What's different in occupational safety rules and regulations etc. now as opposed to say, 25 to 30 years ago.

I worked for a Fortune 500 Co. in the early 80's that relied mainly on Gov't contracts for development and manufacture of Avionics test equipment and such with an average Maintenance crew of 40 - 45 and never saw an OSHA person, Never attended any job-related safety training or trade related instruction. Yet, we did all the maintenance and added installation/construction (constant) for about 2 million sq. ft. of Office/Engineering/Machine Shop/Testing/Assembly and Warehousing space in 7 different buildings. What would be different nowadays?

Bill

[This message has been edited by Bill Addiss (edited 12-04-2001).]

Well, from a 'users' perspective in a gov't facility, I can tell you that they feed us safety info like there's no tomorrow. And, in some cases it's to the detriment of speedy work (imagine that in a gov't setting anyway!) and gives rise to an extra-cautious workforce or user as in the case of 'stop work' rules where any person, no matter expertise, rank or role, can figuratively or literally 'pull the plug' on work being done if they detect an unsafe situation.

Also, due to accidents in recent years, we now have extra 'layers' of approvals prior to the release of a design package to even get out to construction and then there are the on-site approvals, sign in sheets, site-specific safety courses, etc. There are safeguards such as a buddy-system when working on ANY energized object - you cannot work alone or if you do, there's a safety infraction to face.

We have easily added 25-30% for admin time surrounding field work and it's easy to gripe about the seemingly endless litany of safety-related info, but I guess it beats the fear, frustration and loss of a future similar to that experienced by one of the electricians who now sits strapped into a special wheelchair, staring off into space and not able to recognize most of his loved ones.

[This message has been edited by BuggabooBren 'cuz she can't spell... (edited 12-04-2001).]

[This message has been edited by BuggabooBren (edited 12-04-2001).]

I hate to say anything nice about insurance companies, but they give rebates for certain levels of competency through training, as well as an aware worker is not as likely to get injured. Couple this with the companies who actually back up the "do it safe, or leave" mentality, and the guys know that you are serious. Some of these things combine to make classes (which of course we would have NEVER gotten back in the 70's) a bit more prevalent today.

The biggest difference between now and then would be the level of resources dedicated to workers safety, both by the companies and the government. OSHA just celebrated it's 30th anniversary with much to be proud of. As an agency that catches more crap than they deserve, they have made a huge difference in the workers life and his/her family benefits from this. Sure there is a lot of room for improvement, but don't bitch at the safety professional or at OSHA...WRITE YOUR BLASTED CONGRESSMAN and give them the crap, it is the politicians that can screw up a steel ball. In a basic OSHA class I teach, I tell my students that OSHA rights the regs they way they need to be written, then the politicians get paid off by the lobbyist and out comes a screwed up, un-enforceable standard that has so many loop holes in it, it looks like Swiss cheese!

Is there any source of information, or can someone explain, in simple terms, how the Company, Employee and OSHA are now related? What is now mandated by law?

Bill

Thus the Golden rule...

In terms of difference over time, there is probably a widening gap of conform bettween the fortune 500's and small biz.

Bill, Check out OSHA's "Worker Page" at their homepage, www.OSHA.gov

You will see a link to the "Workers Page" in the left hand column of your screen. Below is a direct link to the page, but it sometimes does not work.
http://www.osha.gov/as/opa/worker/index.html

This should answer your questions about the relationship between the worker, employer and OSHA. Any specifics, just drop me a line, this is one area I love to help out in.

Bryan

I'm not sure if my question came across in the way that it was intended. As I think back, I realize how unqualified we were to do the types of work we were doing and how ill-equipped we were to handle or protect ourselves from accidents or injuries. I am really surprised that we had no serious incidents (permanent injury) back then. There were some real close calls though.

Some of our guys were almost killed on several occasions. These incidents were because of VERY STUPID mistakes that anyone with any Electrical Safety training would not have made. Bottom line is that we shouldn't have been asked or allowed to do them because we weren't qualified and didn't know the dangers.

I imagine that it would probably be different nowadays in a big Company like that but not sure how much would be due to fear of liability on the companys' part.

Bill

So why isn't this training free & readily available??

Also,
how many state apprenticeship programs have adopted imparting any safety regulations to the newbees ???

Sparky,
I can't speak for anything but VA, but we have a rather large part of the first year devoted to safety, however, teaching the 4th year, I can't really say how much.

Also, 30 years ago (so I'm told, not being born yet.........ahem) the first 6 weeks of the IBEW was safety and first aid, course, all we had were rocks and sticks to work with then.

I really don't like some of the exorbitant costs of these safety courses i see in the mailings i get.
This secondary market rides on the shirttails of OSHA, having thier wares ready even in the ROP stage.
$600, $700 for one & two day courses is price gouging, especially given that all the code update instructors get an average of $60 a day per head.
So, in effect, this becomes the difference bettween yesteryear & today, the mandates have grown exponetially , as has this market.
For the fortune 500's who've tried to keep up the cost is controllable, for the average Joe opening his doors, hardly achievable.

Much of the safety training I've seen has been a paperwork matter much more than an educational matter.
We had a company come out on a regular basis at $200 an hour to give "safety meetings".
Most of the instructor's info didn't pertain to the work we perform (we're electricians, not roofers), and he was unable to answer most specific questions asked of him. We were given "tests" (answers given 1 by 1 as we filled the test out) with little cards given out when we "passed".
Weekly "Tailgate" safety meetings were given, most of the foremen just told the guys to "Sign this".
The contractor was perfectly happy with this setup, as he felt he had complied with the requirements ("It'll keep the insurance co off my back").
At least in this case, it's not all that much better than it ever was