Today, Secretary Solis selected Jordan Barab to be Deputy Assistant Secretary for OSHA and Acting Assistant Secretary, effective Monday, April 13. Jordan comes to OSHA from the House Education and Labor Committee where he is the Senior Labor Policy Advisor for Health and Safety to Chairman George Miller. Prior to that, from 2002 through 2007, Jordan worked at the US Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board.

Many will remember Jordan from his first tour with OSHA, where he was Special Assistant to the Assistant Secretary from 1998-2001.

AGC has a long history and strong relationship with the Directorate of Construction and will continue to strengthen our relationship with OSHA and the Directorate.

Please contact Kevin Cannon at (703) 837-5410 or email at cannonk@agc.org.

On February 17, 2009, a change in personnel was made at OSHA.  Mr. Noah Connell, Deputy Director, Directorate of Construction (DOC) within the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has been the Acting Director for the DOC since April 2008.  This was the second time in three years that Mr. Connell has been Acting Director.  However, the Administration has selected Mr. Richard Fairfax, Director, Directorate of Enforcement Programs to act as the Acting Director for the DOC.  Mr. Fairfax will manage both the Directorate of Enforcement Programs and Construction until the new Secretary of Labor and Assistant Secretary of Labor, OSHA select a permanent Director for the DOC. The official announcement has been made within OSHA, but not for public. The official announcement has not been made public.

Mr. Steven Witt was the most recent Director for the DOC until April 2008 when it was announced by former Assistant Secretary Foulke that Mr. Witt would serve as the Director, Directorate of Cooperative and State Programs. Previous to Mr. Witt, Mr. R. Bruce Swanson was the Director for the DOC for many years.

AGC has a long history and strong relationship with the Directorate of Construction and will continue to strengthen our relationship with OSHA and the Directorate.

Please contact Michele Myers at (703) 837-5410 or myersm@agc.org, if you have any questions.

On January 26, 2009, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration published an announcement to hold public hearing on Crane and Derricks in Construction. The public hearings for Crane and Derricks in Construction will be held in Washington D.C. on March 17, 2009.

Anyone who intends to testify at the public hearing must notify the Agency in writing by February 13, 2009.  If the testimony will be longer than ten minutes, or if documentary evidence will be submitted, that information must be submitted to the Agency by March 3, 2009.

For more information on the history of the Crane and Derricks in Construction proposed rule and AGC’s comments during the C-DAC process or the SBREFA panel, click here. Also, visit AGC Advocacy to review regulations and comments submitted by AGC on Safety and Health regulations throughout the year.

Please contact Michele Myers at (703) 837-5410 or myersm@agc.org, if you have any questions.

Previous AGC Safety and Health Newsletter articles related to the same topic:

• AGC Comments and Requests Public Hearings on Proposed Crane and Derricks Standard
• OSHA Grants Extension for Public Comments on Crane and Derricks
• OSHA Publishes Crane and Derrick Proposal
  

  
  

AGC submitted public comments January 22 to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and also requested that public hearings be held nationwide on the proposed Crane and Derricks in Construction standard. OSHA is tentatively scheduling public hearings for mid-March 2009 and the locations are yet to be determined. Crane operator qualification and certification is still AGC’s primary concern with the proposal.  AGC also commented on several other areas for clarification, such as the scope, definitions, fall protection, inspections and assembly/disassembly requirements.  AGC’s comments were derived from conference calls with members and chapters who reviewed and commented on the proposal.

For more information on the history of the Crane and Derricks in Construction proposed rule and AGC’s comments during the C-DAC process or the SBREFA panel, click here. Also, visit AGC Advocacy to review regulations and comments submitted by AGC on Safety and Health regulations throughout the year.

For more information, contact Michele Myers at (703) 837-5410 or myersm@agc.org .

Previous AGC Safety and Health Newsletter articles related to the same topic:

• OSHA Grants Extension for Public Comments on Crane and Derricks
• OSHA Publishes Crane and Derrick Proposal

The Associated General Contractors of America (AGC), for the seventh year in a row, has partnered with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to offer the FREE Susan Harwood Grant training seminars! The Focus Four Hazards in Construction, covers falls, electrocutions, struck-by's, and caught-between’s, which account for the greatest number of fatalities in the construction industry.

AGC will be offering the Focus Four Hazards in Construction Training Seminar in 14 Chapter locations this year. The first class will be held at the Omni San Diego Hotel on January 13, 2009.

Topics that will be covered:

• Focus Four Hazard Statistics
• OSHA standards and industry best practices to abate Focus Four Hazards
• How to identify locations of Focus Four Hazards
• Selection and criteria of Focus Four Hazards safety systems and equipment
• Training requirements for Focus Four Hazards

The FREE Focus Four Hazards training seminar will assist you in lowering your risk of falls or injuries on the job site. Click here to register or for additional details contact Raj Vohra at vohrar@agc.org or call (703) 837-5409.

For a full list of Focus Four Hazards in Construction Training Seminar locations and dates, please visit our Susan Harwood Grant Training Seminar page.

The Occupational safety and Health Administration (OSHA) published an information collection (paperwork reduction) requirement (ICR) for Blasting and the Use of Explosives on December 8, 2008. OSHA is soliciting public comments concerning its proposal to extend the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval of the ICR specified in the Standard on Blasting and the Use of Explosives (29 CFR part 1926, subpart U).

OSHA is requesting that OMB extend its approval of the collection of information requirements contained in the Standard on Blasting and the Use of Explosives. The Agency will include this summary in its request to OMB to extend the approval of these collections of information requirements. OSHA estimates that the average time per response varies from 5 minutes (.08 hour) to notify a hoist operator of blasting agents to 8 hours to develop an alternative plan if an employer is unable to display adequate warning signs against mobile transmitters during blasting operations. OSHA estimates that the total burden hours is 1,294 and the estimated cost for operation and maintenance is approximately $800,000.

OSHA has a particular interest in comments on the following issues:

• Whether the proposed information collection requirements are necessary for the proper performance of the Agency’s functions, including whether the information is useful;
• The accuracy of OSHA’s estimate of the burden (time and costs) of the information collection requirements, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used;
• The quality, utility, and clarity of the information collected; and
• Ways to minimize the burden on employers who must comply; for example, by using automated or other technological information collection and transmission techniques.

Please contact Michele Myers, Director, Safety and Health at (703) 837-5410 or via email - , to
myersm@agc.org submit comments.  Comments are due to OSHA by February 6, 2009.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration published on Thursday, December 4, 2008, an extension of the Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) approval of information collection (Paperwork) requirements (ICR).  OSHA is soliciting comments concerning its proposal to extend OMB approval of the ICR contained in the Cadmium in Construction Standard (29 CFR 1926.1127).

The Agency estimates the burden hours at 39,331; however, it is proposing to increase the currently approved capital costs from $1,657,460 to $1,775,457, a total increase of $117,997, which is due to the Agency increasing the cost to perform medical surveillance and exposure monitoring. The Agency will summarize the comments submitted in response to this notice and will include this summary in the request to OMB. OSHA estimates that the average time per response varies from two minutes (.03 hour) for a secretary to compile and maintain training records to 1.5 hours to administer employee medical
examinations.

OSHA has a particular interest in comments on the following issues:

• Whether the proposed ICR is necessary for the proper performance of the Agency’s functions, including whether the information is useful;
• The accuracy of OSHA’s estimate of the burden (time and costs) of the information collection requirements, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used;
• The quality, utility, and clarity of the information collected; and
• Ways to minimize the burden on employers who must comply; for example, by using automated or other technological information collection and transmission techniques.

Please contact Michele Myers, Director, Safety and Health at (703) 837-5410 or via email - , to
myersm@agc.org submit comments.  Comments are due to OSHA by February 3, 2009.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has granted a 45-day extension for the Cranes and Derricks in Construction Notice for Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), which was published on October 9, 2008.  The original deadline for public comment was December 8, 2008.  OSHA has extended the deadline for public comments to Thursday, January 22, 2009.

AGC of America had submitted a 60-day extension request for the Cranes and Derricks in Construction NPRM on November 6, 2008.  Many AGC members also requested a 60-day extension for the rule. OSHA requests over 100 requests for public comment in the proposal, which AGC must research and consider.  To provide informed and well formulated comments, AGC requested additional time beyond the December 8, 2008 deadline, as the NPRM is over 200 pages of regulatory text, not including additional sources provided by OSHA to the Negotiated Rulemaking Crane and Derrick Advisory Committee members, additional resources and materials reference in the proposal.

For more information on the history of the Crane and Derricks in Construction propsal, and the complete NPRM of Cranes and Derricks, please visit Crane and Derricks in Construction and please visit AGC’s resources for crane safety.  If you have any questions or comments, please email Michele Myers or call at (703) 837-5410.

Mr. Edwin Foulke Jr., announced that his last day as Assistant Secretary of Labor for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) will be Friday, November 7, 2008. Foulke was named by President George W. Bush to head OSHA on Sept. 15, 2005, and was confirmed by the Senate on March 15, 2006. Foulke was sworn in as the head of the agency on April 3, 2006.

A native of Perkasie, Pa, Foulke graduated from North Carolina State University (with honors) in 1974. He earned his law degree from Loyola University in 1978, and a Master of Law degree from Georgetown University Law School in 1993. He also served as an adjunct professor at New Orleans’ St. Mary’s Dominican College. He is admitted to practice in Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and the District of Columbia, and is admitted in the Fourth, Eleventh and D.C. Federal Circuit Courts of Appeals, as well as the U.S. Supreme Court.

From 1990 to 1995, Foulke served on the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission, chairing the commission from March 1990 to February 1994. The three-member commission is an independent federal adjudicatory agency that renders decisions involving workplace safety and health citations arising from OSHA inspections.

Foulke served on the Workplace Health and Safety Committee for the Society for Human Resource Management from 2000 to 2004, including a two-year term as the committee’s chair. He was also a member of the Health and Safety Subcommittee for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Foulke has authored articles on workplace safety and health for various entities, including the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce, American Bar Association, the South Carolina Bar Association and the North Carolina Citizens for Business and Industry.

Before coming to OSHA, Foulke was a partner with the law firm of Jackson Lewis, LLP in Greenville, S.C., and Washington, D.C., where he chaired the firm’s OSHA practice group. His practice areas included all topics of labor relations, specializing in occupational safety and health issues, workplace violence risk assessment and prevention and accident and fatality prevention.

Foulke Joins Atlanta Law Firm

Mr. Foulke has joined longtime AGC member and labor attorney, Howard Mavity today, at Fisher & Phillips' Atlanta office, where they will coordinate Fisher & Phillips Workplace Safety & Catastrophe Management Practice Group. Many AGC members know Mavity from his various catastrophic construction cases and involvement in AGC safety initiatives.  Foulke is reputedly going to focus especially heavily on assisting employers in developing more effective safety and health management programs. AGC wishes Mr. Foulke the best in future endeavors.

Acting Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA

Thom Stohler will be Acting Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA for the time being. Mr. Stohler was most recently the Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) at the U.S. Department of Labor since May 2008. Working with the Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA and the senior leadership of the Department of Labor, he develops and implements the policy goals and objectives of the Administration. He also oversees the regulatory, compliance assistance, OSHA state plan oversight, emergency response, training, administrative, and IT functions at the agency.

Prior to working for OSHA, Mr. Stohler was a Senior Legislative Officer for the Office of Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs at the Department of Labor. In this capacity, he served as the principle House and Senate liaison for OSHA and the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA). He has also worked in the student lending industry, and spent 10 years working for high tech and construction trade associations, including AGC of America. Mr. Stohler has also worked for several members of Congress, most recently as the Legislative Director for Rep. John Boehner.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) published the Notice for Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) for Crane and Derricks (C-DAC) today, October 9, 2008.  On June 13, 2008, OSHA submitted the proposal to OMB, who approved the proposed rule for publication.

OSHA established a Crane and Derrick Negotiated Rulemaking Advisory Committee (C-DAC) under the Negotiated Rulemaking Act (NRA), the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act) and the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) to assist in the development of the rule. AGC participated as a C-DAC member.

During C-DAC, AGC expressed concern over a few areas for the draft proposed rule.  C-DAC reached final conensus on July 9, 2004, all issues were agreed to unanimously, with the exception of AGC's dissent on the Section 1422 Operator Qualification.

AGC will have a summary of the Crane and Derrick NPRM shortly.  Public comments for the proposal is due Decemeber 8, 2008

For more information on the history of C-DAC, and the complete NPRM of Cranes and Derricks, please visit Crane and Derricks in Construction and please visit AGC's resources for crane safety for more information.  If you have any questions or comments, please email Michele Myers or call at (703) 837-5410.