Oxygen and Acetylene

Q: Can oxygen and acetylene tanks sit on the same cart if they are connected for use?

A: Yes, as long as the tanks are connected for use they may sit on the cart together. It is only when they are being stored that they cannot be together.

DOT Numbers

Q: What is a DOT number?

A: Companies that operate commercial vehicles transporting passengers or hauling cargo in interstate commerce must be registered with the FMCSA and must have a USDOT Number. Also, commercial intrastate hazardous materials carriers who haul quantities requiring a safety permit must register for a USDOT Number. The USDOT Number serves as a unique identifier when collecting and monitoring a company's safety information acquired during audits, compliance reviews, crash investigations, and inspections.  (Be sure to check your state's policy)

Tinted Glasses

Q:  Are there any current restrictions on eye protection when it comes to tinted/shaded lenses for indoor use?

A:  OSHA doesn’t have any specific restrictions on tinted/shaded lenses used indoors.  However, OSHA would question whether the glasses would be creating a hazard by wearing them indoors.  For example, if the person wearing them is driving a forklift, the tinted glasses may impair their vision thus creating a hazard for themselves and others in the area.  The same can be said for someone who is on foot.  The glasses could impair their vision as well and they might not be able to recognize moving equipment, parts, material, etc. that might be in close proximity to them.  If you don’t want to totally prohibit their use you could regulate the darkness of the glasses that are being worn.

Recordkeeping

Q: An employee gets injured in 2011, but does not miss any work and is not put on restricted duty/job transfer.  In 2012, that employee finds out he needs surgery form the injury and misses a month of work in 2012.  How would this be inserted in the OSHA 300 logs?

A:  All of the information would be inserted in the 2011 OSHA 300 form.  The date of the injury would be the date the injury actually occurred even though the employee did not miss any work or was not put on restricted duty/job transfer because of that injury at the moment.  Then count the days the employee missed because of the surgery and insert that information in the days away for that same injury.

Respirator Medical Evaluations

Q: How often are medical evaluations required to be performed?  The health care company said they need to be completed every year.  We thought it was every two years.  Can you clarify?

A: OSHA doesn’t require the medical evaluations to be performed annually or biannually.  Instead, OSHA’s requirements for additional evaluations are as follows:

• If the employee reports signs or symptoms that are related to the ability to use a respirator
• If the physician, supervisor, or program administrator informs the employer that an employee needs to be reevaluated
• If information from the respiratory protection program, including observations made during fit testing and program evaluation, indicates a need for employee reevaluation; or
• A change occurs in workplace conditions (e.g., physical work effort, protective clothing, and temperature) that may result in a substantial increase in the physiological burden placed on an employee.

OSHA does require fit testing to be performed at least annually.  Double check with the health care company to make sure they meant the evaluations and not fit tests. 

Cranes

Q: Do you have to have a certified welder to weld the cross beams on a crane?

A: OSHA does not say anything about the need for a certified welder it just says the welder must be qualified.  When welding on a crane though, you need to contact the crane manufacture to get their approval because welding on the crane can affect the load rating of that crane.

Ladders

Q: Does it matter if you use a fiberglass ladder or an aluminum ladder when doing framing on a house when there is no electrical work being done?

A: No, it does not matter as long as each ladder has the proper warning labels on them.

Recordkeeping

Q:  Who is supposed to sign the OSHA 300 log and where does the signature go?

A:  The highest ranking company official should sign only the 300A form and the signature should go in the bottom right hand corner. The 300A needs to be signed and be posted starting February 1 through the end of April.

Hearing Conservation - Audiometric Testing

Q:  We bring in an audiometric testing mobile to administer the tests once a year.  Sometimes they don’t get a good reading or there’s a red flag.  The employees who have this happen need to go to their main office to be retested.  Does the employer need to pay the employee for the time spent going to take the re-test? 

A:  The audiometric testing is required to be provided at no cost to the employee.  Whether or not the employee is to be paid for the time spent going to take the test needs to be determined between the employee and the employer.

Hearing Conservation - Audiometric Testing

Q:  We have all of our employees undergo audiometric testing each year including me (president/owner of company).  Do I still need to go through the testing if I no longer work on the floor?

A:  Audiometric testing is no longer needed if the occupational exposure has decreased below the action level of 85 dBA.