Safety Vest

Q:  Should we require employees to wear safety shirts in the manufacturing shop?

A:  Safety shirts are only required in traffic areas, such as on site in the field.

Forklift

Q: Can you attach a man basket on a forklift that is manufactured by a different company?

A: You must have the manufactures approval when using any attachment on the forklift.  It will vary forklift to forklift, so you will need to contact the forklift manufacture for an answer.

Authorized Personnel

Q: I have a silo with a wraparound fixed staircase.  The staircase has proper railings.  The question is, if I have a locking gate on the entrance to the staircase and signage posted so only authorized personnel can enter, is this compliant?

A: OSHA does not have a specific standard on this.  This is more of a liability issue, but with the locking gate and signage it shows you are taking the proper measures to keep unauthorized people out.

Forklifts

Q: Do the fork extensions have to reach to the other side of the load?

A: OSHA states in “1910.178(o)(5) A load engaging means shall be placed under the load AS FAR AS POSSIBLE; the mast shall be carefully tilted backward to stabilize the load.” 

Also keep in mind that you do not exceed the forklifts manufactures load capacity.

Online First Aid/CPR Training

Q:  Is online First Aid and CPR training accepted by OSHA?

A:  Generally, online CPR and/or First Aid training is not recommended. However, as long as the students are able to demonstrate that they understand the training and know how to properly perform CPR and First Aid, it should be considered acceptable.

Recordkeeping

Q:  An employee rolled his truck on his way to a job this morning.  He appears to be OK, but was sent to the hospital for X-rays.  Is this recordable?

A:  If there is medical attention beyond first aid or lost/restricted work days, it needs to be added to their logs. The X-rays are not considered recordable since they are a diagnostic procedure. OSHA does not consider diagnostic procedures a form of medical treatment.

Recordkeeping - Returning To Work

Q:  How do I handle a case when a physician or other licensed health care professional recommends that the worker return to work but the employee stays at home anyway? 

A:  1904.7(b)(3)(iii) - In this situation, you end the count of days away from work on the date the physician or other licensed health care professional recommends that the employee return to work.

Recordkeeping

Q:  If the physician issues a prescription, but it is not filled, is this recordable? 

A:  Yes, OSHA considers that medical treatment is provided once a prescription is issued.

Flame Resistant Clothing

Q: Can you wear Tyvek suits over FRCs? 

A: They are not made to be flame resistant.  They do make chemical resistance FRCs, that would be a better choice of PPE.

Flame Resistant Clothing

Q: If Fire Resistant clothing is required to be used along with other PPE such as gloves a fall arrest harness, etc., does the additional PPE also have to be flame resistant?

A: This link will take you to a memo that was released by OSHA to clarify OSHA’s policy for issuing citations for flame resistant clothing (FRC).  Since fall arrest harnesses are not specifically mentioned in the memo, OSHA would have a hard time issuing a citation for it.  Even though they are not currently required, flame resistant fall arrest harnesses are available for purchase online.