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Ron Koons is co-owner, along with his wife Sandee, of RoSaKo Safety. RoSaKo has conducted numerous presentations on safety equipment since 1993 and is known as a premier safety consulting firm in surveyor safety.
Do you have a question about OSHA compliance or safety? Email Ron Koons at rosakosafety@prodigy.net with the subject line, “POB Safety Q&A,” and he will address your question in an upcoming issue of POB. You can also find safety tips from Koons on POB’s website at www.pobonline.com.
I was speaking with a surveyor a few weeks ago and I migrated to a comment on Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s proposed silica regulations. He commented that he didn’t see how that could affect the surveying profession. After I briefly explained the proposal and what it encompassed, he quickly changed his mind.
References to the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) have been in the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations since at least 2001 and possibly earlier.
In Subpart G of the 1926 Construction Regulations, three paragraphs for Signs, Flaggers and Barricades tie OSHA directly to the MUTCD for construction activities.
I was talking with a surveyor recently just outside
his office. As we were wrapping up our conversation, one of his crew vehicles
pulled into the parking lot. Two workers got out of the van, and one opened the
passenger-side door to retrieve some equipment. What I observed about that
vehicle in just a couple of minutes could have generated both OSHA and law
enforcement citations, not to mention possible worker injuries or fatalities.
In the June 2004 issue of POB, my column focused on lone worker safety. Since that article, I have been asked questions about one-person crews at every class we conduct. I started this article after observing a one-person crew using a robotic station earlier this year.
Over
the past few months, we have assisted clients with more OSHA informal hearings
than in any similar period since our company was started 18 years ago. Regardless
of whether this represents a more aggressive stance by OSHA or just an unlucky
time for our clients, the bottom line is that being prepared can help you avoid
costly fines.
In
my June 2010 column (“OSHA goes on the offensive”), I provided an overview of
the administrative enhancements to OSHA’s penalty policy and the new OSHA
Severe Violator Enforcement Program (SVEP). The implementation of these new
programs is now beginning.
In
my October 2009 column (“Watch out for
the new OSHA”), I addressed a bill that had the potential to drastically increase
the OSHA penalty structure if passed by Congress.
The
U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration published a
revised version of the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices in the Federal
Register on Dec. 16, 2009.
Let’s face it: We had eight years of a pro-business administration at the Department of Labor. Now, for at least the next four years, look for a lot of changes within OSHA and its DOL agencies.