Since the first part of OSHA regulations involves having up-to-date safety manuals and documentation, some associates and I are working on putting together a website that will provide these documents online for a minimal fee. SafetyManuals.com will provide digital word document templates for safety programs, training records, posters, etc. that can be easily downlowded and customized to ensure your company meets current OSHA regulations.
Jeff Jensen
The Contractor Qualification Expert
Saturday, October 15, 2005
Saturday, October 08, 2005
What are the consequences of non-compliance?
Companies found to be out of compliance face several important challenges. From an employee standpoint, a non-compliance action from OSHA, confirms original suspicions that their workplace was not necessarily safe and that management is not actively involved with safety. This may create more distrust and anxiety amongst your work force and can spark additional complaints.
Furthermore, OSHA violations are publicly available and can create a poor company image. Lastly, a range of potential citations and penalties is possible for violations identified during an OSHA inspection. The area director has some discretion in determining the nature of, and the penalty for, a violation.
Citation categories and associated penalties include:
1. De minimis, penalties unlikely
2. Other-than-serious, $1,000 to $7,000.
3. Serious, $1,500 to $7,000.
4. Failure to post, up to $7,000.
5. Willful, $5,000 to $70,000.
6. Criminal willful (determined after a finding of guilt in a criminal proceeding), up to 6 months' imprisonment and a $250,000 fine for an individual or a $500,000 fine if the employer is a corporation (for a first violation).
7. Repeated (determined in a follow-up inspection), up to $70,000.
8. Failure to abate, up to $7,000 per day.
9. Recordkeeping, typically an "other-than-serious" finding unless it involves falsification of records, which carries a potential 6-month imprisonment and a fine of up to $10,000.
10. Assaulting, interfering with or resisting an inspector in the performance of his or her duties, imprisonment for up to 3 years and a fine of up to $5,000.
Jeff Jensen
The Contractor Qualification Expert
Furthermore, OSHA violations are publicly available and can create a poor company image. Lastly, a range of potential citations and penalties is possible for violations identified during an OSHA inspection. The area director has some discretion in determining the nature of, and the penalty for, a violation.
Citation categories and associated penalties include:
1. De minimis, penalties unlikely
2. Other-than-serious, $1,000 to $7,000.
3. Serious, $1,500 to $7,000.
4. Failure to post, up to $7,000.
5. Willful, $5,000 to $70,000.
6. Criminal willful (determined after a finding of guilt in a criminal proceeding), up to 6 months' imprisonment and a $250,000 fine for an individual or a $500,000 fine if the employer is a corporation (for a first violation).
7. Repeated (determined in a follow-up inspection), up to $70,000.
8. Failure to abate, up to $7,000 per day.
9. Recordkeeping, typically an "other-than-serious" finding unless it involves falsification of records, which carries a potential 6-month imprisonment and a fine of up to $10,000.
10. Assaulting, interfering with or resisting an inspector in the performance of his or her duties, imprisonment for up to 3 years and a fine of up to $5,000.
Jeff Jensen
The Contractor Qualification Expert
Wednesday, October 05, 2005
League of California Cities Expo
For the next few days, John, Jared, and Jesse are all heading up to San Francisco for the 2005 League of California Cities Expo. It's Oct 6-7 at the Moscone Center. They are driving up in the PICS mobile. You can check us out in booth #216. As you can imagine, local government account for much of the public works contstruction in the state. Since cities are small enough that they usually lack the resources to have a comprehensive contractor screening program, and are often the target of litigation, we should be able to offer a significant value to the 478 cities in the state.
Jeff Jensen
The Contractor Qualification Expert
Jeff Jensen
The Contractor Qualification Expert
Sunday, October 02, 2005
What does an OSHA checkup involve?
When OSHA arrives at your facility, the compliance officer will explain why it was targeted for inspection and should explain the scope of the inspection, the purpose and standards and, if applicable, provide a copy of the employee complaint.
In most cases – unless an accident has just happened or there's been some sort of tip to non-compliance – the inspectors will want to see paperwork first. This means they'll check injury-reporting logs, training records and sometimes personnel files should these include parts relevant to who works in high-risk areas. Then inspectors will examine the workplace itself, usually looking for signage and equipment compliance.
Employee anonymity is always maintained. The employer will be asked to select an employer representative to accompany the compliance officer during the inspection. An authorized representative of the employees, such as a union steward, also has the right to attend the inspection. The destination and duration of the inspection are determined by the compliance officer and will usually consist of a methodical inspection of the facility. The compliance officer may consult with a reasonable number of employees, privately if desired. This is where your safety program is most likely to reveal weaknesses, as employees can be asked a series of questions related to the complaint or general questions about their understanding of your company's safety program. They will be informed that OSHA prohibits discrimination in any form by employers against workers because of anything they say or show the compliance officer during the inspection.
Questions might include:
-the employees' safety orientation,
-specific job training,
-safety meeting occurrence,
-understanding of safety rules,
-what employees have been trained to do in case of an accident or emergency,
-whether employees feel that their job function is safe.
During the course of the inspection, the inspector will typically ask to see your required written programs, training records, evidence of certification (where required), chemical inventories (if applicable), MSDS and OSHA 300 Log. The inspector may request copies of these and other documents as well, which you are obliged to supply. So know where these documents are kept and keep them in good order.
During the closing conference, the inspector will discuss all non-compliant conditions identified and violations for which you may be cited. You will have the opportunity to produce records that show compliance efforts or that will assist OSHA in determining the time needed for abatement of the hazards. The inspector will not indicate any proposed penalties as penalties are determined by the area director. You must post a copy of each citation received at or near the place in which the violation occurred. It must remain there for 3 days or until the violation is abated, whichever is longer.
Jeff Jensen
The Contractor Qualification Expert
In most cases – unless an accident has just happened or there's been some sort of tip to non-compliance – the inspectors will want to see paperwork first. This means they'll check injury-reporting logs, training records and sometimes personnel files should these include parts relevant to who works in high-risk areas. Then inspectors will examine the workplace itself, usually looking for signage and equipment compliance.
Employee anonymity is always maintained. The employer will be asked to select an employer representative to accompany the compliance officer during the inspection. An authorized representative of the employees, such as a union steward, also has the right to attend the inspection. The destination and duration of the inspection are determined by the compliance officer and will usually consist of a methodical inspection of the facility. The compliance officer may consult with a reasonable number of employees, privately if desired. This is where your safety program is most likely to reveal weaknesses, as employees can be asked a series of questions related to the complaint or general questions about their understanding of your company's safety program. They will be informed that OSHA prohibits discrimination in any form by employers against workers because of anything they say or show the compliance officer during the inspection.
Questions might include:
-the employees' safety orientation,
-specific job training,
-safety meeting occurrence,
-understanding of safety rules,
-what employees have been trained to do in case of an accident or emergency,
-whether employees feel that their job function is safe.
During the course of the inspection, the inspector will typically ask to see your required written programs, training records, evidence of certification (where required), chemical inventories (if applicable), MSDS and OSHA 300 Log. The inspector may request copies of these and other documents as well, which you are obliged to supply. So know where these documents are kept and keep them in good order.
During the closing conference, the inspector will discuss all non-compliant conditions identified and violations for which you may be cited. You will have the opportunity to produce records that show compliance efforts or that will assist OSHA in determining the time needed for abatement of the hazards. The inspector will not indicate any proposed penalties as penalties are determined by the area director. You must post a copy of each citation received at or near the place in which the violation occurred. It must remain there for 3 days or until the violation is abated, whichever is longer.
Jeff Jensen
The Contractor Qualification Expert
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