No, I haven't abandoned the blog, I've been very busy, those newbies can't train themselves. Actually, I'm not sure I can train them either. The kids right out of school think they know everything and can't seem to comprehend that they're actually pretty stupid. Those who came from consultation or private industry spend half their time complaining about the amount of documentation needed for each case.
Anyway, I received an e-mail from Ronald (he told me I could use his name) suggesting a new thread and asking me what CSHOs thought about TV shows like the History Channel's Jobsite, and all of the S&H violations we can all see. This gave me an idea, let's have a S&H contest, let's pick one of those shows and see who can find the most violations. First, we need to pick a show. Jobsite looks like it was just a two episode show, so that doesn't work. America's Dirtiest Jobs might work, but let's hear your suggestions first. Once we have the show I'll pick an episode airing date.
Now back to the question, what do I think when I see those shows? One word, not so elegantly, sums up my thought: Dumbasses!
Compliance Officers watch television too, do you really think we don't see these things? I know the agency has sent a letter to one of the home improvement shows pointing out their S&H violations and I've heard that we sent a letter to Oregon OSHA asking them to investigate the loggers on Ax Men. There's a quote that floats around: "Asking me to overlook a simple safety violation would be asking me to compromise my entire attitude towards the value of your life." I wish I knew who the author was so I could give them credit, but to paraphrase, I wish I could go do an inspection.
Being a Compliance Officer means never really turning it off. I know plenty of CSHOs who have been on vacation, noticed an problem (usually a trench or bad scaffold/fall protection), and started an inspection. And yes, I've done it.
I've said it before but it's worth repeating, most CSHOs do the job because it's what we believe. Trust me the pay, nice as it is, does not compensate for the stress and time away from the family.
Abel-
ReplyDeleteMike Rowe did a Dirty Jobs episode about workplace safety and OSHA. It was good and bad in that it was honest and represented how employers and employees think about safety, when OSHA shows up and when there is not a strong safety culture, and when you have an untrained occasional site worker. Maybe the new administration will want to reach out to use these shows, not with citations, but to create a media alliance. I can see the OSHA site getting a lot of web traffic if a sincere relationship with these shows can be developed.
HGTV has a lot of reno shows on that even as an untrained S&H person, I can catch all kinds of violations (sanding without use of goggles and mask; spray painting in a confined space without PPE; etc. Check out Curb Appeal the Block- Holmes on Homes actually did use fall protection and masks when building a house in New Orleans, but I have seen some other violations on the regular series- This is a great idea, and I like the concept of creating an alliance with these kinds of shows...
ReplyDeleteFirst, welcome back, Abel.
ReplyDeleteSecond, sounds like I have to Tivo "Jobsite." Hopefully the History Channel will rerun it.
Third, regarding TV shows, take your pick of anything produced by Thom Beers - Ax Men, Ice Road Truckers, America's Toughest Jobs, et al. His shows go to such extremes to show the dangers of the professions (especially Ax Men) I can't help but wonder if the producers are somehow coaxing employees to disregard safety rules for the sake of entertainment and better ratings. (After all, how exciting is it to watch a show about logging where everyone's being extra careful and safe?) Or if they somehow always get, as you put it, the dumbasses who don't follow safety rules. Or the producers are picking companies with not-so-hot safety records and policies.
Let's face it, an awful lot of small businesses have little or no safety culture. The recession has not made this situation any better. I think an outreach effort would do a lot more good than the hammer at this point in time. Small business operators, and often their employees, see little or no benefit in the "cost" of safety efforts.
ReplyDeleteHi I'm new to the site. What is the difference between OSHA underground and aboveground ? I currently work for OSHA as a CSHO and just thought I'd check the site out. Unlike others, I'm just here to read info, not cause problems. I enjoyed reading the other blog, but it looks like it is down now.
ReplyDeleteI think a good post would be to analyze the Seaworld incident. I cannot find the link, but on CNN.com's website there is a video titled "OSHA warned whale would kill".
I think the difference between the two is that OSHA Aboveground tries to explain and balance any discussions, OSHA Underground mostly tried to expose problems (and rarely proposed solutions). But then again, I'm a little biased here.
ReplyDeleteHere's the clip to the CNN report on the Cal OSHA report.
http://www.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/us/2010/03/02/kaye.osha.whale.report.cnn.html
Who would have thought that Orcas or "KILLER WHALES" were dangerous!?!? Thank God for OSHA! what in the world would we ever do without them?
ReplyDeleteWithout who? The Whales or OSHA?
ReplyDeleteOSHA
ReplyDeleteI thought OSHA was a whale. I'm confused. Who's on first?
ReplyDeleteWhale? The Department of Defense spends more in a year on paper and pens than OSHA is budgeted for. OSHA is a minnow.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of FISH. I am going fishing(retire) after over 30 years as an OSHA employee. You guys still in this rapidily downward spiraling Agency that must continue to work have my sympathy!
ReplyDeleteInteresting article: http://biggovernment.com/tag/jordan-barab/
ReplyDeleteWOW. That was embarrassing for A/S Michaels. He had to defer to career staff to answer simple questions about Imminent Danger. Embarrassing!
ReplyDeleteIf you are talking about this morning's hearing, not embarrassing at all- he has been on the job what, all of 4 months maybe? He graciously deferred to his staff who were more knowledgeable- He can't be expected to know all of OSHA's policies in such a short time- please, be realistic!
ReplyDelete"Enforcement is back" is the rallying cry of the current administration. He should know what a basic concept like Imminent Danger is. This isn't his first rodeo in the field. I tend to agree more with the earlier post. Embarrassing may be a little too harsh, but certainly unprepared is a fair characterization, I think.
ReplyDeleteYes, I agree that being a CSHO really means never having to turn it off. However, I also noted in my region, that if a CSHO is out of their Area Office jurisdiction, bringing up safety issues or submitting a referral stirs up problems for that CSHO. As I live outside of my Area Office principle area of response, and I am active in stuff like emergency services, I certainly don't refer cases anymore after getting spanked a few times especially on some damn good referrals...some of which OSHA investigated, some where it did not. I never did and still don't understand why the Area Office in this place would find a problem with a referral. On one rescue, a construction accident, a few years ago, my AAD, told me not to refer it to the other office..."let the police do it." Well frankly, the PD here does not make referrals unless of a fatality...just the way it is here. I had actually gathered much of the inspection info for the referral but I listened to my boss.
ReplyDeleteSo I like the money, of course I like the field, and enjoy when I am out there alone doing my safety thing without the Area Office sticking their nose in the inspection....you can get quite a bit of satisfaction doing enforcement and seeing abatement after you provided them assistance. However, when I was outside of OSHA, I could certainly stir up more shit in a safety sort of way using even public action such as the media to address safety issues. Even made it into the Chicago Trib a number of years ago and some other Midwest papers. So for my paycheck I play the game and instead of stirring up the pot myself, I can teach others to do it for me until I leave OSHA.
A lack of content will make us resort to crazy things to keep ourselves preoccupied, Abel.
ReplyDeleteSo... Hilda Solis: Hot or Not?
(I warned you!)
I'll pass on the fishy comments, except to say congratulations to the retiree, and you're wrong about the rapid downward spiral, this is government, nothing happens rapidly.
ReplyDeleteThe article on Barab was a typical anti-government hatchet job, the graph was laughable (I'll try to explain why in a post).
I wouldn't expect Michaels to know what imminent danger is, it has a very specific definition under OSHA, it's rarely invoked, and few people have the definition memorized. This is a pretty small issue and he'll have plenty of opportunities for bigger screwups later. I'm giving him a pass on this one.
I know there are referral issues with some AOs, which I don't get either, my AO doesn't have that problem. I once went to do a complaint and the crew was actually working on the other side of the state line. My AD called the other AD who said no problem, since I was there I did the inspection. And got the number. No big deal. Some people lose sight of the big picture because they get too focused on their kingdom.
RT, you're sick, but I'll answer anyway. Not. But at the same time, for someone in their fifties, not the worst I've seen either.