Good To Know

Update:  Unfortunately falls continue to be the #1 killer of construction workers year after year.....I originally wrote the blog post below back in 2013, but unfortunately what was true back then is still true to day.  Small Texas construction companies still struggle to manage fall protection hazards leading to hundreds of preventable injuries and fatalities and major fines and penalties... THE SKINNY---------------------------   According to statistics recently released by OSHA, more construction workers were killed in Texas by falls in [...]

OSHA 300 Log Basics The "Skinny" All impacted employers with 11 or more employees in the calendar year must create and post their OSHA 300A log each year.   Surprisingly, many companies are unaware of this requirement, especially smaller ones who may have recently surpassed the 10 employee trigger. What's an OSHA 300 log, why should I care, and how do I complete it?  READ ON.... In This Issue OSHA 300 Log Primer, contact me. rcarr@bes-corp.com (512) 923-0374   The [...]

A local general contractor was fined $10,000+ this week for violations committed by one of their subcontractors. The violations involved fall protection, scaffolding and workers not wearing PPE. This is noteworthy because these violations arose due to OSHA’s Controlling Employer/Multi-Employer doctrine (see below). In our experience, OSHA typically only fines the subcontractor, but in this instance they fined the subcontractor as well as the general contractor for the same violations. In addition to these current fines, the general contractor [...]

Can you honestly answer “yes” to each of the following questions?: ▪ Do you know which environmental, health and safety rules and regulations apply to your business and operations? ▪ Are you certain that your company is in full compliance with each of these OSHA, TCEQ and EPA rules and regulations? ▪ Would you and your staff know what to do if one of these agencies showed up tomorrow for a surprise enforcement inspection? If not, you’re not alone. [...]

Back by popular demand, our OSHA Power Brief that discusses and explains TRIR and DART: The Skinny: In this edition of our OSHA Power Brief series, we'll define and discuss two critical safety performance metrics: • TRIR: Total Recordable Incident Rate • DART: Days Away from work, days of Restricted work activity, and/or days of jobs Transfer Why is it important to understand these key safety metrics? • The primarily value of TRIR and DART is to evaluate and [...]