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
Wednesday, October 05, 2005
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
Wednesday, September 28, 2005
What are your chances of being inspected?
Knowing what can trigger an OSHA inspection can help you predict the likelihood of one taking place at your facility.
Because OSHA has relatively few inspectors – and because recent political pressure from Washington has been to cooperate with employers – the main focus of spot inspections is on employers who have histories of workplace injuries, or non-compliance. Beyond this, inspectors tend to focus on industries (often defined by SIC codes) that have bad safety records. These industries include construction, petrochemical and general chemical production, food processing, textiles and heavy manufacturing. In addition, vulnerability to inspections generally reflects regional trends. For example, poultry processing plants in the southeast get inspected a lot, as do oil companies in the southwest.
OSHA has established a system of priorities based on the "worst first" approach under the category of "imminent danger" – the reasonable certainty that a danger exists that is expected to cause death or serious physical harm. From highest to lowest, these priorities include:
1. Catastrophes & Fatal Accidents – any employee death or hospitalization of three or more employees.
2. Employee Complaints – when employees feel they are in imminent danger, threatened with physical harm or otherwise working in an unsafe workplace.
3. Programmed High-Hazard – specific industry areas have been identified as high hazard by OSHA and are targeted for inspection with greater frequency. Those establishments with lost workday rates at or above the most recently published Bureau of Labor Statistics national rates may be flagged for inspection.
4. Follow-Up Inspections – to ensure cited items have been abated.
Safety managers should consider the fact that most OSHA visitations are accident- and complaint-driven. In fact, some 60 percent to 70 percent of inspections are triggered by employee complaints alone. Knowing this, employers should focus their efforts on getting employees to call their own company representatives for safety support, not OSHA. This can be achieved by building employee confidence in your response to safety concerns.
Jeff Jensen
The Contractor Qualification Expert
Because OSHA has relatively few inspectors – and because recent political pressure from Washington has been to cooperate with employers – the main focus of spot inspections is on employers who have histories of workplace injuries, or non-compliance. Beyond this, inspectors tend to focus on industries (often defined by SIC codes) that have bad safety records. These industries include construction, petrochemical and general chemical production, food processing, textiles and heavy manufacturing. In addition, vulnerability to inspections generally reflects regional trends. For example, poultry processing plants in the southeast get inspected a lot, as do oil companies in the southwest.
OSHA has established a system of priorities based on the "worst first" approach under the category of "imminent danger" – the reasonable certainty that a danger exists that is expected to cause death or serious physical harm. From highest to lowest, these priorities include:
1. Catastrophes & Fatal Accidents – any employee death or hospitalization of three or more employees.
2. Employee Complaints – when employees feel they are in imminent danger, threatened with physical harm or otherwise working in an unsafe workplace.
3. Programmed High-Hazard – specific industry areas have been identified as high hazard by OSHA and are targeted for inspection with greater frequency. Those establishments with lost workday rates at or above the most recently published Bureau of Labor Statistics national rates may be flagged for inspection.
4. Follow-Up Inspections – to ensure cited items have been abated.
Safety managers should consider the fact that most OSHA visitations are accident- and complaint-driven. In fact, some 60 percent to 70 percent of inspections are triggered by employee complaints alone. Knowing this, employers should focus their efforts on getting employees to call their own company representatives for safety support, not OSHA. This can be achieved by building employee confidence in your response to safety concerns.
Jeff Jensen
The Contractor Qualification Expert
Friday, September 23, 2005
What is OSHA?
OSHA stands for Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Their website is http://www.osha.gov/. It is federal agency under the Department of Labor that publishes and enforces safety and health regulations for most businesses and industries in the United States. OSHA is responsible for promulgating rules, setting health and safety standards, and overseeing enforcement, whether by direct federal effort or by relying on state enforcement programs.
Since its inception in 1971, OSHA has helped to cut workplace fatalities by more than 60 percent and occupational injury and illness rates by 40 percent. At the same time, U.S. employment has doubled from 56 million workers at 3.5 million worksites to more than 115 million workers at 7.2 million sites. In Fiscal Year 2005, OSHA has more than 2,220 employees, including 1,100 inspectors. The agency's appropriation is $468.1 million.
Jeff Jensen
The Contractor Qualification Expert
Tuesday, September 20, 2005
Contractor Qualification, A Brief Oveview
I am the CIO for a company that assists hiring companies evaluate and screen their contractors. Pacific Industrial Contractor Screening (PICS) provides companies with the information they need to hire safe contractors that are compliant with government safety regulations, (ie OSHA. MSHA, CAL-OSHA, etc.) By outsourcing to contractors, large companies can focus on their core competencies and have a more robust work force. At the same time, they are exposing themselves to a huge risk by using companies whose safety programs and the implementation of those programs may not be up to internal standards. Some of the information that would be of value in evaluating potential contractors includes:
- Company Experience
o previous work
o years in business
o geographic territory
o previous customers - Company Organization
o Structure
o management processes
o operational procedures
o hiring and training programs
o turnover - Quality
- Safety
- Senior Management
o Experience
o Tenure with firm
o Division of responsibilities - Current Projects/Backlog
o Number, size, and location of projects
o Percent of capacity being utilized
o Status and expected completion - Financial Strength
Tuesday, September 13, 2005
First post
Since I'm not very tech savvy, it's taken me a while to figure out this whole internet thing. But late adopters do eventually adopt, so here is my blog. I will be contributing my schizophrenic thoughts on life from time to time, so tune in if you've ever wondered what kind of ideas are running through my head.
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