Cleanup Operations with OSHA in Texas, one Ohio Automotive Company Fined

OSHA Compliance Assistance to Texas Recovery Workers, Fines for Ohio Company

As the tornado season swirls in this year, touching down early this April with a rash of twisters in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has enjoined employers, recovery workers, and the public to always put safety and caution first during cleanup operations. The work-safety watchdog is on the ground offering compliance assistance to workers and members of the public who are involved in recovery and cleanup efforts so they can properly deal with the hazards they may encounter.

OSHA courses, such as OSHA 10 training and OSHA 30 training (both online OSHA training), are now required by many employers when hiring; they provide excellent orientation on the essential protocols to follow to steer clear of hazards during post-disaster operations.

"Our main concern is the safety of the workers conducting cleanup activities. Our Dallas and Fort Worth compliance assistance staff are on the ground in affected areas providing assistance," informed John Hermanson, the OSHA regional administrator in Dallas. "Workers are exposed to a wide array of hazards during storm recovery efforts that can be minimized by knowledge, safe work practices and the use of personal protective equipment."

OSHA noted that common hazards associated with cleanup work are burns, lacerations, downed electrical wires, electrical shocks from portable generators, heat exhaustion, carbon monoxide poisoning, fell and struck-by dangers from tree-trimming or working at heights, and illness from exposure to contaminated water or food. The agency also pointed out the following dangers to watch out for: being caught in unprotected excavations or confined spaces, exposure to dangerous materials, and being struck by traffic or heavy equipment.

OSHA is reminding employers to provide their workers the necessary protective gear and training to carry out safe and healthful recovery and cleanup operations. OSHA is also apprising employers that work safety is simple: Provide proper safety training and have personnel wear protective gear. But all across America employers continue to put their workers in danger because of negligence or plain ignorance. 

Ohio-based automotive-parts company American Showa Inc., for instance, recently received 13 safety and health violations, including two willful violations, from OSHA for putting personnel to work on energized equipment sans protective gear, and for neglecting to educate workers on unsafe electrical work practices. The company is now looking at a total of $151,300 in proposed fines.

"American Showa is responsible for ensuring that its employees wear personal protective equipment and receive proper training on electrical safety hazards to prevent injuries in its manufacturing plant," emphasized Bill Wilkerson, the OSHA area director in Cincinnati. "OSHA is committed to protecting workers, especially when employers fail to do so."

According to OSHA, the willful safety violations are the company’s twin failures to orient workers on safe electrical working practices for voltage testing and to provide the required personal protective equipment. Among the serious safety violations that OSHA found were: failure to provide adequate machine guarding; failure to make sure that workers locked out all energy sources while doing repairs inside robot enclosures; and failure to de-energize a robot trim press to perform repairs.