Falls in construction, non-constructionįalls are the leading cause of death in construction, and OSHA’s construction industry fall protection standard is the agency’s most frequently cited standard year after year. Region 9 (Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands) and Region 10 (Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington) do not currently have noise hazard emphasis programs. The Region 4 noise REP covers nonmetallic mineral product manufacturing along with other industries, so inspection procedures include a check for respirable crystalline silica exposures, and the Region 7 REP covers construction worksites, as well as manufacturing facilities. Inspection procedures for the Region 3 REP also include a review of employers’ hearing conservation program. Inspections under the Region 1 LEP are focused on noise exposures, but inspections in the Region 2 REP are comprehensive occupational health inspections. Inspectors typically monitor noise levels over a full work shift. Establishments where OSHA recently performed a health inspection usually are removed from the site selection list.ĭuring an inspection, CSHOs review the OSHA 300 injury and illness log for any standard threshold shifts in hearing, then conduct sound level meter readings. and West Virginia), Region 4 (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee), Region 5 (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin), Region 6, Region 7 (Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska), and Region 8.Įach local or regional noise hazard emphasis program typically has a list of manufacturing industries in the area or region that OSHA area offices use for inspection site selection. There are noise emphasis programs in Region 1 (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont), Region 2 (New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands), Region 3 (Delaware Maryland Pennsylvania Virginia Washington, D.C. For example, the new NEP for outdoor and indoor heat hazards is very similar to the heat illness REP in Region 6 (Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas). Sometimes an REP can offer a template for a later NEP. Many also have a powered industrial truck LEP or REP. Nearly every OSHA region has a noise hazard or noise-induced hearing loss emphasis program, as well as construction, crane, and/or fall hazard emphasis programs. OSHA’s Region 5 just added a food manufacturing LEP out of OSHA’s Wisconsin area offices, and enforcement begins May 17 for the Region 8 (Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming) REP for silica exposure hazards in the cut stone and stone products industry. Some are unique to a region’s economy-the floating seafood processors LEP runs out of OSHA’s Anchorage area office, for example. Regional Emphasis Programs (REPs) are administered by all area offices in a region, while Local Emphasis Programs (LEPs) are run out of a single office or handful of area offices.Įach OSHA region has anywhere from a handful to a dozen or more LEPs and REPs. Some program directives may specify an initial outreach period, typically 90 days, before inspection and enforcement begin. Most emphasis programs have an ongoing outreach effort in addition to inspection and enforcement. We recently explored OSHA National Emphasis Programs (NEPs), which now also include a new NEP for outdoor and indoor heat-related hazards. One way OSHA focuses its limited enforcement resources is through National, Regional, and Local Emphasis Programs. With a mere 748 inspectors for 8 million workplaces, how likely are you to see an OSHA inspector? The number of agency CSHOs has decreased from 1,059 in 2011 to 748 in 2020, while the number of business establishments to inspect increased to nearly 8 million. businesses has increased, the Department of Labor’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG) recently pointed out. The number of OSHA compliance safety and health officers (CSHOs) has declined over the past decade, while the number of U.S.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |