By Heidi Slinkard Brasher
In October 2011, OSHA issued its SST-11 annual inspection
plan directing the agency’s enforcement efforts toward high-hazard
workplaces (those with the highest rates of injuries/illnesses). The
SST program focuses on programmed inspections of particular
fields which are nonconstruction worksites. The SST-11 employee
threshold was lowered to 20 or more employees, down from the
previous 40 employee threshold.
If you feel as though your industry is being targeted, you may
be right. In addition to the SST-11’s random inspection of a small
list of manufacturing, nonmanufacturing and nursing and personal
care facilities categorized as high hazard workplaces, OSHA also
administers national, regional and local emphasis inspection
programs which may target your industry.
Some of those targeted on a national scale include industries,
processes or practices related to the following:
Combustible dust - including metal dust (aluminum and
magnesium), wood dust, coal and other carbon dusts, plastic
dust and additives, biosolids, organic dust (sugar, flour, paper,
soap and dried blood), and some textile materials, including
the following industries:
- Agriculture
- Food products
- Chemicals
- Textiles
- Forest and furniture products
- Metal processing
- Tire and rubber manufacturing plants
- Paper products
- Pharmaceuticals
- Wastewater treatment
- Recycling operations
- Coal handling and processing
Hazardous machinery/amputation hazards - failure to
properly use machine guarding and control associated energy
hazards when servicing or maintaining machines, including
the following industries:
- Meat packing, preparing meat products, and
slaughtering and processing
- Cheese, bread and other food production
- Logging, sawmill, planing mill, millwork, pallet and
skid, kitchen cabinet, furniture, and paper mill facilities
- Fiber boxes, plastic/foil/paper bags, and plastic products
production
- Concrete products
- Steel wiredrawing, nails and spikes, cold-rolled sheets/
strips/bars, pipe and tubes, and foundries
- Fabricated metal, plate work and metal products
- Metal work, iron and steel forgings, metal and
automotive stamping
- Dies and tools, die sets, jigs and fixtures, and industrial
molds
- Fans, blowers, air purification equipment, and heating
and air conditioning equipment
- Commercial and industrial refrigeration equipment
- Industrial and commercial machinery and equipment
- Motor vehicle parts and accessories
Lead exposure – particularly in the following workplaces:
- Construction
- General industry
- Shipyards
- Longshoring
- Marine terminals
Hexavalent chromium exposure – often found in dyes,
paints, inks and plastics; as an anti-corrosive agent added to
paint, primer, coatings; and in welding, brazing and cutting of
metals like stainless steel
Primary metal manufacturing facility exposure to
chemicals and physical stressors – particularly in workplaces
involved in smelting and refining ferrous and nonferrous
metals - refined from ore, pig and scrap during rolling,
drawing, casting and alloying metal operations, including:
- Nail or spike manufacturing
- Insulated wire and cable manufacturing
- Steel piping, sheets and bar manufacturing
- Copper and aluminum products
- Coke facilities
Process safety management (PSM)
- Chemical facilities with highly hazardous chemicals
above a certain threshold will be the target of inspection
of the facilities’ PSM-covered processes, including:
- Ammonia refrigeration
- Personal protective equipment (PPE)
- Petroleum refineries with highly hazardous chemicals
above a certain threshold will be the target of inspection
by use of a program-quality-verification (PQV)
approach, which is a global, open-ended inspection
strategy that is very resource-intensive
Trenching and excavating activities in all worksites
Recordkeeping regarding recording and reporting
of occupational illnesses and injuries - particularly for
businesses reporting low incidents despite operating in
industries with historically high incident rates