1 Stop Attends iiAR EXPO 2019
1 Stop Compliance attended the annual IIAR Natural Refrigeration Conference & Heavy Equipment Expo in Phoenix, AZ, which featured technical and efficiency education programs, as well as over 150 exhibitors on site.
What to Know About ISNetworld RAVS
ISNetworld® will be reviewing all of your information with a fine-tooth comb to make it easy on yourself and them by implementing these easy steps to assist in expediting the review process.
- RAVS® safety programs can easily be created for first-time approval.
Implement the following steps to first time RAVS® safety compliance.
We suggest you create the majority of the RAVS® programs that ISNetworld® requires for your Hiring Client. Although some Hiring Clients will allow a variance on some of these programs, this will need to be taken up directly with your Hiring Client. However, since these RAVS® safety programs are dictated by your Hiring Client as being streamlined for all of their sub-contractors we suggest you go ahead and create these programs. Following the steps below will enable you to easily create and gain approval.
Simplicity is key! An Ideal ISNetworld RAVS safety program is under 10 pages
- Evidence – each question asked by ISN® within your RAVS® safety program.
- Customize – address your full company name within the RAVS® safety program.
- Include the training sheet specific to each program within the RAVS® safety program.
- Insert page numbers.
- Insert your company name within the footer.
- Next is where your hard work creating the simplistic RAVS® safety program pays off. The United States Questionnaire MSQ® is user-friendly so go through the questionnaire and answer the questions about your safety program – identify the page number in which each question being asked is addressed within.
- Review– once your account documents are submitted the review process begins and depending on the documents being review it will take anywhere from 2 days to 2 weeks to complete the review. Your Hiring Client has the power to authorize a speedier review so contact your hiring client to see if they would mint calling ISN® to request expediting the review.
After review- Troubleshoot your grade- once your grade has been determined after the review take a closer look at your grading components and review the gap report in ISN® This will show you exactly what areas in your safety program that are affecting your grade. There are some components in ISNetworld® you cannot control and need to be discussed and troubleshot with your Hiring Client
The ISN® grading components weigh differently on general areas of concern for your Hiring Client. Go through the gap report one by one and incorporate any areas you left void or where you marked as ‘No’ – these areas are clearly important to your ISNetworld® Client. Changing an answer may incur more RAVS® safety programs to be created.
Beat The Heat – A Brief Heat Illness Prevention Review
Summer is here, and with it – HEAT! Forty-five people died from heat related injuries in the US in 2015, according to the National Weather Service. Some companies simply prefer to close when temperatures get high, but closing is not an option for every business, so it is important to know how to beat the heat!
Heat related illness includes four major categories:
____________________________________________________________________
Heat Stroke
Heat Stroke is by far, the most dangerous stage of heat related illness. Heat Stroke is a medical emergency that may result in death! Call 911 immediately if you witness any signs of heat stroke.
Heat Stroke may occur as a result of other, heat related illnesses progressing, and is usually a result of prolonged exposure to high temperatures.
Symptoms of Heat Stroke include:
- Confusion
- Fainting
- Seizures
- Excessive sweating or red, hot dry skin
- Very high body temperature
- Dizzyness
- Nausea & Vomiting
- Rapid Heartbeat
- Lack of sweating despite the heat
- Extreme headache
Those affected by heat stroke may also experience seizures and unconsciousness.
First Aid for Heat Stroke
Call 911
- Place the worker in a shady, cool area
- Loosen clothing and remove the outer layer
- Fan the worker if possible
- Place ice / cold packs in their armpits to help lower internal body temperature.
- Use cool water, cold compresses, ice and any other cold item available
- Be sure to stay with the worker until help arrives – do not leave the worker alone if at all possible.
____________________________________________________________________
Heat Exhaustion
Heat exhaustion comes as the result of prolonged exposure to high temperatures. Whether working indoors or outside – precautions should be taken to avoid heat exhaustion.
- Symptoms of heat exhaustion include:
- Heavy sweating
- Faintness
- Dizzyness
- Fatigue
- Weak, rapid pulse
- Low blood pressure upon standing
- Muscle cramps
- Nausea
- Headache
- Cool, moist skin with goose bumps when in the heat
____________________________________________________________________
Heat Cramps
Heat cramps are a result of prolonged use of muscles in high temperatures. A lack of salt, and imbalance in electrolytes are believed to be a catalyst for muscle cramps.
Heat cramps present with muscle spasms that are painful, involuntary, brief, intermittent but they normally go away on their own.
Listen to your body. Heat cramps is your body’s way of telling you that you need to cool down. If you, or someone working near you begin to experience signs and symptoms of heat cramps, take the following action:
- Rest in shady, cool area
- Drink a sports drink to replace electrolytes
- Consume salt by drinking a salt solution, or by taking salt tablets
- Drink cool water
- Wait a few hours to resume strenuous work
- Seek medical attention if cramps do not go away
Salt Solution TIP: Mix 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoons of table salt in a quart of water.
____________________________________________________________________
Heat Rash
Heat rash is often the very first sign that your body may be overheating.
Look out for:
Clusters of red bumps on skin
Check the neck, upper chest and folds of skin for spots that look like a rash.
If you, or someone working near you experience symptoms of heat rash, take the following steps to cool down:
- Try to work in a cooler, less humid environment when possible
- Keep the affected area dry
Water, Rest and Shade may be the most important aspects of staying safe while working in the heat.
Summer is here, and with it – HEAT! Forty-five people died from heat related injuries in the US in 2015, according to the National Weather Service. Some companies simply prefer to close when temperatures get high, but closing is not an option for every business, so it is important to know how to beat the heat!
Heat related illness includes four major categories:
____________________________________________________________________
Heat Stroke
Heat Stroke is by far, the most dangerous stage of heat related illness. Heat Stroke is a medical emergency that may result in death! Call 911 immediately if you witness any signs of heat stroke.
Heat Stroke may occur as a result of other, heat related illnesses progressing, and is usually a result of prolonged exposure to high temperatures.
Symptoms of Heat Stroke include:
- Confusion
- Fainting
- Seizures
- Excessive sweating or red, hot dry skin
- Very high body temperature
- Dizzyness
- Nausea & Vomiting
- Rapid Heartbeat
- Lack of sweating despite the heat
- Extreme headache
Those affected by heat stroke may also experience seizures and unconsciousness.
First Aid for Heat Stroke
Call 911
- Place the worker in a shady, cool area
- Loosen clothing and remove the outer layer
- Fan the worker if possible
- Place ice / cold packs in their armpits to help lower internal body temperature.
- Use cool water, cold compresses, ice and any other cold item available
- Be sure to stay with the worker until help arrives – do not leave the worker alone if at all possible.
____________________________________________________________________
Heat Exhaustion
Heat exhaustion comes as the result of prolonged exposure to high temperatures. Whether working indoors or outside – precautions should be taken to avoid heat exhaustion.
- Symptoms of heat exhaustion include:
- Heavy sweating
- Faintness
- Dizzyness
- Fatigue
- Weak, rapid pulse
- Low blood pressure upon standing
- Muscle cramps
- Nausea
- Headache
- Cool, moist skin with goose bumps when in the heat
___________________________________________________________________
Heat Cramps
Heat cramps are a result of prolonged use of muscles in high temperatures. A lack of salt, and imbalance in electrolytes are believed to be a catalyst for muscle cramps.
Heat cramps present with muscle spasms that are painful, involuntary, brief, intermittent but they normally go away on their own.
Listen to your body. Heat cramps is your body’s way of telling you that you need to cool down. If you, or someone working near you begin to experience signs and symptoms of heat cramps, take the following action:
- Rest in shady, cool area
- Drink a sports drink to replace electrolytes
- Consume salt by drinking a salt solution, or by taking salt tablets
- Drink cool water
- Wait a few hours to resume strenuous work
- Seek medical attention if cramps do not go away
Salt Solution TIP: Mix 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoons of table salt in a quart of water.
___________________________________________________________________
Heat Rash
Heat rash is often the very first sign that your body may be overheating.
Look out for:
Clusters of red bumps on skin
Check the neck, upper chest and folds of skin for spots that look like a rash.
If you, or someone working near you experience symptoms of heat rash, take the following steps to cool down:
- Try to work in a cooler, less humid environment when possible
- Keep the affected area dry
Water, Rest and Shade may be the most important aspects of staying safe while working in the heat.
How OSHA Fines are Calculated
There are maximum and minimum amounts, but most fall somewhere in between. Let’s look at how OSHA fines are calculated.
The Violation Categories
Serious violations are considered high, medium or low severity. Other-Than-Serious violations are minimal severity.
Willful violations are cited when employers knowingly fail to comply or when they act with indifference to employee safety.
Repeated violations occur when an employer has been previously cited for the same or substantially similar condition. For serious violations, these are ones that have been a part of OSHA’s regionwide inspection history where an OSHA Notice was issued within the past 5 years. For other-than-serious violations, it’s for those where the establishment being inspected received an OSHA Notice within the past 5 years.
The Posting Requirements violation is issued when you fail to follow through on your requirement to post your OSHA Notice at or near the place where each violation occurred for 3 working days, or until the hazard is abated (whichever is longer).
Failure to Abate violations occur when you receive a Notice of Unsafe or Unhealthful Working Conditions and a follow-up inspection finds that you did not do your required posting, did not correct the violation and/or did not adequately protect employees and make appropriate progress in correcting the hazard before the abatement date that was listed on your notice.
Calculating Violation Amounts
There are a number of factors that actually can determine how much your penalty will be. There are four major categories of factors that go into the calculation:
- Gravity of violation
- History of violations
- Good faith efforts of the employer
- Business size
Gravity Based Penalty Amounts
First, the gravity of the violation is calculated. The Gravity Based Penalty (GBP) Amount looks at the level of severity (low, medium and high) and the probability, that is likelihood an injury or illness will occur (greater or lesser).
Severity + Probability = Gravity Based Penalty Amount
History Reductions
Combined or grouped violations can be considered one citation item. Multiple violations of the same standard can also be combined into one citation item. Expect the one with the highest gravity factor (severity or probability) to be used to determine the GBP.
A 10% reduction in penalty costs can be given to companies who have been inspected by OSHA and have had no serious, willful, repeat or failure-to-abate violations. If your company hasn’t been inspected within 5 years, you’re not eligible for this discount. If you’ve had a serious high gravity citation that became a final order, you could actually see a 10% increase in your costs.
Good Faith Reductions
A maximum discount of 25% can be given for good faith efforts. The maximum 25% discount requires you to have a written health and safety management system. This would include a system outlining:
- Management commitment and employee involvement
- Hazard identification worksite analyses
- Hazard prevention and control measures
- Safety and health training
- Addressing needs of workers less than 18 years old (if applicable)
- Addressing needs of workers who speak limited or no English (if applicable)
A 15% reduction may be given if the employer has a documented and effective safety and health management system with only incidental deficiencies.
Good faith discounts will NOT be given for high gravity, willful, repeated, and failure to abate violations, or if you’ve reported a fatality, inpatient hospitalization, amputation or an eye loss.
Business Size Reductions
A maximum 70% reduction can be gained based on your company size. OSHA wanted to create a scale where they could minimize the impact to small businesses. This reduction applies to businesses with 250 or less employees total nationwide. Companies with 1-10 employees can get the 70% reduction, 11-25 employees a 60% reduction, 26-100 is 30%, and 101-250 is 10%.
Quick Fix Reductions
If you’re able to make an immediate correction to an individual violation and that correction is 1) permanent or substantial (e.g., not just moving someone out of the way), 2) not blatantly obvious (e.g., wearing a hard hat or safety glasses), and 3) not a high gravity serious/willful/repeat/failure to abate violation, you can get a 15% Quick Fix reduction. This one is applied after the good faith and history adjustments are made.
Limits of Discounts
Different discounts can be rescinded or altered depending on the circumstance or type of violation.
Repeated violations will only be reduced for size. Repeated violations can actually have their penalties increased, and those increases are also based on size.
Willful violations are only eligible for a size and history discount. Willful violations have their own size chart of reduction percentages.
Serious violations classified as higher severity/greater probability are only eligible for the size and history.
Other Penalties
OSHA has additional calculation guidelines for a number of other circumstances including:
- Unabated violations;
- Daily penalty multipliers;
- Partial abatements;
- Violation-by-violation egregious penalties;
- Multi-employer worksites;
- Federal Agency significant cases;
- Failure to post citations;
- Failure to notify authorized employees of an advance notice of inspection;
- Injury and illness reporting and recordkeeping;
- Failure to provide access to medical and exposure records;
- Failure to notify and tag; and,
- Failing to certify abatement.
You can find all of the details about these penalties and reductions in OSHA’s Field Operations Manual section on penalties.
5 Things to Look at When Hiring a Safety Compliance Consultant
You have decided to become members of a safety compliance system! No matter which safety compliance system you chose, ISNetworld® (ISN®), Avetta, PEC Safety, BROWZ, Gold Shovel Standard, or Veriforce, you chose correctly. Most likely you chose the safety compliance system for one of two reasons: first, you were required to become members and become compliant in order to keep working for your client, or two, you are being proactive and preparing your company to qualify for work for a hiring client. Regardless of your intent, you are on the right path! And by now you probably figured out this is a big task for a busy individual like yourself. So, has the thought of hiring for compliance help crossed your mind? If so, you probably asked yourself where do I start and what do I look for in a consultant? Your time is precious you have a lot to complete and people to keep safe.
Your quick guide to hiring the right consultant for your compliance assistant the first time around is within your reach.
- Financially acceptable- be don’t break the bank! Be careful! There is a wide range of pricing for exactly the same compliance service. DO YOUR RESEARCH. Get several quotes from safety service compliance companies.
- Personal Experience- Find a compliance consultant who knows ISNetworld®, Avetta, PEC, BROWZ, Gold Shovel Standard, or Complyworks.
- Quick turnaround- safety compliance services who have streamlined their processes are going to provide you with a quick turnaround. So find one who can work with your needs.
- Get a contractual agreement – just as any legitimate business your safety compliance consultant should supply you with contract/Master Service Agreement.
- Communication- many safety service companies overlook this critical element. But in relation to the sensitivity involved in the ISNetworld®, Avetta, PEC Safety, BROWZ, Gold Shovel Standard, or Complyworks accounts, it is crucial to have your safety compliance consultant communicate with you and act in your best interest. A good safety compliance consultant will troubleshoot your lower grades on a periodical basis and stay in communication with you to commit to a game plan in increasing your grades.
Ultimately seek out a Safety compliance consultant that is on top of your accounts and available to your calls. They should be capable of assisting you in growing your business through your ISNetworld®, Avetta, PEC Safety, BROWZ, Gold Shovel Standard, or Complyworks.
3 Elements of a Good Safety Program
OSHA identifies the following three main elements of an effective safety and health program.
Management Leadership
Successful programs all begin with management commitment.
There are a number of ways management can show their commitment besides financial and resource support. They can factor safety into plans and decisions of the company from construction/renovations to process changes to company policies. Management can also establish rewards and recognition programs for safety participation and achievements as well as making safety a daily part of conversations. At every company event or meeting, a moment can be made available for safety. Safety goals, expectations, achievements, and even the incidents and near misses need to be highlighted through company communication channels.
Worker Participation
Genuine worker participation efforts need to ensure workers feel comfortable about speaking up when issues are found or injuries happen.
You can encourage worker participation through involving them in program design elements, job hazard analyses, site inspections and incident investigations. Programs which allow workers to assess the safety of themselves and those around them are helpful, as are tools for reporting near misses and incidences of good safety practices.
Finding and Fixing Hazards
A strong safety program finds issues and resolves them before they become an issue.
Take a look into your incidents and determine what is the root cause of those? Are you continually having the same issues in your near misses? What are the injuries in your OSHA 300 logs? Is there a correlation? If there are similarities, then you have a place to start. Involve workers and solicit their ideas in how to make those operations safer. Is there a way to do things differently with minimal efforts and investments? Use the hierarchy of controls when determining solutions. Is there a way to remove the hazard completely? Are the controls you currently have in place working or do they need to have some reevaluation?
So How Do You Get It All Accomplished?
There are a lot of pieces that will need to be accomplished. Consider using 1 Stop Compliance as a resource for getting some of these pieces completed.
We have assisted hundreds of companies with their safety programs and have been involved in strengthening safety cultures and putting program elements in place. Not only can iSi be an extra set of hands, but sometimes in developing programs, an experienced third-party to lend ideas or even serve as a mediator can be helpful.
Why Get a Third-Party Safety Plan Review?
After you complete your safety plan, you will have the option for a third-party review. What is a third-party safety plan review and why would you need one?
Last year, OSHA citations given numbered over 3,600 related to programs. Safety plans are an important part of a company’s overall safety program and provide a handbook for how the company handles a particular safety issue. It’s one of the very first things that a compliance officer will ask to see when he/she arrives onsite, so they are a very visible part of your compliance efforts. Not only are they important to have, but how thorough and correct they are is just as important. This is where third-party reviews come in.
As a Third-party review 1 Stop Compliance can:
- Give You Another Set of Eyes, With Experienced Eyes
- Make Sure All Elements Are Covered
- Help Give You Ideas To Strengthen Your Plan (or Determine Where You May Be Over Committing)
- Provide an Extra Level of Credibility
Having an unbiased, experienced third-party review may provide additional level of credibility to help show regulators that your company wants to make the extra effort to be complete. From our experience, success with OSHA inspections and visits can be boosted by attitude towards compliance. Any time your company can show a sincere effort to do all you can to be compliant, it will appear very favorably for your company to the regulator.
OSHA Considers Good Faith Efforts in Pandemic
From the start of this world-wide pandemic, employers have faced challenging times trying to keep up with the safety of their employees, as well as OSHA regulations. With business being closed, travel restrictions, and shelter-in-place requirements, people who normally provide training or audits, inspections, and other industrial hygiene services may be limited. Employee training may also be lacking during this time due to other restrictions.
The April 16, 2020 OSHA Enforcement Memo stated:
“For example, the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine issued a recommendation that occupational spirometry testing be suspended because of concerns about spreading droplets containing the COVID-19 virus during spirometry maneuvers. In addition, the Council for Accreditation in Occupational Hearing Conservation issued a recommendation that audiometric evaluations be suspended until normal operations have resumed, in order to minimize the risk to healthcare workers and conserve personal protective equipment. “
What Happens if You’re Inspected?
If an OSHA official were to show up at your site, don’t panic. During their inspection, the workplace will be assessed for efforts to comply with standards that require annual or recurring audits, training, or other assessments. The compliance officer will determine whether the employer has made good faith efforts to be in compliance with applicable OSHA standards. If there are situations where compliance simply was not possible, it is the employer’s responsibility to ensure that employees were not exposed to hazards where they were not properly trained. Another element of the evaluation will be looking to see if all options were exhausted to try and comply with applicable standards. Was virtual training an option? Were engineering or administrative controls used? If training was scheduled, was it rescheduled?
The memo also stated:
“In instances where an employer is unable to comply with OSHA-mandated training, audit, assessment, inspection, or testing requirements because local authorities required the workplace to close, the employer should demonstrate a good faith attempt to meet the applicable requirements as soon as possible following the re-opening of the workplace. “
When Could You be Cited?
If an employer cannot show any efforts to have complied with the standard, a citation may be issued. However, if the effort was made to comply, the area officer will take the detailed notes and documentation of all efforts made into consideration during their decision to cite a violation.
Are Corrective Actions Needed?
The answer is yes! Once normal activities resume, OSHA will conduct a monitoring inspection from a random sample where violations may have been noted but not actually cited. OSHA states, “To accommodate this, CSHOs shall enter the code N-10-ABATEMENT DEFERRED in the OSHA Information System to denote such cases. Additional guidance on monitoring will be provided at a later date.” This is in effect immediately and will be until further notice.
OSHA Fines for Violating COVID-19 Protocols
Are Companies Being Fined for Violating COVID-19 Protocols?
Yes, some companies have been issued fines for not protecting their employees from getting sick. Many companies are not aware that OSHA inspections are posted publicly on their website. Just take a look at this healthcare company in Cleveland, OH that was cited by OSHA for violating respiratory protection standards after seven employees were hospitalized for coronavirus-related issues.
OSHA previously issued a statement saying that they would take into consideration the employer’s effort to comply with OSHA regulations during an inspection. This makes us believe that if an employer is making an obvious effort to comply with COVID-19 safety and health protocols, OSHA will be more understanding during an inspection. If a business is blatantly disregarding protocols, that company can expect to see some hefty OSHA fines.
What Type of OSHA Fines Could be Issued?
During an OSHA inspection, the Compliance Safety and Health Officer (CSHO), will look for violations relating to COVID-19 protocols set by OSHA and the CDC. Federal OSHA does not have a specific pandemic prevention regulation, but keeping employees safe from COVID-19 and similar pandemics does fall under OSHA’s General Duty Clause:
Under OSHA’s General Duty Clause, employers must keep employees safe from work related safety & health issues including the Coronavirus. Applicable standards also include PPE, Eye and Face Protection, Hand Protection, and Respiratory Protection standards. OSHA is advising employers to provide training to all workers with reasonably anticipated occupational exposure to COVID-19.
Pandemic Preparedness Plan
If you don’t already have a Pandemic Preparedness Plan, you need to act fast! Our Pandemic Preparedness Plan will cover the following information:
- Pandemic preparedness overview
- Employer and employee responsibilities
- Hazard recognition and exposure
- Workplace safety controls
- Procedures for identifying and isolation of potentially infectious employees
- Employee training and documentation
- Quiz
OSHA in the New Year
What Will Remain The Same
With the uncertainty of the pandemic and the ever changing status of the country, one aspect will remain constant the Occupational Safety & Health Administration’s (OSHA) mission remains “to ensure safe and healthful working conditions for working men and women by setting and enforcing standards and by providing training, outreach, education, and assistance.”
OSHA’s Annual Increase in Penalty Amounts
Until six years ago, OSHA had not raised their penalty amounts since 1990. Now, with the Inflation Adjustment Act, OSHA is required to annually adjust penalty amounts by January 15th. Fines increased by approximately 80% on August 1, 2016 and are adjusted annually moving forward. Listed below are the current OSHA penalty amounts for 2021. Please note that states that operate their own Occupational Safety and Health Plans are required to adopt maximum penalty levels that are at least as effective as Federal OSHA’s and may differ from the information stated below.
- Serious Violations – $13,653 Per Violation (Max)
- Other-Than-Serious – $13,653 Per Violation (Max)
- Posting Requirements – $13,653 Per Violation (Max)
- Failure to Abate (Fix) – $13,653 Per Violation (Max)
- Willful or Repeated – $13,653 Per Violation
The Biden Administration Is Looking To Implement OSHA Standards Focusing On:
- Heat stress
- A permeant infectious disease standard
- Tree care
- A workplace violence in health care in addition to emergency response/preparedness
How COVID-19 Safety Violations Are Being Cited Now
Under OSHA’s General Duty Clause, employers must keep employees safe from work related safety & health issues including the Coronavirus. This includes protecting workers from exposure to COVID-19 in the work environment.
Recordkeeping for COVID-19
Although the virus is affecting so many people in different ways, OSHA still considers COVID-19 to be a recordable illness, similar to all other illnesses. If you have an employee who misses work due to COVID-19, you would be responsible for recording the illness on your 300 log under the following circumstances:
- The illness is confirmed to be COVID-19
- The illness is confirmed to be work-related, meaning the employer can confirm the illness was contracted in the work environment, and not outside of work
- The illness meets the normal recording criteria under the recordkeeping standard such as medical treatment beyond First Aid, days away from work, etc.
What Else Will The Biden Administration Focus On?
The Biden Administration is expected to not only focus on developing standards, but also looking to essentially rollback requirements that were initially a part of the Trump Administration’s de-regulatory agenda. A few of the items that may be prioritized to be reviewed again includes the following:
- OSHA press releases that announce citations issued for a specific employer
- Electronic recordkeeping requirements
- Enforcement of OSHA’s anti-retaliation rule
Will there be an increase in enforcement in OSHA to ensure that the new requirements are being followed?
According to the National Employment Law Project, the number of OSHA inspections during the first three years of the Trump administration is less than any three-year period under the Obama and Bush administrations. Additionally, OSHA had the lowest number of compliance officers on staff in the last 40 years. It’s difficult to tell exactly how the Biden Administration will handle enforcement until permanent positions within OSHA are filled. In the Trump Administration, there was no head of OSHA after nominee, Scott Mungo decided to withdraw his name from consideration. The Biden Administration is also looking to restore advisory construction safety and health, maritime, and general industry safety advisory committees as an early goal so they can meet regularly and provide input. In return, this could mean added enforcement along with additional cooperative programs, alliances, and partnerships.