TechneTrain, Inc.

OSHA Guidance and Emphasis Programs for the Nursery and Landscape Industries

July 19 2010
Obama issues memorandum on Presidential POWER Initiative: Protecting Our Workers and Ensuring Reemployment

July 7 2010
Whistleblowers.gov offers quick access to whistleblower protection information

June 21 2010
OSHA to hold additional stakeholder meeting on worker injury and illness prevention rule

June 18 2010
OSHA's severe violator enforcement directive effective June 18

June 11 2010
New OSHA training emphasizes workers rights

Training Requirements in OSHA Standards and Training Guidelines  

May 24 2010
OSHA publishes proposed rulemaking to prevent injuries form slips, trips and falls on walking-working surfaces
  

May 4 2010
US Department of Labor's OSHA holds series of stakeholder meeting on worker Injury and Illness Prevention Programs
  

April 29 2010
Statement of US Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis on Protecting America's Workers Act
  

April 27 2010
US assistant secretary of labor for OSHA to testify today on strengthening enforcement and ensuring safe workplaces for every American worker
  

April 22 2010
US Department of Labor's OSHA takes action to protect America's workers with severe violator program and increased penalties
  

April 14 2010
Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis convenes 1st every national action summit on health and safety of Latino workers
  

March 18 2010
US Department of Labor's OSHA announces informal public hearing on hazard communication in Pittsburgh on March 31
  

March 17 2010
US Assistance Secretary of labor for OSHA testifies on proposed Protecting America's Workers Act (PAWA) before House subcommittee.
  PAWA would raise penalties, strengthen workers' voices in the workplace, expand the rights of victims and their families, and provide other new rules that would grant greater power to OSHA.

March 9 2010
OSHA notifies 15,000 workplaces of high injury and illness rates
  

January 28 2010
OSHA proposes revised Recordkeeping regulation to better identify  work-related Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSD's)
  

January 27 2010
OSHA withdraws proposed rule for additional quantitative fit-testing protocols for the Respiratory Protection Standard
  

January 27 2010
OSHA releases workplace injury and illness information representing administration's "Open Government" policy
  

January 8 2010
New OSHA videos provide respirator and facemask safety guidance
  

January 7 2010
OSHA announces informal public hearing on hazard communication rule
  

November 23 2009
OSHA focuses local emphasis program on general industry establishments with noise, respiratory hazards
 

October 1 2009
OSHA issues proposed rule to adopt the Globally Harmonized Hazard Communication System.
  

September 30 2009
Notice of Injury and Illness Recordkeeping National Emphasis Program

September 15 2009
OSHA document describes silica control

September 9 2009
OSHA issues final rule updating personal protective equipment standards

February 1  2008
OSHA establishes national emphasis program on Silica

 

Recent OSHA Citations related to the Nursery and Landscape Industries

September 1 2010
U.S. Department of Labor cites Houston manufacturing company for hiding work-related injuries and illnesses; fines exceed $1.2 million. 

August 31 2010
U.S. Department of Labor fines Wisconsin company $369,500 in proposed penalties for inadequate hearing conservation program, recordkeeping and other violations.   

August 30 2010
U.S. Department of Labor cites Letart, W.Va., manufacturer for workplace safety and health hazards.  
Proposed penalties total $44,000 for 10 serious violations including inadequate hearing and respiratory programs, electrical hazards, improper use of compressed air, as well as employee exposure to silica, lead and manganese fumes...

August 26 2010
Company cited with proposed penalties of $62,200 for failure to provide reverse signal alarm on equipment amongst other safety violations.  
OSHA initiated an investigation after an employee digging a shallow ditch was struck by a tractor and pinned while backing up.  Additional violations include failure to train workers in the recognition and avoidance of hazards ...

August 25 2010
U.S. Department of Labor's OSHA cites US Postal Service in Kansas City, Kan., with $191,000 in penalties for serious and repeat safety violations.  
Violations include overall deficiencies in walking/working surfaces, fall protection, sling use, machine guarding, welding and electrical equipment...

August 23 2010
OSHA fines Karl's Event Rental $85,000 for combustible dust, electrical and other hazards. 

August 23 2010
U.S. Department of Labor fines Exeter, Pa., manufacturer $156,000 for workplace safety hazards.  
Proposed penalties total $156,000 for inadequate lockout/tagout procedure for energy sources, unguarded machinery and electrical hazards...

August 23 2010
U.S. Labor Department's OSHA fines manufacturer nearly $70,000 for worker exposure to noise, other workplace hazards. 

August 20 2010
U.S. Department of Labor proposes $350,000 in fines against US Postal Service for electrical hazards at Portsmouth, NH, mail processing facility. 

August 12 2010
U.S. Department of Labor cites AmeriCold Logistics with $189,000 in fines for serious safety violations at Burley, Idaho, facility.  
Many of the alleged violations cited were for deficiencies in Americold Logistics' process safety management program, which helps to ensure that operations involving hazardous chemicals are performed in a safe manner...

August 12 2010
U.S. Department of Labor's OSHA cites M & G Equipment Group following worker's death in Alamo, Texas. 

August 9 2010
U.S. Department of Labor cites Huntsville, Ala. plant for facility hazards.  
Proposed penalties total $191,500 for failure to provide adequate lockout/tagout procedures, machine guarding issues, obstructed exit pathways...

August 9 2010
U.S. Department of Labor's OSHA proposes $357,000 in fines against US Postal Service for electrical hazards at Boston mail processing facility. 

August 5 2010
U.S. Department of Labor's OSHA cites Matula & Matula Construction following worker death in Lake Jackson, Texas.

August 4 2010
U.S. Department of Labor's OSHA cites Jimmie Crowder Excavating and Land Clearing for endangering workers. 

July 29 2010
U.S. Labor Department's OSHA proposes $420,000 in fines against US Postal Service for electrical hazards at Vermont mail processing facility.   

July 29 2010
Noise exposure complaint leads to proposed OSHA fines of $73,500 at Marcum Transport of Verdunville, W.Va.   

July 20 2010
U.S. Department of Labor cites Legion Industries in Waynesboro, Ga., for machine guarding, inadequate safety training, electrical, chemical and other hazards. 

July 20 2010
U.S. Department of Labor proposes $112,000 in fines against Home Depot USA for chemical hazards and inadequate safety training. 

July 19 2010
U.S. Department of Labor's OSHA cites Jarden Home Brands for alleged safety violations.  
Proposed penalties totaling $197,500 were issued for electrical hazards, inadequate lockout/tagout procedures and machine guarding, training deficiencies in the use of forklift trucks...

July 12 2010
U.S. Department of Labor proposes more than $69,000 in penalties against Roll-Kraft for exposing workers to hazards.  
The steel manufacturing facility was cited for failing to provide required safety training and for not protecting workers against electrical and machine hazards...

July 12 2010
U.S. Department of Labor cites Krestmark Industries in Dallas for allegedly lacking hearing conservation program and other safety and health violations.  
A willful violation has been issued for the company's failure to institute...

July 8 2010
Repeat and serious safety hazards at 4 Xpect Discount locations in Connecticut lead to $140,000 in US Labor Department OSHA fines for Ohio retailer.  
Inspections  found safety violations related to personal protective equipment, forklift operator training, failure to maintain or certify injury and illness logs...

July 6 2010
U.S. Department of Labor files worker safety complaint against USPS.  
Complaint requests enterprise-wide remedy, a 1st...

July 12 2010
OSHA proposes $272,000 in fines against US Postal Service for exposing workers to electrical hazards at Capitol Heights, Md., facility.  
"These citations and sizable fines reflect the Postal Service's failure to equip its workers with the necessary knowledge and skills to safely work"...

June 28 2010
OSHA proposes $430,000 in fines against US Postal Service for electrical hazards at Scarborough, Maine mail processing facility.   "
The Postal Service knew that proper and effective training was needed for the safety of its workers but did not provide it."...

June 15 2010
Employer ordered by US Department of Labor to make amends to employee censured for reporting work-related injury. 

June 8 2010
OSHA fines US Postal Service nearly $500,000 for exposing workers to electrical hazards at two Philadelphia facilities. 
 OSHA's inspections found inadequately trained employees performing work without the proper personal protective equipment while being exposed to live parts...

May 26 2010
OSHA orders United Parcel Service to compensate driver terminated for refusing to drive due to safety concerns. 
OSHA investigated the employee's allegation that UPS terminated his employment in retaliation for his refusal to drive after raising safety concerns and has ordered UPS to pay $111,008...

May 20 2010
OSHA finds CSX Transportation Inc. retaliated against dispatcher who reported safety concerns. 
The rail carrier was ordered to rescind discipline and pay worker $5,000 in punitive damages...

May 10 2010
OSHA finds Port Authority Trans-Hudson Corp. violated whistleblower law. 
  A whistleblower investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration found that the company violated an employee's rights when he was absent from work while recovering from an injury...

May 10 2010
US Department of Labor's OSHA fines US Postal Service processing center $210,000 for safety violations. 
  OSHA's inspection found that the postal service failed to provide required electrical safety training for its workers; to ensure workers used safety-related work practices while working on electrical equipment; and to provide workers with appropriate personal protective equipment while working on energized equipment...

May 10 2010
US Department of Labor's OSHA proposes $217,000 in fines against US Postal Service for electrical hazards at Denver mail processing facility. 
  OSHA's inspection found that employees were performing testing on live electrical equipment and doing so without adequate training, personal protective equipment and safety-related work practices...

May 6 2010
US Department of Labor's OSHA cites Varney, W.Va., lumber company for failing to abate workplace safety and health hazards. 
  OSHA has cited Pineville Lumber Inc. for five violations, proposing penalties totaling $189,730.  OSHA's inspection found failure to properly train workers operating powered industrial trucks, to properly guard machinery, to provide an adequate hearing conservation program, to complete required injury and illness logs...

April 28 2010
US Department of Labor's OSHA fines Lowe's Home Center $110,000 for recordkeeping violations at Cincinnati and Dayton stores. 
  OSHA requires employers to record and maintain occupational injuries and illnesses on the OSHA 300 log.  "Accurate records are an important tool that employers and workers can use to identify hazards in the workplace, and they also enable OSHA to better target its resources."...

April 19 2010
OSHA proposes $64,000 against Elk Grove, Ill.-based Ceva Freight for forktruck-related safety violations. 
 An inspection revealed that the company allegedly did not ensure that industrial trucks were properly inspected before use and for failing to provide legible name plates on the trucks.  Additionally, the company failed to provide proper load backrest extensions and to take trucks with safety defects out of service.  The company has also been cited for failure to record injury and illness logs on the OSHA 300 form and to provide those forms to OSHA when requested...

April 19 2010
OSHA proposes $130,800 in fines for Yonkers, NY, woodwork manufacturer for fire, chemical and amputation hazards. 
 An employee sustained a partial hand amputation on an unguarded radial arm saw.  The ensuing OSHA inspection found that the blades on this and other saws lacked the guarding designed to prevent this type of accident.  In addition, OSHA identified a range of mechanical, chemical and fire hazards, including the accumulation of combustible wood dust...

April 14 2010
US Department of Labor's OSHA proposes $61,500 in penalties against Fleetpride Inc. for safety violations. 
  An OSHA inspection alleges that the company had damaged, inoperable emergency lighting; exit signs not illuminated; and a damaged fall protection lanyard not taken out of service.  The company was also cited for improper personal protective equipment, no hazard assessment certification, no personal protective equipment training certification and no cover on an electrical box...

March 26 2010
OSHA cites Fort Worth, Texas-based FWT Inc. for alleged workplace safety and health violations.
  Proposed penalties total $239,400 for OSHA citations that include failure to conduct noise monitoring, to identify and evaluate respiratory hazards...

March 17 2010
OSHA cites Pecos, Texas, manufacturing facility for alleged safety and health hazards.
  OSHA has cited TransPecos Foods in Pecos for alleged workplace safety and health violations following an inspection at the company's facility on East Palmer Road.  Proposed penalties total $69,650 for failing to protect employees from exposed electrical wires, to provide forklift inspections, to protect workers from rotating parts, to provide a wash station for employees during the use of corrosive chemicals and to train employees on hazard communication...

March 17 2010
OSHA fines Allentown, Pa., company $101,700 for failing to abate workplace safety and health hazards.
  OSHA has cited COMPUSPAR USA Inc. for failing to abate previously cited workplace safety and health violations, including failure to maintain OSHA 300 logs; to develop and implement a hazard communication program; to train employees on hazardous chemicals...

February 18 2010
OSHA cites Cranesville Block Co. for safety and health hazards at Kingston, NY, plant.
  OSHA has proposed $45,500 in fines for alleged violations of health and safety standards after an inspection prompted by employee complaints.  Specific hazards included blocked exits, workers lacking safety glasses and gloves when working with acid, unlabeled containers of hazardous chemicals, unmarked electrical equipment, exposed live electrical parts and moisture in electrical equipment...

January 27 2010
OSHA proposing more than $135,000 in penalties against Atlanta stone countertop manufacturer for health hazards. 
Investigations reveal exposure of workers to excess amounts of silica by not fully implementing a respiratory protection program, failing to fully implement a hearing conservation program and failing to establish a written hazard communication program...

December 10 2009
OSHA proposes more than $266,000 in penalties against manufacturer following worker amputations.
  Crespac Inc. in Tucker, Ga., was cited for failure to ensure that all machines had proper safety guards, functional emergency stop cords, usable safety interlock switches, slippery and wet floors, lack of safety guards, machines with broken parts, employee exposure to electrical shocks and hazardous chemicals, insufficient respirator program....

December 8 2009
OSHA fines Newark, NJ company more than $212,000 for workplace safety and health hazards.
  OSHA initiated an inspection as part of its proactive program targeting companies in industries with high injury and illness rates.  The company allegedly lacked an adequate lockout procedure and machine guards, amongst other serious violations....

December 1 2009
OSHA proposes $58,100 in fines against Plainville, Mass., manufacturer after worker loses tip of finger.
  Dale Medical Products Inc. faces fines after worker's finger was pinched by a heat seal bar used to seal plastic bags....

November 20 2009
OSHA cites Washington, Ga., manufacturer for serious safety and health violations following worker's partial amputation.
  OSHA has proposed $41,700 in fines to Calloway Farms Manufacturing after a worker slipped and suffered a partial amputation to both feet while trying to remove an obstruction from a shaving machine. The violations include the employer failing to provide workers with a written bloodborne pathogens program and training...

October 28 2009
OSHA proposes more than $42,000 in fines against New Balance Athletic Shoe for electrical hazards at distribution center.
  OSHA's inspection found unqualified employees working on electrical panels that had not first been de-energized to prevent electric shock hazards.  In addition, the workers had not been trained in safe electrical work practices, including the use of personal protective equipment...

October 27 2009
OSHA cites Crane and Grain Service LLC for violations of the OSH Act.
  The alleged serious violations stem from the employer using a flexible cord that was not properly wired, improper use of ladders that were damaged and lack of ladder training...

October 22 2009
OSHA proposes nearly $113,000 in fines for electrical and other hazards at armored car facility.
  The employers face penalties, chiefly for electrical-related hazards, following OSHA inspections opened in April in response to a complaint...

October 9 2009
OSHA cites chemical recycling company following a fatality at Port Arthur, Texas, worksite.
  OSHA began its investigation following the death of a worker who was exposed to hydrogen sulfide.  A willful citation was issued for failing to provide a rescue team to promptly respond to an emergency when workers enter a confined space...

October 7 2009
OSHA cites Hingham, Mass., contractor for silica hazards on bridge restoration in Melrose, Mass.
  Crystalline silica, a basic component of soil, sand, granite and many other minerals, can be inhaled when workers chip, cut, drill or grind objects that contain the substance.  It has been classified as a human carcinogen, and breathing...

October 1 2009
OSHA issues proposed rule to adopt the Globally Harmonized Hazard Communication System.
  A proposed rule to align the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's Hazard Communication Standard (HCS) with provisions of the United Nations Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GCS) ...

September 30 2009
Notice of Injury and Illness Recordkeeping National Emphasis Program

September 29 2009
OSHA levies nearly $295,000 in fines against Superior Dairy in Canton, Ohio.
  Hazards identified as serious violations include electrical problems, safety guarding of moving machinery parts, energy lockout deficiencies and confined space entry violations ...

September 23 2009
OSHA cites Toys R Us for exit access hazards at Bay Parkway store in Brooklyn, N.Y.
  OSHA's inspection found hazards that could impede the swift exit of workers from the store in the event of a fire or other emergency.  These included obstructed exit access, missing or defective exit doors, an exit door that was painted over and could not be opened, improper or inadequate signage, employees not trained in fire extinguisher use and all fire extinguishers not kept in their required locations ...

September 15 2009
OSHA document describes silica control.
  A guidance document has been recently published by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration that addresses the control of worker exposure to dust containing crystalline silica, known to cause the lung disease silicosis...

September 9 2009
OSHA issues final rule updating personal protective equipment standards.
  The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) today published in the Federal Register a final rule revising the personal protective equipment (PPE) sections of standards concerning requirements for eye- and face- protective devices, and head and foot protection ...

September 1 2009
Company's failure to correct safety hazards results in additional $304,200 in fines from US Labor Department's OSHA.
  Heberle Disposal Service Inc. faces an additional $304,200 in fines for failing to correct hazards cited during an inspection.  A follow up inspection found that five of the 12  cited hazards remained uncorrected: improper transfer of flammable liquids; not ensuring employees were competent to operate powered industrial trucks; not informing and training employees about the hazardous chemicals in their workplace; allowing spark-producing equipment near flammable paint spray areas; and not determining an employee's medical fitness to wear a respirator ...

August 7 2009
OSHA levies $58,500 in proposed penalties against U.S. Postal Service in Eau Claire, Wis.
  OSHA found alleged safety violations including failure to provide powered industrial vehicle refresher training and failure to ensure that workers performed daily examinations of industrial trucks prior to the trucks being placed into service...

July 30 2009
OSHA cites company following fatality at Lincoln, Neb., worksite.
  OSHA's investigation into a fatal accident where a worker fell from an elevated platform that was affixed to a skid steer loader to the concrete below found two alleged serious violations of the OSH Act.  The alleged serious violations stem from a lack of employee training and the employer altering equipment to accommodate personnel lifting without evaluating the equipment's ability to support the alteration...

July 28 2009
OSHA levies $85,360 in proposed penalties to Dehler Manufacturing for workplace health violations.
  OSHA opened its inspection in February after receiving a health hazard evaluation report form the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).  The ensuing inspection revealed hazards cited as serious which are associated with hearing damage, lack of personal protective equipment, potential exposure to hazardous chemicals and the lack of a hazard communication program.  Other violations address problems with the respirator program, lack of medial evaluation and ...

July 6 2009
OSHA proposes $189,000 in penalties against Montgomery, Ala., pallet manufacturer for safety and health violations.
  OSHA is issuing 30 safety and health citations against Kopac International Corp., which does business as Southeast Pallet and Box in Montgomery, Ala.  The penalties follow inspections that uncovered numerous workplace violations, including failure to establish a testing program for noise exposure, to institute a training program on the hazards of noise exposure, and to implement controls to reduce the level of exposure.  Other violations are being proposed against the company for exposing employees to unsanitary conditions, electrical hazards, failure to implement a hazard communication program...

 

Click below to see TechneTrain Articles related to safety in the Nursery and Landscaping Industries

 

Links              Contact Us

TechneTrain, Inc. 140 Wooster Pike Milford OH 45150 (513) 248-0028