Blog Archives

“Jacob’s Ladders” Committee Meets Sept. 29 in Sacramento

A Cal/OSHA advisory committee will meet Sept. 29 in Sacramento to hash over a petition that would establish rules for use of “Jacob’s Ladders” at refineries. At such facilities, Jacob’s ladders are used to perform maintenance inspection and repair work in places physically impossible to reach via building scaffolding, or to provide initial internal access … Read More »

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Partnership and Progress

As every safety professional knows, controlling workplace hazards requires regular and effective training for workers and supervisors. But in the case of Ironworker-Management Progressive Action Cooperative Trust (IMPACT), training on dangers unique to this high-hazard industry extends to Cal/OSHA itself. Starting in November, IMPACT, the Division of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) and the Western … Read More »

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Study: Safety Top Issue for Workers

While a whopping 85% of workers surveyed by the National Opinion Research Center (NORC) say that workplace safety ranked first in importance to them, the media and the general public tend to pay attention to the issue only when workplace catastrophes occur. Tom Smith, director of NORC’s General Social Survey, notes that coverage of the … Read More »

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Appeals Board Moves Forward with Rule Changes; Traeger Calls Expedited Abatement a “Major Triumph”

SACRAMENTO — The Occupational Safety and Health Appeals Board voted Sept. 1 to proceed with rule changes designed to address issues that stakeholders say have made the appeals process cumbersome and often unfair. The board is will officially publish the rule changes for public comment after agency and Office of Administrative Law approval. The changes include: A … Read More »

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Details Emerge as Burned Worker Dies

A Santa Barbara handyman who was burned over more than 80% of his body on Aug. 30 has died, as details about the deadly incident continue to emerge.  The 30-year-old worker, an employee of O.P. Handyman, was using lacquer thinner to remove linoleum adhesive in an unventilated laundry room near a water heater, according to Department … Read More »

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Readers Respond with Advice to Safety Manager on “You Do It” VP

In response to our Sept. 3 article about a safety manager whose vice president of production refuses to let her train production leads and supervisors on identifying hazards, and takes the attitude that she is the safety program, not the workers, we received the following responses from safety professionals. We are not identifying those who … Read More »

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Corrections (4)

In our Sept. 3 story about Title 8 variances recently granted by Cal/OSH Standards Board (p. 9835), we stated in a section on a variance on strap-on footwear protection that “Standards Board staff points out that boot covers are bulky and inflexible, and are like ski boots. Activities requiring bending, squatting and kneeling could lead … Read More »

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Blast Decision Triggers Proposal

If a blast warning is given at a worksite, but workers don’t actually hear it, is it a violation of General Industry Safety Orders §5291? Not according to Cal/OSH Appeals Board. Now Cal/OSH Standards Board proposes changes to the safety order, making it mandatory that workers hear such warnings. The proposal will be the subject … Read More »

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