1. A Publication of Assurance Safety Consulting
Fall 2009 Safety Counts!
ARRA Funded Job Site Inspections
Under the American Recovery and Reinvestment
Act (ARRA), hundreds of billions of federal dollars
will be disseminated to employers across the
country for various infrastructure and industrial
growth projects. These will include major
construction activity along with the development
and expansion of existing and new technologies.
OSHA is implementing a multi-tiered enforcement
program to assure worker protection on ARRA-
related projects.
In June 2009, OSHA put two new Local
Emphasis Programs (LEPs) into effect which will
direct enforcement efforts to stimulus related
construction and infrastructure projects, as well
as industries in manufacturing supporting those
projects. These include:
• Construction, maintenance and demolition work on roadways, bridges, airport runways and terminals
• Construction at federal facilities (including military bases)
Under these new LEPs, each affected Area Director will maintain a list of ARRA funded construction
projects within their jurisdiction and use this list to create inspection cycles. The cycle sizes will
depend on the resources and geographic range of each Area Office. The companies/construction sites
on this list will not be inspected in any particular order since each Area Office can plan a schedule
maximizing the utilization of available resources. Each construction site/employer will be inspected
only once during each inspection cycle and only once per trimester. However, an employer can be
visited multiple times if the visit is for unprogrammed activity such as complaints, accidents, and
follow-ups or if the employer has operations in more than one location on the target list.
There are a few ways to be taken off this inspection list if your company is a) an approved participant in
OSHA’s Voluntary Protection Programs (VPP) or b) in OSHA Consultation’s Safety and Health Achievement
Recognition Program. If your company is participating in an OSHA Strategic Partnership and the benefits
in that partnership include deletion from inspection lists, the Area Office can take your company off the
list. Although, you can only be deleted from the list if you have had at least one annual verification and it
was determined through the verification process that you have met the conditions of the OSP agreement.
Companies related to an Enhanced Enforcement Program (EEP) will not be deleted from the inspection list.
Although these Local Emphasis Programs are scheduled to expire on September 30, 2009, not getting
an inspection prior to that date does not mean you are in the clear. Any establishment in any cycle
not completed before the expiration date must be inspected, even if the inspection is initiated after the
expiration date.
The Bottom Line
OSHA will be inspecting all jobs funded with stimulus money. For access to additional information
or assistance with technical information please visit the OSHA website at the following link,
http://www.osha.gov/dts/recovery/index.html, or contact your safety consultant.
Assurance Safety Consulting – 847.463.7239 – www.assurancesafetyconsulting.com

2. Fall 2009
Employer Rights and
Changes in Top Plate Responsibilities Following
Enforcement an OSHA Inspection
Since June of 2009, there have been In the event an
multiple OSHA inspections focused on OSHA Compliance
framing operations while working on Officer conducts an
exterior top plates. It appears that most of inspection of your work
these will result in citations. These OSHA place, there are certain
inspections appear to be part of a consistent employer rights and
effort of the Northern IL offices to start responsibilities. After
enforcing the issue of working from exterior the inspection, the
top plates. Compliance Officer
Local OSHA officials have said that the will report the findings
enforcement of the Residential Interim to the Area Director,
Fall Protection Standard (STD 3-0.1A) who evaluates the
has stayed consistent, with the exception investigation. In the event of a violation, OSHA will issue a
that working from exterior top plates is Citation and Notification of Penalty discussing the violation(s)
not considered in compliance with the and any penalties. The citation will inform you of the alleged
allowances of this standard. violation(s), set a proposed time period for the violation(s) to
be corrected and a proposed dollar amount penalty. During the
Considerations for framing contractors: closing conference, the Compliance O dfficer will discuss the
nature of the violation(s), possible measures you may take to
• Re-evaluate your current fall protection
correct the violation(s), possible dates that may be required to
plan
meet and any penalties the Area Director may issue.
• Consider new provisions for how to If a citation is received, the citation must be posted at or
address work currently conducted from near the place where each violation occurred. The citation
exterior top plates must remain posted for 3 working days or until the violation is
• Consider the possibility of alternate work corrected, which ever is longer. The violation must be posted
methods that will eliminate the need to even if the citation is contested. As an employer who has been
work from exterior top plates, such as cited, there are two courses of action you may take:
scaffolding or working from ladders for
activities such as setting floor and roof 1) If you do not contest, you must correct the condition by
trusses the date set in the citation, and pay the penalties
• Consider the option of creating site 2) If you do contest, you have 15 working days from the date
specific fall protection plans and re-train the citation is received to contest in writing the citation,
all employees on the new requirements proposed penalties and/or abatement dates
As an employer, you may request an informal conference with
Considerations for home builders / general the Area Director to discuss any issues related to the citation
contractors: and/or penalties before deciding on any of the above options. If
• Communicate with your carpenter you decide to request an informal conference you may take that
contractors regarding this issue opportunity to do any of the following:
• Consider the impact on the production
schedule and overall man hour • Request a better explanation of the violation(s) cited
requirements to complete the work using • Request a more complete description of the specific
additional fall protection. standards that apply
• Negotiate and enter into an informal settlement agreement
In order to avoid unnecessary fines in
• Discuss ways to correct the violation(s)
rough times, it is important to maintain an
awareness of these changes. • Discuss problems concerning the abatement dates
• Discuss problems concerning employee safety practices
• Resolve disputed citations and penalties (eliminating the
need for the more formal procedures associated with
litigation before the Review Commission)
Safety Counts!
• Get answers to any other questions you may have
OSHA encourages you to take advantage of the opportunity
to have an informal conference if you foresee any difficulties in
complying with any part of the citation. For more information
about your rights and responsibilities you may request this
information from your area OSHA office. A list of OSHA offices
may be found at www.OSHA.gov.
Assurance Safety Consulting – 847.463.7239 – www.assurancesafetyconsulting.com

3. Summer 2009
Effective Incident Investigation -
The Key to Future Success
The first goal of any safety program is to prevent injuries. In the event an injury occurs, an investigation
is critical to the success of a safety program. The purpose of an investigation is to identify ROOT causes
of the incident. If you can determine the root causes, with proper follow up and corrective action, future
incidents can be prevented.
Key elements of an effective incident investigation program include:
» An effective incident report form
» A review system for incident reports
» A follow up system for corrective action
Case Study:
An employee was working from a step ladder,
performing a cut with a circular saw. The employee falls
from the ladder and sustains a broken leg. The injury
report stated that the ladder was in good condition and
was used in a safe manner. The incident report form
requires that the actual cause of the incident be listed.
In this case, the cause of the incident was listed as
“human error”.
The incident report form was reviewed at the office
and sent back to the foremen to provide a more in depth
description of the actual cause of the incident. Without
a complete investigation, the conclusion may be that the
employee simply lost his balance and fell.
As a result of the continued investigation and
interview of the injured worker, it was identified that he
felt an electrical shock just before he fell. The saw he
was using was taken out of service at the time of the
incident for future inspection. Upon inspection of the
saw, it was noted that the plastic housing of the saw
was cracked. It became clear that the double insulated
saw was no longer grounded because the housing
was cracked. It appeared that the worker received an
electrical shock which caused him to lose his balance and
fall from the ladder.
This company has an electrical safety program which
requires regular inspections of all electrical cords and
tools, in addition to requiring the tools be plugged into
a ground fault protected outlet. In this case, the saw
that was in use was not recently inspected and was
not plugged into a ground fault protected outlet. As a
result of this incident, other job sites were inspected and
revealed that the electrical safety program is not being
implemented consistently.
The action steps to prevent reoccurrence include
company-wide safety training related to the electrical
safety program and proper inspection of electrical tools.
The supervisors for the company were also charged with
the responsibility to ensure the electrical safety program
Safety Counts!
is implemented on their job sites.
An effective method for investigating incidents is essential to a successful safety program.
To ensure success, a program with necessary review and follow up should be established and
supervisors should receive training as well as employees.
Assurance Safety Consulting – 847.463.7239 – www.assurancesafetyconsulting.com

4. Outfit your worksites with the most effective toolbox talks
available to the construction industry.
SafeSite Training dramatically improves the effectiveness
of on-site employee safety meetings using photographic
illustrations of real-life safety situations. Designed by leading
safety experts, this easy to use training program includes full-
color pictures, descriptions of safety violations and rules, and
practical advice to create a safer worksite.
SafeSite Training materials are created by the safety
professionals at Assurance. Additionally, Assurance Safety
Consulting can be hired to customize the SafeSite program for
a specific construction company or project. Assurance Safety
Consulting also provides companies with comprehensive safety
and loss prevention services including job site safety inspections,
safety training and written safety program development.
If you are interested in receiving your own copy of SafeSite or would like more information
about our safety consulting services, contact Lauren O’Brien at 847.463.7239.
SafeSiteSM Training developed and distributed exclusively by Assurance Safety Consulting.
For all of your CPR and First
Aid Training needs, including
being one of the country’s
leading AED distributors
Ben Wollitz
Code Red LLC
www.coderedcpr.com
Phone: 312.492.4843
Email: ben@coderedcpr.com
Assurance Safety Consulting – 847.463.7239 – www.assurancesafetyconsulting.com