Although most business owners in every industry have heard of the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA), relatively few of the business owners Waldheger Coyne has surveyed have ever had direct contact with OSHA or any of its investigators. Nevertheless, OSHA and its mission are important to all business owners, and you should be familiar with its requirements.

OSHA is a division of the U.S. Department of Labor. Its mission is “to assure the safety and health of America’s workers by setting and enforcing standards; providing training, outreach, and education; establishing partnerships; and encouraging continual improvement and workplace safety and health.” Since OSHA is responsible for providing these services to virtually every working person in the country, one can imagine that its standards are quite broad. Standards are generally designed and written with respect to a particular type of activity rather than a particular industry. An hvacr worker and workplace will be subject to a variety of standards covering the following:

Personal Safety and Workplace Practices — Safety in confined spaces, safety with hand tools, using ladders and scaffolds properly, safety practices with refrigerant in confined spaces and safe driving practices are some of the standards OSHA looks for. It also looks for and inspects clothing, safety equipment, hard hats, safety glasses, hearing protection, safe practices in repair, and the use of warning symbols.

Personal Safety and Moving Machinery — Under scrutiny: blowers, pulleys, and proper clothing.

Electrical Safety — Ground fault interrupters on outdoor extension cords are required as is personal protection.

Brazing and Soldering Safe Practices — Proper brazing safety, oxygen and acetylene safety, and the proper use of purging gases — nitrogen, carbon dioxide, etc., are all potential inspection points. OSHA also will check to make sure fire extinguishers are readily accessible.

Safe Handling of Refrigerant Materials — Ensuring hvacr contractors are practicing proper disposal, securing refrigerants for transport, posting signage and documentation for refrigerants, properly storing and filling containers are sticking points.

Hazmat Training — OSHA looks for signage for hazardous materials, if the hazardous materials are properly secured for transport, and documentation for hazardous materials — Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS). Also, worker requirements for hazmat training are inspected.

How can you address all these matters and still run a business? Fortunately, there are some good resources available. All good technical training programs for the hvacr industry include workplace safety as part of the core curriculum. Additionally, many good courses are available online through various Web sites. Finally, the industry itself is taking an active role with OSHA. In 2003, the Air Conditioning Contractors of America (ACCA) formalized an alliance with OSHA to address worker safety and health issues. Key to the alliance is the agreement to ensure ACCA members and others are armed with information related to safety supervision, equipment and material handling, driver and vehicle safety, ladder and lift use, and lock-out/tag-out issues.

Perhaps the best place to look for information regarding OSHA requirements is the OSHA Web site www.osha.gov. It includes an enormous amount of valuable information, including special guidance for small business.

A safe workplace and a good safety program will keep your employees free from injury and on the job. For that reason alone, it makes good business sense to be familiar with OSHA and its requirements.

Michael P. Coyne is a founding partner of the law firm, Waldheger Coyne, located in Cleveland, Ohio. For more information on the firm, visit www.healthlaw.com, or call 440-835-0600. To pose a question to Mike, go to www.hvacrbusiness.com/forums.