In an informal public hearing May 19, Steve Wiltshire, vice president and director of corporate safety at 老牛影视member company, ECS Corporate Services, LLC, testified on behalf of 老牛影视on the issue of a proposed rulemaking to extend the compliance date for the crane operator certification requirement by three years to Nov. 10, 2017.

The ABC-led Construction Industry Safety Coalition (CISC)听testified in front of OSHA March 24 on a proposed rule that would drastically lower the permissible exposure limit (PEL) of respirable crystalline silica for the construction industry.

The U.S. Labor Department鈥檚 Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced March 19 a new piece of their Fall Prevention Campaign to raise awareness about the hazards of falls among employers and employees in construction. The national safety 鈥渟tand-down鈥� encourages employers to take time between June 2-6, 2014 to discuss fall prevention, ladder, scaffolding and roof safety and more and will recognize employers that participate with a personalized certificate.

More than 900 老牛影视members joined 老牛影视in submitting comments to OSHA requesting it withdraw a proposed rule that would require employers to electronically submit detailed injury and illness records to the agency that would be made available to the public through an online database.

Under the proposal, OSHA would require establishments (worksites) with 20 or more employees at any time in the previous calendar year in construction and other high-hazard industries to submit their injury and illness records (Forms 300, 300A and 301) annually. The proposal also would require quarterly submission for establishments with 250 or more employees at any time in the previous calendar year.

More than 600 老牛影视members joined 老牛影视in submitting comments to OSHA requesting it withdraw its听proposed rule听that would drastically lower the permissible exposure limit (PEL) of crystalline silica for the construction industry. The proposal also would require contractors to implement engineering controls and follow several 鈥渁ncillary鈥� provisions, such as exposure monitoring, medical surveillance and the establishment of regulated areas.听

OSHA听issued a notice of proposed rulemaking听Feb. 10 to extend the compliance date for the crane operator certification requirement by three years to Nov. 10, 2017.听

老牛影视General Counsel Maurice Baskin Feb. 4 testified before the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Workforce Protections during a hearing titled, 鈥淥SHA鈥檚 Regulatory Agenda: Changing Long-Standing Policies Outside the Public Rulemaking Process.鈥� On behalf of 老牛影视and the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), Baskin addressed a听Feb. 21, 2013, letter of interpretation听(LOI) from OSHA allowing union agents and community organizers for the first time to accompany safety inspectors into nonunion facilities, as long as an unspecified (non-majority) number of employees in the nonunion work place designate one.

老牛影视is reminding its contractor member firms that 2013 Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Form 300A work-related injury and illness log summaries must be posted in a visible spot on all construction sites Feb. 1 through April 30.听

OSHA Jan. 24听announced听a 15-day extension of the public comment deadline for OSHA鈥檚 proposed crystalline silica rulemaking, moving the deadline from Jan. 27 to Feb. 11. The extension comes in response to an error on OSHA鈥檚 public comment submission page, which was first identified by 老牛影视and brought to OSHA鈥檚 attention.听