In this Spring 2010 IVES Update Newsletter edition we will talk about our new newsletter format, OSHA’s Top 10 for 2009, an OSHA interpretation on fall protection, forklift rodeo details, the new Ontario Safe At Work program, and an Ask Bob question on aerial boomlift decals.
2010: A Brave New Decade
Congratulations, you made it to 2010 with the rest of us! In the spirit of the New Year and new decade, you probably noticed the new look of the IVES Update. This is in keeping with the theme of this article and perhaps the coming decade; adapt and accommodate.
Over the past 18 months or so we have seen what can happen even to large, seemingly strong companies that did not have the ability to make the necessary changes in attitude and practice needed to stay financially healthy or to even recognize that such changes were needed. The changes, as we see them, are due to several drivers such as:
- Economic Impact: Most companies that “get it” recognize that investing in quality training as an integral part of an overall safety program is just good business from a profitability standpoint.
- Language and Literacy: As the workforces of the US and Canada continue to expand with workers whose primary language is not English, training providers must be able to accommodate the demand for training materials in other languages. Literacy issues stemming from a trainee’s reading and writing abilities pose a particularly difficult challenge to a trainer who must be willing and able to abandon traditional teaching methods in favor of more visual and interactive techniques.
- Keeping Up: The past 10 years have seen more changes in regulations and standards than the previous 30 years before them. While changes within federal regulations have remained relatively conservative, changes to state and provincial regulations have been anything but. Trainers must be aware of this and keep a constant finger on the pulse behind these changes, and adjust accordingly.
- Keeping Up: Manufacturer innovations in equipment design, construction and operation are moving ahead faster than ever before. Every model year, new and improved operational controls and systems add to those of the previous year to the point where an operator with past experience on a given piece of equipment may have a significant difficulty in efficiently operating the ‘same’ piece of equipment today.
- Zero Tolerance: Regulatory agencies are growing more and more intolerant of employers who repeatedly and/or flagrantly contravene the rules. These aggressive enforcement policies place employers under greater pressure than ever to get their people properly trained.
- Generation X: The 18 year-olds graduating from high school this summer grew up in a completely different world than most of us did. Their world of image per-second video games and tamper-proof everything means that many young people today have great difficulty focusing in traditional classroom settings where reading, writing and basic mechanical aptitude are desired abilities. This presents more challenges for modern trainers who must make every effort to keep things simple, yet entertaining.
Although change is inevitable, it is also normal and necessary. People must adapt to, and accommodate change or risk being rendered obsolete by it. Change is not something to be feared but embraced, and IVES intends to do exactly that so that 10 years from now people will still be talking about how good we are, not how good we were. See you then.
Rob Vetter
Director of Training
IVES Training Group
OSHA’s Top 10 for 2009
Not quite as exciting as the Oscars but here they are, OSHA's top 10 violations for 2009. Sadly, the number of these violations has increased by almost 30% over the same period last year.
- Scaffolding (9093)
- Fall protection (6771)
- Hazard Communication (6378)
- Respiratory Protection (3803)
- Lockout/Tagout (3321)
- Electrical (Wiring) (3079)
- Ladders (3072)
- Powered Industrial Trucks (2993)
- Electrical (2556)
- Machine Guarding (2364)
What’s Wrong with This?
In the following photograph, IVES’ Assistant Director of Training, Simon Larkin is doing something wrong. Can you spot what it is? Answer in the next Update. Hint: He is driving in the same direction he is looking.
It’s Go Time!
Yes it’s that time of year again; Forklift Rodeo/Rally season is upon us! This year’s competitions begin Saturday, May 1st in Cloverdale, BC with the 13th Annual BC Championship Forklift Rally. You can register for this event at www.forkliftrally. com. In Washington State, the 13th Rodeo season kicks off on Saturday, June 19 in Richland, WA. with the Central Regional Rodeo, the first of the three State Regional Rodeos. You can register for this or any of the WA State Regional Rodeos at www.wagovconf.org/forklift.htm.
Once again, IVES will be on hand at all of these events to provide the driving course designs and expert judges. Hope to see you there!
Feedback
The last Update, Bob offered a few tips to a stressed ‘Howie’ who was looking for ways to keep his trainees awake. IVES Certified Trainer Ken Whittle saw the article and had some good advice of his own. He wrote:
Beyond getting people involved, knowing (not reading) the material, and the use of visual aids, safety trainers should develop their public speaking skills to become more engaging presenters.
Ever become so bored you begin counting how many times the speaker mumbles “um”? And we’ve all seen so many other bad habits such as swaying, tapping, slouching, eye contact with only one person or no one at all, and the dreaded monotone cadence.
I improved a great deal after a year with help from a well known public speaking coaching service, though I’m sure there are other resources at community colleges. It takes time and practice but the payback is worthwhile if you’re a frequent speaker. Further, your own confidence increases dramatically when in front of an audience large or small. You might even find yourself in demand.
Studies show that public speaking is the number one fear of most people, even over death. Which means that when people go to a funeral, they’d rather be in the box than giving the Eulogy.
-Jerry Seinfeld
Who You Gonna Call? IVES!
Regardless of what anyone may tell you, government regulatory agencies cannot and will not endorse or approve the programs or materials of any equipment training provider. With that in mind, we could not be more proud to report that when personnel within such agencies needed training on forklifts and aerial lifts, they called on IVES to deliver it. To date, IVES has provided equipment orientation programs and technical consultations to over 200 officers within the regulatory jurisdictions of California (Cal-OSHA), Oregon (OR-OSHA), Washington (WISHA), British Columbia (WorkSafeBC) and even the Canadian Federal Government (HRSDC). Although we cannot claim any official approval from these agencies in relation to our products and services, the fact that IVES was called upon when their people needed training is an invaluable testimony that we are doing things right.
What is even more satisfying to us is that we received many of the same types of comments from these Occupational Safety Officers as we do from all of our other clients. Comments like:
- “I had no idea there was so much to learn…“
- “This (program) was more than I expected…“
- “It was the best training I’ve ever had…”
IVES is looking forward to continuing it’s relationship with these regulatory agencies with more equipment orientation programs already slated for September of this year. We are also very happy to report that several other state and provincial agencies have expressed great interest in getting on board with us as well.
Heads-up: Aerial Boomlift Users in USA
A January 2009 OSHA interpretation indicated that a personal fall protection system that allows a boomlift operator to hit the ground under any circumstances is inadequate. That means that the commonly used full body harness with a six foot lanyard and shock absorber is ineffective at heights less than 18 ½ feet because that’s how far it will allow you to fall before coming to a complete stop.
There have already been instances where OSHA has cited employers for allowing their operators to go up with ‘inadequate’ fall protection. Industry representatives are lobbying OSHA to amend and/or withdraw the interpretation. In the meantime, it is advisable to replace 6 foot fall arrest lanyards and shock absorbers with fall restraint lanyards, which that will keep operators from being ejected from the platform or falling over the top rail
Forklift Safety Targeted in Ontario, Canada
In June of 2008 the provincial government of Ontario launched a program called “Safe at Work.” The program is designed to eliminate workplace injuries and, among its activities, focuses on hazards involving forklifts and lifting devices.
Inspectors will focus on the qualifications of individuals operating a lifting device, the existence of a safe work environment and on lifting device inspecting and maintenance.
Ministry statistics report at least 18 workers have died since 2003 as a result of incidents involving lift trucks and that more than 25% of those deaths occurred last year, with five workers being killed between January and August.
The Occupational Health and Safety Council of Ontario reports the occurrence of 9,455 forklift-related incidents involving a lost-time injury between 1996 and 2008. The labour ministry says causal factors include a lifting device striking an object such as a racking system; a worker being struck by forklift trucks, other lifting equipment or improperly secured loads; and lack of preventative-maintenance and load-capacity examinations.
OSHA is Moving Towards Tougher Citation and Penalties
On October 30, 2009, OSHA issued its largest fine in history – $87.4 million in proposed penalties to an oil refinery. This is just one of several recent, significant cases where OSHA has cited companies for egregious* violations of workplace safety and health standards. In the last two months, OSHA has addressed more egregious cases and issued higher fines than in the previous fiscal year. According to Jordan Barab, Acting Assistant Secretary for OSHA, the agency is moving toward tougher citations and penalties to provide a powerful incentive for employers to respect their workers, integrate protection into business operations, and make prevention a priority.
As another example of OSHA’s renewed emphasis on enforcement, Barab mentioned the establishment of a Severe Violator Enforcement Program. Under this initiative, OSHA will concentrate its attention and resources on employers who demonstrate indifference to the OSH Act obligations. Any systemic problems that the agency finds with an employer’s safety and health program will trigger additional, mandatory inspections to ensure compliance.
OSHA will also enforce its standards uniformly on all construction sites and will bring the full force of its citations and penalties to any contractor who violates the law, according to Barab.
*Egregious: extraordinary in some bad way; glaring; flagrant: an egregious mistake; an egregious liar.
New Stuff
DVD: Forklift Safety Essentials
The reason we decided to add this DVD title to our inventory is because it contains some of the best information and graphics we’ve ever seen on the topic of stability as it relates to the center of gravity and stability triangle. At 18-minutes, it’s not too long and so you should be able to slip it in to your operators training program conveniently. There are some stunts where operators tip forklifts over but they are done in such a way as to be instructive, not shocking; and there is no blood or gore.
Rigging Handbook
A welcome addition to our inventory for you crane trainers is the Rigging Handbook, The Complete Illustrated Field Reference, Third Edition (Jerry A. Klinke). This replaces the previous title, The Rigger’s Handbook. It is slightly larger than the previous version but we’re sure you will agree, this is a minor concession in light of the fact that it is a vastly superior product. The current and up to date contents are written in large, easy to read print complimented by clear and precise graphics. There’s even an angle gauge on the back cover to help you figure out sling angles. Best of all, the price is the same as the old one ($24.95).
Free Downloads Available!
We have uploaded many documents to our website and made them available for you to download. These documents include:
- Updated sections of the Trainer’s Manual.
- Pre-use inspection checklists for all of the equipment we address.
- Printer templates for the operator wallet cards and wall mounted certificates.
All you have to do to access these documents is log on to www.ivestraining.com and then click on the Free Training Material Updates button.
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