OSHA Penalties increased 78% August 1, 2016.

Think of your efforts here as an investment in "Penalty Prevention."
Think of your efforts here as an investment in “Penalty Prevention.”

The following is a list of the top 10 most frequently cited standards following inspections of worksites by federal OSHA for Fiscal Year 2015.

  1. 1926.501 – Fall Protection (C)
  2. 1910.1200 – Hazard Communication
  3. 1926.451 – Scaffolding (C)
  4. 1910.134 – Respiratory Protection
  5. 1910.147 – Lockout/Tagout
  6. 1910.178 – Powered Industrial Trucks
  7. 1926.1053 – Ladders (C)
  8. 1910.305 – Electrical, Wiring Methods
  9. 1910.212 – Machine Guarding
  10. 1910.303 – Electrical, General Requirements

Note,  the standards that are numbered 1926.XXX – Numbers 1. Fall protection, 3. Scaffolding, and 7. Ladders, are Construction industry, rather than General Industry. Nevertheless, Fall Protection and Ladders are relevant in our manufacturing shops as well. Source: Top Ten Standards 2015
In our work with shops involved in OSHA inspections, we have learned that failure to have documented training and evidence is the more likely to be the root cause of the citation. You must train and you must be able to provide documentary evidence of the training.
A savvy management will take steps in their shops to find and fix recognized hazards addressed in these and other standards before OSHA shows up.
 
Action Steps:

  1. Electrical-On your next walk around the shop, look for outlets and power boxes that are not in good condition and schedule their repair ASAP. If you can see wiring or damage- that is likely a violation.
  2. Machine GuardingThis is a particular area of OSHA emphasis. Are all provided guards in place, or are they being removed or defeated? Each instance would be a violation.
  3. Lockout/TagoutThis too is an OSHA emphasis and on their regulatory agenda for review. Now would be a good time to review that all affected employees have been trained. That evidence exists of that training. And that you have audited  to assure performance. (If I went into your shop and saw a machine undergoing a major changeover, would I find it locked out?)

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“In November 2015, Congress enacted legislation requiring federal agencies to adjust their civil penalties to account for inflation. The Department of Labor is adjusting penalties for its agencies, including the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
OSHA’s maximum penalties, which were last adjusted in 1990, will increase by 78%. Going forward, the agency will continue to adjust its penalties for inflation each year based on the Consumer Price Index.
The new penalties will take effect after August 1, 2016.  Any citations issued by OSHA after that date will be subject to the new penalties if the related violations occurred after November 2, 2015.” –OSHA News Release

OSHA Penalties to increase August 1, 2016. 78% increase for maximum penalties.
OSHA Penalties to increase August 1, 2016. 78% increase for maximum penalties.

Here is a schedule of the penalties from the OSHA announcement:
OSHA table
What can you do to minimize the impact of these new penalties:

  • Audit your program.
  • Audit your training.
  • Audit your records.

PMPA members that may not be aware of  all of the training that is mandated by OSHA for our shops can download our January  “Safety-Employer Musts Table” Here
Here is a link to our original post on the increase from last year

The latest Institute for Supply Management Purchasing Manager’s Index (ISM PMI) for June 2016 increased 1.9 percent from May 2016, the fourth consecutive increase  in the index and the 85th consecutive month of increase in the overall economy.
This performance is stronger than our shops are seeing, and so we hope it bodes well for  contract machining orders to pick up in the near future…

Improvement over May 2016
Improvement over May 2016

“The June PMI® registered 53.2 percent, an increase of 1.9 percentage points from the May reading of 51.3 percent. The New Orders Index registered 57 percent, an increase of 1.3 percentage points from the May reading of 55.7 percent. The Production Index registered 54.7 percent, 2.1 percentage points higher than the May reading of 52.6 percent. The Employment Index registered 50.4 percent, an increase of 1.2 percentage points from the May reading of 49.2 percent. Inventories of raw materials registered 48.5 percent, an increase of 3.5 percentage points from the May reading of 45 percent. The Prices Index registered 60.5 percent, a decrease of 3 percentage points from the May reading of 63.5 percent, indicating higher raw materials prices for the fourth consecutive month. Manufacturing registered growth in June for the fourth consecutive month, as 12 of our 18 industries reported an increase in new orders in June (down from 14 in May), and 12 of our 18 industries reported an increase in production in June (same as in May).”
“Of the 18 manufacturing industries, 13 are reporting growth in June in the following order: Printing & Related Support Activities; Textile Mills; Petroleum & Coal Products; Food, Beverage & Tobacco Products; Fabricated Metal Products; Apparel, Leather & Allied Products; Paper Products; Miscellaneous Manufacturing; Computer & Electronic Products; Chemical Products; Primary Metals; Machinery; and Nonmetallic Mineral Products. The three industries reporting contraction in June are: Electrical Equipment, Appliances & Components; Transportation Equipment; and Plastics & Rubber Products.”
Is the ISM PMI a leading indicator for our precision machining shops shipments in the short term?  In May 2016, the PMPA Business Trends Index declined 8 points or 6.6% to 114, its lowest value for the month since May 2011. A majority of respondents reported sales declines in May. We certainly hope that this ISM PMI is a leading indicator for our shops!
ISM PMI News release June 2016 PMI
ISM PMI graph courtesy Calculated Risk Blog