OSHA Update:

Attended the Western Carolina Safety & Health Conference last week.  Listened to Edwin Foulke, Jr. from Fisher Phillips of Atlanta, GA.  Edwin was the Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety & Health. Named by President George W. Bush to head OSHA, he served from April 2006 until November 2008.

Some of the WOW slides in the presentation follow:

OSHA Top 10 Most Cited Violations 2015
1) Fall Protection general requirements
2) Hazard communication
3) Scaffolding
4) Respiratory protection
5) Lockout/Tagout
6) Powered industrial trucks
7) Ladders
8) Electrical
9) Machine guarding
10) Electrical- general requirements

OSHA’s New Penalty Increases
11/12/2015 Congress Passed Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act
Allows up to 150% increase based on inflation
OSHA increases will be 78% started August 1, 2016
Serious and other than serious from $7,000- $12,471
Willful and repeated from $70,000 to $124,709

Most Frequent General Duty Clause Citation
1) Forklift hazards- 26.9%
Lack of seatbelts and Improper lifting of personnel
2) Crane hazards 21.7%
3) Dust Explosions- 12%
4) Struck by Vehicle- 10%
5) Ladder Fall- 5.8%
6) PVC Piping Rupture-5.4%
7) Fire and Explosions-5.4%
8) Fall Hazards-5%
9) Automobile lifts and Jacks- 4.6%
10) Storage Rack Hazards-3.6%
*Source- Tracy Cekada and Christopher Janicak-Indiana University Pennsylvania 2016

For more information visit www.fisherphillips.com or www.osha.gov
To track all this necessary Health & Safety data visit here