Occupational Safety Health Administration inspections

Mock OSHA Inspection. Maintenance can learn a lot about how the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) trains thein inspectors and what is emphasized in an OSHA inspection. Some of the training of OSHA inspectors follows a program involving the recognition of potential hazards, avoidance of these hazards, and prevention of accidents (RAP). 

Agency for Toxic Substance and Disease Registry Centers for Disease Control Consumer Product Safety Commission Environmental Protection Agency Food and Agriculture Organization Food and Drug Administration Food Safety and Inspection Service International Agency for Research on Cancer National Cancer Institute National Institutes of Health National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health... 

SeidmanH. 1984. Short-term asbestos work exposure and long-term observation. In Docket of current rulemaking for revision of the asbestos (dust) standard. Washington, DC U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Available for inspection at U.S. Department of Labor, OSHA Technical Data Center, Francis Perkins Building docket no. H033C, exhibit nos. 261-A and 261-B. 

As a consequence of the new awareness of these hazards, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration of the United States government is in the process of establishing guidelines for the use of many chemicals. A sampling of the regulated chemicals is presented in the following table. Simple inspection of the list indicates that many widely used chemicals, such as benzene and carbon tetrachloride, should be handled with great care. 

The Occupational Safety and Health Act, 29 U.S.C. 651 et seq. (1970) Employers must provide a place of employment free from recognized hazards to safety and health, such as exposure to toxic chemicals, excessive noise, mechanical dangers, heat or cold stress, or unsanitary conditions. Employers must provide personal protective equipment and training, including communication of hazards. Eacilities must undergo hazard analysis. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is established to promote best practices, inspect facilities, set standards, and enforce the law. 

The Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHAct) is administered and enforced by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Both OSH A and OSHAct were created in December 1970, the same month the US EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) was created. Unlike the US EPA, OSHA is essentially an enforcement organization and most of its employees are inspectors who perform thousands of workplace inspections per year it is a division of the Department of Labor. The OSHAct assures, as far as possible, that all working men or women have risk-free working environments and imposes on employers the obligation to provide employees with workplaces that are free from recognized health and safety hazards and to maintain compliance with specific OSHA standards. 

Occupational illness and injury187 cost 30-40 billion dollars/yr in the United States.188 In 1994 there were 6.8 million injuries and illnesses in private industry, amounting to 8.4 cases per 100 workers. Nearly two-thirds were disorders associated with repeated trauma, such as carpal tunnel syndrome.189 The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 set up the National Institute Safety and Health (NIOSH) to study the problem and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to deal with it through inspections and regulations. Both have received so much criticism of their effectiveness that they are struggling to find more effective ways to deal with the problem.190 NIOSH is searching for practical ways to protect workers, especially those in small businesses from methylene chloride, tetrachloroethylene, diesel exhaust in coal mines, isocyanates, 2-methoxyethanol, and others. OSHA is about to expand a plan that worked well in Maine, a state that used to have one of the worst accident and illness records in the United States.191 The 200 firms with the worst records were asked to look for deficiencies and to correct them. They were also inspected. These measures cut injuries and illnesses over a 2-year period. 

And, finally, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is a major storehouse of information for safety and loss prevention professionals, although, as noted above, safety and loss prevention professionals are often reluctant to contact OSHA for assistance or information because of fear of inspection. This fear is unfounded. Safety and loss prevention professionals should not hesitate to contact OSHA to acquire the necessary standards, advisory information, and new information. However, if the fear factor is still present, safety and loss prevention professionals may want to consider utilizing the OSHA Web site (http // www.osha.gov). This site provides information about OSHA, media releases, publications, compliance assistance, technical information, and answers to frequently asked questions (see Figure 11.5). 

Government safety inspectors will not routinely request that employers who voluntarily evaluate work sites for potential safety and health problems provide the findings to the government during safety and health inspections, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced today. 

OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration). 1993. 29 CFR 1926.62, Lead Exposure In Construction Interim Final Rule-Inspection and Compliance Procedures. OSHA Instruction CPL 2-2.58, December 13, 1993. Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Office of Health Compliance Assistance [online]. Available http //www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show document p id=1570 p table=DIRECHVES [accessed Nov. 28,2012]. 

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has defined Abatement as action by an employer to comply with a cited standard or regulation or to eliminate a recognized safety or health hazard identified by OSHA during an inspection. Examples of methods commonly used to abate cited hazards include the use of engineering controls, correction of a deficiency in a program, or the use of permissible equipment to avoid a hazard. 

An Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) worksite safety inspection. There are five types of site inspections that OSHA conducts. These are listed as follows in their order of importance, as determined by OSHA ... 

In our judgment OSHA has been a public policy failure from an economic efficiency or cost effectiveness viewpoint. We recommend that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration no longer issue mandatory workplace standards, inspect firms for compliance with OSHA standards, or fine firms for noncompliance with safety standards. OSHA s budget should be folded into the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). We believe that resources now used to regulate the workplace should be redirected to researching what workers and firms can do to reduce injuries and diseases at work and to providing the results of NIOSH research to firms and workers. 

Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) OSHA develops and implements standards and regulations, conducts inspections and investigations to assure compliance, issues citations and proposes penalties for violations. It also provides help to employers in meeting standards and regulations through consultations, training programs, and publications. 

United States Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration. 2001. Field Inspection Reference Manual. Washington, D.C. 

Foundry workers are subject to burn from hot metals. Himel [5] reported a foundry worker who sustained circumferential molten metal burns of the distal foot and toes necessitating amputation of four toes. This severe injury could easily have been prevented by the use of protective footwear and spats. Faulkner [6] reported that molten metal burns could be prevented with annual, unscheduled inspections by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and with the enforcement of additional regulations regarding protective apparel. 

New Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) crane and derrick safety rules came into effect in November 2010. The revised standards are intended to prevent the leading causes of crane fatalities such as falls, crushing/strik-ing, and electrocution. The new rules also include requirements related to ground condition assessments, crane operator qualifications, pre-erection inspections, and several other issues. 

Accompanying the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) compliance officers during plant inspections and insurance safety and health professionals on audits and plant surveys the safety and health professional reviews reports that relate to these activities and, with management, initiates action for necessary corrections... 

The essence of workplace safety and health should not rest upon Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations, as they should not be the driving forces behind workplace safety and health. OSHA has limited resources for inspection and a limited number of inspectors. Enforcement is usually based on serious complaints, catastrophic events, and workplace deaths. Employers with a good safety and health program and a good safety record have a better opportunity of procuring contracts and orders because of their workplace safety and health record, and reap the benefits of low insurance premiums for workers compensation and liability. Usually, safety and health are linked to the bottom line, which is seldom perceived as humanitarian. 

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration s (OSHA) Construction Standards (29 CFR 1926) require every employer to designate competent persons to conduct frequent and regular inspections of the job site, materials, and equipment. 

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