**** OSHA UPDATE 4/7/2017 – New OSHA Deadline is September 23, 2017 for Silica Dust Compliance as there was a 90 day extension added.
As the deadline for implementation of OSHA’s new Silica Dust Rule changes grows ever closer (June 23rd, 2017) the question “how do you know if you are ready” is a growing concern. We have teamed up with the safety consultants from Safex to get some more information on the new Silica Dust Rules and other common safety questions for the jobsite. We will be doing a video series “On the Job Safety Tips with Safex” and if you’ve got any topics you’d like us to address in the future please suggest a topic here or like someone else’s idea if it’s already there. Below are just a few of the questions we’ve been hearing on the silica dust topic.
How do you know if you are ready? This is the top question people are asking (or probably should be asking) so we asked the safety consultants and they recommended the first step is to do an assessment of your company. Basically outfit several of your guys, working around silica dust with monitoring pumps that’ll sample air throughout the day to determine what their current exposure ratings are. From there you can do several things training, plans and purchase equipment to control exposure. The idea would be to continue to work towards controlling the exposure until the levels are lower than the OSHA guidelines. If you cannot get the levels below OSHA guidelines before June 23, 2017 you’ll need to create a plan which can involve respirators for all employees and periodic medical exams which you will definitely need to work with safety professionals in those cases. With solutions available and proper procedures in place most silica dust related jobs should be able to complete while meeting the new OSHA guidelines.
If we use special tools to control dust do we still need an assessment? There are lots of tasks competed everyday on jobsites that might expose your crew to silica dust. Sweeping the floors or emptying a trash will kick up silica dust that may exceeds the standards. If you’re guys are grinding concrete with a fully enclosed system but then dump that canister of collected dust into the trash can making a cloud of silca dust they are still exposed to silica dust and possibly get fined. Certainly getting the right tools for collecting silica dust are very important and we have faith the manufacturers are building tools that will meet the guidelines but that might not be the whole story.
Do we need special silca dust classes or training? An OSHA fine for any infraction can be up to $12,471 for first violation and up to $124,709 for repeat offenses, so certainly not something you can just avoid. There are no required classes for silica dust but education is certainly strongly encouraged by just about everyone. There are many training classes for the topic (and more coming in early 2017), in our area the Builders Exchange offers classes to members, provided by SafeX who also offers their own courses on the topic. For some companies it might make more sense to have people come out for onsite for training for their staff. Seems like a pretty high price to pay to not be investing some time and energy now into getting prepared.
WARNING!!! We are not experts in safety or silica dust training, we simply want to raise awareness on jobsite safety topics by sharing facts, data and concerns. Please consult a safety professional before implementing any safety strategies and visit OHSA.gov to learn more. Special thanks to SafeX, we certainly learned a lot just talking with Dianne for just a short time. We look forward to working together to hopefully answer more of your questions in the future.
I don’t unremarkably comment but I gotta state regards for the post on this perfect one : D.
Hi, i read your blog from time to time and i own a similar one and i was just curious if you get a lot of spam responses? If so how do you prevent it, any plugin or anything you can advise? I get so much lately it’s driving me insane so any assistance is very much appreciated.
Pretty element of content. I just stumbled upon your site and in accession capital to say that I acquire in fact enjoyed account your blog posts. Any way I will be subscribing in your feeds or even I fulfillment you get right of entry to consistently rapidly.
As I site possessor I believe the content material here is rattling fantastic , appreciate it for your efforts. You should keep it up forever! Best of luck.
You are my aspiration, I possess few blogs and infrequently run out from brand :). “To die for a religion is easier than to live it absolutely.” by Jorge Luis Borges.
This is a topic close to my heart cheers, where are your contact details though?
You have noted very interesting details! ps decent internet site. “I’m going to a special place when I die, but I want to make sure my life is special while I’m here.” by Payne Stewart.
I truly enjoy reading on this web site, it has got wonderful content. “Something unpredictable but in the end it’s right, I hope you have the time of your life.” by Greenday.
Great wordpress blog here.. It’s hard to find quality writing like yours these days. I really appreciate people like you! take care
I have recently started a web site, the info you provide on this website has helped me greatly. Thank you for all of your time & work.
Normally I don’t read post on blogs, however I would like to say that this write-up very compelled me to check out and do it! Your writing style has been surprised me. Thank you, very great post.
I’ve learn a few just right stuff here. Definitely value bookmarking for revisiting. I surprise how so much attempt you set to make this sort of excellent informative website.
Good post however , I was wanting to know if you could write a litte more on this subject? I’d be very grateful if you could elaborate a little bit more. Many thanks!
hey there and thank you for your information – I have certainly picked up something new from right here. I did however expertise several technical points using this website, as I experienced to reload the website a lot of times previous to I could get it to load properly. I had been wondering if your web host is OK? Not that I am complaining, but sluggish loading instances times will sometimes affect your placement in google and could damage your quality score if advertising and marketing with Adwords. Anyway I am adding this RSS to my email and could look out for a lot more of your respective intriguing content. Ensure that you update this again soon..
Do you have a spam problem on this website; I also am a blogger, and I was wanting to know your situation; we have created some nice methods and we are looking to trade solutions with others, be sure to shoot me an email if interested.
An attention-grabbing dialogue is worth comment. I think that it’s best to write extra on this topic, it might not be a taboo topic however typically individuals are not enough to talk on such topics. To the next. Cheers