OSHA Inspection: LONESTAR UNDERGROUND, INC.

Issued

Jul 1, 2005

Abate by

Aug 3, 2005

Penalty

Initial $750

General-duty citation text

Section 5(a)(1) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970:
The employer did not furnish employment and a place of employment free
from recognized
hazards that were causing, or likely to cause, death or serious physical
harm to employees.
Training records were reviewed for 2003, 2004, and 2005. The discussions
about confined
spaces occurred on 5/26/03 in Spanish but no sign off sheet was available,
11/10/03 in
Spanish but no sign off sheet was available, 11/24/03 sign off sheet was
documented and in
English, 1/21/05 no sign off sheet was available, and 2/25/05 no sign off
sheet was
available. ANSI/ASSE Z117.1-2003, Safety Requirements for Confined Spaces,
Section
15.5.3 under Verification of Training states: Written records of training
shall be maintained
and include as a minimum: a) employee's name; b) trainer's name; c) date
of training; d)
training duration; e) training content.
ANSI/ASSE Z490.1-2001, Criteria for Accepted Practices in Safety, Health,
and
Environmental Training, Section 3.2, One of the elements for a training
program shall
include program documentation and record keeping. One of the elements of
Section 3.3.1
states: The training program shall be planned and implemented to assure
that adequate
information is maintained to provide a history of training events and
trainee completion.
Section 6.1.3 states: Each trainee or trainer being evaluated shall be
properly identified.
Section 7.1.1 states: A record keeping system shall be established for
controlling all records
and documents required by this Standard to ensure that: they are
retrievable, readily
identifiable, and maintained in an orderly manner; they are current,
accurate, legible, and
dated; they are retained for a specific period; they meet applicable
legislative and regulatory
requirements.
Section 7.2.2 states: Delivery records for each training event shall
identify: the date,
location, and duration of training; name and description of the course;
the names and
qualifications of persons delivering the training; the delivery materials
used; the trainees
participating in the training; and the trainees successfully completing
the training.
Among other methods, some feasible and acceptable methods to correct this
hazard are:
1. Have foreman provide copies or original documents to be filed and
maintained by the
employer.
2. Have employees sign off on topic safety sheets when they are discussed
during safety and
tailgate meetings.
3. Create a database to maintain training records that can be
electronically filed.
4. Periodically check that foreman are documenting safety training and
meetings.