1 Landscaping and Horticulture Safety Introduction to OSHA

2 What is OSHA? Occupational Safety and Health Administration Responsible for worker safety and health protection Created in 1970 by the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Act

3 What Has OSHA Accomplished? Help cut the work-related fatality rate in half. Worked with employers and employees to reduce workplace injuries and illnesses by 40% Reduced trenching and excavation fatalities by 35%

4 What Does OSHA Do? Encourages employers and employees to reduce workplace hazards and implement or improve safety and health programs. Enforce safety and health standards Monitoring of job-related injuries and illness Provides assistance, training and other support programs to help employers and workers

5 OSHA Standards OSHA develops and enforces standards that employers must follow. Where OSHA does not have standards, employers are responsible for following the OSH Act's General Duty Clause.

6 General Duty Clause Section 5(a)(1) –Each employer “shall furnish to each of his employees employment and a place of employment which are free from recognized hazards that are causing or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm to his employees”

7 General Safety and Health Provisions – Housekeeping –All places of employment shall be kept clean and orderly and in a sanitary condition –Floors of all rooms shall be kept clean and dry –Aisles and passageways shall be kept clear

8 General Safety and Health Provisions – Personal Protective Equipment –PPE shall be provided, used, and maintained when it is when hazards of processes can cause injury to any part of the body –Employers shall assess the workplace and determine if hazards are present which necessitate the use of PPE, and provide workers with properly fitted PPE

9 General Safety and Health Provisions – Personal Protective Equipment –The employer shall provide training to all employees required to use PPE –Each employee should be trained to know: When PPE is necessary; What PPE is necessary; How to properly don, doff, adjust, and wear PPE; The limitations of the PPE; The proper care, maintenance, and useful life of PPE

10 General Safety and Health Provisions – Machine Guarding –Guards shall be affixed to the machine where possible and secured –The guard shall not pose a hazard in itself –Point of operation guarding shall be used where the work is actually being performed on the material processes Ex. (Shears, power saws, portable power tools)

11 General Safety and Health Provisions – Medical and First Aid –The employer shall ensure the ready availability of medical personnel for advice and consultation regarding health –In the absence of a clinic or hospital in near proximity to the workplace, a person or persons shall be trained to adequately administer first aid –First aid supplies shall be readily available

12 Recordkeeping CFR 1904 –If your company had more than 10 employees at any time during the last calendar year, you must keep OSHA injury and illness records

13 Recordkeeping CFR 1904 –You do not need to keep OSHA injury and illness records if: Your company had ten (10) or fewer employees at all times during the last calendar year –All employers covered by the OSH Act must report to OSHA any workplace incident that results in a fatality or the hospitalization of three or more employees.

14 Recordkeeping Forms

15 Recording Criteria Covered employers must record each fatality, injury, or illness that: –Is work-related, and –Is a new-case, and –Meets one or more of the criteria contained in sections through

16 Work-Relatedness A case is considered work-related if an event or exposure in the work environment: –caused or contributed to the resulting condition, or –significantly aggravated a pre-existing injury or illness, and –that the injury or illness resulted from events or exposures occurring in the work environment

17 Significant Aggravation A pre-existing injury or illness is significantly aggravated when an event or exposure in the work environment results in any of the following (which otherwise would not have occurred): –Death, –Loss of consciousness, –Days away, –days restricted, –job transfer, or –Medical treatment.

18 New Cases – A case is new if: –The employee has not previously experienced a recorded injury or illness of the same type that affects the same part of the body, or –If an exposure triggers the recurrence of an old case in which the employee had recovered completely.

19 General Recording Criteria – An injury or illness is recordable if it results in one or more of the following: –Death –Days away from work –Restricted work activity –Transfer to another job –Medical treatment beyond first aid –Loss of consciousness –Significant injury or illness diagnosed by a PLHCP

20 Workplace Inspections Establishments covered by the OSH Act are subject to inspection by OSHA compliance safety and health officers (CSHO's). Most inspections are conducted without advance notice.

21 Inspection Process CSHO displays official credentials Opening conference Walk-around inspection Closing conference

22 After Inspection OSHA may or may not issue citations Citations inform employer and employees of the regulations and standards allegedly violated and of the proposed time for abatement Employer must post a copy of each citation at or near place where violation occurred, for 3 days or until violation is corrected, whichever is longer

23 OSHA Inspection Priorities 1.Imminent danger 2.Fatalities/Catastrophes 3.Employee complaint 4.Referral from other agencies 5.Random Selection 6.Follow-up inspections

24 Multi-Employer Worksites Who should get sited? –The creating employer The employer that caused a hazardous situation that violates an OSHA standard –The exposing employer An employer whose own employees are exposed to the hazard

25 Multi-Employer Worksites Who should get cited? –The correcting employer An employer who is engaged in a common undertaking, on the same worksite, as the exposing employer and is responsible for correcting the hazard.

26 Multi-Employer Worksites Who should get cited? –The controlling employer An employer who has general supervisory authority over the worksite, including the power to correct safety and health violations itself or require others to correct them.

27 Landscaping and Horticultural Service Industry Approximately 1192 establishments with greater than 10 employees –101 establishments in OSHA region III

28 Inspection Summary (2005) 255 total inspections for all OSHA regions –18 in OSHA region III 98 planned/programmed inspections 150 un-programmed inspections –43 were result of accident –45 were result of complaints –49 were result of referrals

29 Top Ten Citations Personal Protective Equipment (51) Hazard Communication (49) 5(a)(1) - General Duty Clause (43) Vehicle-Mounted Elevating/Rotating Work Platforms (31) Eye & Face Protection (24)

30 Top Ten Citations Electric Power Gen/Tran/Dist. (22) Occupational Head Protection (17) Pulpwood Logging (17) Electrical Wiring Methods, Components (16) Fatality/Multiple Hospitalization Accident Report (10)

31 Injury Statistics (2003) All recorded cases: 11,500 Sprains, strains34.7% Fractures4.9% Cuts, punctures16.7% Bruises8.3% Multi trauma total4.6% Back pain total5.8% Back pain/hurt back Only2.2% All others22.6%

32 Sources of Injury Statistics (2003) Containers4.3% Machinery8.6% Parts and materials6.3% Worker motion11.7% Floors/Walkways19.1% Handtools14.8% Vehicle9.7% All other sources24%

33 Age Distribution 16 to 195.2% 20 to % 25 to 3430% 35 to % 45 to % 55 to 643.6%

34 Event Leading to Injury Total Contact With Objects37.7% Struck By Object22.9% Struck Against Object7.6% Caught In Object3.7% Fall to Lower Level10.2% Fall On Same Level6.7% Slips Or Trips3.0% Overexertion In Lifting9.0% Exposure to Harmful Substance4.7% Transportation Accidents7.4% All other events11.2%

35 Some Other Statistics Days away from work with injury/illness. –Highest: 24.7% 31 or more days away from work –Average days away from work: 12 days Length of service –Highest: 35.3% 1 to 5 years of service

36 OSHA Potential Hazards of Landscaping Industry Sprains and strains Electrical hazards Noise Heat stress Falls Struck-by Manual handling of landscaping tools and materials Working in proximity to overhead power lines Powered equipment such as chainsaws, chippers, and trenchers Working for extended periods of time outdoors Working from bucket trucks, working in trees Working around motor vehicles, overhead hazards