OSHA Fall Protection Training Requirements - What Are They?

OSHA just released it's preliminary list of top 10 most-cited safety violations of 2017. A newcomer on the list is Fall Protection – Training Requirements, which was cited 1,523 times by federal inspectors. But what exactly are the training requirements that employers are failing to meet? Here's an overview of Safety and Health Regulations for Construction, Fall Protection - Training Requirements (1926.503):

Training Program

The employer shall provide a training program for each employee who might be exposed to fall hazards. The program shall enable each employee to recognize the hazards of falling and shall train each employee in the procedures to be followed in order to minimize these hazards.

OSHA Announces Top 10 Violations of 2017

Fall Protection Training has joined the preliminary list of OSHA's most-frequently-cited safety violations of 2017. The annual announcement came this week during the 2017 NSC Congress & Expo in Indianapolis.

OSHA’s Top 10 list has been quite consistent in recent years, with just the one change from the 2015, 2016 and new 2017 lists. Fall Protection - Training slid into the #9 position this year, bumping Electrical Wiring to #10 and pushing Electrical, General requirements off the list.

“If all employers simply corrected the top 10 hazards, we are confident the number of deaths, amputations and hospitalizations would drastically decline,” said Thomas Galassi, director of enforcement programs for OSHA. Galassi also urged employers to create a culture of safety at their companies.

Based on preliminary figures on Sept. 5, 2017, the Top 10 citations for fiscal year 2017 are:

September Workplace Safety News & Notes

Here's a collection of current safety news from around the web:

NIOSH Offers Webinar on Aging Workforce Sept. 28

NIOSH is hosting a free webinar, Interventions and Promising Practices in the Aging Workplace, as part of the Productive Aging and Work webinar series and in observance of National Employ Older Workers Week. The webinar will provide an overview of interventions and promising practices for addressing the challenges and opportunities posed by an aging workforce. Date is September 28 from 1:00 to 2:30 PM EDT. Continuing education credits are pending for this activity. Register here.

OSHA Proposes Extended Deadline for Crane Operator Certification

OSHA intends to extend the employer's responsibility to ensure crane operator competency and enforcement for crane operator certification to Nov. 10, 2018. OSHA issued a final rule in September 2014, extending the deadline by three years for crane operator certification requirements in the Cranes and Derricks in Construction standard. The final rule also extended by three years the employer's responsibility to ensure that crane operators are competent to operate a crane safely. Read more.

Alliance Formed to Protect Grain Handling Workers

NIOSH Studies 3-D Printer Emissions

Dust Mask Safety Sign

If your business uses 3-D printers, you'll be interested in a recent NIOSH study comparing emissions from 3-D and laser printers that found 3-D printers emit 14 chemicals that laser printers do not. Further, they found that 3-D printed items continued to emit chemicals after printing, raising questions about exposure in storage and other areas.

With the growing popularity of 3-D printers in the workplace, NIOSH wants to understand and address their potential effects on indoor air quality. A previous study by NIOSH and university researchers found that using the manufacturer-supplied cover on a 3-D printer decreased the amount of emissions containing ultrafine particles by two times, but the levels were still high.

For the current study, published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene, researchers tested the most commonly used type of desktop 3-D printer, called the FDM, and two models of black and white laser printers. For the 3-D printers. They printed a hair comb using one of two types of plastic filaments, taking about 14 minutes to complete.

How to Comply with OSHA's Updated Walking-Working Surfaces Rule

Next Deadline is Near: November 17

Late last year, OSHA published new standards for walking-working surfaces and fall protection in general industry workplaces. Much of the rule took effect on January 17, 2017, but OSHA gave employers additional time to comply with many of the provisions. For example:

• Inspections and certifications of permanent anchorages used in rope descent systems must be completed by November 17, 2017.
• New fall arrest or safety systems on fixed ladders longer than 24 feet aren't required until November 17, 2018.

OSHA Offers Worker Safety Resources for Hurricane and Flood Cleanup and Recovery

Emergencies like recent hurricanes Harvey and Irma can create a variety of hazards for workers in the impacted areas. The OSHA website has a variety of resources to help employers keep their workers safe when hurricanes and floods strike  - and during cleanup and recovery operations.

OSHA recently updated the Worker Safety and Health Resources for Hurricane and Flood Cleanup and Recovery page to provide information for employers and workers across industries, and for workers responding to emergencies.

Topics include:

• Hurricanes
• Floods
• General response and recovery
• PPE
• Heat

NIOSH Releases New Software to Monitor Emergency Responder Health and Safety

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) just announced the new ERHMS Info Manager™, a free software tool that tracks and monitors emergency response and recovery worker activities before, during and after their deployment to incidents such as natural disasters or other public health emergencies. 

ERHMS Info Manager software is designed to help emergency responder organizations implement the Emergency Responder Health Monitoring and Surveillance (ERHMS™) framework. The free software can be used by anyone involved in the deployment and protection of emergency responders, including: incident command staff, response organization leadership, health, safety and medical personnel and emergency responders.

Identify Exposures to Reduce Risks

NIOSH says significant gaps and deficiencies continue to exist in health monitoring and surveillance of emergency response workers, including police, fire, emergency medical personnel, cleanup, repair, restoration and recovery workers. The organization believes its new software can help.

ComplianceSigns Marks 8th Time on Inc. 5000 List

For the eighth consecutive year, ComplianceSigns, Inc. has been designated one of the fastest-growing private companies in the U.S., as ranked by Inc. magazine, and has been honored as a Hall of Fame company.

With eight appearances on the list, ComplianceSigns has received the distinction of being named to the Inc. 5000 Hall of Fame, a milestone less than 10 percent of Inc. 5000 honorees ever achieve. We achieved revenue growth of 54 percent over the past three years to earn a spot on the annual list. We rank as the seventh fastest-growing manufacturer in Illinois and 114th in the entire country. 

We are among just three Illinois manufacturers who have made the Inc. list five times or more. Manufacturers comprise less than 3 percent of the entire 2017 list, and just 32 U.S. manufacturers have made the list five times or more.

Our overall rank is 4,536. ComplianceSigns was named to the Inc. Honor Roll in 2014 after appearing on the list five times. Read our Inc 5000 Award details, or view our Inc. profile page.