Category: Equipment and Machinery Safety

Food manufacturing machinery, dough rolling

Amputation Leads to Cal/OSHA Citation of Joint Employers

California’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) cited a food manufacturer and staffing agency, seeking over $300,000 in penalties, for lockout/tagout and other violations after a temporary worker lost two fingers cleaning dough-rolling machinery.

welding

Hot Tips for Improving Welding Safety

Welding — one of the OSHA-defined “hot work” activities — is a major task in many industries. You’ll find it performed in manufacturing, fabrication, and repair work. In fact, anywhere two or more materials must be joined together, welding will likely be present.

Forklift in warehouse

OSHA Wants Your Input on Forklift Rules

OSHA is seeking comment and information about possible deregulatory action involving general industry, construction, and maritime standards for forklifts and other powered industrial trucks. The request for information appeared in the March 11 Federal Register.

Lockout Tagout

Could There Be Lockout-Tagout Changes on the Horizon?

OSHA may be planning to explore alternative methods of ensuring workers are protected from sources of hazardous energy (chemical, electrical, hydraulic, mechanical, pneumatic, thermal, and others). OSHA announced plans in the Department of Labor’s (DOL) most recent agenda of regulatory and deregulatory actions to issue a pre-rule request for information (RFI) on alternatives to its […]

Warehouse safety

OSHA’s Citation and Fine of Wal-Mart Vacated

An Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) vacated OSHA’s citation of Wal-Mart and one of its contractors for alleged violations of the lockout/tagout standard. The alleged violation was cited following an incident in which a worker at a Brundidge, Alabama, distribution center was struck by an automated trolley October 18, 2016, and sustained a serious leg injury.

Lockout Tagout

Temporary Workers and Lockout/Tagout—Guidance for Employers

As part of its Temporary Worker Initiative, OSHA has provided guidance on the responsibilities of temporary-worker staffing agencies and host employers to protect temporary workers under the federal Control of Hazardous Energy (Lockout/Tagout) standard (29 CFR 1910.147).

Crane

Diving a Bit Deeper into OSHA’s Crane Operator Update

OSHA recently promulgated a final rule to ensure the competency of crane operators through training, certification or licensing, and evaluation. Central to the final rule’s provisions is clarification that, in addition to certification of crane operators, employers must continue to evaluate operators for their ability to safely operate equipment. Before the amendments to the standard addressed […]

Crane

Could Your Construction Machinery Be Open to Hacking?

The Internet of Things (IoT) has grown exponentially over the past few years, and that growth is expected to continue into the foreseeable future. This is especially true for the Operational Technology (OT) networks, where more and more technologies are being incorporated into industrial control systems (ICS) and supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems. […]

Mechanical power press

OSHA May Move to Revise Antiquated Power Press Standard

In pre-rule notice in its Fall 2018 Unified Agenda , OSHA indicates that it would like to update the public record on a 2007 advanced notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) to revise its existing (1971) standard governing mechanical power presses (29 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 1910.217). OSHA notes in the Agenda that the current […]