OSHA: compliance officers

This knowledge is also important in order to determine if air tests conducted by OSHA compliance officers are valid. For example, if threshold limit value in the health standard is an 8-hour time-weighted average, the air sample should be obtained by sampling over the entire shift in the employee s breathing zone. It cannot be measured by a few short term samples, even if spaced over the full shift unless the worker is in a relatively fixed location with no variation in his work procedure or in the process. Such an event is generally the exception rather than the rule. 

Unless established monitoring practices are conducted by plant personnel or the OSHA compliance officer, the results are of limited value in determining compliance with a standard, and what is more important, protecting the worker s health. The conduct of air monitoring by untrained, or poorly trained, persons relegates the program to a "numbers game" which serves no useful purpose. 

Employers must admit OSHA compliance officers into their plant sites for safety inspections with no advance notice. A search warrant may be required to show probable cause. 

These questions stress the point we emphasize here. Again, OSHA is not normally concerned about the environment, unless contamination of the environment (at the work site) might adversely impact the workers safety and health. The neighbors Again, OSHA s focus is the workers. One OSHA compliance officer explained to us that if the employer takes every necessary step to protect the employees from harm involving the use or production of hazardous materials, then the surrounding community should have little to fear. 

This statement is puzzling to us. We asked the same OSHA compliance officer about those incidents beyond the control of the employer—about accidents that could not only put employees in harm s way, but also endanger the surrounding community. The answer Well, that s the EPA s bag—we only worry about the work site and the worker. ... 

The comparison is conducted by identifying those occupational environments which will pass or fail each set of decision criteria. This paper deals only with occupational stresses which pose a chronic health hazard acute health hazards require different treatment. The most surprising conclusion is that there are some commonly encountered work environments which are very likely to pass the NIOSH Action Level Test even though there is better than a 50% chance that an OSHA compliance officer collecting six samples during one visit would be able to identify a citable violation of an 8-hour PEL. 

Decisions Made with the OSHA Compliance Criteria. The problem of the OSHA compliance officer is significantly different than the problem addressed by the NI0SH Action Level. The compliance officer is not nearly so interested in how many exposures exceed the standard as in whether it can be shown with 95% confidence that the standard was exceeded on the basis of the sample which was collected. Thus, the OSHA Compliance Criteria is not a function of workplace variability, GSD, but only of the random sampling and analytical errors, CV (5). As explained earlier, CV = 0.1 for all illustrations in this paper. In this case, the OSHA Decision Criteria is characterized by AL = 0.8355 and UAL =... 

It is informative to compare the decision regions of the OSHA Compliance Criteria as shown in Figure 5, with the Average Exposure Limit Concept of Figure 2. Five of the six workplaces identified as OK in Figure 2 are likely to be declared OK by an OSHA compliance officer. However, only one of the three unacceptable workplaces of Figure 2 is likely to be declared NOT OK by the criteria of Figure 5. 

Have an authorized employee representative accompany the OSHA compliance officer during the inspection tour. 

Respond to questions from the OSHA compliance officer, particularly if there is no authorized employee representative accompanying the compliance officer on the inspection walkaround. ... 

Under Section 8(e) of the act, the workers representative has a right to accompany an OSHA compliance officer (also referred to as a compliance safety and health officer. 

Cooperate with the OSHA compliance officer conducting an inspection if he or she inquires about safety and health conditions in the workplace. 

OSHA uses workplace inspections for enforcing its rules. OSHA personnel may conduct workplace inspections unannounced. Except under special circumstances, it is a crime punishable by fine, imprisonment, or both to give an employer prior notice of an inspection. When OSHA compliance officers arrive to conduct an inspection, they are required to present their credentials. This authorizes them to enter any site or facility where work is taking place. They may inspect, at reasonable times, any condition, facility, machine, equipment, materials, etc. They may question in private any employee or other person formally associated with the company. Under special circumstances, employers may be given up to a maximum of 24-hours notice of an inspection. 

After an inspection is scheduled, the OSHA compliance officer presents their credentials to a company official and conducts an opening conference with pertinent company officials and employee representatives. During the conference, the following information is explained ... 

Interfering in any way with OSHA compliance officers in the performance of their duties. 

Cooperate with the OSHA compliance officer conducting an inspection. 

OSHA compliance officers can enter workplaces at reasonable times where work is taking place, inspect condition, facility machine, equipment, or materials, and question in private an employee or other person formally associated with the company. OSHA is empowered to issue citations and/or set penalties. Citations are issued for (a) other than serious violations, (b) willful violations, (c) repeat violations, and (d) failure to correct prior violations. 

Once OSHA has decided to initiate an inspection, the OSHA compliance officer, before visiting the establishment or site, will become familiar with as many relevant facts as possible about the workplace, such as the ... 

Inspections are usually conducted without advance notice. In fact, alerting an employer without proper authorization in advance of an OSHA inspection can bring a fine of up to 1,000 and/or a six-month jail term. This is true for OSHA compliance officers as well as state inspectors. 

When the OSHA compliance officer arrives at an establishment, he or she displays official credentials and asks to meet an appropriate employer representative. An OSHA compliance officer carries U.S. Department of Labor credentials bearing his or her photograph and a serial number that can be verified by calling the nearest OSHA office. You should always ask to see the officer s credentials. 

The OSH Act gives compliance officers the right to enter without delay to inspect. However, employers do have a right to refuse entry without a warrant, under the fourth amendment to the U.S. Constitution. However, employers must recognize that it is relatively quick and easy for OSHA compliance officers to obtain a warrant. 

OSHA proposed 146,000 in penalties against a construction company for after an OSHA compliance officer observed that employees la5dng brick on a residential jobsite were exposed to a fall hazard. 

OSHA cited a Georgia contractor with six workplace safety violations and proposed 124,250 in penalties. The citations came after an OSHA compliance officer observed company employees working in a trench without cave-in protection at a jobsite. As a result of the inspection three wdlfid violations and three serious violations were issued. 

Each years falls account for a large percent of fatalities in the construction industry. This toolbox talk gives you the opportunity to share the top five fall protection violations that OSHA compliance officers cite. 

During an inspection, an OSHA compliance officer found two willful citations totaling 41,100. The citations were issued because employees ... 

Be assured of the confidentiality of any trade secrets observed by an OSHA compliance officer during an inspection... 

Under the Act, upon presenting appropriate credentials to the owner, operator or agent in charge (US DOL, 1991), an OSHA compliance officer is authorized to ... 

Inspections are generally conducted without advance notice. In fact, alerting an employer in advance of an OSHA inspection can bring a criminal fine of up to 1,000 and/or a six-month jail term. If an employer refuses to admit an OSHA compliance officer, or if an employer attempts to interfere with the inspection, the Act permits appropriate legal action. Typically a compliance officer refused entrance to a workplace or access to any part of it returns with a warrant and conducts the inspection as planned. Workplaces with a history of refusing OSHA access can expect the OSHA compliance officer to initiate the inspection with a warrant in hand. 

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... 

A. 3 Yes. As noted in the preamble to the final rule, the 1926.1928(a)(3) requirement was included in the final rule because OSHA and the C-DAC committee felt that it is important for employers to make the documentation of signal person qualifications readily available to employees and others who need to rely on those qualifications, such as crane operators who rely on signal persons provided by a different employer, or OSHA for compliance purposes (75 Federal Register 48029). In practical terms, this availability requirement means that if a crane operator or that operator s employer, an OSHA compliance officer, or another person who needs to verify the qualifications of the signal person requests to see the documentation, the employer must produce it immediately. So long as the card qualifies as documentation of training in accordance with the answer to Question... 

If the inspection uncovers one or more violations, the OSHA compliance officer provides an explanation on a written inspection report. The types of violations include the following ... 

Air Monitoring and OSHA When an OSHA compliance officer audits your facility, if you have permit-required confined spaces that are entered by your employees the auditor will pay particular attention to your air monitoring procedures. Typically, the OSHA auditor will want to see copies of your confined space permits for the past year. From these permits, the auditor will choose one and set it aside. Later, the auditor will ask to interview those involved in making that confined space entry. The auditor may ask the confined space personnel several different questions related to their knowledge of confined space entry. The auditor may desire to see these per-sonnel perform the entry again. 

When employees say there isn t a need for fall protection during residential construction work, point out that OSHA says differently. OSHA compliance officers can start enforcing STD 03-00-002 on September 15. 

All workplaces where employees are exposed to hazardous chemicals are required to have a written plan describing how hazard communication will be carried out in that facility. Plan preparation is not just a paper exercise—all of the elements must be implemented in order to be in compliance with the rule. This is one of the most important aspects of your compliance program. It is also one of the first items that an OSHA compliance officer will examine to determine if your hazard communication program is adequate. 

If you have exempt substances, you must be able to demonstrate that the substance is subject to other regulations and produce the appropriate label (if required) and any required identification documents, should an OSHA compliance officer inquire. 

OSHA compliance officers will usually talk to employees to determine if they have received training, if they know they are exposed to hazardous chemicals, and if they know where to obtain substance-specific information on labels and SDSs. 

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