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Agricultural Safety Program
Reducing the risks in the agricultural workplace!
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CAL/OSHA Is Coming to Your Workplace... Are You
Prepared?
(Summary of Safety Breakfast Meeting held Wednesday, June 9, 1999)
ARE YOU PREPARED?
Had an accident yet at your workplace? If you haven’t, don’t worry,
you will. And when you do, what will be the seriousness of it? Will it be
something fairly minor because of safety precautions already in place, or
will it be something major because nothing was done in the area of safety
training or education?
Those are some of the questions that any farm or agribusiness employer
should ask him or herself when considering the future of the business,
suggested L. George Daniels III at the most recent Safety Breakfast
Meeting hosted by the Center for Agricultural Business (CAB) at California
State University, Fresno. Daniels is executive vice president of the Farm
Employers Labor Service (FELS), an independent consulting firm based in
Sacramento, California.
The subject of Daniels’ talk at the June meeting was "CAL/OSHA
Is Coming to Your Workplace… Are You Prepared?" According to
Daniels, it’s not a matter of if the safety administration agency is
going to visit you, but when. "It’s a done deal; you’re going to
have an inspection," Daniels declared. And when you do, for the sake
of your employees and your business, it is wise to be prepared.
Preparing for Cal/OSHA means ensuring that common safety standards are
adhered to in your workplace – both for the safety of your employees and
the profitability of your business – since no business that repeatedly
violates safety rules and has injured employees is going to stay in
business for long. Preparing for Cal/OSHA means knowing OSHA procedures
and rules, knowing how to read the rules, and preparing for the visit,
Daniels said.
KNOWING OSHA PROCEDURES AND RULES
There are many ways to learn the standards for establishing a
reasonably safe working environment for employees. One is by reading
publications such as the Cal/OSHA Reporter. But there are more
"reader-friendly" sources that can offer the information in
simpler formats, Daniels said. One the "Farm Labor Manual for
California Farmers" published by the California Farm Bureau
Federation Other sources of information include consulting services such
as the Farm Employers Labor Service; videos produced by various agencies
and organizations; and safety news groups that operate on the Internet or
in other arenas.
In fact, the Internet is becoming a more beneficial source for OSHA
information, with several agencies now posting information, Daniels said.
The following sites, hosted by different entities, can be accessed
directly:
KNOWING HOW TO READ THE RULES
Cal/OSHA maintains thousands of rules and regulations governing all
types of work and workplaces in California, and knowing how to determine
which rules apply to your business or company requires skill, Daniels
said. He recommended obtaining help from FELS or other service
organizations to navigate the following key areas of Cal/OSHA regulations
that are directly or indirectly related to agriculture:
- General Industry Safety Orders
- Industry Safety Orders
- Vertical Standards – Article 13 Agriculture
- Horizontal Standards
PREPARING FOR A VISIT
One aspect of preparation for a Cal/OSHA visit is to ensure that the
actual workplace conditions and employee training meet OSHA standards. The
other, and equally important aspect, is to maintain documentation.
"Often employers will concentrate on safety training and inspection
of facilities, but there is more to avoiding a Cal/OSHA violation,"
Daniels said. "Cal/OSHA is becoming more paper-driven; when they come
and audit you, this [paper] is what they want to see." Preparation
for a visit from a Cal/OSHA representative should include availability of
the following documents:
- Log 200
- Industry and Illness Prevention Program (IIPP)
- Training Records
- Written Records
- Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS)
For more information on these documents, contact Cal/OSHA, the FELS or
anther type of consulting agency, Daniels said. As an aid to businesses,
FELS specializes in conducting personnel audits similar to those that
would be conducted by Cal/OSHA or other government agencies. The FELS
audit can assess your business’s compliance with rules in the areas of
minimum wage and overtime, labor contractor records, hiring and
termination procedures, tax withholding and deductions, safety programs
and procedures, and workers’ compensation insurance. To contact Daniels
or FELS, call 1-800-753-9073 or access the FELS web site at www.cfbf.com/fels.htm.
UPCOMING SAFETY BREAKFAST MEETINGS
Safety Breakfast meetings are hosted monthly (except for July and
August) by the Center for Agricultural Business. The purpose is to provide
a forum for safety professionals to meet and exchange ideas, information
and concerns. Topics vary according to interests and needs of the
agricultural and agribusiness industries.
The next safety breakfast meeting hosted by CAB is tentatively
scheduled for Wednesday, September 8, 1999. Meetings run from 7:30 to 9:30
a.m. in the CATI Conference Room at the California Agricultural Technology
Institute, 2910 E. Barstow Ave., Fresno, California.
More than 20 sponsoring businesses and organizations currently provide
financial support for the safety breakfast meetings. Sponsors names are
listed on publicity fliers and signs at the meetings. For more
information, to suggest a topic of discussion, or to discuss becoming a
sponsor, call (559) 278-4405.
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