The use of electricity has become so common that many people ignore or overlook the dangers it presents. Accidents caused by electricity are largely due to poor maintenance of electrical cords and equipment, improper use of electrical equipment, and unsafe working conditions. Three of the most common issues with electrical safety in a dealership are:
1. Access to Electrical Junction Boxes
2. Proper Breaker Box Labeling
3. Use of Extension Cords as Permanent Wiring
The General Duty Clause explained for dealerships and service centers by an OSHA enforcement expert. This video covers how dealerships get cited for General Duty Clause violations, and how to identify and address issues before they become citations. General Duty Clause is one of the top OSHA violations for 2011.
Our engineers have found some rather unusual instances of general duty clause issues at dealerships. How does you facility identify and address general duty clause issues?
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued 33 citations to the Parker Hannifin Corp. plant in Batesville, Mississippi. Half are repeat citations (which come with much higher price tags) that are based on similar situations found during previous inspections conducted at other company locations. Ohio-based Parker Hannifin has 170 facilities throughout the U.S. and manufactures machinery for hydraulics, air conditioning, refrigeration and aerospace systems.
The list of violations are the usual suspects from OSHA’s top 10, and are things to watch for at any automotive repair or manufacturing facility (this is a good time to look over your facility and check your paperwork):
• Air pressure is not to exceed more than 30 pounds per square inch for cleaning equipment
• Failure to document periodic inspections of the lockout/tagout process in place to prevent accidental energy start-up
• Failure to train workers on lockout/tagout procedures
• Failure to unblock exit doors and routes
• Failure to provide machine guarding
• Failure to correct electrical deficiencies
• Failure to attach hazardous warning labels to tanks containing hazardous substances
• Defective safety latch on a hoist and damaged hooks on an overhead crane
• Unapproved electrical equipment used in a hazardous location
• Failure to post signage indicating the direction of travel to the nearest exit;
• Failure to provide a danger permit-required confined space sign
• Failure to mark a web sling with the rated load capacity
• Failure to require workers to wear goggles or suitable eye protection while welding
• Failure to provide personal protective equipment
There’s a reason that Parts Grinders are one of the top OSHA violations. Just last week I visited a dealer who has been a KPA client for more than 14 years and an excellent record when it comes to environmental and safety. Yet, during our quarterly inspection we found that their parts grinder was not mounted properly: see picture. This violates Federal Regulation 29 CFR 1910.212(b) “Anchoring fixed machinery. Machines designed for a fixed location shall be securely anchored to prevent walking or moving.”
Fixed Ops managers should be on high OHSA alert for these situations.
About a month ago we wrote a blog about how your parts grinder can pass an OSHA inspection. The event that triggered this blog was that OSHA issued five citations totaling $75,000 to Pep Boys for a “repeat violation” and at the center of the fines was a parts grinder. Parts grinders, or abrasive wheel machinery, were the third most cited auto dealership violations in 2010. Parts grinders are citable violations because by nature, they involve contact between employees and equipment.
Are your parts grinders safe?
Recently, OSHA cited Pep Boys for serious and repeat safety violations. The chain faces a total of $75,000 in fines. The unusual part of the report is the way that OSHA counted the violations.
What happened is that in 2009, a citation was issued to a facility in one location for OSHA violations. In 2011, a different Pep Boys facility was found to have similar hazards as the first facility. This second location was issued fines for serious and repeat violations because OSHA counted the violations as though all Pep Boys facilities are a single unit.
The implication is that OSHA expects company-wide communication from all businesses with more than one rooftop. This is why the Instant Compliance Visibility feature of MyKPAOnline delivers a quick snapshot of compliance for all levels of the organization down to the individual manager.
OSHA’s Top 10 Most Cited Violations for the 2010 fiscal year was revealed at The National Safety Council (NSC) Congress and Expo in San Diego in EHS Today. Keeping with the trends of previous years, this new top 10 was only slightly different from last year’s top 10. Thomas Galassi, the director of OSHA’s directorate of enforcement programs, listed the 2010 top 10 at the NSC conference and said that OSHA generally sees “a degree of consistency in these violations” and that the “violations relate to falls, contact with equipment and exposure to harmful substances.”
For the second year in a row, we have compiled a list of the top ten violations by Auto Dealers for you.
Once again, our list was similar to our Top 10 list from last year. Hazard Communication was at the top of the list for a second year in a row and stands out as the most common violation cited by OSHA. Perhaps getting the word out about these haz-com requirements should be at the top of more public relations and association’s top 10 “to-do” lists. “These are very important,” Galassi said. “[They are] lessons learned in the workplace … lessons to take home.”
For more information about the Hazard Communication Standard, visit the OSHA’s Inspection Procedures for Hazard Communication Standards or learn more about OSHA safety, material safety data sheets (MSDS), and employee training.
OSHA has cited auto parts maker
Sewon America Inc. in LaGrange, Ga., for a variety of safety violations after receiving a complaint. OSHA initiated a comprehensive inspection of the company’s facility in March. Penalties total $135,900.
Read more detail in an article posted in OH&S Magazine.
Okay. It’s not exactly that. OSHA proposed the $52,500 penalties for four violations: a repeat violation is for failing to provide functioning safety latches on the hydraulic automobile lifts, a serious citation is for missing face plates on electrical outlets, and two other-than-serious violations are for recordkeeping deficiencies and hazard communication deficiencies. The company has 15 business days from receipt of the citations to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA’s area director, or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.
Two learning lessons from this press release:
(1) OSHA is STILL providing you the opportunity to reduce the fine by complying or contesting. HOWEVER, the damage is to your reputation is already done when a press release like this goes out from OSHA
(2) These violations are just a few in pretty much an end-less, and growing, list of potential violations. You can use EHS checklists but that gets you only so far.These checklists typically don’t cover the General Duty Clause very well, and makes it virtually impossible to rely on checklists alone. For reference, the general duty clause states that “Each employer shall furnish to each of his employees employment and a place of employment which are free from recognized hazards that are causing or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm to his employees”
My advice: stop playing whac-a-mole with regulations, do a risk assessment, and engage in a formal safety program.
Within the past 60 days three dealerships have reached big dollar settlements with the EEOC for races, age or gender discrimination. Most recently a dealership in Georgia paid out $140,000. With 250 new investigators and a perceived easy target in dealerships I won’t be surprised to see more of these claims in the coming months. Dealerships seems to be a favorite target for the EEOC these days, and too many make it too easy.
Beyond the four simple steps I offered in an earlier blog “ $1.5 Employment Litigation Recipe” you should also consider EPLI (Employment Practices Liablity Insurance) coverage for your dealership. Prevention is key- training, a nontolerance attitude and enforcement of policies to ensure that discrimination doesn’t happen or is swiftly dealt with at your dealership will signifcantly reduce your risk but having EPLI provides peace of mind in the event of claim occur.
EHS Today published an article on October 29 about the Top 10 Most Cited Violations for 2009. According to Richard Fairfax, director of OSHA’s directorate of enforcement programs, 81 percent of the violations OSHA recorded throughout the year were either serious or willful violations. The number of top 10 violations has increased almost 30 percent over the same time period in 2008.
We though you may find it interesting to see the top 10 for Auto Dealers:
Consistent with inspections by KPA’s engineers and registrations in myKPAonline.com dashboards, OSHA found that by far the most common violations by Auto Dealers are related to hazard communication. Details of OSHA requirements are outlined in OSHA’s Inspection Procedures for Hazard Communication Standards. Violations include deficiencies in chemical inventories, written hazard communication program, material data sheets (MSDS), and employee training.
