Overview of the Specific Standards and Guidelines Deveped by OSHA

Ergonomics

Occupational Safety and Health Administration has developed industrial specific guidelines that give specific and helpful instructions for abatement to assist employees and employers in minimizing the injuries at workplaces. Even when there are no guidelines specific to an industry, an employer still has obligation under the General Duty Clause, Section 5(a)(1) to keep workplaces free from recognized serious hazards ergonomic inclusive. OSHA has the responsibility of citing for ergonomic hazards under the General Duty Clause. OSHA advocates for employers to implement effective programs or other techniques that reduce ergonomic.

A situation where an employer recognizes that a serious hazard exist in their workplace and he or she does not act toward taking reasonable steps to prevent or abate the hazard can be a cited as a violation of General Duty Clause. This is because the employer fails to keep the workplace free of hazards to which his staffs are exposed, the hazard is recognized and is causing or likely to result to death or physical harm and there is a feasible and useful method to correct the hazards. These four elements which are necessary to prove a violation of the General Duty Clause as listed in the FOMas are meet by this cited situation. It is important to mention that Section 5(a)(1) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act in the General Duty Clause requires an employer to furnish to its staff employment and a place of work that is free from recognized hazards which are causing or likely to cause death or serious physical harm to his staff.

OSHA Standards

The OSHA standards interpretations and compliance directives for supplemental information affects OSHA’s regulations though the standard is a legal question. The Respiratory Protection Standard is normally the most frequently cited standards following inspection of workplaces by OSHA. There are several directives and letter of interpretations related to Respiratory protection that aid employers in better complying with the Respiratory Protection Standards. The first one is the enforcement procedure and scheduling for occupational exposure to tuberculosis, followed by the inspection procedures for respiratory protection standard and finally the Respiratory Protection Program Guidelines.

The second standard to address is the Hazard Communication. This standard has a subsection on Toxic and Hazardous Substances that serves the purpose of ensuring that the hazards of all chemical produced or imported are classified and the information on the classified hazards is send to employers and staff. The section requirements intend to be consistent with the provision of the United Nations Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of chemicals. This section further addresses the issue of classification of chemicals with potential hazards and communicating the appropriate protective measures to employees.

The third standard is the Fall Protection that is under Safety and Health Regulation for Construction. Employers are required forth by this section to provide fall protection systems in workplaces. The fall protection is required to conform to the criteria set in 1926.502 of this sub-part. The employer is required to determine if the walking surfaces on which its employees are to work have strength and structural integrity to support the staff. Employees are only to work on such surfaces if they have the requisite strength and structural integrity.

This information have impacted positively the way I view these standards and what I might require to do to comply with them in workplaces. I have gained more knowledge and supplementary guidance that clarifies how to apply to a specific workplace situation a policy or procedure as directed through Code of Federal Regulation and the OSHA directive system.