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.
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