OSHA Lists Top Citations for Composites Manufacturers

The American Composites Manufacturers Association (ACMA) conducted a webinar last week on combustible dust hazards. Participating in the webinar, OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) engineer Sanji Kanth provided data (listed below) illustrating citations between October 2007 through April 2010 for companies with NAICS (North American Industrial Classification System) codes 3363, 3369 and 3261, which represent a large portion of composite manufactures. Each employer selects the NAICS code that best describes his operation, and while there is not a perfect code for composites, there is about a 50 percent overlap between these codes and the composites industry.

“The table shows the OSHA regulations that are the most frequent source of problems during OSHA inspections. The top two are Hazard Communications (material safety data sheets, labels, and training) and Respiratory Protection (vapor concentration monitoring, ventilation, respirator programs),” explains ACMA’s John Schweitzer, senior director of government affairs.

According to Schweitzer, the information suggests that composite manufacturers may want to increase the attention they pay to these specific areas in order to ensure workers are protected and to avoid compliance problems. Going forward, Schweitzer states, “ACMA will use the table to help us provide the most relevant educational programs. For example, we will arrange for webinars and conference sessions on Hazard Communications and Respiratory Protection and other topics that will be relevant and useful to our industry.” For more information, contact John Schweitzer by email.