Herb Gibson

Area Director Denver

National Issues Affecting OSHA

Presentation to NAGLOAugust 4, 2009

MISSION

OSH Act of 1970

Assure Safe and Healthful working conditions for every working man and woman…

“New OSHA”

• New Leadership• Every worker has the right to a safe workplace• Renewed enforcement• Standard-setting business • OSHA and employers can transform the workplace

for the benefit of everyone on the job if we work together.

• Make safety a culture of the workplace.

Human Cost to Our Country

In 2007, the occupational injuries and deaths were:• 4 million total recordable cases in 2007• Over 1 million cases with days away from work • 4.2 cases per 100 full-time workers• 5,657 fatalities nationwide

• Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), 2009

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Fatality Hazard Emphasis

• Falls from elevation

• Cave-in/Caught between (trenching)

• Struck by

• Powered Industrial Vehicles

• Electrical

Focus Industries

– Logging (NAICS 11331)

– Drilling oil and gas wells/support activities (NAICS 21311(1/2)

– Landscaping services (NAICS 56173)

– Residential Construction (NAICS 23611)

– Commercial/Institutional Building Construction (NAICS 23622)

– Highway, Street, Bridge Construction (NAICS 23731)

National Emphasis Programs

• Amputations• Combustible Dust• Lead• Silica • Refineries (PSM) and letters to all refineries advising

of national finding• Chemical Plants for selected Regions• Trenching• SST Site Specific Targeting

Regional Emphasis Programs

• Examples of Regional Emphasis Programs throughout the Regions:

• Work Zone Safety

• Oil and Gas Industry

• Falls from Elevation in Construction

• Lead at Indoor Firing Ranges

Local Emphasis Programs

• Examples of Local Emphasis Programs developed at the local office level:

• Trucking, Powered Industrial Vehicles

• Silica, lumber and wood products, automotive lifts

• Cast Polymer Industry

• Silica in cut stone and stone products

Targeting Update

• National Emphasis Programs (NEPs)– Flavorings NEP– Primary Metals– Hexavalent Chromium– Record Keeping

Other Emphasis Areas (Outreach Targets)

• Hispanic employees and employers

• Homeland Security

• Youth Worker

• Pandemic Flu

• ARRA includes funding for the construction of roads, bridges, and public transportation, along with investments in government facilities and fleets.

• Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) finds that the construction industry includes some of the more consistently hazardous worksites.

• OSHA is focusing its resources to account for the anticipated increase in construction projects and related activities as a result of ARRA. (i.e., increased training and inspections)

ARRA & Construction Activities

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ARRA Initiative

• OSHA has conducted 908+ inspections

• Regional and Local Emphasis Programs:– Road and highway– Bridge– Demolition– ARRA related projects

ARRA Initiative

• Regional and Local Emphasis Programs:– Green energy – wind

turbines, bio fuels, ethanol facilities, solar

– Manufacturing support industries

The Enhanced Enforcement Program (EEP) becomes the Serious Violators Enforcement

Program (SVEP)

• The Severe Violator Enforcement Program (SVEP) is intended to focus on employers who have demonstrated indifference to their OSH Act obligations by willful, repeated and failure-to-abate violations in industry operations or processes that OSHA has found to be among the most severe occupational hazards.

Severe Violator Enforcement Program (SVEP) Summary

• Elements of a SVEP case:

- Similar elements to the current EEP program, that is, (1) mandatory follow-ups, (2) enhanced settlement provisions, and (3) federal court enforcement under Sec. 11(b) of the OSH Act.

Severe Violator Enforcement Program (SVEP) Summary

• Nationwide Referrals (aka Nationwide expansion):

– Will replace the EEP-Alerts that were issued under the EEP programs when an employer had multiple worksites/workplaces in more than one Region.

– Will also include a new element: issuing of News Releases for all SEVP cases at the time citations are issued.

Pan Flu Goals and Strategies

Federal government

• Limit spread of pandemic in the U.S.

• Minimize suffering and fatalities

• Sustain infrastructure, economy and society

OSHA

• Keep employees safe

• Reduce the spread of disease

• Continue essential operations

• Communicate with our stakeholders

Pan Flu Planning

• Focused attention– All government agencies– Hospitals– Schools– Private industry

• Severe outbreak could disrupt our economy and society

Pan Flu Resources

• Guidance documents– General industry– Healthcare workers

and employers

• Fact sheets

• QuickCards

Emphasis on Enforcement

• Construction Safety Focus throughout the State of Texas in July and August

• Result of numerous construction fatalities

• Select team of compliance officers with construction experience

• Using data to target cities and worksites that need immediate attention

Outreach Training Oversight

• OSHA 10-hour training courses are offered by 16,000 independent trainers who are eligible to teach about workplace hazards and provide a 10 hour course completion card

• Some trainers have failed to provide appropriate training

• Refer fraudulent activity to OIG, potential criminal action, watch list on OSHA website

Other Projects in the Works

• OSHA Penalties– Changes in good faith, size, severity & probability, and

calculation methodology

• Revision and update of the Bloodborne pathogens directive

• Revision and update of the TB Directive• Revision and update of the Corporate Settlement

Agreement Directive to improve our leverage

Congressional Update

• Bills under consideration for OSHA Reform • HR 2067 “Protecting America’s Workers Act 2009”• HR 2113 “Corporate Injury, Illness and Fatality

Reporting Act of 2009”• HR 2199 “Protecting Workers form Imminent dangers

Act of 2009”• HR 3094 “Alexander L. Booker Child Protection

Construction Site Safety Act”• S 1299 “Worker Infection Protection Act”• HR 2381 “Nurse and Health Care Worker Protection

Act of 2009”

Congressional Update

• S 1031 “National Nursing Shortage Reform and Patient Advocacy Act” Patient handling

• HR 849 “Worker Protection Against Combustible Dust Explosions and Fires Act of 2009”

• HR 242 “Recording and Reporting Occupational Injuries and Illnesses”

• HR 2749 “Food Safety Enhancement Act of 2009”• HR 875 “Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009”• HR 2652 “Maritime Safety Act of 2009”

New Rulemaking

– Standards• Combustible dust

• Diacetyl and food flavoring containing diacetyl

• Silica

• Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals

• Beryllium

• Isocyanates

• Cranes and Derricks

• Confined Spaces

Ergonomics

• Enormous safety and health problem

• Significant workers’ compensation costs for muscle strains, repetitive motion injuries and back injuries

• Team up with people to focus on solutions to solve this hazard

• Improved recordkeeping

Advisory Committees

• National Advisory Committee on Occupational Safety and Health (NACOSH)

• Advisory Committee on Construction Safety and Health (ACCSH)– Provides valuable perspective to OSHA on

rulemaking, enforcement, draft documents and publications

Inspection Resources

• Increased budget proposed

• FTE Distribution– FY 2010 – 130+ CSHOs– Demographics

• Number of workers

• Number of establishments

– Fatalities

Training for OSHA Personnel

• Training– Serious revamping of the training– More courses– More mandatory courses– Hands on with equipment– New IH courses– Criminal– Record keeping

Cooperative Programs

• VPP sites– Improved oversight

• Partnerships

• Alliances

Consultation Programs

• Each of your States have a consultation program operated by various State entities

• Providing safety and health on-site consultation to small employers

QUESTIONS

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Utah’s Beautiful National Parks

Disclaimer

• This information has been developed by an OSHA Compliance Assistance Specialist and is intended to assist employers, workers, and others as they strive to improve workplace health and safety. While we attempt to thoroughly address specific topics, it is not possible to include discussion of everything necessary to ensure a healthy and safe working environment in a presentation of this nature. Thus, this information must be understood as a tool for addressing workplace hazards, rather than an exhaustive statement of an employer’s legal obligations, which are defined by statute, regulations, and standards. Likewise, to the extent that this information references practices or procedures that may enhance health or safety, but which are not required by a statute, regulation, or standard, it cannot, and does not, create additional legal obligations. Finally, over time, OSHA may modify rules and interpretations in light of new technology, information, or circumstances; to keep apprised of such developments, or to review information on a wide range of occupational safety and health topics, you can visit OSHA’s website at www.osha.gov.