The next SAFER meeting will be held Oct 3, 2018 from 8-10 am at the New England Institute of Technology, 2490 Post Road, Warwick, RI in the Hall of Fame room.

From Bob K:  Team SAFER, we hope you enjoyed the last few weeks of summer!  As we move into the last quarter of 2018, we should take stock of our work to complete and develop an executable plan to ensure that the work is completed safely, productively and with the quality expected by the owner. 

Employers have an enormous amount of responsibility, perhaps the greatest, is the assessment of qualification, training and delegation of authority to supervisors.  But wait….

What is a supervisor and what is their role in safety?

To answer the second part of the question, we have invited Joe Werbicki to present “The Supervisor’s Role in Safety” – here are a few keys points:

     – People do what is expected of them.  It is the Supervisor’s job to set the standards.

     – The role of a supervisor is critical in engaging the workforce in safety

     – Safety is everyone’s job, not just the safety staff

     – People deserve to know the hazards of their jobs before they can perform the job

       safely

As for the definition, I can only provide resources to support your quest for information, as follows:

For a copy of the 29 CFR part 1926 published in 2017 – see this link: https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/granule/CFR-2017-title29-vol8/CFR-2017-title29-vol8-part1926 .  When you open the page scroll down to yellow highlighted section.  Open the .pdf document and search for supervisor.  It appears 57 times……do you have a better understanding?

The Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC) provides the following definitions:

The Commission [OSHRC] has long recognized that “an employee who has been delegated authority over other employees, even if only temporarily, is considered to be a supervisor” for the purpose of establishing knowledge.  Access Equip. Sys., 18 BNA OSHC at 1726, 1999 CCH OSHD at p. 46,782.  In deciding whether an employee qualifies as a supervisor, “[i]t is the substance of the delegation of authority that is controlling, not the formal title of the employee having this authority.”  Dover Elevator Co., 16 BNA OSHC 1281, 1286, 1993 CCH OSHD ¶ 30,148, p. 41,480 (No. 91-862, 1993).

In Daniel International Corp. v. OSHRC, 683 F.2d 361 (11th Cir. 1982), the court held, in considering a UEM defense, that an employee’s “position as leadman did not place him in a supervisory role,” such that his noncompliance with a safety rule suggested lax enforcement of such rules.  683 F.2d at 365.  But Daniel is factually distinguishable from the present matter.  Unlike Assistant General Superintendent Garcia’s actions here, the supervisor in Daniel did not delegate his authority to the “leadman” while he was away from the worksite, nor did the crew consider the leadman to be in charge.  Rather, the supervisor in Daniel gave detailed instructions directly to the crew, personally oversaw the first part of the task he had assigned, and then remained onsite, sitting at a desk located only about ninety feet away from the work area.  Id. at 362-63, 365.  In these circumstances, we conclude that Eleventh Circuit precedent does not preclude us from imputing Coll-Gonzales’s knowledge here. 

An employer is chargeable with knowledge of conditions which are plainly visible to its supervisory personnel.  A.L. Baumgartner Construction Inc., 16 BNA OSHC 1995, 1998 (No. 92-1022, 1994).  “Because corporate employers can only obtain knowledge through their agents, the actions and knowledge of supervisory personnel are generally imputed to their employers, and the Secretary can make a prima facie showing of knowledge by proving that a supervisory employee knew of or was responsible for the violation.”  Todd Shipyards Corp., 11 BNA OSHC 2177, 2179 (No. 77-1598, 1984). See also Dun Par Engineered Form Co., 12 BNA OSHC 1962 (No. 82-928, 1986)(the actual or constructive knowledge of an employer’s foreman can be imputed to the employer).

An employee who has been delegated authority over another employee, even if only temporarily, is considered to be a supervisor for purposes of imputing knowledge to an employer.  Tampa Shipyards, Inc., 15 BNA OSHC 1533 (Nos. 86-360 and 86-469, 1992).

Here are some information and standards that speak to employer responsibility:

https://www.osha.gov/as/opa/worker/employer-responsibility.html

https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/regulations/standardnumber/1926/1926.20

https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/regulations/standardnumber/1926/1926.21

And some additional resources:

OSHA Recommended Practices for safety and Health Programs –

https://www.osha.gov/shpguidelines/

Safety and the Supervisor-

https://osha.oregon.gov/edu/Documents/workshop-materials/1-160i.pdf

Hope to see you on the 3^rd.

Regards,

 

LOCATION CHANGE NOTICE:

The next SAFER meeting will be held on September 5, 2018 from 8-10 AM. It will be located at New England Institute of Technology, Room CT322, 2490 Post Road, Warwick, RI.

From Bob Kunz:

Team,

Where did the summer go? Please join us next Wednesday to kickoff the 2018-19 SAFER information sharing gatherings.

What lessons did you learn? How did you sell safety to your management team? To your field crews? How can we support your pursuit of 2018 goals? What did you do to grow professionally?

See you at the round table.

PS we are always looking for sponsors.

Bring a friend-Bring a story.

The next meeting is May 2, 2018 at 8am and it will be held at NEIT. Cardi Corporation will provide the coffee and calories.

From Bob Kunz:

Team SAFER,

OSHA 29 CFR 1910.38 (General Industry) and 29 CFR 1926.35 (Construction) outline requirements for emergency action plans. The Providence Fire Department provides for the protection of human life and property from fire and other disasters, either natural or man-made, through fire safety education, the development, and enforcement of fire codes, provision of emergency medical services and suppression of fire, for example.

The staff and partners at your facility and or construction project may have knowledge and equipment that may be critical to protect the lives of the responders, required for the successful rescue of workers and mitigation of property loss including adjacencies. So how do you fit in…..

Please join us for an informative discussion concerning National Incident Management System (NIMS) including without limitation unified command.

Mike Dillon (retired Chief PFD) is the guest speaker.

See you on Wednesday morning.

Regards,

The next meeting will be held March 7, 2018 from 8:00-10:00 am at the New England Institute of Technology, 2nd Floor, Hall of Fame Room, 2490 Post Road, Warwick, RI. The NELHSF is sponsoring the calories and coffee.

From Bob Kunz:

Team SAFER,

We hope that you had an incident free February!  Keep your eye on the weather towards the end of the week – check out www.windy.com for weather forecast information.  Windy.com even has a smartphone app, which is great for both, personal and professional activity (e.g. wind gusts, wave heights).

We have an exciting program. The program will be presented by Dr. Noell Woolley, of the New England Laborers Health and Safety Fund (NELHSF). Here is the agenda:

8:00 am – 8:15 am Introduction

8:15 am – 8:20 am Jane’s words of wellness wisdom

8:20 am – 8:30 am RIDOH Mental Health Wellness Toolkit distribution

8:30 am – 10:00 am Marijuana in the Workplace.

Please RSVP by accepting the meeting email or emailing bkunz@dimeo.com with SAFER in subject line.

This Wednesday, Feb 7th,  we will be tackling a difficult subject.  A subject that requires all of our attention and understanding.  Together, we can make a difference.  On Wednesday, Mr. Travis Vendetti from the RI Department of Health Violence & Injury Prevention Program along with 2 clinical social workers will be providing QPR training.

QPR stands for Question, Persuade, and Refer — the 3 simple steps anyone can learn to help save a life from suicide.

Just as people trained in CPR and the Heimlich Maneuver help save thousands of lives each year, people trained in QPR learn how to recognize the warning signs of a suicide crisis and how to question, persuade, and refer someone to help. Each year thousands of Americans, like you, are saying “Yes” to saving the life of a friend, colleague, sibling, or neighbor.

Each of you will be provided with takeaway materials and kit to take with and use at their company, etc.

The sooner we get the word out the better.

The meeting will be held from 8-10 am in the Hall of Fame Room at the New England Institute for Technology, 2490 Post Road, Warwick, RI 02886.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact myself.