The 2014 OSHA Oil and Gas Safety and Health Conference will take place on Dec. 2 and 3 in Houston. This semiannual conference gathers key management and executive decision makers to help industry leaders and OSHA work together to improve safety performance through cooperation, best practices, sharing knowledge, and building relationships. Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Dr. David Michaels and Director of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health Dr. John Howard will join a roster of keynote speakers, panelists and educators headlining two days of more than 70 breakout sessions reflecting the conference theme: Exploration and Production. For more information and to register, visit the conference website.

 

Compliance officers from OSHA Area Offices in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin recently went through three days of hands-on training to enhance their knowledge of crane operation in construction. The training was provided by the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 150 at the union's apprenticeship and skill improvement training site in Wilmington, Ill. Compliance officers participated in both classroom courses and field exercises to identify various types of equipment and increase their understanding of how cranes are erected, dismantled and operated. The OSHA staff also had the valuable experience of getting to operate tower and mobile cranes under the direction of the training site instructors.

To learn more about crane safety, visit OSHA’s Web page on Crane, Derrick and Hoist Safety

 

On Wednesday June 4, OSHA announced that it will convene a Small Business Advocacy Review panel to choose representatives of small entities who will provide their perspectives on a possible Infectious Diseases standard. The SBAR panel will identify small business representatives potentially affected in order to obtain their advice and recommendations about the potential impacts of the Infectious Diseases rule. The panel's written report will be made publicly available.

OSHA is considering the need for a standard to ensure that employers establish comprehensive controls to protect workers from hazardous exposures to infectious diseases on the job. The rule is intended to cover a wide range of healthcare and related workplaces including: hospitals; ambulatory care centers; long-term and home health care facilities; laboratories, and medical waste handling facilities. Representatives of small entities, including small businesses, not-for-profit entities, and local governments involved in workplaces such as those listed above who are interested in participating should contact Charles McCormick by e-mail (McCormick.Charles@dol.gov) or by phone (202-693-1740).

Stakeholder meeting scheduled to consider proposed standard to protect emergency responders

 

OSHA has scheduled an informal stakeholder meeting to gather information as it considers developing a proposed standard for emergency response and preparedness. The meeting will be held July 30 in Washington, D.C.

OSHA issued a Request for Information on Sept 11, 2007, seeking comments from the public to evaluate what action, if any, the agency should take to further address emergency response and preparedness. Recent events, including the West, Texas, explosion that killed several emergency responders, and additional information gathered in response to the RFI show that responder health and safety is an ongoing concern. For more information, see the news release and Federal Register notice. The registration deadline is July 2, 2014.

 

In 2007, NIOSH launched its national Prevention through Design initiative with the goal of "designing out" or eliminating occupational hazards to protect workers from various industries. PtD involves anticipating hazards and changing the design of facilities, work methods and operations, processes, equipment and tools to mitigate hazards that could cause illnesses or injuries.

Together with partners from government, academia, industry and labor, NIOSH has released a new report, The State of the National Initiative on Prevention through Design, on the significant progress made in minimizing worker risks through research, practice, education and policy. Read the report here. For more information on the Prevention through Design initiative, click here.