OSHA has implemented an OSHA Weighting System (OWS) for inspections that it says will focus enforcement activities on “critical and strategic areas.”
Under the current enforcement weighting system, OSHA weights certain inspections based on the time taken to complete the inspection or, in some cases, the impact of the inspection on workplace safety and health.
The following are recent OSHA enforcement cases around the country, including a Florida roofing company, an Ohio roofing contractor, a Michigan pipeline company, a Florida tortilla company, a New York frozen foods packager, a Wisconsin manufacturing company, and a Pennsylvania manufacturing company.
Time and cost concerns blamed in 2 worker deaths and serious burns to another
October 1, 2019
Like most of us, Leo Bridges and Edward Bryant left for work one day in September 2014, probably thinking about some rest and relaxation when the shift ended. Like many, they figured their managers and employer would ensure they were safe at work. Bridges and Bryant were wrong; they were caught in a fiery explosion in the Flux Building, which OSHA inspectors said occurred because U.S. Steel Corp. put workers at risk, so as not to slow production at its Fairfield facility.
Machine guarding once again made OSHA’s top ten list of most-frequently violated standards for fiscal year 2019. Coming in at number eight, OSHA’s machine guarding standard 1910.212 was cited for violations 1,743 times in 2019, compared to 1,972 citations in 2018.
New York moves to revoke contractors’ licenses after worker fatalities; more OSHA violations for Dollar Tree stores and a runaway train raises concerns about air brakes. These were among the top stories featured on ISHN.com this week.
OSHA has cited Dollar Tree Stores at four Idaho locations for exposing employees to unsafe storage of merchandise, and blocked walkways and exit routes. The company faces $898,682 in proposed penalties.
OSHA inspectors initially responded to a complaint alleging that a Dollar Tree store in Boise was exposing employees to unstable stacks and piles of boxes in the store’s stockroom.
A fatal fall was among the OSHA enforcement cases finalized over the past few days – violations that show a persistent failure among some construction industry employers to address fall hazards. Falls are the leading cause of fatalities in construction.
In Dayton, Ohio, a company that has been cited for fall protection violations five times since 2014 was cited once again.
OSHA reveals the most-cited safety and health violations of the year, research links flavored e-cigarettes to the youth vaping epidemic and the NSC announces plans to issue an opioid help kit for employers. These were among the top occupational safety and health stories featured this week on ISHN.com.
Gilster-Mary Lee Corp. of Steeleville, Illinois has been cited by OSHA for six safety violations including three willful after two maintenance employees conducting welding operations sustained serious burns to their upper bodies as the result of an explosion within a dust collector at the company's pasta manufacturing plant on Oct. 6, 2011.
The incident occurred as the two employees were repairing a hole in the side of a metal trough.
Today, the National Safety Council and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced the preliminary Top 10 most frequently cited workplace safety violations for fiscal year 2019. Patrick Kapust, deputy director of OSHA’s Directorate of Enforcement Programs, presented the Top 10 on the Expo floor as part of the NSC Congress & Expo in San Diego.
