OSHA's Top Ten Violations

1.      Fall Protection

2.      Hazard Communication

3.      Scaffolding

4.      Respiratory Protection

5.      Ladders

6.      Machinery & Machine Guarding

7.      Powered Industrial Trucks

8.      Electrical – Wiring Methods

9.      Lockout/Tagout

10.  Electrical – General requirements.

While OSHA applies to businesses, there are preventive measures that homeowners can follow.  Businesses can and will incur hefty fines for violations and families can also incur fines from local governments for not obtaining permits or inspections when remodeling.  Lives are at stake for both businesses and families when ignoring proper safety precautions.  Let us review a few of OSHA’s ten.

Fall protection involves supervision of employees for safety compliance as well as “spotting” a family member while climbing on the roof.  Safety structures are used by businesses while families can use harnesses for fall protection.  When I climb on the roof I wear special shoes, harness myself to the chimney and my husband stays with me until I am finished.                

Case:  In Concord NH a worker fell from an unprotected mezzanine, once OSHA inspected the site, the employer was fined $589,200 for hazardous conditions relating to the fall.

Respiratory protection is vital to lung health.  The homeowner do-it-yourself insulation project can cause damage to the lungs if not wearing a mask during installation.  An employer working with carcinogenic flumes must wear special mask protection to ensure lung health.

Case:  A feed company in IL was fined $758,450 for failure to mandate dust collection units for their employees in areas of high exposure.

Machine guards are important when protecting your employees along with proper instruction for use of equipment.  Some equipment warrantees are voided when the guards are removed or not used.  Fingers, arms and sometimes the person can be pulled into a machine with devastating results.  Likewise, at home, if a guard is not in place on a saw you can lose a finger or several fingers. 

Case:  A worker was pulled into a machine used to manufacture hummus and was fatally crushed.  OSHA fined the company $702,300 for failure to train on safety measures with energy sources.

All of the above cases were preventable.  Precautions can be relatively inexpensive yet the failure to utilize them can be costly in the end.  It does take time to train about proper safety measures.  In the home and in the workplace the outcome is a safe environment and increased morale, which has been proven, creates a more productive group. 

While it stretches the imagination a bit to include families or home life in OSHA regulations and safety measures, you see how they can apply.  While I may not receive a violation or fine if I stick my finger in the intake on a food processor, it is possible for me to lose a finger.  In proper operation of the machine, food processor, as per the instructions my fingers stay attached to my hand.  OSHA Safety Guideline can be appropriate for families as well as employees.  While the consequences can be different for families, the outcome of a safe environment is the same. 

Let’s be safe out there. 

Source: Safety+Health December 2012

Here We Go A-Wassailing

It has been probably 30 years since I went a-wassailing.  Singing Christmas carols throughout the neighborhood was common.  Either I am in the wrong neighborhood or the tradition has dwindled.

Girls Scouts, church groups, neighbors and families would go door to door singing Christmas carols. Sometimes we would be given hot chocolate or candy canes in return for a song.  Once we received money to go to the corner store to buy hot chocolate.  That was exciting since going out to dinner or for a treat was a rarity.  

Caroling began with groups singing carols during the Festival of Yule to celebrate the winter solstice, which was a pre-Christian tradition.  Once caroling became a Christian tradition, carolers often sang hymns as they traveled through neighborhoods.  While some view carolers as politically incorrect in our times, I still like the nostalgic feeling of carolers. 

  

I have several favorite Christmas carols.  Some are hymns like Hark the Herald Angle Sings and some are not like Marshmallow World.  I will be traveling to Williamsburg to view their colonial Christmas, I hope to hear many Christmas Carolers and I hope you do too.

Sooner or later we all fall – Stephen King

I fell in Target this week.  I was in a hurry, the floors glistened with a just waxed shine, it was wet outside and I had on new shoes.  I put my leg out to hustle along, my heel kept sliding forward and I landed in an awkward half split.  My knee hurt, my ankle twisted and my embarrassment hit an all time high.

I am sure I was not that graceful when I fell.

The average cost of a slip and fall is $28,000 including medical bills, physical therapy and missed wages according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.  Slip and falls are one of the most preventable accidents/injuries.  The preventative measures are inexpensive and some are free!  Free is my favorite price. 

In the winter or in wet conditions, change the way you walk.  I did this only in the opposite manner, which is why I fell.  If you are walking on ice, walk with your toes facing ever so slightly outwards and shuffle.  Hunch a little with your arms extended outwards.  This is where I missed the boat, take short steps so your shoes remain in contact with the ground or floor.  

The proper way to walk on ice.

Wear boots or flat shoes with rubber soles.  This type of shoe or boot is more capable of gripping the slippery surface than other shoes.  If you must walk on ice, as in the morning or late night walk with your dog, try ice grips.  I bought my grips in the south where ice was once more prevalent.  I have seen them in several stores in NEPA now that lately we get more ice than snow.  If you do wear slippery, smooth soled shoes or high heels, carry them in a bag and change into your shoes when you arrive at your destination.

I paid $10 for ice grips.

Treat walkways and shovel.  Use a combination of snow-melt and anti-skid material like sand or kitty litter in a pinch.  Use the appropriate amount so it is not dragged into the building causing another slip and fall hazard!  During a storm, this snow and ice management program will need to be performed periodically to handle the accumulating snow and ice.  Teach your family and employees to recognize and attempt to prevent any slip and falls.

Kitty litter as anti-skid.

Lighting on porches, walk ways and parking lots all need to be in working order.  Timers set for arriving and departing times assist those of us who sometimes forget to turn the lights on or off.  Automatic light sensors can turn lights on and off with the sun.  Sensors can also turn your lights on when there is a snowstorm to ensure visibility of any tricky walkways.  

It appears as night - it is 11:00 in the morning.

Luckily I am fine, no lasting injury just embarrassment.  I am glad I was not hurt.  I have another race in January and there is no time for an injury.  I have not worn those shoes again.  I am wearing rubber-soled shoes.   

My new shoes have terrific traction!

With a storm predicted in the next couple of days, I will also dig out my ice grips.  I hope that my next fall will be in the snow during sledding and not in a store.  

I expect to fall when I play in the snow.

source:  Employers Mutual Insurance Newsletter & Athens News