2017 saw a year of changes and modifications to OSHA regulations as the safety industry tries to support the labor workforce in keeping their work environment a safe place to be. HB NEXT is committed to supporting construction firms in understanding and complying with OSHA regulations. HB NEXT Senior Instructor/Consultant Raymond Scott reviews some of the 2017 OSHA changes.

  • The year saw the end of the silica controversy and the adoption of the new standard.  We have seen the industry struggle to even come close to achieving the new standard.  Fortunately, OSHA gave us the T-1 table. If followed, this relieves us of meeting the standard. The first round of lawsuits were concluded Dec 22, 2017, with the courts upholding OSHA. For the time being, we are stuck with the standard. The biggest issue may lie in the B-reader test being used. This is the same procedure used in “black lung” and asbestos testing.
  • Subpart CC had the operator certification pushed to November 10, 2018.  Note, this does not relieve the employer from the responsibility of ensuring operator training.
  • Residential construction continues to be OSHA’s focus with over 6000 fall protection citations issued to home builders.
  • Electronic reporting of form 300a got off to a slow start due to technical issues on OSHA’s end with the filing date extended to December 15, 2017.  Next year, we will have until July 16, 2018. Moving on from 2019, we will have to meet the original March 2 deadline.
  • OSHA has finally recognized the importance of safety training for first and second line supervisors in leadership. It is sorely needed, and they are encouraging it in their Outreach Training 500, 502 Classes.
  • We have seen OSHA starting to push the residential industry to address attics and crawl spaces as confined space.
  • With the new administration’s pro-business approach, we expect to see a slowdown in new regulation over the next few years with a possible review of existing rules.

Staying abreast of OSHA regulation changes is critical to providing a safe work environment and minimizes the impact on project budgets before fines are imposed. HB NEXT is here to serve in a support role for construction firms’ safety and compliance business units. Contact HB NEXT today for any questions regarding your OSHA compliance situation.