls have been made to reduce exposure for associates to continue working. Depending on the severity of the exposure, this could take months or even years to install equipment or create a respiratory protection program that reduces or eliminates exposure. This same company would also have to communicate this information to their employees, who may choose to leave due to unhealthy working conditions.
This potential change is one of many examples of why air sampling monitoring is vital to maintain a safe work environment. Silica monitoring should be completed at least on an annual basis or whenever there are process changes that may affect employees’ level of exposure to silica. In most cases, air sampling monitoring for silica can be completed in a single day with results coming back within the same month. Lastly, whether a medical removal provision is added or not in May 2023, there is a strong likelihood one will be established in the future, so getting a head start on monitoring and, if necessary, creating exposure controls will help long term.
Tyler Sandy is a Health and Safety Specialist and consults with clients in the area of worker safety. Tyler's experience includes industrial hygiene services, safety training, RCRA as well as OSHA and EPA compliance. His experience includes working with the packaging industry, railroad, welding, warehouse, food and medical waste, chemical manufacturing, and casting.
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Keep Pedestrians Safe from Forklift Accidents with OSHA Safety Training
It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
Don’t worry about sounding professional. Sound like you. There are over 1.5 billion websites out there, but your story is what’s going to separate this one from the rest. If you read the words back and don’t hear your own voice in your head, that’s a good sign you still have more work to do.
Be clear, be confident and don’t overthink it. The beauty of your story is that it’s going to continue to evolve and your site can evolve with it. Your goal should be to make it feel right for right now. Later will take care of itself. It always does.
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OSHA Injury and Illness Recordkeeping and Reporting Requirements
Preventing workplace injuries and illnesses is always the focus of any company’s health and safety program; however, despite best efforts to eliminate workplace hazards and reduce risk, workplace injuries and illnesses still happen.
In my current position in the private sector and as a former OSHA Compliance Officer, I have provided safety and health consultation to employers in a wide range of industries. In both roles, I have noticed that many employers are not aware of their worker safety compliance obligations. Typical requirements that may be overlooked include injury and illness recordkeeping and reporting, documenting those records with sufficient detail, or submitting required records in a timely manner.
OSHA’s Recording and Reporting Occupational Injuries and Illnesses regulation, 29 CFR 1904, provides the compliance obligations for employers for recordable workplace injuries and illnesses. Many employers with more than ten employees are required to keep a record of serious work-related injuries and illnesses. (Certain low-risk industries are exempted). Minor injuries requiring first aid only do not need to be recorded. Visit the following links for more information on these topics:
During my career, I have found that some employers do not record occupational injuries and illnesses altogether. The basic requirement for recording listed in 29 CFR 1904.7(a) states: The employer must record any work-related injury or illness meeting the general recording criteria. That is, if it results in any of the following: death, days away from work, restricted work or transfer to another job, medical treatment beyond first aid, or loss of consciousness. Also, if it involves a significant injury or illness diagnosed by a physician or other licensed health care professional, even if it does not result in death, days away from work, restricted work or job transfer, medical treatment beyond first aid, or loss of consciousness.
OSHA Injury and Illness Recordkeeping Forms
Employers must use the required forms (or forms soliciting equivalent information). OSHA provides the following forms for injury and illness recordkeeping purposes:
Forms 300, 300A, 301 and Instructions PDF Fillable Format
Forms 300, 300A, 301 Excel format (Forms ONLY) Requires Microsoft Excel or equivalent
Recording Details and Following Instructions Required by the Form
In my experience, when an employer has kept injury and illness records, the records lack the detail required and the instructions were not followed. There are numerous examples of this: not classifying the case correctly; entering the wrong information on number of days away from work or days of restricted work; incorrect tallying of injury and illness case totals; or lack of employer representative signature are a few examples commonly mentioned.
Maintaining and Posting Records
The records must be maintained at the worksite for at least five years. Each February through April, employers must post a summary of the injuries and illnesses recorded the previous year. Also, if requested, copies of the records must be provided to current and former employees, or their representatives.
Severe Injury Reporting
Employers must report any worker fatality within 8 hours and any amputation, loss of an eye, or hospitalization of a worker within 24 hours.
Electronic Submission of Records
On many occasions, I’ve noted that an employer has failed to submit injury and illness records to OSHA in a timely manner or not at all. OSHA’s Injury Tracking Application (ITA) provides a secure website that offers three options for injury and illness data submissions. You can manually enter your data, upload a CSV file to add multiple establishments at the same time, or transmit data electronically via an API (application programming interface).
Who is covered by this reporting requirement?
Only a small fraction of establishments are required to electronically submit their Form 300A data to OSHA. Establishments that meet any of the following criteria DO NOT have to electronically report their information to OSHA. Remember, these criteria apply at the establishment level, not to the firm as a whole.
The establishment's peak employment during the previous calendar year was 19 or fewer, regardless of the establishment's industry.
The establishment's industry is on Appendix A to Subpart B of OSHA’s recordkeeping regulation, regardless of the size of the establishment.
The establishment had a peak employment between 20 and 249 employees during the previous calendar year AND the establishment's industry is NOT on Appendix A to Subpart E of OSHA’s recordkeeping regulation.
What must covered establishments submit?
Covered establishments must electronically submit information from their OSHA Form 300A.
When must covered establishments submit their completed Form 300A?
Establishments must submit the required information by March 2 of the year after the calendar year covered by the forms (for example, by March 2, 2022 for the forms covering calendar year 2021).
If the submission due date of March 2 has passed, establishments that meet the reporting requirements and failed to do so must still report their Form 300A data through the ITA and can do so until December 31.
Does OSHA provide training for the general public on recordkeeping requirements?
Yes. Through its national network of OSHA Training Institute (OTI) Education Centers, OSHA offers the OSHA #7845 Recordkeeping Rule Seminar course. This half-day course covers the OSHA requirements for maintaining and posting records of occupational injuries and illnesses, and reporting specific cases to OSHA. Included in the course are hands-on activities associated with completing the OSHA Form 300 Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses, OSHA Form 300A Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses, and the OSHA Form 301 Injury and Illness Incident Report. To search for specific course locations and dates, please visit the OTI Education Centers searchable schedule.
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Proactive Steps That Can Prevent Workplace Incidents
Most people are familiar with the basic regulatory requirements facilities must meet under their respective reporting regimes. Many of these requirements involve documenting incidents AFTER they occur and then performing risk or root cause analysis to drive potential change in the workplace. There is no doubt these are important steps in creating a safer workplace culture, but what if you could have a safer workplace before waiting for something bad to happen?
This is where the concept of a behavior-based safety program comes into play. Programs like these are setup so that you can identify unsafe conditions and behaviors and perform risk analysis operations on them; thereby eliminating potential accidents before they ever occur.
What would this look like in practice?
Observations
Having a daily observation program in place to monitor workers during the day for five minutes can have a huge impact. A simple observational program can be easily formed and effortlessly repeatable. Those small observational data points can then be combined to provide trends to safety managers to see if there are changes necessary to the safety program.
Checklists
In this instance, employees are provided with a checklist of things to do to operate efficiently and safely in their environment. This can be anything from lockout/tagout procedures, work procedures and/or training manuals for specific equipment operation. Having clear-cut directions simplifies tasks and makes them much safer.
Goal Setting
Establishing identifiable safety goals to work towards can also make your workplace safer. Everyone is familiar with the typical “days without incident goal”, but there are many other achievable victories to be had. Reducing the number of days with PPE infractions is an example. Combining goals with small incentives will eventually save money by helping to reduce incident costs, lower insurance costs, and prevent the loss of productivity.
This may seem like a lot of work to prevent something that may not even happen, but I promise it is worth the time and effort to set up a system to automate these tasks. To help, Cornerstone has built systems that manage these elements and can provide templates and startups to get a new, more proactive safety management system off the ground quickly and easily.
Not only does Cornerstone have the applications to easily manage all this data, but we have the expertise and knowledge behind all our systems to provide insights, offer advice and guide our users in the right direction. All of this combined has saved our customers time, money, and lives. That’s the ultimate end goal of any safety system: to provide a productive work environment for employees and see them all go home at the end of each shift safely. We are proud to provide our clients with the tools and knowledge to help make that happen.
Joshua Sampia is the Director of Product Development. He is responsible for the applications development team at Cornerstone, ranging from web-based and mobile applications to device management for safety and environmental compliance and applicability.
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OSHA Form 300A Compliance
Form 300A is the summary of work-related injuries and illnesses occurring at your facility during the previous year. Employers are required to post this information at their location from February 1 through April 30 of the following year.
Just like Tier II compliance, summaries are required for each individual plant or facility under your management. Separate logs and summaries should be maintained at each site.
One of the more recent developments, however, is that summary information must be submitted to OSHA through their online portal if your facility meets certain size and industry requirements. For more information regarding requirements for industry, you can use OSHA’s FAQ website here: https://www.osha.gov/injuryreporting .
The rule requiring establishments with over 250 employees to submit the entire 300 Log and not just the summary was amended and is no longer required; however, facilities must continue to maintain those records and are required to provide them to an inspector upon request.
So, how can Cornerstone help?
Our Incident Management program will not only help you accurately collect and maintain incident information, but it can also provide customization and control well beyond OSHA’s generic spreadsheets and manual collection. It will also keep backup archives so this information can never be lost.
All facilities are required to submit information through the OSHA Injury Tracking Application (ITA) website. Cornerstone can help by automatically generating files in “.csv” format to upload to the OSHA ITA program to save you time entering the summary data for every single facility. Even for a single facility, it is much more efficient to upload the csv file rather than manually entering the data.
In addition to proving a summary to comply with reporting requirements, the program will automatically generate the “.pdf” files necessary for display at the facility. Again, this is not a reporting requirement, but is required for compliance.
This is just a fraction of the benefits an incident management system can provide. Most importantly, it can help drive a healthier and safer workforce while also easily keeping you in compliance with electronic recordkeeping requirements.
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Make Sure Your EHS Recordkeeping is "Turnover-Proof"
It happens all the time... an inspector from EPA or OSHA goes to a facility and asks for copies of required documentation and compliance records.
What happens if you are new to your position and are asked to produce those documents?
You're certain that the previous EHS Manager kept them ‘somewhere’, but you don’t know where. You fumble around at an unfamiliar desk, rifle through a couple of file cabinets, and frantically click files in your company’s shared hard drive. While you are doing that, the regulator is getting annoyed, looking around, and thinking of other questions he or she is now going to ask you.
If the information had been readily available, you could have had them out the door already but, instead, you’re scrambling to locate anyone who might know where the information is stored.
As the economy continues to return to normal and a demand for higher wages increases in many sectors, employee turnover has become one of the biggest issues manufacturing companies must address. It isn’t only hourly employees leaving for greener pastures. EHS personnel are finding new opportunities as well.
So, what happens when they leave and take all their knowledge with them?
Develop a Team to Manage EHS Recordkeeping
EHS recordkeeping requirements don’t stop just because you lose the expertise you’ve come to depend on. If your facility is still operating, you must continue to keep records as required by federal, state, and local regulations. One of the issues that I run into as an onsite environmental auditor is facility personnel not knowing where the records are kept. When longtime EHS personnel leave, many times you don’t know what you don’t know. So, you don’t know what to ask. In other words, when that employee is gone, so are years of institutional knowledge about who submits Tier II reports, who collects used oil bills of lading, who completes stormwater sampling, etc.
One way to prevent this is to create an internal storage system controlled by one person but accessible by many. Have your EHS Manager train two or three people on how to access information in your system. Have those two or three people assess the system and make changes based on their suggestions. One person controlling a recordkeeping system will almost always lead to confusion when someone else tries to use it. Use plain language in file descriptions and group things by media (air, water, hazardous waste, SDSs, HazCom, etc.) and by year.
Have your IT team create a file structure to store those records that is accessible by authorized personnel and regularly backed up to prevent file loss. Make sure that everyone who receives documents (EHS, purchasing, maintenance, quality) knows where those documents are stored. You could even use an outside vendor like Cornerstone and our electronic file cabinet system to help you maintain your documentation. Whatever method you choose to manage this information, ensure it is secure, regularly backed up and that multiple people understand how to access the system.
Turnover is inevitable but you don’t have to be caught scrambling when it happens. Plan for the future by creating redundancy and putting in place a system that can be handed down to the next person.
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OSHA Proposes a New Scheme for Injury and Illness Reporting
On March 28, 2022, OSHA announced a proposed rule to amend the federal occupational injury, illness recordkeeping regulation. If approved, the proposed rule will change the requirement to submit illness and injury summaries (OSHA 300-A) for many companies with 20-249 employees and almost all employers with 250 employees, and would potentially require fewer establishments to report more detailed information.
The proposed change will require establishments with 100 or more employees, in certain high-hazard industries, to electronically submit not only the 300-A summary but more detailed information from their log of injuries/illnesses (OSHA 300) and the Injury and Illness Incident Reports (OSHA 301).
The “high-hazard industries” (found in Appendix B to the proposed rule) includes a wide swath of the economy including agriculture, manufacturing, wholesale, retail, transportation, warehousing, real estate, healthcare, art, entertainment as well as hotels and food service.
Another critical change will require establishments to include their company name when making electronic submissions to OSHA. This is very important when you consider that the submissions are posted online. That has been the case for years and the data is very revealing, but only in a limited way. The additional reporting requirements would make details about your worker injuries and illnesses a matter of public record. In addition, accurately recording and reporting the information will become even more critical. (The data reported currently is available at https://www.osha.gov/Establishment-Specific-Injury-and-Illness-Data)
At a time when your company’s data is more accessible than ever by a global audience, it is crucial to understand how and when it is shared. Cornerstone will monitor this proposed rule and keep you informed. In the meantime, we recommend that all impacted employers read and understand the proposed rule and comment as needed. Comments must be submitted by May 31, 2022.
Read the full release and get more information here: https://www.osha.gov/news/newsreleases/national/03282022-0
John Scifres is Cornerstone’s Director of Health and Safety Services. He is a Certified Hazardous Materials Manager and is a Provisional Lead Auditor for ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001. He oversees Cornerstone’s team of EHS Project Managers. In addition, he consults with clients nation-wide to ensure compliance with EHS regulations and evaluate opportunities to go above and beyond compliance.
#OSHA #Safety #InjuryandIllness #OSHA-300-A
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Go Beyond Recordkeeping with an Automated Employee Training Tracking System
Maintaining accurate training records is important for many reasons including compliance with federal, state, and local laws, conformance with quality standards, as well as improving worker safety and overall productivity. However, many companies continue to rely upon spreadsheets and cumbersome manual processes to track employee training. It is important to ensure a solid process is in place for tracking and maintaining training records. Without such a system, vital training may be missed, leaving employees either unsafe or unqualified for their positions. In addition, your organization may be cited for non-compliance if a regulatory agency performs an audit, and the required data cannot be retrieved.
Develop a Process for Tracking and Maintaining Records
We have been asked by clients numerous times how they should manage training information to help ensure their team is more productive, capable, and safe. The most effective way to track training is to use an automated system to manage the information and tasks involved in the process. A system such as this may be incorporated into a Quality and/or Worker Health and Safety Program to ensure all training requirements are met and the necessary data is captured to maintain certifications and/or OSHA compliance.
Typical Training Data to Track and Record
What should you keep track of, and what is the most effective process? Although organizations may have unique recordkeeping needs, training tracking systems commonly include the following information:
Training required for each role
Frequency of each training type
Completion and refresher dates of training
License and certification validity
Training course materials
Course assessments
Employee evaluations
What tasks can be automated?
Assignments of training based on an employee’s role
Rescheduling of refresher training, as needed, based on the frequency of requirements
Notifications to employees who require training
Easily accessible records of evidence in the event of an audit
Training class rosters
In addition to automating all of the required tasks for training tracking, metrics such as training effectiveness and course assessments can be accessed. Other performance indicators, like how often licenses or qualifications lapse, or the percentage of employees trained, can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of your training program.
Additional Benefits of an Effective Training Tracking System
In today’s business climate, one of the most important benefits of a training program is attracting, training, and retaining employees. You can leverage training tracking to see where employees are deficient and train them in the areas needed. Furthermore, if employees are not continually learning, it may prompt them to look elsewhere for opportunities that foster personal growth.
In short, using automated training tracking tools will help managers become more efficient with their training efforts, which promotes safety, increases job satisfaction, and creates a more educated, skillful, and productive workforce.
Further Information
Cornerstone offers Training Tracking software that helps users capture and retrieve the necessary information to remain current and compliant with applicable regulatory requirements. Our software automates the training process with features such as email reminders, mass scheduling, and monitoring the completion of courses. Contact us to discuss integrating this Training Tracking system into your operations.
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Do You Need a Confined Space Permit?
Many facility managers get understandably confused when they try to decide if they have to comply with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standard on Confined Spaces (29 CFR 1910.146). OSHA requires all workplaces to evaluate the entire facility and determine if there are any permit-required confined spaces. This process has two steps.
Step 1: Does It Meet the Definition?
You first must evaluate any potential space to see if it meets the definition of a confined space. The OSHA definition of a confined space has three parts:
It is large enough and so configured that an employee can bodily enter and perform assigned work. This means the employee must fit his entire body into the space.
It has limited means of entry or exit. This could mean a single entry/exit or multiple entries/exits that are very small or hard to get through.
It is not designed for continuous employee occupancy. For example, it is not designed to have an employee inside while the system is in operation.
If any spaces meet all three of these parts, then it is a confined space. If it only meets one or two, it may still be a hazardous area, but it is not a confined space, and 29 CFR 1910.146 does not apply. As an example, a basement may meet the first and second parts but, as it is designed for employee occupancy, it would not be a confined space.
When it does meet all three of these parts, then the facility must determine if its employees will enter the space. If they will not enter the space, the facility still has requirements to secure the space to make entry difficult, install signage marking the hazard near the point of entry, and train employees where the spaces are and why they should not enter.
If employees will enter the space, then you must conduct Step 2.
Step 2: What Is the Hazard Type?
You must evaluate each space to see what hazards may exist. OSHA has identified four potential hazards in a Permit-Required Confined Space
Atmospheric: It contains or has a potential to contain a hazardous atmosphere. Such spaces may lack oxygen, contain toxic gases, have flammable vapors, or hold combustible dust.
EH&S Managers should keep in mind that some spaces may only temporarily have hazardous atmospheres. Tanks and pits that do not normally present a risk could develop a hazard episodically or accidentally. An example could be a pit that fills with a heavy vapor from a nearby propane fueling area or vehicle fumes.
In order to determine if your space meets any of these conditions, the facility must use an air monitor; normally a three-gas meter that detects oxygen levels and, toxic and flammable gasses. In addition, you must train any employees who would enter the space to use the meter
Engulfment: Contains a material that has the potential for engulfing a person. This would include either liquids (water or chemicals) or solid materials (like dusts, grains or resins). If an worker sinks into particles up to his diaphragm, he has the potential to be asphyxiated before he can be rescued. Even if a space is temporarily empty, facility managers should remove the potential for the space to fill by locking out any pipe or valve systems that could fail and fill up a space while an employee inside.
Entrapment: The defined confined space has an internal configuration that can trap or asphyxiate an employee by inwardly converging walls, sloping floors, tapering spaces. Dust collection systems are examples of the inwardly converging walls, while ventilation systems may slope downward and taper at the ends.
Others: Any other recognized serious safety hazard. This covers a multitude of potential hazards such as electrical, thermal, corrosives, and mechanical hazards such as rotating parts, augers, or blades.
If the confined space has one or more of the above hazards, then it falls under the OSHA requirements of a Permit-Required Confined Space for entry. The employer must prepare a written program that details how the company will protect the employees who enter the space including preparing a permit, training employees, monitoring the space to ensure acceptable conditions are maintained, and emergency rescue equipment.
Exemptions
There are two potential exemptions to the regulation. Employers can install equipment to eliminate mechanical or electrical hazards from the exterior before entering the space or add a forced-air ventilation system to disperse atmospheric hazards. In each of these exemptions, OSHA requires clearly defined procedures and periodic testing to ensure worker safety.
Safety First
Dozens of workers are injured each year in confined spaces. It is the employer’s responsibility to ensure that any entry into a confined space must be according to the rules and be safe. It’s up to you to get your employee home safely at the end of every shift.
Cornerstone offers the most comprehensive hazard evaluation service in the industry, call us today to discuss your confined space program. www.corner-enviro.com
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OSHA Frequency Requirements for Safety Training
Don’t let Worker Health and Safety Training slip through the cracks! The safety of your workplace depends on providing your employees relevant, up-to-date training — plus it is a key requirement to comply with OSHA regulations.
Is your workforce receiving the training they need when they need it?
Digging through OSHA’s website to find this information can be time-consuming, and often training requirements may still be unclear after reading the regulations.
Cornerstone’s worker safety team members have decades of experience from industry, agencies, and the military. We will work with your organization to deliver an effective worker safety program that helps ensure OSHA compliance and prevent workplace emergencies.
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Update SDS Regularly for Better Work Safety
Safety Data Sheets inform employees about the hazards of the chemicals in their workplace, how to obtain information on chemicals, and what to do if a spill or accident occurs with those chemicals in order to provide a safe, secure workplace. The information contained on each SDS also enables organizations to better understand the chemicals they use and how those substances impact the environment. Constant communication of SDS updates to staff is a vital way to promote a positive safety culture in any company. It creates a safer, more informed environment for employees. Changes to SDS can impact the handling or transport of material, as well as disposal methods, and the potential health hazards to employees.
What OSHA regulations require SDS?
The OSHA Hazard Communication Standard (OSHA, 29 CFR 1910.1200(g) and Appendix D) requires manufacturers and importers of a new hazardous chemical to obtain or develop safety data sheets. From there, the manufacturers, suppliers, and distributors are responsible for passing that information along as the product moves through the supply chain. Those entities also are required to update existing SDS as new information becomes available regarding identification, handling, and spill response of hazardous chemicals. This applies to every hazardous chemical they produce or import. The HCS requires that SDSs be updated by the chemical manufacturer or importer within three months of learning of "new or significant information" regarding the chemical's hazard potential. The downstream or end users are responsible for the use and maintenance of SDSs, including accessibility to the most recent version of SDSs for all employees. Users can request updated SDS information from the original supplier or manufacturer. All along the supply chain, employers must provide training to employees regarding how to access an SDS and communicate changes to employees in a timely manner.
What other mandates require SDS?
The U.S. EPA also has regulations that address SDSs. These documents were a requirement under the Clean Water Act of 1970 and the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) of 1980. Subsequently, these were reaffirmed under the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA) section 313 of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA), which is also known as Title III. Many state and local environmental and safety agencies have a number of regulations that may redundantly require SDSs. Most corporate safety and environmental protection programs also rely on SDSs to educate and inform workers about dangers in the workplace.
What are the dangers of an outdated SDS?
If a manufacturer chooses not to maintain up-to-date SDS documents on file, they are denying their staff valuable information about specific chemicals substances and how to safely handle them. This puts employees at risk and could lead to workplace incidents and injuries or environmental damage. In addition, OSHA or EPA inspectors have the authority to issue violations and assess fines for non-compliance with SDS-related regulations.
Further Information
With Cornerstone’s Foundation SDS Management and Chemical Inventory System, our Chemical Management team do the work for our clients to ensure that their SDS are regularly updated. For a free demo, contact us.
Yabelin Batista has been with Cornerstone since 2019. She is a member of the Chemical Management department at Cornerstone, Environmental, Health and Safety. One of her main responsibilities consists of sourcing and updating current Safety Data Sheets (SDS) for a wide array of products in our Foundation SDS Management and Chemical Inventory System. Her efforts help ensure our customers have the latest documents available.