What do Facility Managers need to know about the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA)?
In my experience, many, if not most, public assembly facility managers, regardless of facility type, do not know or understand their responsibilities under OSHA or associated state regulations.
OSHA is an agency of the United States Department of Labor. OSHA's mission is to assure safe and healthful working conditions by setting and enforcing standards and by providing training, outreach, education and assistance. https://www.osha.gov
Because this is, in my opinion, the second most misunderstood area of our business (Right to Work States being first), I reached out to Pat Patterson, president of Loss Analysis & Accident Prevention (http://www.laapinc.com), for some expert advice.
OSHA is your friend (some of you will stop reading here).
OSHA sets safety regulations that are designed to “prevent” accidents based on issues that have occurred previously. If facility managers comply with OSHA and/or the associated state safety regulations, they will be working to create and maintain a safe workplace environment.
OSHA standards do not apply to municipalities. Municipalities are covered by state regulations that, in many ways, mirror OSHA, but can also be very different by state.
In order to understand your responsibilities, you must review OSHA Standards 29 CRR 1910.
OSHA will provide assistance and come to your facility to assist free of charge. Unfortunately, most companies would rather NOT have OSHA at their facility.
Some of the obvious OSHA Standards that apply to public assembly facilities include:
Fall Protection – 29 CFR 1926.500 (construction standard, but OSHA uses this as a guidance for inspecting General Industry) – This applies to anyone who is involved in rigging, hanging curtains or otherwise similarly exposed. Unfortunately, there continue to be incidents of injuries and loss of life in our industry in this area.
Lock Out/Tag Out at the Control of Hazardous Energy – 29 CFR 1910.147 – This is an area where the consequences of not following proper procedures can be catastrophic.
Fork Lift Operations – 29 CFR 1910.178 - OSHA estimates forklifts cause about 85 fatal accidents per year; 34,900 accidents result in serious injury; and 61,800 are classified as non-serious. According to the Industrial Truck Association, there are about 855,900 forklifts in the U.S. Therefore, over 11% of all forklifts will be involved in some type of accident each year (assuming only one accident per forklift).
Blood Borne Pathogens – 29 CFR 1910.1030 –Training and response in this area applies to every member of a facilities’ staff. We cannot predict where these kinds of incidents will occur and what our immediate role in the response may be.
Fire Protection – 29 CFR 1910.157 – Most managers are aware of their responsibility to have their fire extinguishers checked annually, however, they may not know that under OSHA and many state regulations, they are also obligated to conduct a visual inspection of all fire extinguishers on a monthly basis.
Hazard Communications – 29 CFR 1910.1200 – Our venues have all kinds of hazardous materials. Many are not where you would expect them to be, for instance, copier toner. Note: There has been a recent change in the system from Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) to the new system called Safety Data Sheets (SDS).
Hearing Protection – 1910.95 – This is a standard that supports hearing conservation. We all know how loud concerts, entertainment events, Monster Truck shows, etc., can be. It is your responsibility to monitor the sound levels and ensure that the appropriate safety support is available to protect your staff.
The Bottom Line is that facility managers are responsible for compliance to all codes and regulations. Not being aware of the code or regulation is not a defense. The good news is that in complying, you will enjoy a much safer work place for your staff and guests.
Russ Simons is...
managing partner, Venue Solutions Group, and has been in this industry for more than three decades, working in arenas, stadiums, design, construction, safety and security. Send questions about any aspect of venue operation to askruss@venuestoday.com or mail questions to Venues Today, P.O. Box 2540, Huntington Beach, CA 92647.