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October, 2001 - Contractors’ Safety Responsibility OSHA recently conducted an inspection at a chemical plant where two outside contractors were working. During the course of the inspection, each contractor was cited and fined $12,600 for two safety violations: not training employees for potential chemical hazards in the workplace and not providing appropriate respirators. Regardless of who owns or controls the workplace, every employer is required to protect his/her employees against recognized hazards. On multi-employer work sites, OSHA citations normally will be issued to employers whose employees are exposed to hazards even though another employer may, by contract or through actual practice, be responsible for safety and health conditions at the work site. If your employees work at other sites, know as much as you can about the types of hazards to which they may be exposed and take appropriate protective measures. If you cannot personally train your employees, as is often the case at remote work sites, take the initiative to ensure that appropriate training, hazard communication and other protective measures are provided. This is often accomplished by a visit to review the work site, agreement with another company and follow-up to ensure these agreements are met. After you have made a survey of the remote work area and agreed with the other company involved as to training responsibility and other protective measures to be taken, be sure to thoroughly document these activities, including potential hazards of which you are aware and any safety training your employees have received. Compare your training records with the results of your site survey to ensure that all observed hazards have been or will be addressed prior to beginning work.
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© 2000 Prest-O-Sales & Service, Inc.
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