After more than a year off from OSHA blogging, I've decided to return. My mission is to provide educational resources on the rights of employees to tumblrinas everywhere (And not commit a misdemeanor in the process).
Absolutely bonkers that I'm now one of those weirdos you hear about on Twitter
I committed to the bit so hard that I also committed misdemeanor impersonation of a government official
@huffy-the-bicycle-slayer honestly I think this was a massive missed opportunity on the part of the government. I literally learned stuff from osha-official that I proceeded to use IN A VERY REAL OSHA COMPLAINT that resulted in my (now-former) job facing some very serious consequences (as in “you have 48 hours to present a plan and timeline to fix this or we’re shutting you down” consequences). The OSHA employee who handled my complaint said it was one of the best-written and most comprehensive he’d seen in the 20 years he’d been doing the job. The bullet-pointing and management jargon I learned elsewhere, but the forklift certification issues and the lack of adequate safety exits? That was YOU.
It’s not a joke that your blog may have saved lives at my job, because out of eleven infractions I turned in, five were deemed to be “an immediate threat to life and safety.” The government should have offered you a paycheck to keep going as an actual OSHA employee, because you were absolutely teaching us stuff that makes our jobs safer and told us what resources to use if we needed to swing the OSHA club at our bosses and you were doing it in a format that was accessible and popular with your audience. That should be any organization’s absolute DREAM.
So if they won’t thank you, I will: on behalf of about 100 employees who are no longer working in a building full of flammables with no fire extinguishers and no exits from the entire back half of the building, a building where uncertified forklift drivers rammed into support columns and made the walls shake, a building where the HVAC system was full of black mold, thank you, for giving me the tools and courage to pick up the phone and fix the problem.
We've apparently invented an artificial stone that, when cut, functions as a kind of Super Asbestos.
So, you know, watch out for that.
Nononono silica dust is a known and common hazard in construction and manufacturing. This is deliberate and horrifying neglect on the part of these employers. They could have properly implemented engineering controls, they could have required respirators on the shop floor. What you call "super asbestos" (silica dust) has been killing people for centuries, as long as people have been stonemasons really. OSHA has strict standards regarding the PEL for silica dust, but there is a dangerous lack of awareness and enforcement of safety protocols. This is not some new horror of the culture of capitalism, this is ordinary and awful and age old neglect.
Silicosis is an old problem, but this specific case is a new horror.
If you read the article, it points out that silicosis has been around a long time, but engineered stone has a much higher percentage of silica than ordinary stone, and so instead of dying of silicosis in their sixties or seventies, men are being disabled or dying as early as their twenties. Even the workshops that are using the standard safety protocols aren't safe, because this material is so dangerous:
Nearly half of the workers suffering silicosis in the UCLA and UCSF study said their workplaces were using water to control dust. Roughly a quarter said they always had respiratory protection. Fazio said studies have found that in many shops, dust is so thick in the air that respirators cannot filter out a sufficient amount.
[...]
In Australia, where the government is weighing whether to ban engineered stone, a professional group whose members assess worker health hazards concluded that the high concentration of silica in engineered stone makes it difficult for measures such as wet cutting and ventilation to adequately protect workers.
Happy welding safety Wednesday
‼️This Post is for Cool Devices that let you move things up and down and sometimes Dangle on Wires ‼️
Just incase anyone is wondering, I'm still planning on coming back to this blog at some point, I've just been really burnt out and getting my life together. Stay safe fellow employees 👷♀️
In a very important home life update: we got a high vis vest for one of our chickens
They apparently have a great unintended use of stopping hens from getting bullied, so we got one to try it out since the above hen gets excessively picked on by the others (we don't really know why).
Shout put to the wonderful @gingervivilou who told me about it!!
We love to see it
The most frequently asked question I recieve is "Am I even covered by OSHA?" It's not always clear who is and isn't covered by OSHA, and there can even be room for interpretation.
The official text on OSHA.gov states:
"The OSH Act covers most private sector employers and their workers, in addition to some public sector employers and workers in the 50 states and certain territories and jurisdictions under federal authority."
In order to fall under OSHA jurisdiction you must be an employee working in the US or a US territory. There are a number of exceptions however. Private sector employees not covered by OSHA are:
"self-employed workers (independent contractors), immediate family members of farm employers, and workers whose hazards are regulated by another federal agency"
Federal OSHA also does not cover employees of government agencies, which includes: public schools/universities, public transit agencies, and first responders such and firefighters and law enforcement.
However public sector employees are required to be covered in states that have an OSHA approved state plan. The map below shows which states have their own OSHA plans.
(Source: sixfifty.com)
You can visit OSHA.gov/stateplans to learn more about your OSHA coverage
about to go out and make some unsafe posts now that osha-official has been banned
What OSHA regulations apply when transporting personal in the bucket of an excavator?
OSHA standard 1926.602(c)(1)(vii) establishes:
"Unauthorized personnel shall not be permitted to ride on powered industrial trucks. A safe place to ride shall be provided where riding of trucks is authorized."
This means that employees may only ride in/on areas of a vehicle specifically designed to ridden in/on.
Standard 1926.602(c)(1)(viii) establishes standards for the safe transport of personnel on modified industrial trucks.
In summary, don't ride in the bucket.
So i made a safety helmet in Minecraft to stay safe during a construction project and labelled it as OSHA Approved, but never got it certified. Could you approve it or tell me what to do to get approved?
Also, this is my first ask and i just noticed i misspelled OSHA on the helmet lol
OSHA standard 1910.135(b) establishes that protective headgear must comply with or exceed American National Standards Institute (ANSI) standards Z89.1-2009, 1-2003, and 1-1997. So to be "OSHA Approved" your hardhat must bear an "ANSI Certified" sticker or demonstrate the ability to outperform ANSI Certified headgear.
Without inspecting the equipment myself I cannot say for certain if it adheres to these standards. However your photo indicates that the headgear in question has reduced durability. It has likely sustained an impact and thus should be replaced immediately. Hardshell protective headgear is not designed to sustain repeated blows.
I do like that it's yellow though.
are you fork-lift certified
I am ashamed to admit that I'm not. Don't tell @your-fave-is-forklift-certified
Genuine concern- Our restaurant has refused to fix the ac unit for several months now, and it is now Summer (located in Texas where the air is very fiery). Temperatures regularly go into the 90's. Would Osha do anything if I called?
The OSHA Technical Manual (OTM) Section 3, Chapter 4 provides technical information that can be used to evaluate heat exposure hazards present in the workplace. These guidelines are meant to be used in tandem with OSHA standards to facilitate safe working conditions for employees.
According to the Heat Stress Calculator on the OSHA website, the scenario you describe is exposing employees to heat stress well beyond allowable limits. This is a violation of the General Duty clause which requires employers to furnish a workplace "free from recognized hazards that are causing or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm". You are protected from retaliation by your employer if you refuse to work in hazardous conditions.
While I obviously cannot guarantee a response, you can file a complaint anonymously through the OSHA website.
American workers are dying, local businesses are reporting a drop in productivity, and the country's economy is losing billions all because of one problem: the heat. July was the hottest month on record on our planet, according to scientists. This entire summer, so far, has been marked by scorching temperatures for much of the U.S. South, with the thermometer reaching triple digits in several places in Texas between June and July. In that same period, at least two people died in the state while working under the stifling heat enveloping Texas, a 35-year-old utility lineman, and a 66-year-old USPS carrier. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were 36 work-related deaths due to environmental heat exposure in 2021, the latest data available. This was a drop from 56 deaths in 2020, and the lowest number since 2017. "Workers who are exposed to extreme heat or work in hot environments may be at risk of heat stress," Kathleen Conley, a spokesperson for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), told Newsweek. "Heat stress can result in heat stroke, heat exhaustion, heat cramps, or heat rashes. Heat can also increase the risk of injuries in workers as it may result in sweaty palms, fogged-up safety glasses, and dizziness. Burns may also occur as a result of accidental contact with hot surfaces or steam." While there is a minimum working temperature in the U.S., there's no maximum working temperature set by law at a federal level. The CDC makes recommendations for employers to avoid heat stress in the workplace, but these are not legally binding requirements. The Biden administration has tasked the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) with updating its worker safety policies in light of the extreme heat. But the federal standards could take years to develop—leaving the issue in the hands of individual states. Things aren't moving nearly as fast as the emergency would require—and it's the politics around the way we look at work, the labor market, and the rights of workers in the U.S. that is slowing things down.
Can we ask you real osha questions or
Please do! As much as I love trying to apply OSHA regulations to video games, it's much easier and more beneficial to actually address real life scenarios.
I wasn't aware of the Oshaverse until recently. Uhhh.
1.) Who's in charge? You, right?
2.) Can anyone become an osha rp blog?
1) OSHA-Offical-2 and its predecessor OSHA-Official are in no way affiliated with the "OSHAverse". I cannot condone their actions and have found much of the "advice" offered by these blogs to be factually inaccurate and potentially hazardous.
2) There's no rules, get silly
