Did you see the latest OSHA Underground post? In it Kane commented that the latest egregious case the agency issued was Secretary Solis coming out swinging. Wow, what a moronic thing to say. This case began last September, UNDER FOULKE! The new Secretary and her staff never even saw this case and, if they were briefed at all, it was after the citations were issued (the closing conference was Tuesday, February 17, Secretary Solis wasn't confirmed until very late on that day). This isn't the new administration flexing its muscles, it's the career people continuing to do what we always do.
This kind of crap from Kane makes me wonder who he is. Many of us have seen the news articles about companies or politicians who pay bloggers to write good things about them and bad things about the opposition, I wonder if Kane is getting paid to do just such a thing.
If it was Solis coming out swinging, can someone please enlighten us as to who in the Obama Administration played this Superman role to make this first major conquest for Solis?
ReplyDeleteOh wait, that's right.... OSHA is so high on Obama's priorities that there is not a sole in the Agency yet. I guess we'll have to wait for OSHA to have its first tax-evader nominated. From what I hear, there are too many to sort through which is why it's taking so long to name the next OSHA head.
Ah, the days we live in.
"I woner if Kane is getting paid..."--This is a very low blow. Does nothing to enhance the credibility of your otherwise useful blog. Do you really think there are organizations out there with money to throw around to pay bloggers to criticize OSHA? Stick to the arguments please.
ReplyDeleteFrom my experience reading Kane, he is pretty much spot on, but we all have a blind spot/scotoma, which can get spun up at times do to a frustration and tension between what we apprehend as being what can be accomplished over the short term, and what we want to accomplish over the long term. Essentially pragmatism vs idealism and vice versa. When you are up to your ears in alligators, it really is a hard pill to swallow that first you should have or could have drained the swamp, especially when we find that you are in over your head in political tides, eddy currents, votices, Sunamis, and political predators. Unfortunately, sometimes we are the most qualified, led by the least qualified, who don't really have a clue, real vision and substance, nor an ethical,moral, or professional committment to ensuring the safety and health of our nations workers. Rather, we find many who are narcistic megalomaniacs, buffoons, and incompetent sociopaths, who have risen to their level of totally diasterous incompetence. We should have learned over the last 8 years about political appointees who are unqualified for their positions. My heart is with the CSHOs and Consultants in the trenches that are psychologically crippled with fear by bullying managers and supervis, and furhter hindered by a system that is concerned more with numbers (inspections/surveys/visits) that with quality. We really have to stand up for what is right, and bring about rational change in the mind set and culture of the regulatory community, update our standards to reflect current scientific knowledge on the health side of the house,e.g., the OSHA PELS, as well as improve the lnaguage of our Standards. Further, the long standing rift between Compliance and Consultation must end,k since we complement on another. We need our folks with the hard earned years of knowledge to serve as mentors and pass on as much as they can about what they have learned over the course of their respective careers. We need more folks who are cross trained, and we need to end the arbitrary and artificial division between IHs and Safety Folks. This is my not so humble - humble opinion in terms of having the humility to understand that no one person can know it all. Now, I believe that S & H professionals should be treated as such, and be paid what they deserve, which currently isn't the case. Ivory tower folks who don't get their hands dirty have always rubbed me the wrong way if they have not paid their dues to sing the blues. Cheers, and may the grace of the Safety Shaman within you and without you guide you to prevent those criptic and often times not readily apparent conditons that can line up and lead to catastophic events including, but not limited to, dismemberment and horrific chronic effects that result in morbidity and mortality.
ReplyDeleteKeep on Keepin' on safety warriors! You are on the prevention side of the house! Ben Franklin said "an once of prevention is worth more than a pound of cure" -- There it is - Check it out!
Guess who?
Wow! Some one had to say point out the elephant(s) in the Room, but where do we go from here. I agree that too many Directors, Managers,and Supervisors are concerned with performance over the short haul as opposed to the logn haul. Yes, it is a "numbers game", and those who spend,what is considered by management, too much time doing quality inspections are selected against in many organizations, which ironically, includes OSHA, as well as many State Plan States. Currently, one State Plan State is conducting a socalled "Big Four" Safety Phase II Intiative in Residential and Commercial Construction. They are reporting a very high number of "File Only" inspections,which is great in terms of the total number of inspections, but one has to wonder about facilitating real safety in the workplace. Have they lost sight of the fact that numbers are evaluated in relation to number of violations, as well as the spread in the various categories of standards. In effect, they have markedly narrowed the scope of the inspections so they can report how successful their "Initiative" has been to Federal OSHA. Further, they are taking full credit for the perceived improvement in the Construction Industry within their state, which is most likely based on faulty assumptions and a myopic interpretation of the inspection data. How many of us can claim that we went to a multi-employer Construcion jobsite and didn't find a single citable alleged violation?
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