Top ten OSHA violations cited by NCDOL during year ... [2009]

Personal Protective Equipment Personal protective equipment (PPE) is designed to protect employees from serious workplace injury or illness resulting from contact with chemical, radiological, physical, electrical, mechani¬ cal, or other workplace hazards that cannot be eliminated. PPE is a supplementary form of protection when hazards have not been controlled through engineering or administrative controls. Aren ’t all hard hats the same? No. You must wear the right hat for the job. All hard hats approved for electrical work made since 1997 are marked “Class E.” Hard hats made before 1997 are marked “Class B.’’ These markings will be on a label inside the helmet or stamped into the helmet itself. Newer hats may also be marked “Type 1” or “Type 2.” Type 1 hard hats protect you from impacts on the top of your head. Type 2 hard hats protect you from impacts on the Head Protection top and sides of your head. Classes of Hard Hats Class G (formerly Class A) »> General service (e.g., mining, building construction, ship¬ building, lumbering and manufacturing). ♦> Good impact protection but limited voltage protection. Class E (formerly Class B) ♦> Electrical work. •> Protects against falling objects and high-voltage shock and burns. Hazard — Improper Grounding: May allow a person contact with energized circuit or equipment. Never use a three- prong grounding plug with the third prong bro¬ ken off. 1910.304(g)(5): The path to ground from circuits, equipment, and enclosures shall be permanent, continuous, and effective. Exits and Egress Hazard Control •> Controls to ensure proper and safe means of egress include: • Minimum access to exit width of 28 inches. • Generally, two exits should be provided. • Exits and access to exits must be marked. Means of egress, including stairways used for emergency exit, should be free of obstructions and adequately lit; where applicable, exits with wheelchair access should be designated. •> Employees must be aware of exits and trained in evacuation procedures. The floor plan of a multi¬ story building should show location of stairways and elevators. Plan must indicate that stairs, not elevators, are the appropriate means of exit in case of emergency. Assembly Area ® You are here Photo Source [floorplanj : http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/etooh/evacuation/floorplanjlemo.html Class C ♦> Designed for comfort; offers limited protection. •I* Protects heads that may bump against fixed objects, but does not protect against falling objects or electrical shock. ❖ The department has many publications that will assist you in addressing hazards in your workplace. Please visit: www.nclabor.com/pubs.htm Occupational Safety and Health Sources of Information You may call 1-800-NC-LABOR to reach any division of the N.C. Department of Labor; or visit the NCDOL home page on the World Wide Web: http://www.nclabor.com. Occupational Safety and Health Division Mailing Address: 1101 Mail Sendee Center. Raleigh. NC 27699-1 101 Office Location: 111 Hillsborough St. (Old Revenue Building, 3rd Floor) Telephone: (919) 807-2900 Fax: (919) 807-2856 For information concerning education, training and interpre¬ tations of occupational safety and health standards, contact: Education, Training and Technical Assistance Bureau Mailing Address: 1101 Mail Sendee Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-1 101 Office Location: 111 Hillsborough St. (Old Revenue Building, 4th Floor) Telephone: (919) 807-2875 Fax: (919) 807-2876 For information concerning occupational safety and health consultative services and safety awards programs, contact: Consultative Services Bureau Mailing Address: 1 101 Mail Sendee Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-1 101 Office Location: 111 Hillsborough St. (Old Revenue Building, 3rd Floor) Telephone: (919) 807-2899 Fax: (919) 807-2902 For information concerning migrant housing inspections and other related activities, contact: Agricultural Safety and Health Bureau Mailing Address: 1101 Mail Sendee Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-1101 Office Location: 11 1 Hillsborough St. (Old Revenue Building, 2nd Floor) Telephone: (919) 807-2923 Fax: (919) 807-2924 For information concerning occupational safety and health compliance, contact a Compliance field office: Asheville Field Office 204 Charlotte Highway, Suite B, Asheville, NC 28803-868 1 Telephone: (828) 299-8232 Fax: (828) 299-8266 Charlotte Field Office 901 Blairhill Road, Suite 200, Charlotte, NC 28217-1578 Telephone: (704) 665-4341 Fax: (704) 665-4342 Raleigh Field Office Mailing Address: 1 1 01 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-1101 Office Location: 313 Chapanoke Road, Suite 10 Telephone: (919) 779-8570 Fax: (919) 662-4709 Wilmington Field Office 1200 N. 23rd St., Wilmington, NC 28405-1824 Telephone: (910) 251-2678 Fax: (910) 251-2654 Winston-Salem Field Office 4964 University Parkway, Suite 202, Winston-Salem, NC 27106-2800 Telephone: (336) 776-4420 Fax: (336) 767-3989 For statistical information concerning program activities, contact: Planning, Statistics and Information Management Bureau Mailing Address: 1 1 01 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-1101 Office Location: 111 Hillsborough St. (Old Revenue Building, 2nd Floor) Telephone: (919) 807-2950 Fax: (919) 807-2951 To make an OSH complaint, OSH Complaint Desk: (919) 807-2796 1,000 copies of this public document were printed at a cost of $ 146, or $.14 per copy. TOP TEN OSH VIOLATIONS CITED BY NCDOL IN 2009 l\J.C. Department of Labor Cherie Berry Commissioner of Labor OSH Division Administration and Enforcement In North Carolina, NCDOL inspectors enforce the federal Occupational Safety and Health Act through a state plan approved by the U.S. Department of Labor. The Occupational Safety and Health Division of the N.C. Department of Labor offers many educational programs to the public and produces publications, including this guide, to help inform people about their rights and responsibilities regarding occupational safety and health. When looking through this brochure, please remember the mission of the N.C. Department of Labor is greater than just to enforce regulations. An equally important goal is to help people find ways to create safe workplaces. This brochure, like the many other educational materials produced by this depart¬ ment, can help. Reading and using this information will aid you in developing a safety and health pro¬ gram that saves lives. Compliance assists employers in improving their work¬ place safety and health programs to eliminate on-the-job injuries and illnesses through enforcement activity. Consultative Services provides free on-site consulta¬ tion regarding both safety and health issues. Services are provided to employers of limited size and to employers within high-hazard industries, assisting them to reach their goal of achieving a safe and healthful workplace for their employees. Education, Training and Technical Assistance (ETTA) offers educational materials, arranges confer¬ ences and provides professional training for OSH staff members and for the public. The bureau also offers assistance with standards interpretation. In addition, ETTA administers the adoption of federal standards and develops North Carolina-specific stan¬ dards, responds to requests for technical assistance and interpretations, and publishes a wide variety of industry guides, safety and health standards books for general industry and construction, and other docu¬ ments of interest to the public.