Webinar - OSHA Compliance Made Simple

Top Five Life-Threatening Jobs
According to Bureau of Labor Statistics data, the following jobs had some of the
highest fatality rates for 2011:
#1 Commercial fishermen and related workers
Fatality rate (per 100,000 workers): 121.2
#2 Loggers
Fatality rate : 102.4
Arborists: 60-ish??
#3 Aircraft pilots and flight engineers
Fatality rate: 57.0
#4 Farmers & Ranchers
Fatality rate: 25.3
#5 Police Officers
Fatality rate: 18.6

National Average: 3.5

OSHA Jurisdictions
State Plans with Unique Rules:
CA, MD, MI, OR, VA, WA
State Plans Enforcing Federal Rules:
AK, AZ, HI, IN, IA, KY, MN*, NV, NM, NC, SC,
TN, UT, VT, WY
* Chapter 5208, Accident and Injury Reduction Program
State Plans Covering Public Sector Only:
CT, IL, NJ, NY
All others are Federal OSHA jurisdiction.

OSHA Citations
against Tree Companies
These are the most frequent Federal OSHA citations in
fiscal ‘12. In total, OSHA made 34 inspections resulting in
87 citations and just over $123,000 in penalties last year.

Standard # Citations Avg. Fine Description
1910.132 16 $1,671 PPE general requirements
1910.67 11 $1,892 Aerial lift requirements
1910.1200 11 $316 Hazard communication
5(A)(1) 10 $2,078 General Duty Clause
1910.133 5 $1,080 Eye/face protection
1910.135 4 $1,088 Head protection

#5 & 6 – PPE for the
Eyes, Face & Head
The “low hanging fruit”…
Easy to spot from a “windshield inspection” a
block away.
Invites CSHO for a closer look
Used to be fines were assessed on per-crew
basis; now they multiply by number of non-
compliant people on the crew
One of these almost always draws another
citation, more in a minute…

#4 – General Duty Clause
 Section 5(a)(1) is OSHA’s catch-all, saying
the employer shall provide employment
“free of recognized hazards”. General
Duty citations are by definition, “Serious”.
 General duty citations almost always
reference Z133

#3 – Hazard Communication
Standard, 1910.1200
Applies when employees are exposed to
harmful substances, such as gas in a gas
can. Requirements?
1. Obtain and maintain “Safety Data Sheets”
(formerly MSDS’s) for substances
2. Provide PPE
3. Train in effects of, how to avoid, etc. the
harmful substances.

#2 - Aerial Lift Std., 1910.67
 Most common citation is failure
to wear fall protection in an aerial
lift. OSHA favors full body
harnesses but cannot require
them.
 This std. also covers aerial lift
inspection requirements,
including dielectric testing.
 1910.67 incorporates ANSI A92
by reference.

#1 – PPE General
Requirements
A missing hardhat or eye protection almost always
generates an additional one or two citations.
1.Employer failed to provide PPE at no charge.
2.Employer failed to assess workplace hazards
and certify the assessment in writing.

Added OSHA Requirements
 Reporting – OSHA must be called within 8
hours of an accident that results in a
fatality or sends three or more people to
the hospital.
 Employers/establishments with more than
10 full-time employees must fill out
OSHA’s 300 Log and 300A Summary for
injuries.

Complaints
 Informal
 Formal
 “imminent hazard”
 Referral

Informal complaint
 Typical: anonymous phone call from
disgruntled former or current employee,
former client or nosy neighbor

An informal complaint triggers an
inquiry unless the complainant can
convince OSHA there is an
imminent hazard.

Formal Complaint Referral

In writing & signed, from The most typical: first
a current employee responders determine
an accident is
“occupational” and call
OSHA.

A formal complaint or referral
triggers an inspection.

Inspection Procedures
Why am I being inspected?
programmed, post-accident, drive-by, follow-up, formal
complaint – imminent hazard

Inspection Procedures
Opening Conference (introductions)
Scope of inspection
work site? records-only? wall-to-wall?
Closing conference
Onsite or by phone to discuss apparent violations and
other pertinent issues.
And then you wait (and call TCIA!)
OSHA Information gathering & research
Issuance of citation and penalty

You’ve been cited…now what?
What do those numbers mean?
1904.xxxx – some sort of record-keeping
violation
1910.xxxx – general industry standards
5(a)(1) – general duty clause
1926.xxxx – construction standards, if you
receive this it is likely to be erroneous.
peter@tcia.org

What do the terms mean?
de minimis – a technical violation of the letter of
the law but not its intent
other than serious – resulting accident would
probably not result in serious injury or death; $0 up
to $7,000
serious – opposite of above; up to $7,000
willfull – employer demonstrates disregard or
indifference; $5,000 - $70,000
repeat – means you did it before and got caught

Penalty factors:
Gravity of the violation(s)
Size of your business
Your good faith
History of previous citations

Informal conference/settlement
 Once you receive a citation, there is a 15
working day period in which to informally
argue your case and to file a “Notice of
Contest” if needed.
 The Area Director may amend or even
withdraw the citation based on new
information not available at the time of
inspection.

Should you contest?
 Do nothing – your citation(s) become a
final order in 15 days.
 Quick fix – applies in certain instances,
reduces your penalty
 Seek an informal conference, argue your
case, possibly get it reduced/withdrawn
 Contest (litigate) – your case is referred to
RSOL/OSHRC and administratve law
judge

Affirmative Defenses
With OSHA, an affirmative defense is a
defense to their claim(s) against your
company, based on facts other than those
alleged by OSHA. The employer bears the
burden of proof.
Greater Hazard
Employee Willful Misconduct

Greater Hazard…
Basically, following the OSHA rule would
have created a greater hazard for
employees, or would have been infeasible.

NOTE: If your
compliance lags
significantly behind
that of the industry,
claims of economic
infeasibility won’t
work!

Willful Misconduct…
 Also referred to as “isolated incident.”
Your company provided policy, training
and enforcement to the contrary of an
employee’s actions.

Critical Parts of an OSHA Defense

Documented Safety Policy

Documented Training to
convey the policy

Documented Enforcement
of the training

Z133 Guidance – an easy choice!

29 CFR

Take care of safety and compliance takes care of itself.

Resources with OSHA
Fed OSHA’s Safety & Health Topics Page for
Arboriculture:
http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/treecare/index.html
Or go to osha.gov, click on the letter “T” near
the top of the page and look up “tree care”.

Fed OSHA’s Field Operations Manual – the
playbook for compliance personnel.
peter@tcia.org

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