Learn all about the OSHA inspection process and how to manage it in the comprehensive blog post It's the call that every small business owner and manager dreads, "OSHA is in the lobby." If that happens, you need to be prepared because an OSHA inspection can be incredibly disruptive, stressful and expensive for you and your staff if you're not ready. This blog post is designed to help you do exactly that, so read on.... The content of this [...]
We continually monitor recent actual OSHA citations in Texas to learn more about what compliance officers look for when conducting OSHA inspections and how it could impact our clients, who are always on the lookout for ways to improve workplace safety and avoid OSHA fines and penalties. In addition to issuing citations for violations of 1910 (General Industry) and 1926 (Construction) standards, OSHA also has a "catchall" called the General Duty Clause which allows compliance officers to issue fines [...]
OSHCON Cannot Manage Your OSHA Compliance This is our next blog post in our series about common OSHA compliance mistakes and misconceptions made by small companies which can lead to major problems. This involves the mistaken idea that OSHCON can somehow manage a company's OSHA compliance. We routinely hear companies tell us that they utilize OSHCON consulting services, and are therefore compliant and don't need additional help. Companies who make this assumption/mistake put themselves at risk for huge fines and [...]
I routinely hear companies tell us that their insurance company, or Workers Compensation carrier, is managing all of their OSHA compliance requirements. This is a very common and dangerous misconception among small manufacturers and other industrial businesses with many health and safety hazards which put their employees in harms way. I actually have extensive past experience as the owner of an energy contracting business trying to utilize our workers compensation carrier as our primary safety resources. It was a [...]
Many companies lack the internal expertise, time and resources needed to manage environmental, health and safety compliance and often assign the responsibility to inexperienced staff who lack the qualifications to keep up. This is a major, but very common mistake which can lead to all kinds of problems including failed OSHA and EPA inspections, huge fines, serious injuries, damage to the environment, lost customers and more. However, keeping up with complex OSHA, EPA and TCEQ regulations, monitoring job sites for hazards, training [...]
Most employers understand that they must manage OSHA safety requirements, but many are unaware of workplace health hazards, how dangerous they can be to their employees, or how to manage them. The following is a basic summary of OSHA industrial hygiene testing requirements designed to help protect employees from exposures to workplace health hazards. In summary, employers must not expose their employees to excessive levels of OSHA listed chemicals and contaminants, nor excessive noise levels. OSHA publishes PELs (permissible exposure [...]