OSHA turns up enforcement activities across the nation time for organizations to change

Since early March 2009 OSHA enforcement officers have been busy visiting construction sites and writing citations for issues that were previously just corrected on the spot.  And it is not just one citation being written for an issue it is multiple, always including something regarding failure to train or retrain workers…

Let’s face it OSHA regulations outline the minimum necessary to protect workers from the most reasonably anticipated exposures and hazards of their work assignments.  Looking closely at what is expected of organizations for compliance it isn’t that difficult to ensure compliance. 

However, organizations that do not establish education and training processes for workers that meet compliance expectations will fail in safety efforts.  Additionally, these companies need to establish accountabilities and responsibilities statements for safety that are equal to production efficiency, quality and finances.

Safety compliance is simple when you’ve got a strategic vision for it.  This will set the foundation for long term benefits of a strong organizational culture.

Contact Bruce Lambert at B.A.Lambert Workplace Performance at http://www.aeusp.us/default.htm for more information on how I can help you with this process.

Maine working to ensure weatherization done right.

In Maine a small group of energy auditors affected such an influence on the legislature that the Governor’s Weatherization program and Maine State Housing Authority activities were put on hold for the last 3-months.  

These individuals also helped shape recent legislation, LD1485, that will form an energy trust charged with the objective to weatherize every home and 50% of the businesses in the State by 2030.  If done right this activity alone will reduce the State’s dependence on liquid fossil fuels by at least 30% by 2030.

The stimulus money will come.  The Federal Government is working hard to make sure it is done right.  Let’s hope they help by putting value with tax credits, incentives or rebates for energy audits.  And not just focus on energy equipment alone.

Bruce Lambert

B.A.Lambert Workplace Performance

Waterboro, Maine

Leadership Formula for Change

I do alot of workplace performance consulting with a large portion of that work involving the development and presentation of workshops that meet the needs and wants of the customer. My focus is to identify the issues affecting their bottom-line then get them to understand what needs to be done to turn things around.

 

Using loss metrics I get them to understand the importance of the relationship of organizational safety to operational efficiency, quality, security and finances. I do this by asking them to define safety, what it means to them. Over the past several years I’ve compiled their responses, which were remarkably similar across industry and professional lines:

 

• Planning (5 – P’s)

• Right thing – tool – material – procedure

• Awareness – patience, don’t rush, focus on work

• Communication – work smarter not harder!

• Teamwork

• Inspect

• Culture – get home every night

• Environment – housekeeping, site layout, preparation

 

Nobody ever provides the “dictionary” definition of safety: 1. the state of being safe; freedom from the occurrence or risk of injury, danger, or loss.

2. the quality of averting or not causing injury, danger, or loss.

 

I find that similar to what happens when I ask them to define leadership. The responses are typically:

 

• Integrity – “talk the talk walk the walk”

• Good teacher

• Expectations were clear and reasonable

• Positive attitude with confidence in own abilities

• Patience and understood individuals needs and wants

• Understood people as an individual and

• Knew the right approach for communicating the necessary information

 

I see similarities in the definitions for safety and leadership. I use that information to get the entire organization to buy in to the value of safety as an equal partner to efficiency, quality, security and finances of an organization. These definitions partnered with metrics make it a negotiable sale.

 

Unfortunately, in tough economic times safety activities and departments are cut first for the immediate gratification of the bottom line. Unfortunately, that cut will translate to losses with long term ramifications.

 

To learn about safety and leadership see my presentation on this topic currently featured on Slideshare: http://www.slideshare.net/BALambert/leadership-formula-for-change  

 

FMI about Bruce and his activities send him an E-Mail or checkout his profile at LinkedIn http://www.linkedin.com/in/balambert .

Was OSHA Region 1 told to write more citations by National Office?

If what I’m hearing is true you may want to ensure your employees and subcontractors are on their best behavior on the job.  And project managers and supervisors ensure the oversight of occupational safety and health expectations on-the-job are strictly enforced.

 

In recent weeks colleagues of mine in the safety consultation and insurance loss control business have told me that OSHA officials in Region 1 have been told by the National Office to write more citations.  Apparently, the rumor is Region 1 is below average in citations when compared with the rest of the Regional Offices.

 

As if being in a tough economic situation is not enough now OSHA will be hitting organizations harder during workplace inspections.  Recently contractors have been hit with additional fines associated with not being able to produce evidence of safety training or retraining.  Each of these citations are on top of direct citations for the actual exposure, hazard or issue, which basically doubled the fines. 

 

If you need safety inspections or training service, but cannot afford it hit up your insurance companies, agencies, professional associations or SafetyWorks.

 

The economic situation in Maine is already hitting the construction industry extremely hard.  This action by OSHA is going to make things worse if your organization is not prepared by doing things “the right way.”

 

Maine Economic Quick Facts:

1.       Oldest housing stock in the country (bodes well for energy auditing and weatherization opportunities)

2.       80% of homes heated with fuel oil (look out for $4/gallon at some point in the future)

3.       Electricity costs are 32% higher than U.S. avg.

4.       Lowest incomes in New England

5.       Highest tax burden in the nation

6.       Oldest workforce nationally

7.       R&D as percentage of GDP is 35th

8.       Ranked among the highest in the nation for the cost of doing business

9.       Ranked among the highest for worker’s compensation costs

10.   Healthcare costs are exceedingly more expensive in Maine

 

The good news is you can do something about it by ensuring your employees and subcontractors comply with and enforce the expectations by OSHA for a safe and healthful workplace.  If I can provide guidance please give me a call.

 

Feel free to pass this information along to other organizations.

 

Regards,

 

Bruce A. Lambert, CSP, CHST

BPI – Certified Building Analyst Professional

B.A.Lambert Workplace Performance

Waterboro, Maine, USA

Before weatherizing have an energy audit done on your home, but buyer beware…

 An energy audit is the first step in making your home more energy efficient, comfortable and safe.  You need to find a qualified professional auditor.  In Maine there are three organizations that training auditors in building science.  Two provide nationally recognized certifications:

 

Maine Home Performance, http://www.mainehomeperformance.org/, trains and certifies to Home Performance with ENERGY STAR, a national program from the U.S. EPA and U.S. DOE, offers a comprehensive, whole-house approach to improving energy efficiency and comfort at home, while helping to protect the environment.  Individuals successfully completing this process are Building Performance Institute (BPI) Certified Building Analyst Professionals.

 

RESNET, http://www.natresnet.org/, provides a home energy rating system (HERS) for new homes to ensure they meet performance incentives based on a national standard recognized by ENERGY STAR.  This process is generally focused on new homes during construction.

 

Currently, BPI and RESNET are developing a combined standards protocol for home energy evaluations that may become the national standard.

 

Maine State Housing Authority offers a regular rotating schedule of deeply discounted workshops to become an energy auditor for their low income housing program.  The testing and certifying process for these auditors does not meet the BPI or RESNET standards.

 

A qualified professional home energy auditor should offer a comprehensive whole-house approach using a variety of techniques and equipment to determine how your home performs.  These audits quantify the energy performance of the building envelope with a blower door to measures air leaks and an infrared camera to detect areas of heat loss due to missing or poorly installed insulation.  In addition, the BPI certified evaluator will check the performance of your combustion appliances to ensure they are not contributing to poor indoor air quality, i.e., carbon monoxide emissions.

 

Based on the data from the testing and physical findings from their inspection a professional auditor will provide specific recommendations for improving the performance of your home.  These recommendations should include an estimate of the return on your weatherization investment.  In most cases your weatherization activities can be paid off in ten years, particularly if fuel oil prices creep back up.

 

Finally, in carefully selecting your auditor ask for the following:

1. Do you have general & professional liability and carry worker’s compensation insurances?
2. Who do you have your qualification through?
3. Do you have references?
4. Can you recommend qualified contractors to do the weatherization work?
5. Cost should be your last question, you need to understand the value that auditor will bring to you.  There are a lot of individuals in Maine calling themselves “energy auditors” with limited or poor background and training in this service.  If you go for the $100 audit you will get exactly what you paid for…an hour visit by someone knows just enough to take your money.

 

But remember, audits alone don’t save energy.  You need to implement the recommended improvements and change personal habits to improve energy efficiency, personal comfort & safety and reduce your carbon footprint.

How about “WEATHERIZATION” for energy efficiency?

According to Energy First there are 128-million homes in the U.S. that need to be retrofit for proper weatherization according to the related climate zone.  Weatherization of an old or improperly constructed home will run $4,500 to $6,700 on average.  That includes an energy audit or more correctly termed a home performance evaluation that scientifically quantifies what needs to be done and if it was done properly.  Check out Home Performance with Energy Star at http://www.energystar.gov for more information.

 

So, if there are 128-million homes that need weatherization that $700-billion bailout for Wall Street would have allowed us $5,468 per home.  These weatherization activities generally lower the energy consumption by an average of 25%.  Which based on the Energy Information Administration’s numbers would mean energy consumption in homes would drop from 12-quadrillion Btu to 9-quadrillion Btu and energy expenditures by home would go from $228.6-billion to $171.45-billion.

 

According to the Department of Energy’s – Weatherization Assistance Program Technical Center, http://www.waptac.org/, for every $1 invested in weatherization $2.72 is returned to the household and society.  The breakdown is simple:

• $1.65 is returned in reduced energy bills
• $1.07 is returned to ratepayers, households, and communities through:

-          increased local employment

-          reduced uncollectible utility bills

-          improved housing quality

-          better health and safety that reduces heat-related illness and death; risk of death from home fires due to utility disconnection

 

WAPTAC’s weatherization program facts outlines their activity creates 52 direct jobs and 23 indirect jobs for every $1 million invested.  If only $200-million were invested imagine all the jobs for energy auditors, weatherization technicians and manufacturers that would be created in the United States.  Homegrown jobs keeping money on Main Street not in the pockets of Wall Street. 

 

Imagine how effective the $700-billion given to Wall Street would have been at creating jobs in this and other green industry ventures – 100,000 or 10,000,000 or more – it is hard to estimate.  I do believe that not a single job was created with the Wall Street bail out.

 

Residential and commercial weatherization measures are the United States best options for reducing national energy demand and putting people back to work immediately.  Where else could similar savings be realized?

Residential Energy: Cost Savings and Comfort for Existing Buildings

Every politician in Washington D.C. and State should be mandated to read this book if they truly want to make a difference.   Residential Energy: Cost Savings and Comfort for Existing Buildings by John T Krigger,Chris Dorsi

If we applied these principles to every home in the United States of America we’d be off oil dependency in less than five years.

Well that’s what I think.

Weatherize for energy independence

Until the costs of renewable energy become affordable to the low and middle income workers their best bet is to weatherize their home.

However, before weatherizing they should have a energy audit done  to determine where and how it will be most cost effective to tighten their building up.   The best program is Home Performance with Energy Star.