PSS ENTERPRISES

• Employers and managers should lead by example.  If your employee sees a superior taking safety seriously, they will too!
• Assign Safety and Health Responsiblities to employees.  If you involve and rotate employee responsibities, everyone will feel important and compliant.
• Give the assigned employees to correct minor issues.  When a subordinate is give a little more power than their position requires, they are more likely to do what it takes to keep earning your trust and respect.
• Assure your employees that they may voice their concerns regarding safety without any reprocussions.  These employees are the front line guys and they often see the danger in a position before a manager does. Listen to what they have to say and respect their position on safety.  Most state laws protect whistltblowers, so check your states regulations.
• Inform employees of any hazards that you are aware of.  Again, it is the employer’s responsibility to safeguard their employees, so keep the lines of communication open.
• If you are sharing a worksite with other companies or their employees, it is your responsiblity to commincate any known hazards to them.  Share a safe workplace.
• Post the OSHA state or Federal poster where all can see it.  Employees have a righ to know the law.

• Carefully evaluate all operations, procedures, facilities, and equipment to identify hazards to employees and others.
• Monitor exposure levels of noise, air quality, heat, electricity, silica or dust, and moisture. 
• Set aside time to do routine inspections.  If you create a habit of safety awareness, you will create a timeless good habit.
• If you have an accident, conduct an investigation.  The best way to prevent history from repeating itself it to identify and address the factors that caused the accident to begin with.
• Do a PPE assessment.  For every position within construction, evaluate the potential dangers associated with that assignment, then create a list of personal protection equipment that should be worn while performing these tasks.  Determine if it goes beyond simple protection and what procautions should be taken. Document all of your findings.

• Inspect and ensure all machines and tools are in proper working order with relevant standards. 
• Develop positive practices with workplace safety and health so that it becomes second nature.
• Housekeeping is a must.  Jobsites should be free of debris and cleaned up daily to ensure the safety of others.

• Develop emergency response plans for your jobsite.  If you are in an industry where your jobsite changes frequently, you still need to have a response plan.  These do not have to elaborate, but clear enough to communicate what needs to be done in case of an emergency.
• Have an emergency route to evacuate injured employees.  If your jobsite is in a new development area that the emergency response team may not have access too, have in a convienent location that is easily accessable by all employees.  Use established landmarks and turn by turn directions.
• Have a list of all the jobsite emergency contact information including any pre-existing medical conditions and allergies that emergency personel may need to know.

• Employers should train employees to recognize hazards and unsafe working conditions and how to avoid them. 
• Employers need to provide training on safe work practices, safe operation of machinery, and equipment, and how to recognize when things are not safe.
• Access ladders, stairways, confined space, and enclosed space entry hazards are all subjects that need to be trained and documented.

• You must record and post injuries and fatalities.  This is otherwise known as the 300-log. 
• Maintain medical records and exposure records for all employees and past employess.
• You must maintain all appropriate documents and tags for abatement purposes.  If you do not have these items, it could mean hefty fines.

Accounting

·         Accounts payable

·         Accounts receivables

·         Payroll

·         General ledger balancing

·         Invoicing

·         Credit memos

·         Monthly reconciliation

·         Machine/auto depreciation

·         Expense reports

·         Tax exempt forms

·         Create credit applications for companies, complete and reference forms upon request

·         Weekly, monthly, quarterly, yearly financial reports

·         Utilize QuickBooks 2003, Navision, Excel 2007

Human Resources

·         All documentation from new employees to employee termination

·         Create or update employee handbook

·         Create employee safety programs

·         Completion and reporting of government forms such as I-9, W-4, TWCC-83

·         Subcontractor agreements

·         Medical, Dental, Vision benefits administration and management

·         Administer 401K programs

·         Manage open enrollment periods

·         Update employee records

·         Disciplinary reporting, files, and processes

·         Worker compensation claims

·         Unemployment claims

·         Child support administration, wage garnishment

·         COBRA administrator, certified

·         Register employee’s with the Texas Attorney General’s office

·         Texas Workforce and Texas Attorney General office administration and company registration

·         Utilize the following resources for Human Resources: Employer E-Services, ADP BenefitsDirect, TWC website, TAG website, HR Expert, EZ HR 2003, Excel 2007

Purchasing

·         Price negotiations

·         Secure pricing contracts

·         Negotiate mass quantity discounts

·         Supply budget projection

·         Forecast purchasing needs, quarterly and annually

·         Purchase requisitions

·         Purchase orders

·         Purchase order reconciliation

·         Monthly inventory counts/reconciliation

Logistics

·         Overseas procurement

·         Coordination of point to point distribution

·         Shipping local, national, international

·         Ensure compliance of international trade laws and customs

·         Receiving of all inbound materials, quality control of packages

·         Returns as necessary

·         Negotiate contracts with major shipping companies such as Fed-Ex, UPS, DHL, securing the best rates based on shipping needs

·         Utilize Navision, Excel 2007, Maersk Online, US Container Network, LogisticPro

OSHA Compliance

·         Select correct industry requirements as per OSHA

·         Update and complete OSHA 300 Log

·         Update and coordinate OSHA records

·         MSDS Sheets, distribution and locations

·         Create employee safety programs

·         Implement safety programs for employee’s

·         Safety meetings, minutes and coordination

·         Evacuation plans

·         Fire escape routes and location markers

·         Coordinate safety and fire plans with city

·         Secure all permits for alarms, equipment

·         Monthly inspection of all fire extinguishers and water sprinkler systems

·         Utilize OSHA government website for compliance and coordinate with city governments

PSS Enteprises

1. Where are my employee files right now?
2. What is in my employee’s file? I-9, 1099, W-4, copies of 2 forms of ID, emergency contact information, and benefits paperwork are just standard paperwork that should be in your files at all times.
3. Absentee records, timekeeping, and disciplinary records- are they kept up to date?
4. Is your benefits administration information up to date?
5. What is contained in your employee handbook?  Are you protecting yourself and creating a fair environment for your employees?
6. Workers Compensation-who handles your paperwork with the state? Who administers your protocol?
7. OSHA record keeping-if you are industrial, who is your officer and what lines of communication does the officer have with your HR manager?
8. Is your commercial insurance handled in your HR department? If it is not, it should be.
9. Are you registered with the new government website to verify your employee’s social security numbers? 

OSHA has 5 categories of fines with price ranges to go with them.  Depending on your industry sector and the potential hazards involved along with your inspectors personality will help determine if your fines will start at the minimum or if it maxes out at the $70,000 fine.  Let’s go over the types of fines and costs associated with them.

• Willful-This fine is exactly what it sounds like.  It is given when there is a willful violation of safety and a complete disregard for the employee’s safety.  Fines for willful range from $5,000 to $70,000. 
• Serious-This is a violation given where there is substantial probability that death or serious injury could result and the employer knew or should have known about the hazard.  These fines are up to $7,000 per violation.
• Repeat-This is a shame on you violation.  OSHA has already been to your “house” and ticketed you and you did not correct the issue at hand.  These run $7,000 a violation and are not to be confused with …
• Failure to Abate-This is the violation that you were previously ticketed or warned about and was given a specific time period to comply and correct the issue.  Fines run a whopping $7,000 A DAY until the violation is corrected to OSHA’s approval.
• Other-This is the miscellaneous category.  Fines can run up to $7,000 for one of these. 

These are the numbers of 2006. (Sorry, they are still tallying 2007)

Knowing this, I don’t see how any employer would risk that kind of money on taking precautions on their employee’s behalf.  I was running the numbers it was surprising to what the percentages were by industry.

Number of Fines Issued            Percentages                             Industry

WOW.  And just to think that all of these fines could have been avoided.  I won’t lie to you; recordkeeping, preventative maintance, and housekeeping are all viable expenses, but their costs are nothing as compared to these fines.  Still not sure if you are compliant?  Call me at 1-800-285-2448 ext 706 or email me at joslyn@pssent.com and I would be more than happy to help.  See you next week, Joslyn.

“Who’s there?”

“OSHA”

“OSHA, Who?”

“Oh $hit!”

Ah, if it was only that funny. The truth is that OSHA is knocking on doors everyday. Don’t get me wrong, I am all for OSHA. There needs to be rules and regulations for a workplace enviroment. However, if you ever want to see the shop foreman’s face turn pale, jokingly tell him that OSHA has shown up. I don’t mean to crack jokes about something as serious as an OSHA inspection, so we will focus on the 5 things you should do if OSHA knocks on your door.

1. Check for Identification.

All OSHA inspection officers are goverment employees, and therefore are very well documented. When a person or persons state that they are with OSHA, ask politely for their Identification Badges. Unfortuately, there are some companies who try to sell OSHA compliance kits by scaring the owner to death with a “Had this been a real inspection, you would have been caught with your pants down, and that is why you need our services.” So once you have properly identified your inspection officer, offer them a seat in the conference room or in the breakroom. Whatever you do, do not sit them in an employee’s office or with an employee. Once you have your officer situated, move to step number 2.

2. Locate your Safety Officer!

Depending on your type of business, or how big your company is, your safety officer may be the owner, or it is the shop foreman, or it could be someone in the office. Every employee in your business should know who the safety officer is. Once you have located your safety officer, inform them that there is an OSHA inspection officer onsite in your secured location. This gives your safety officer time to gather their wits, paperwork, and throw safety glasses on before going to meet with the officer. (Granted, certain business sectors like banks, recruiting offices, and “desk job” vocations are less likely to have inspections. Most companies do not realize that no matter what they do, industrial, manufacturing, or not, all must abide to workplace regulations.)

3. Approach Your Inspection-With Confidence

From this point forward, I will be addressing the Safety Officer. Now that you have been informed that you have an inspector onsite, do a mental check and take a deep breath. Remember, these guys are not out to get you, just to make sure that you are doing the best you can to keep your employees and their work enviroment safe. Poke your head out into the production area and make sure that your employees have on their PPE (personal protection equipment), and if you see any employees without their safety equipment, make sure that they get it on before you walk the inspector through. Then grab your documentation books and head to the inspector. If you approach him/her with confidence, they will know that you have nothing to hide.

4.Keep Your Wits About You and Your Mouth Shut-

Don’t panic. After the formal introductions, let the inspector do the talking. Answer questions when asked, but keep in mind your answers before you blurt them out. When they ask for your documentation, MSDS, evacuation plans, safety minutes, have them handy to show the officer. Be calm and collective and this process (however nerve racking it may be) will go smoothly. After the documentation talk, the inspector will want to see the facility.

5. Offer the Inspection Officer Safety Equipment to Tour the Facility-

One aspect of these inspections are about is to determine if the person in charge of the employees has their best safety interest at heart at all times. With 5,703 work related deaths in 2006*, it is imperative that the supervior be on alert. So, offer the Inspector safety equipment prior to your walk thru. It works out well for both of you even when the officer turns down your PPE because they have their own, but at least they know you care now.

Now it is time for your walk thru. Take pride in the fact that you are doing everything you can to make your work enviroment a safe place to produce. If you are a little concerned that maybe you don’t quite have everything up to par, or you don’t have the documentation books up to date, give me a call. I can help you understand what your responsiblities are in your industry sector, supply you with personalized workbooks, and do a mock inspection to see how you fare. You can reach me at 1-800-285-2448 ext 706 or send me an email at joslyn@pssent.com .

*Statistic provided by http://www.osha.gov/