Blog - Page 15 of 27 - Texas Steel Fabrication Safety Consulting Services

Effective OSHA Inspection Management

Many high hazard industries such as manufacturing and construction, especially small ones, are unaware of the potential risks related to OSHA fines and penalties. For example, did you know that OSHA increased fines by 78% on 8/1/16? These increases raised the maximum fines for “Serious” Violations (the most common type) from $7,000 to $12,476, and “Willful” and “Repeats” from $70.000 to $124,709 each. Non compliant companies routinely receive fines that can run into the $tens or even $hundreds of thousands of [...]

By Russell Carr|2021-10-21T22:20:14-05:00October 10th, 2017|OSHA Health & Safety, OSHA Texas Laws & Regulations, Safety Training, Texas OSHA Compliance|Comments Off

How We’re Tackling The “Skills Gap” Problem

The Skills Gap Problem Defined US manufacturers continue to struggle with the “Skills Gap,” a.k.a the “Talent Gap” problem. Although definitions vary, the problem boils down to the fact that manufacturing jobs continue to get more technical and complicated , while the majority of available job applicants simply lack the skills and experience needed to fill those positions. The situation is only getting worse and has put a major strain on manufacturers who can’t grow or fill orders due to [...]

By Russell Carr|2022-03-21T13:03:54-05:00July 27th, 2017|Good To Know|Comments Off

How I “Met” OSHA and Why It Launched a New Business

It was January of 2009 and I was attending a health and safety conference in San Diego, CA for the wind energy industry. I had started a small wind energy operations and maintenance services business in 2007, which rapidly grew from a few employees to over 40 in that first 2 years of operation. From the beginning I was determined to make safety a priority, but didn’t really understand what that meant. What I did know was that my employees [...]

By Russell Carr|2022-03-21T13:00:45-05:00July 3rd, 2017|OSHA Texas Laws & Regulations, Safety Training, Texas OSHA Compliance|Comments Off

Texas Surface Coating PBR Preparation

Surface Coating Permit By Rule-PBR in Texas Many Texas manufacturers are unaware of environmental regulations that require companies to seek "authorizations" from TCEQ for emitting air pollutants for their painting and coating processes. Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has a very specific air authorization for this activity: "Surface Coating, 106.433" This authorization is a "PBR" or Permit by Rule. In order to meet the requirements of this regulation, companies must take inventory of all associated paints and/or coatings and track their usage and emissions to [...]

By Russell Carr|2022-03-21T12:55:51-05:00June 6th, 2017|State & Local Regulation, Texas Environmental Regulations, Texas Hazardous Materials Regulations|Comments Off

Hazardous Waste Regulations in Texas – Generator Status

Summary of TCEQ's Industrial and Hazardous Waste “Generator Status” Rules & Regulations Once a company completes the waste determination process, the next step is determine its “Generator Status.” Generator status will ultimately determine the level of hazardous waste management regulations that a company must manage. How To Determine Your Generator Status? Generator status is determined by the quantity of Hazardous and/or Class 1 waste that the company generates each month. In general, companies who generate less than 1/2 a 55 [...]

By Russell Carr|2021-06-21T18:29:01-05:00June 4th, 2017|Hazardous Waste Management, Texas Environmental Regulations, Texas Hazardous Materials Regulations|Comments Off

OSHA Fines Austin Area Manufacturer $459,618

Update: Although this major OSHA fine occurred in 2017, similar fines continue to be issued to Texas manufacturers who fail to keep up with OSHA health and safety compliance. Checkout the details of this enforcement action and helpful safety compliance resources at the bottom of this blog. OSHA announced this week that they fined an Austin area manufacturer a total of $459,918 for a long list of health and safety violations. This is one of the largest single OSHA fines [...]

By Russell Carr|2022-03-21T12:51:15-05:00May 4th, 2017|Government Regulation, OSHA Texas Laws & Regulations, Safety Training, Texas OSHA Compliance|Comments Off