Beginning October 1, 2011, the OTI Education Centers will begin charging a $5.00 processing fee for each DOL course completion card issued.

This means that the cost of these trainings will be going up. If you book a training with Safety Traininers before October 1st, we will wave the card fee.

Please reach out to us today if you have any questions or would like to book now.

Are you being required by a General Contractor, Insurance Carrier, State or Federal Contract or any other reason to have your employees OSHA 10 Certified?

You see most people don't realize that OSHA does't actually mandate anyone to have the OSHA 10 in Construction Certification. In fact a lot of companies leave themselves open to great RISK. If the only OSHA Training you are doing is the one time OSHA 10 for your employees, you do not meet the OSHA minimum training requirements. You see the mandate to have the OSHA 10 certification comes from a few places. One is from General Contractors & Insurance companies.

In the eyes of an insurance carrier, if your employees have OSHA 10 training than in theory you should be less RISK. The less Risk you bring to the table, the better looking you are to the insurance carriers.

In the eyes of the General Contractor, they have the right to enforce any safety standards that they see fit in addition to the OSHA minimum requirements. This means in theory that their job site should be safer, therefore they look better in the eyes of their insurance carrier and their client. Also, if a Sub-Contractor is fined by OSHA on a job site, the GC could also be fined under the multi-employer policy. The GC has overall responsibility for the job site, therefore may also be held liable.

One of the other drying forces actually come down from the tops in Washington. Part of that stimulus money that went out to help the construction industry by creating roadwork, power distribution & transmission, bridge repair & construction, new schools, hospitals..etc. Basically if a project is "publicly funded" by either Local, State & Federal money, than workers have to have the OSHA 10 certification.

So my last thought is that if you do not have a annual training program in place at your place of employment and only rely on the OSHA 10, than you are leaving yourself to SO MANY potential exposures. Contact us today to learn how to mitigate & eliminate your RISK!

P.S.

We specialize in working with Small & Medium size companys on their way to Compliance

So if you are wondering the value in investing time, energy and resources toward a Safety & Health program for your company in these tough economic times, than please keep reading as I share a little story with you.

So I was contracted by a General Contractor to help oversee, audit and manage safety on one of their larger jobs going. This includes duties to make sure that contractors have turned in their site safety plans & MSDSs as well as identify hazards on the job site and document them. Then the findings would be used to create corrective actions and then assigned to the responsible contractor(s) in the weekly foreman's meeting to be fixed. This whole process is kept in a binder in the job trailer for review.                          

So I was out in the field when my phone rings and it is the site Super on the other end of the phone saying "An OSHA Compliance Officer just walked through the door, get your #ss up here!"

I then headed up for what I expected to be the start of the Opening Conference. So I walk through the office door and the Super introduces me and says "this is our site safety compliance officer". So when we ask why he was there he gave us the name of a building he was looking for on a particular campus, just so happens the campus he was looking for was over an hour away. As he was looking for the building/contractor that where do for inspection he could not help but notice the 150' crane and seven story building going up, so he stopped.

Then the Compliance Officer asked for a little overview of our program. I was then able to point him in the direction of the Site Safety Plans, MSDS books and all the certifications and documentation that we had onsite. Explained the Site Audit and Corrective action process that we do as well. This all took about fifteen minutes or so. I am now waiting for him to tell me that he would like to head out to the site and do a walk around.

BUT WAIT, what happened next is almost unbelievable, he said that it looks like we had things under control and he did not spot anything that he felt an imminent danger, therefore he asked for some help in getting directions to the location he was supposed to be at and off he went!

The moral of the story here is that if you choose to be PROACTIVE in safety, the pros far exceed the cons. You can avoid penalties & fines, workers comp claims, civil suits, loss time in production and are recognized in your industry as "doing it right". This can also become a tool for marketing and setting yourself aside from your competition.

Now if you choose to let safety go by the wayside you will increase the chances you could seriously hurt of kill someone, be fined & penalized, get dropped by your workers comp carrier, loose a job or bid because your MOD rating is too high.

If you would like to learn more about how to be proactive in mitigating your risk and avoiding potential fines than contact Safety Trainers today.

Recently the owner of Safety Trainers, Darcy Cook, wrote an article for the Eastern Massachusetts National Association of the Remodeling Industry (EMNARI) newsletter.

She talks about RISK from a few different angles. As business owners you need to always be concerned with what your risk is.

Visit the article here:  EM NARI News, article by Darcy Cook. 

Here at Safety Trainers we know and understand your RISK. Please reach out to us with any questions that you may have.

OSHA Cites 3 Massachusetts Contrators For Willful Violations On Cave-In Hazards!

"The OSHA inspection began in June when an agency official observed employees working in an unprotected 8-foot deep excavation that also lacked a ladder or other safe means of egress"

As stated by OSHA "A willful violation is one committed with intentional knowing or voluntary disregard for the law's requirements, or plain indifference to worker safety and health. A serious citation is issued when there is substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result from a hazard about which the employer knew or should have known. An other-than-serious violation is one that has a direct relationship to job safety and health, but probably would not cause death or serious physical harm."

In an article released by OSHA Regional News, "For the cave-in and ladder hazards, Cardillo was issued two willful citations with $105,000 in fines, Majestic was issued two willful citations with $42,000 in fines and Zanni was issued two serious citations with $5,600 in fines. Cardillo and Majestic were also issued three other-than-serious citations each and fined $1,200 and $900, respectively, for inadequate recordkeeping. Cardillo faces a total of $106,200 in fines; Majestic, a total of $42,900; and Zanni, a total of $5,600."

Please click on the link to read the article.  https://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=NEWS_RELEASES&p_id=18933

Please contact Safety Trainers to learn how to decrease your risk of fines.

Many workers are spending much of their day driving to clients and customer sites.  The Department of Labor (DOT) is joining forces in a campaign to stop distracted drivers in hopes to save lives!

In 2009, reported by the DOT, more than 5, 400 people died in car crashes linked to distractions. 

When OSHA receives a complaint that an employer requires texting while driving, it will be investigated and where necessary issue a citation and penalty to end this practice.

We invite you to visit http://www.osha.gov/distracted-driving/index.html 

The Massachusetts Consultation Program is offering a FREE health & safety seminar designed to help employers with recognition and control of Lead in both General industry and Construction. This course will also help employers with compliance with OSHA, EPA & State Regulations.  

The training topics include:

• Health Hazards of Lead
• OSHA Recordkeeping
• OSHA New Penalty Structure
• Massachusetts Lead Registry-what it is & how it works
• OSHA Lead Standard-Geneal Industry or Construction
• EPA Renovation, Repair and Painting Rule

You must pre-register for this event, so just follow this link if you want the form to sign up. See you there!!!!

Register Now

Now that summer has finally reached us we have to prepare ourselves and our employees for the heat and hazards that come along with it. Now don't get me wrong, I am happy the nice weather is here to stay for a few months, we just need to take a few steps to prepare ourselves for heat related hazards. I have put together a TOP 5 list of steps to protecting your employees.

1. Practice prehydration. Before work starts, your employees should drink up to 16 ounces of fluid. After work begins, they should drink 8 ounces every 20 minutes during the day.

2. Drink the right stuff. Studies have shown that flavored water is more effective than plain water at providing hydration. This is simply because plain water is much better at quenching thirst and, therefore, people drink less of it. People will drink a larger volume of flavored water because they will continue to feel thirsty. Also, remind employees that they should never drink alcoholic beverages when working in the heat. Of course, that's prohibited on the job, but they should be careful off the job as well. Another thing to consider is not to drink caffeinated products only (coffee, tea, energy drinks, etc). Our bodies have trouble processing these products and do not offer much hydration.

3. Become acclimated to the heat slowly. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a heat acclimation schedule can be induced within 5 to 7 days of exposure. Our weather here in New England changes constantly, as a result we have to prep our bodies. Check the weather a couple weeks in advance and plan accordingly.

4. Take off that hat. The body loses a lot of heat out of the top of the head. In winter, you want to wear a hat to keep the heat in. But in summer, you want to release body heat. So if your workers are in hot shade, advise them against wearing a hat. If they are in direct sun and need shading, recommend that they wear a visor rather than a cap.

5. Wear the right fabric. Cotton is great at absorbing moisture from the skin while sweating, but it can create a problem if the fabric becomes soaked. If possible, recommend that your workers wear a loose, thin, white, synthetic t-shirt while working in the heat. Synthetic material does not absorb sweat, but instead, sends it off the skin to be quickly evaporated. Synthetic fabrics will keep your workers cooler and safer from dangers of heat illness.

Do you have a question about Safety at your workplace, reach out to one of our experts.

Safety is important but always seems to be the first thing cut out of the budget. For some large companies they ignore safety and just pay the fines associated with violations, if they get caught. Attention Employees! Imagine if OSHA was NOT there to protect YOU. Imagine if no one cared if you lived or died at work. Check out this video below if you want to witness what it would be like to go to work where NOONE cares about you.

OSHA SAVES LIVES! Are you doing your part to help? Contact Safety Trainers if you have any Compliance Questions.

Part of the new OSHA Campaign to become more resourceful and user friendly has been leading them to make changes to their website. One of the most recent changes has been to the Small Business Web Page. On this page, you will find links to FAQ. You Are Not Alone. You can search many questions that other small business owner have already asked.Their is also a section labeled OSHA Compliance Assistance Quick Start. Just click on your industry and you will find a 7 Step Guide To Starting Your Compliance Program. There is also information about the OSHA Consultation Services. OSHA is known for its enforcement but also has a nonregulating division dedicated to help small business with compliance. OSHA will evaluate your business, give you a report with recommendations on abatement and help you develop policy & procedures. This is a great cost effective way for small businesses to comply with OSHA Standards all while promoting worker safety. I would also recommend that you download the Small Business Handbook that OSHA has published. The handbook should help small business employers meet the legal requirements imposed by the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (the Act), and achieve in-compliance status before an OSHA inspection.

Often times when I start to have conversations with small business owners about safety concerns and compliance, they often ask where they should start. I recommend starting with this free information from OSHA on Small Business Compliance. This guide will help set the building blocks for implamenting a Health & Safety Program. If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact Safety Trainers.