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E: info@FDRsafety.com

 

Occupational Safety Blog

By Jim Stanley, former No. 2 official at OSHA and President of FDRsafety


Archive for February, 2010

Opposition could be formidable to an OSHA ergonomics standard

February 19th, 2010

I wrote earlier this month that OSHA appears to be heading towards reissuing an ergonomics standard – a step that I think is ill-advised given the extensive efforts already underway in industry to address the problem and the fact that OSHA has other fish to fry.

Now it is clear that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce senses the same possibility and that the Chamber will mobilize against it.

The clue to OSHA’s thinking? OSHA gave notice that it is proposing to revise its recordkeeping regulation by restoring a column on the OSHA Form 300 to better identify work-related musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs).

“Attempts to put this recordkeeping requirement in place represent the first efforts to return to the ergonomics question,” said Marc Freedman, the Chamber’s director of labor law policy. “We will be very involved in this rulemaking as it goes forward. We have a history with this issue,” Freedman was quoted as saying in article written by Pro Publica.

The Chamber was at the forefront of opposition to an earlier OSHA attempt to issue an ergonomics standard – an attempt that was rejected by Congress in 2001. I testified before OSHA at that time against putting such a standard in place.

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Creating a world class safety program in today’s environment (‘New OSHA’) requires thinking and action outside of ‘the box’

February 17th, 2010

After many years working for OSHA, in the private sector and at FDRsafety, I have pretty much seen every type of safety program there is.

My partner at FDRsafety, Fred Rine , is one of the safety and health professionals that I have been associated with over the years that really “gets it.”

Fred is the best motivational speaker on safety I have ever heard. That’s because he speaks with workers and managers about safety awareness — not the “how” of acting safely, but the “why.” This is the most neglected topic in the safety field.

Fred’s career spans over 35 years and it documents his outstanding work ethic, dedication to success and entrepreneurial spirit. After earning a Bachelor of Science and Business Administration and a Masters of Science in Safety Management from West Virginia University, Fred began his career in 1971 as Superintendent of Safety and Plant Protection for Wheeling Pittsburgh Steel Corp.

After seven years in the steel industry, Fred moved to Roadway Express Corp. as Managing Director of Safety, Health and Fire Prevention. At that time, Roadway was the nation’s largest trucking firm and Fred’s safety program and policies led the company to improve worker and vehicle safety.

Fred RineIn 1981, he went to Federal Express Corp. where he was the Managing Director of Safety, Health and Fire Prevention. Fred directed a staff of nine managers and 90 professionals and implemented a world-class safety program, which is still in place today.

Fred’s next career move was in 1992 when he became the Vice President of Safety and Health for the National Safety Council.

After realizing the potential for safety and health consulting services, Fred founded FDRsafety in 1996. Fred’s lifelong success has been built upon his experience, leadership and business insight.

Fred took a simple philosophy – motivate employees to “want to” work safely as opposed to the traditional approach of telling them they “have to” work safely – and created a worldwide safety consulting organization.

His respect for people and passion for instilling safety as a 24-7 value resonates with everyone. Built upon 10 words, the approach is both simple and profound, and it works in any industry sector.

FDRsafety has trained over 400,000 workers and managers in safety awareness in companies across the U.S., Canada and Mexico. The training consistently gets the highest positive reviews from the workers and managers who take the course, even from attendees who initially felt that a training session on safety was the last place they wanted to spend their time.

For those who have not attended one of these sessions, I hope you have the opportunity to do so in the near future. Remember, OSHA compliance gives you just that – compliance. But FDRsafety’s safety awareness program is a foundation step for reducing risk on and off the job.

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Here we go again (on ergonomics)

February 2nd, 2010

OSHA just gave notice of what at first glance might seem to be a small step – but one that signals the beginning of a long walk down the wrong path.

OSHA’s gave notice that it is proposing to revise its recordkeeping regulation by restoring a column on the OSHA Form 300 to better identify work-related musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). OSHA says that the rule “does not change existing requirements for when and under what circumstances employers must record musculoskeletal disorders on their injury and illness logs.”

But I think this step marks the beginning of an attempt by OSHA to reissue an ergonomics standard. I anticipate that OSHA will expend huge amounts of time and money to try to promulgate a new ergonomics standard, even though a similar attempt was rejected by Congress in 2001. I testified before OSHA at that time against putting such a standard in place.

I really don’t understand why there is an interest at OSHA for an ergonomics standard when there are extensive efforts already underway in private industry to reduce/eliminate ergonomic injuries and OSHA has other items on its plate that should be higher priorities. Among them are proposed standards that have been in the works for many years and are very much needed in industry. Some examples are a confined spaces standard for construction, lockout/tagout standards for construction and revised fall protection standards for general industry.

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