On January 17, 2017, The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) updated their Walking-Working Surfaces and Fall Protection standards. While most of the changes to the rule have already been put into effect, several provisions have delayed effective dates, many of which are coming up soon. Is your facility ready to comply with these new rule changes? Continue reading “Is Your Facility Ready For The Updated OSHA Ladder Rules?”

OSHA is now requiring employers to submit OSHA 300A information online.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has set up its new Injury Tracking Application (ITA). The online form allows employers to submit the injury and illness information from their completed 2016 OSHA 300A form.

According to the rule, establishments with 250 or more employees must electronically submit data from their OSHA 300, 300A, and 301 forms annually.

Establishments with 20 to 249 employees in industries that OSHA has deemed highly hazardous must submit information from their 300A form annually. (OSHA’s list of highly hazardous industries can be found here).

The data that is submitted, according to OSHA, will be made readily available to the public on OSHA.gov. OSHA’s goal for the transparency in employer injury and illness data is to encourage employers to improve their efforts for preventing occupational injuries and illnesses and to also allow industry groups and researchers to use the disclosed data to advance workplace safety.

The deadline for covered employers to submit their data is December 1, 2017.

See the table below for establishment guidelines and upcoming submission requirements:

To submit your injury and illness information online, go to the ITA page on OSHA’s website here.

While there are numerous OSHA regulations that requires facilities to maintain written safety programs, many of you may be unaware of exactly which programs you are required to maintain. You may ask yourself “Do I need to have a written program for every single OSHA regulation?” One thing that is good to ask yourself is are you confident and prepared if OSHA visits your facility and inspects your safety programs? This list of safety programs and some of the aspects that are required to be outlined in them should provide guidance on what to keep in mind when deciding how to prioritize your safety programs. Continue reading “5 Must Have Safety Programs”

Many people in general industry are all too familiar with some of the vague or confusing requirements in OSHA’s lockout/tagout regulation 1910.147. In my years working with Conversion Technology, and visiting all sorts of different manufacturing sectors, there have been several mistakes and misconceptions regarding lockout/tagout that have popped up. Continue reading “8 Mistakes to Avoid to Ensure an Effective Lockout/Tagout Program”

As of January 1st, 2015, the updated standards for injury & illness reporting officially came into effect. There are some slight changes to the standard that affect a large number of employers.

Under the old rule, employers were required to notify OSHA only of workplace fatalities or if three or more employees had to go to the hospital due to workplace injury or illness. According to the updated standard, employers must notify OSHA of the following: Continue reading “OSHA’s New Incident Reporting Requirements”

As a new year is upon us, it is once again time for reflection, new goals, areas of improvement, and it is time to be introduced to OSHA’s plans and expectations for 2015.

Depending on whom you are talking to, OSHA’s plans for 2015 and beyond are either ambitious and will drastically enhance worker safety in all industries, or OSHA has a weak agenda that alienates employers and fails to address the safety and health of the American worker. Read the rest of this article and decide for yourself. Either way, 2015 will be an important year to keep up with OSHA. Continue reading “What to Expect From OSHA in 2015”