Crystalline Silica, Meeting Related, OSHA Related

April Meeting Update #2

Additional information on Silica from Bob Kunz:

“Team,

As a followed to the April 2016 SAFER meeting on Silica, please find the following:

I hope this helps answer questions”.

 

Attached is ANSI.Z87.1.2003. Table E-1 is being removed from 1926.102 at the end of the month.

SAFER wishes to thank the following people for providing great information on the latest changes to the silica standard and how to prepare and get ready to meet the new requirements that go into effect 14 months from now:

  • John Goins, OSHA Compliance Officer
  • Bob Kunz, Dimeo Construction & SAFER Chairman
  • Linda Peacock, HILTI North America

SAFER Also thanks New England Institute of Technology for providing the meeting room and GT Safety for sponsoring the continental breakfast.

The focus of the meeting was the new OSHA standards related to silica for Construction and General Industries.

Occupational Exposure to Respirable Silica – Final Rule effective 6-23-2016

Construction compliance by 6-23-2017 and General Industry  compliance by 6-23-2018

As you may be aware, OSHA published the final rule for Occupational Exposure to Respirable Silica on 3-23-2016.  OSHA has developed a web page that contains the final rule, fact sheets, question and answer white paper, for example – see link:  https://www.osha.gov/silica/index.html .

The new permissible exposure level (PEL) for construction is 50 µg/m3, which is the equivalent of 5 grains of sand in 264 gallons of water (approximately five 55 gallon drums).

We will discuss the final rule, to ensure that your firm is prepared to comply with the requirements codified within same.  Compliance with the final rule, may require:

  • Development of written plan or program
  • Employee qualification |surveillance | training
  • Equipment and tool evaluation
  • Objective data acquisition | evaluation

The increased conversation concerning silica within the community may impact insurance program considerations, as well.

 

Meeting Related, OSHA Related

March Meeting

The next meeting is Wednesday, March 2, 2016, from 8-10 am. It will be held at NEIT, 2500 Post Road, Warwick, RI. A Continental breakfast, starting at 7:30am, is sponsored by E.W. Audet & Sons.

TOPICS:

Public Agency Crisis Response

Every day there are men and women in our community that put on a uniform. They do this unselfishly, as part of a team for the benefit of our community. As part of this team, they may respond to a motor vehicle crash, a flooded basement, a lost grandparent, or even a life threatening incident. They are our public agency responders (i.e. fire fighters and police officers). This month, two agencies will pull back the curtain, to discuss several events, as follows:

Bryant University Smithfield Campus
1 Sept 2015
78,000 SF Building Under Construction Collapses
Chief Robert Seltzer, Town of Smithfield Fire Department
Chief Rick St. Sauveur, Jr., Town of Smithfield Police Department

See hyperlinks to OSHA Regional News Release and OSHA Citations (right click, then open)

URI Kingston Campus
4 April 2013
‘Active Shooter: Lessons Learned and Worksite Challenges’
Lt. Kenneth Olsen, URI Police Department

Meeting Related

February’s Meeting

February’s meeting will be held Feb 3, 2016 from 8-10am with a continental breakfast sponsored by the OSHA Providence Area Office. The topic is “OSHA Inspections and You”.
 
Please join your safety colleagues for an informative roundtable discussion pertaining to  OSHA inspections.  This informative discussion will provide foundational information and best management practices which can be applied to any industry.  The following related resources are provided by OSHA:
 
OSHA Publications –
 
As a follow up to last month’s meeting, we are very fortunate to present a guest speaker, as follows:
 
Jamie Tessler, Project Manager
Occupational Biomechanics and Ergonomics Laboratory 
Bouvé College of Health Sciences 
Northeastern University
 
Jamie, will discuss two research projects related to leadership training and subcontractor prequalification.  Both projects are funded through the CPWR.  The researcher team at Northeastern University have been involved in other CPWR research projects, for example: B-SAFE – see link to the B-SAFE manual at this location: http://www.northeastern.edu/b-safe/ .