OSHA Update
Scott G. Shimandle
Compliance Assistance Specialist
USDOL/OSHA – Allentown
Presentation Overview
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What’s New in OSHA
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Alliances and Partnerships
Regionally: Fines and VPP sites
Locally: New AD, Alliances and Partnerships
Hot Topics: AED’s, Avian Flu, Chemical Reactivity
Top violations issued
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Nationally: Targeting, SHIBs, Standards Update,
General Industry and Construction
Recent Interpretations
What’s New
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Nationally
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OSHA Announces Targeted Inspection Plan for
2005 Agency targets about 4,400 high-hazard
worksites
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The primary list will also include sites based on a "Days
Away from Work Injury and Illness" (DAFWII) rate of 9
or higher (9 or more cases that involve days away from
work per 100 full-time employees).
Employers not on the primary list who reported DART
rates of between 7.0 and 12.0, or DAFWII rates of
between 5.0 and 9.0, will be placed on a secondary list
for possible inspection.
The national incident DART rate in 2003 for private
industry was 2.6, while the national incident DAFWII
rate was 1.5.
What’s New
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Nationally
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Update on Standards FR issued May 16, 2005
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Pre-Rule Stage
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Occupational Exposure to Beryllium
Ionizing Radiation
Emergency Response and Preparedness
Lead in Construction
Confined Spaces in Construction
Proposed Rule Stage
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Electric Power T & D; Electrical Protective Equipment
Occupational Exposure to Crystalline Silica
Walking Working Surfaces & Personal Fall Protection
Explosives
What’s New
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Nationally
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Update on Standards (cont’d)
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Final Rule Stage
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Assigned Protection Factors: Amendments to the
Final Rule on Respiratory Protection
Occupational Exposure to Hexavalent Chromium
Employer Payment for Personal Protective
Equipment
Revision & Update to Subpart S – Electrical
Standards
Updating OSHA Standards based on National
Consensus Standards
Rollover Protective Structures; Overhead Protection
Long-Term Actions
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Hearing Conservation Program for Construction Workers
What’s New (continued)
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Nationally
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Safety and Health Information Bulletin
(SHIB’s)
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Innovative Workplace Safety Accommodations for
Hearing Impaired Workers
Hazards of Inadequately Securing Hydraulic Excavator
Buckets When Using Quick Coupling Devices
Hazard of Potential Sidewalk Grate System Failure
Hazards Associated with De-Watering of Pipelines
Hazards while Servicing Light Truck, Automobile, and
Other Small Tires
What’s New (continued)
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Nationally
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SHIB’s (continued)
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- July 22, 2005
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OSHA's Madison, Wisc., Area Office recently investigated a
fatal accident where an excavator bucket was released
unexpectedly from a quick coupler.
 Alert employers and employees of the need to follow
manufacturer instructions regarding the installation,
use, testing, inspection, and maintenance of quick
coupling devices;
 Explain how buckets and other attachments can be
unintentionally released from quick couplers; and
 Detail actions to prevent such unintended releases.
What’s New (continued)
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SHIB’s (cont’d)
 OSHA's Braintree, Massachusetts Area Office investigated a fatal
accident where a skid-steer loader used to clear snow from
sidewalks plunged into a vault when a metal grate covering the
vault failed.
 Alert employers and employees who use skid- steer loaders and
other heavy machinery to clear snow or debris from grate systems
over pits and vaults that:
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Employers must determine whether local building codes permit heavy
machinery to be operated on sidewalks and over grate systems and if
these grate systems may fail under the weight of the
loaders/machinery;
OSHA standards for Walking-Working Surfaces address floor opening
covers and their supports and require that they meet standard strength
and construction requirements; and
Recommend that all such surface grate systems be inspected regularly
and remind employers that steps must be taken to ensure that these
grate systems have the capacity to support the weight of heavy
machinery, unless procedures are implemented to effectively prevent
the operation of heavy machinery on such grates.
What’s New (continued)
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Nationally
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Alliances
 Sealant Waterproofing and Restoration
Institute (SWRI) signed February 20, 2003; renewed July
21, 2005)
Laser Institute of America (signed August 9, 2005)
 ISSA (signed August 5, 2005)
 National Demolition Assoc. (NDA) (signed May 26,
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2005)
American Red Cross (signed May 19, 2005)
 Independent Lubricant Manuf. Assoc. (ILMA)
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(signed February 9, 2004)
What’s New (continued)
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Nationally
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Partnerships
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AMEC Construction
Department of the Army
Johnson & Johnson
Koch Industries
National Park Service (NPS)
National Ready-Mixed Concrete Association
Electrical Transmission and Distribution Construction
Contractors and Trade Associations
United Auto, Aerospace, and Agricultural Implement Workers
(UAW)/Ford Motor Company
United Auto, Aerospace, and Agricultural Implement Workers
(UAW)/Visteon Corporation
United States Postal Service/American Postal Workers Union
AFL-CIO/National Postal Mail Handlers Union
What’s New (continued)
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Regionally
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OSHA Fines New Haven Companies Nearly $112,000 For
Exposing Workers to Asbestos Hazards
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L.F. Driscoll Co. Recognized For Safety Success at
University of Pennsylvania Hospital Project
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CHARLESTON, W.Va. – OSHA has cited American Electric Power
Company, Inc. and its subsidiary Appalachian Power Company for
alleged worker safety and health violations involving asbestos at the
Phillip Sporn generating plant in New Haven, W.Va.
First Philadelphia Construction Site in OSHA's "VPP“
OSHA Honors Morrisville, Pa., Company For Worker
Safety and Health Success
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Wheelabrator Falls Inc., Morrisville, Pa., has earned membership in
the prestigious "Star" Voluntary Protection Program (VPP) of the
U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health
Administration (OSHA).
What’s New (continued)
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Locally
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Jean G. Kulp, named Allentown Area Director
Alliances renewed
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Lehigh Career and Technical Institute (LCTI)
American Subcontractors Assoc. (ASA)
Independent Quality Alliance (IQA)
Alliance Environmental Systems (AES Plus)
Warehouse/LCTI Partnership
Local Emphasis Programs
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MDI exposure during truck bed lining
What’s New – Hot Topics
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Automated External Defibrillators
(AEDs)
Avian Flu, Protecting Workers
Bloodborne Pathogens
Chemical Reactivity Hazards
Construction
Emergency Preparedness and
Response
Ergonomics
Hazard Communication
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Indoor Air Quality:
 OSHA Policy
Medical and First Aid
Motor Vehicle Safety
Personal Protective Equipment
Powered Industrial Trucks
Recordkeeping
Workplace Substance Abuse
Workplace Violence
Young Workers
Top violations issued
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1926.451
1910.1200
1926.501
1910.147
1910.134
Scaffolding, Gen. Requirements
Hazard Communication
Fall Protection
Control of Hazardous Energy (LO/TO)
Respiratory Protection
Top violations issued
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1910.305
1910.212
1910.178
1910.303
1910.219
Electrical, Wiring Methods, Comp.,
Machines, General Requirements
Powered Industrial Trucks
Electrical Systems Design, General
Mechanical Power-Transmission
Recent Interpretations
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01/03/2005 - Use of a warning line instead of
conventional fall protection; Part 1926 Subpart M.
02/01/2005 - Use of personal cooling fans listed for
"residential use only" in an industrial setting.
02/08/2005 - Audiometric baseline revisions in
employee rehire situations.
03/28/2005 - Containment and disposal requirements
for disposable razors used in long-term health care
facilities for personal grooming.
05/13/2005 - Coverage of volunteers; forklift
operator training for multiple facilities determined by
similarity of potential workplace hazards.
Recent Interpretations
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05/23/2005 - Fall protection requirements when
working from ladders in the telecommunications
industry.
06/03/2005 - Definition of contaminated sharps;
engineering controls and good work practice controls
must be implemented; ECP must be reviewed annually.
06/27/2005 - Construction industry asbestos
standard, 1926.1101, as applied to the demolition of
buildings containing installed asbestos.
07/20/2005 - The requirements for washing facilities
on construction jobsites.
07/26/2005 - Walkways within scaffolds, guardrails,
and planking.
07/25/2003 - General Duty Clause (5(a)(1)) citations
on multi-employer worksites; NFPA 70E electrical
safety requirements and personal protective
equipment.
USDOL/OSHA
Allentown Area Office
850 N. 5th Street
Allentown, PA 18102-1731
phone: (610) 776-0592
fax: (610) 776-1913