Safety Sheets Move Online
by Allen Cooley
The U.S. Occupational Safety & Health Administration’s Hazard Communication Standard requires employers to maintain material safety data sheets for each hazardous chemical they use. But at many companies, those records are moving to the World Wide Web.
As an alternative to maintaining paper copies, many suppliers offer an online database to serve as the primary hazard-information resource. According to OSHA standard 29 CFR 1910.1200 (g) (8), "electronic access, microfiche and other alternatives to maintaining paper copies of [MSDSs] are permitted as long as no barriers to immediate employee access in each workplace are created by such options."
Vendors typically gather and digitize all data sheets found in the newspaper facility. Once indexed in a database, they are accessible companywide via networked PCs. The information must be updated periodically, per the HazCom standard.
The main question involving such systems has been whether paper backup copies are required for a company to be in compliance with the HCS. According to a series of clarification letters written by OSHA officials, hard copies are not always necessary.
"Since the HCS is a performance-oriented standard, OSHA does not mandate the maintenance of paper copies of MSDSs for emergency backup," stated John B. Miles, then OSHA’s Directorate of Compliance Programs director, in 1997.
But Miles did require a reliable backup system providing "rapid access to MSDSs in the event of an emergency, including power outages, equipment failure, online-access delays and other such circumstances." Also, employees must be able to access hard copies via printers or fax machines, and similar mechanisms must be available to medical personnel in emergencies.
A 1998 clarification letter by Richard Fairfax, Directorate of Compliance
Programs acting director, added that hazard information also could be
obtained over the telephone "if the employee is relying on [the telephone]
only for the purposes of backing up the primary electronic system"
and the data are made available "as soon as possible."
(See
www.osha-slc.gov/OshDoc/Interp_data/I19981013A.html.)
That assessment also is backed by the most recent interpretation by Charles Jeffress, U.S. Department of Labor assistant secretary of labor for occupational safety and health. (See www.osha-slc.gov/OshDoc/ Interp_data/I19990218.html.)
Cooley is an NAA industrial hygienist. E-mail, coola@naa.org; phone, (703) 902-1834; fax, (703) 902-1828.
Compliance Versus Behavior
When it comes to safety, publishers typically focus on compliance issues. But papers could benefit from more proactive, behavioral approaches, said many SuperConference speakers.
Still, compliance issues remain important for good reason–just ask Allen Key, vice president of operations for Times Community Newspapers in Leesburg, Va. Key shared the story of his paper’s painful experience with the U.S. Occupational Safety & Health Administration.
Early last year, two employees filed OSHA complaints, triggering a plant inspection. Finding only minor violations, the inspectors told Key, "It looks like you simply have some disgruntled employees."
Then a list of citations arrived in the mail. "The citations were worded much more strongly and the fines were much higher than I expected," said Key.
Even so, Key worked diligently to address all the issues and document each fix. At an informal conference, OSHA officials agreed that corrective action had been taken on all citations except one–for an exposed shaft on the paper’s Goss press. Key was forced to pay a fine and find a machine shop that could manufacture a cup to place over the end of the shaft.
While the end goal of many newspaper-safety programs is to avoid becoming such a target, Newsday changed its approach and saw accident rates steadily fall at its Melville, N.Y., facilities.
After implementing behavioral-safety programs, which empower and encourage workers and supervisors to take ownership of safety efforts, Newsday managers were inspired when workers pointed out more than 100 areas where changes were needed.
"There is an ongoing dialogue now between supervisors and line workers," said James Norris, senior vice president of operations. "There’s a reason the newspaper industry is embracing behavioral safety–because it works."
Unlike conventional programs, which are designed solely to comply with federal rules with minimal disruptions, behavioral-safety programs stress safe work practices and make line workers and supervisors jointly responsible for safety.
Consultant Tom Stewart urged publishers to prepare for such programs–and
their cost. A behavioral-safety program covering 300-to-500 employees
costs about $65,000, a worthwhile expense when you factor in savings from
avoiding accidents, he argued.