Featured This Week

Employment Safety

• OSHA renews Alliance with the National Telecommunications Safety Panel
• DCS Sanitation Management Inc. for multiple safety and health violations following electrocution death
• OSHA fines Valero Energy Corp. in Port Arthur, Texas, more than $100,000 for alleged safety violations

OSHA renews Alliance with the National Telecommunications Safety Panel

OSHA and the National Telecommunications Safety Panel (NTSP) recently renewed their Alliance to continue developing information on the recognition and prevention of workplace hazards related to ergonomics.

"Our Alliance with NTSP has resulted in new products and resources to improve the safety and health of employees in the telecommunications industry," said Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA Edwin G. Foulke, Jr. "We look forward to furthering the success our Alliance has had over the past four years as we maintain our goal of preventing ergonomic hazards on the job."

Through the Alliance, NTSP developed the Laptop Computers Fact Sheet that describes strategies for minimizing discomfort when using laptop computers. OSHA continually updates the OSHA and NTSP Alliance webpage on OSHA's website and provides a link to an Alliance-developed document on NTSP's site titled "Ergonomics Guidelines for Common Job Functions in the Telecommunications Industry." In addition, NTSP developed three profiles of member companies that have implemented successful safety and health programs or best practices that have led to a reduction in work-related injuries. During the past two years, OSHA and Alliance representatives also spoke at conferences and meetings including the 2007 International Telecommunications Safety Conference, the Sprint Safety and Security Day, and the 2006 Applied Ergonomics Conference.

"The National Telecommunications Safety Panel (NTSP) is pleased to continue our cooperative effort with OSHA through the Alliance Program by renewing our Alliance for the second time," said Eric Allgaier, chair of NTSP. "The Panel understands the valuable role the Alliance plays in protecting the health and well-being of employees throughout the telecommunications industry. Through the Alliance, NTSP has developed detailed ergonomics guidelines, case studies and fact sheets to benefit our industry and other related industries."

The NTSP is a group of telecommunications safety professionals who promote employee safety and health, and encourage safe workplaces throughout the telecommunications industry. The Panel works with federal and state agencies and provides comments and recommendations on safety issues such as fall protection and ergonomics. Employment Safety and Health Guide Daily Document Update ¶20,717a.

DCS Sanitation Management Inc. for multiple safety and health violations following electrocution death

OSHA has cited DCS Sanitation Management Inc. for 10 alleged violations of federal safety and health standards following the Oct. 12, 2007, death of an employee at a Springfield, Mo., poultry processing facility.

An employee of Cincinnati, Ohio-based DCS Sanitation Management was electrocuted when the equipment's conductive surface became energized while the employee was sanitizing poultry processing equipment.

"Our inspection revealed multiple violations of OSHA's electrical standards," said Charles E. Adkins, OSHA's regional administrator in Kansas City. "It is imperative that employers remain committed to keeping the workplace safe at all times."

An alleged willful violation addressed the hazards associated with the company's failure to ensure employees are removed from equipment hazard areas, all tools are removed, and equipment is operationally intact prior to its release from lockout/tagout safeguards and employee use. Lockout/tagout refers to preventing accidental start-up of machinery during maintenance. Willful violations are those committed with an intentional disregard of, or plain indifference to, the requirements of the Occupational Safety and Health Act and regulations.

An alleged repeat violation addressed a hazard associated with the lack of suitable facilities for quick drenching and/or flushing of the eyes and body in the event of an emergency when employees were working with injurious corrosives. OSHA issues repeat violations when an employer previously has been cited for the same, or a substantially similar, violation that has become a final order.

Alleged serious violations addressed the following hazards: failure to ensure electrical equipment was free from recognized hazards; failure to ensure the means of grounding machines and equipment was continuous and effective; enclosures for electrical components in wet environments that were not waterproof; failure to provide all flexible cords with a strain relief; failure to provide a standard guardrail system for every floor opening or platform above dangerous equipment; failure to provide and/or require the use of appropriate eye and face protective equipment; and allowing the consumption of food and beverages in areas exposed to toxic chemicals.

An alleged other-than-serious violation addressed the employer's failure to report the fatal accident to the nearest OSHA area office within the required eight hours of occurrence. The agency's proposed penalties for all violations total $124,500.

DCS Sanitation Management Inc. has 15 business days from receipt of the citations and proposed penalties to comply, request and participate in an informal conference with OSHA's area director or to contest the citations and penalties before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. Employment Safety and Health Guide Daily Document Update ¶20,732a.

OSHA fines Valero Energy Corp. in Port Arthur, Texas, more than $100,000 for alleged safety violations

OSHA has cited Valero Energy Corp. and proposed penalties totaling $101,750 for alleged safety violations.

OSHA issued the citations alleging 13 serious, two repeat and one other-than-serious violations following an investigation that began Oct. 16, 2007, at the company's Port Arthur refinery. The inspection was initiated as part of OSHA's National Emphasis Program for petroleum refineries. Valero, headquartered in San Antonio, has about 830 employees at its Port Arthur facility.

"We are pleased that Valero has expressed a willingness to take quick, corrective actions in resolving the safety and health violations," said Dean McDaniel, OSHA's regional administrator in Dallas.

Serious violations include failing to: implement accurate process safety information, provide employees with accurate operating procedures, have an adequate system in place to advance recommendations from process hazard analysis and correct equipment deficiencies. A serious violation is one with potential to cause death or serious physical harm to employees when the employer knew or should have known of the hazard.

The repeat violations address the company's failure to implement inspection and testing procedures that follow OSHA's standards and regulations. Repeat violations are issued when an employer previously has been cited for the same, or a substantially similar, violation that has become a final order.

The company has 15 business days from receipt of the citations to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA's area director in Houston, or contest the citations and penalties before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. Employment Safety and Health Guide Daily Document Update ¶20,733a.

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