Longer daylight hours + more work hours = addition risk.
If your crew is required to work into the late evening-Take a break, step back and regroup after your first 8 hours of production, have a safety stand down or a safety circle mid afternoon . Stretch and flex mid day to get out of the equipment and get leg circulation going. Communication is key- Tell your Foreman if you cannot make it till later in the day. I would rather you walk away than be unsafe!
Near miss reporting has started, please feel free to stop production for a minute speak to your foreman and report near miss report in as soon as it happens. You can also send me a text or email. We learn from near misses and when they are communicated as a safety alert they prevent the next accident.
OSHA Penalties
These are the types of violations that may be cited and the penalties that may be proposed:
- Other-Than-Serious Violation — A violation that has a direct relationship to job safety and health, but probably would not cause death or serious physical harm. OSHA may assess a penalty from $0 to $1,000 for each violation. The agency may adjust a penalty for an other-than-serious violation downward by as much as 95 percent, depending on the employer’s good faith (demonstrated efforts to comply with the Act), history of previous violations, and size of business
- Serious Violation — A violation where there is a substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result. OSHA assesses the penalty for a serious violation from $1,500 to $7,000 depending on the gravity of the violation. OSHA may adjust a penalty for a serious violation downward based on the employer’s good faith, history of previous violations, and size of business.
- Willful Violation — A violation that the employer intentionally and knowingly commits. The employer is aware that a hazardous condition exists, knows that the condition violates a standard or other obligation of the Act, and makes no reasonable effort to eliminate it. OSHA may propose penalties of up to $70,000 for each willful violation. The minimum willful penalty is $5,000.
An employer who is convicted in a criminal proceeding of a willful violation of a standard that has resulted in the death of an employee may be fined up to $250,000 (or $500,000 if the employer is a corporation) or imprisoned up to 6 months, or both. A second conviction doubles the possible term of imprisonment.
- Repeated Violation — A violation of any standard, regulation, rule, or order where, upon reinspection, a substantially similar violation is found and the original citation has become a final order. Violations can bring a fine or up to $70,000 for each such violation within the previous 3 years. To calculate repeated violations, OSHA adjusts the initial penalty for the size and then multiplies by a factor of 2, 5, or 10 depending on the size of the business.
- Failure-to-Abate — Failure to correct a prior violation may bring a civil penalty of up to $7,000 for each day that the violation continues beyond the prescribed abatement date.