The Safe Shop
From the
What Did OSHA Find in 2022?
The federal Occupational Safety and Health Adminsistration (OSHA) recently released its top-violations list for fiscal year 2022, which ended last Sept 30. The lineup doesn’t change much from year to year except in numbers of citations and total dollars in penalties. The OSHA report below details businesses classified under NAICS Code 327991: Cut Stone and Stone Product Manufacturing. These violations are typical for fabricators classified as general industry; they do not include the construction or maritime industries.
Overall citations and inspections of stone shops were down from the previous two years. Also, overall penalties paid were lower than the previous two years—great news for the overall health and safety of our industry.
It is also worth nothing that most citations and penalties are being written for respirable crystalline silica (RCS) and respiratory protection. OSHA has an active National Emphasis Program for RCS, so take this opportunity to prepare your shop in advance of an enforcement inspection.
(OSHA standards listed in italics.)
Infographic by Stone Update. Data from OSHA, U.S. Dept of Labor and Natural Stone Institute.
Citations represents the number of times the specified standard was cited. The number in the total line is the sum of the called-out violations of each standard. Inspections represents the number of inspections in which the specified standard was cited. For the total line, it represents the number of inspections in which one or more citations were issued. Note that the total is not the sum of the number of inspections associated with each standard cited: Multiple standards may be cited in one inspection.
For total OSHA inspections of all industries in fiscal 2022, the top five violations were:
- Fall Protection - General Requirements: 5,260 citations
- Hazard Communications: 2,424 citations
- Repiratory Protection: 2,185 citations
- Ladders: 2,143 citations
- Scaffolding: 2,58 citations
Fabricators and installers are invited to take advantage of the following resources made available free of charge courtesy of the Natural Stone Institute Safety Committee.
The popular Safety in the Stone Business technical module has been updated and is now available as a free digital download in the Natural Stone Resource Library. Topics covered in this document include working with OSHA, hazard communications, safe slab handling, and respiratory protection. This document is available in both English and Spanish.
Silicosis: An Industry Guide to Awareness and Prevention
Learn how to prevent silicosis through proper housekeeping and work practices, engineering controls, air quality monitoring, and respirable sampling in this digital document.
Training Syllabus for New Employees
75% of stone industry injuries occur during the first year of employment. The safety training syllabus covers slab handling, installation, PPE, and silicosis prevention.
Does your company have a showroom open to the public? The “Safe Stone Shopping” video can be used to share safety guidelines with consumers entering a natural stone showroom or fabrication facility for the first time.
Keep your employees safe in the fall shadow by completing the Safe Slab Handling course bundle in the Natural Stone University. This program provides critical information for fabricators and installers who work with stone slabs.
Find more resources online at www.naturalstoneinstitute.org/safety.
Safety and health officials recommend that you meet with your employees on a regular basis to discuss steps in keeping compliant with regulations as well as any safety issues employees want to address.
Interested in getting involved with the Safety Committee? Email Mark Meriaux (mark@naturalstoneinstitute.org) for more information.
Reminder: Safety is the responsibility of both management and employees!
The information herein is provided by the Natural Stone Institute as a general summary for use in job site toolbox talks and is provided to augment and not substitute for or replace required training under any applicable local, state or federal workplace statute, law or regulation. It is the user’s responsibility to ensure this content is consistent with job site requirements and applicable statutes, laws or regulations prior to use and make any required additions or changes.