Blog Archives

Standards Board’s June Hearing – Stock Pickers and Overhead Cranes

The OSH Standards Board will take public comments on proposed revisions to safety orders governing order/stock pickers and overhead cranes at its June meeting in Oakland. Order Pickers and Stock Pickers: The first set of revisions is to General Industry Safety Orders (GISO) 3656(e), which addresses the design and use of order- and stock-picking machines. … Read More »

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California’s New Industrial Truck Regulation – Effective July 15

General Industry Safety Order 3668 has been amended to require the following: Employers shall ensure that each powered industry truck operator is competent to operate a powered industrial truck safely, as demonstrated by the successful completion of training and evaluation. Prior to permitting employees to operate such devices, employers must ensure that each operator has … Read More »

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Coping With Disaster, Post-1127

BELMONT – It’s every safety manager’s worst night-mare: There’s been a death or very serious accident on your worksite. Such scenarios have always been traumatic, confusing and scary. Now, with the in-creased penalties, both civil and criminal, mandated by Assembly Bill 1127, the stakes are even higher. And safety managers are right in the middle … Read More »

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Report to Legislature Shows Variance Requests Have Plummeted Since 1997

Statistics submitted to the state Legislature April 1 regarding variance applications handled by the OSH Standards Board show that variance requests dropped 64 percent from 1997 to 1999. The board granted the overwhelming majority of the applications, while a number were withdrawn. Some 1999 requests are still pending. The board was required to report by … Read More »

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Uc Study Says Workplace Smoking Ordinances Help Employees Quit

A study of workplace smoking policies throughout California has concluded that the stronger the policy, the more likely employees are to give up cigarettes. The research, conducted by Joel M. Moskowitz and Zihua Lin of UC-Berkeley’s School of Public Health and Esther S. Hudes of the Center for AIDS Prevention and the Department of Epidemiology … Read More »

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Meetings Update

Please make the following changes to latest Meetings page (April 28, p. 20-585) and note the following additions: New ASSE Sacramento contact: Al Barake is the new contact person for the Sacramento chapter of the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE). He takes over for Marti Stroup, who has joined the Associated General Contractors as … Read More »

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OSHA Unveils E-Complaint System

Fed-OSHA has formally launched its new system that allows workers to file complaints about workplace safety and health problems over the Internet. The Feds announced “The Workers’ Page” on April 28, Workers’ Memorial Day. “Workers play a vital role in identifying workplace hazards, and, whenever possible, working with their employers to correct them,” according to … Read More »

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Legislative Update (4)

Following is the status of bills currently before the state Legislature pertaining to occupational safety and health: SB 150: This bill, introduced in 1999 by Sen. Hilda Solis (D-El Monte), would create a state Labor Agency which would house, among other agencies, the Department of Industrial Relations. SB 150 has passed the state Senate and … Read More »

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