OSHA 500 cheat sheet

The OSH Act was signed December 29, 1970, and took effect April 28, 1971; it created OSHA within the U.S. Department of Labor and NIOSH within the Department of Health and Human Services.

Section 5(a)(1), the General Duty Clause, requires a workplace free of recognized hazards that are causing or likely to cause death or serious physical harm where no specific standard applies.

Section 5(a)(2) requires employers to comply with the specific standards published in 29 CFR 1910 (general industry), 29 CFR 1926 (construction), and 29 CFR 1928 (agriculture).

Inspection priority order: imminent danger, fatality or catastrophe, valid employee complaint or referral, programmed inspection, and follow-up inspection.

OSHA must issue a citation within 6 months after the violation occurs (Section 9(c)); an employer has 15 working days after receipt to file a notice of contest.

Section 11(c) prohibits retaliation for exercising protected rights; a discrimination complaint must be filed within 30 days of the alleged retaliation.

Employee rights include requesting an inspection, accompanying the compliance officer on the walkaround, and access to exposure and medical records under 29 CFR 1910.1020.

A state plan approved by OSHA must be at least as effective as the federal program, and federal funding may cover up to 50 percent of the state plan's operating costs.

Falls, struck-by, caught-in/between, and electrocution - the Focus Four - account for roughly 60 percent of construction worker deaths.

Fall protection is required where employees are exposed to falls of 6 feet or more to a lower level (29 CFR 1926.501(b)), with defined exceptions for specific activities.

Guardrail systems: top rail 42 inches plus or minus 3 inches, midrail approximately 21 inches, toe board at least 3.5 inches high; the system must withstand a 200-pound force.

Personal fall arrest anchors must support 5,000 pounds per attached employee or be designed with a safety factor of two; maximum free fall is 6 feet, deceleration distance 3.5 feet, and maximum arrest force 1,800 pounds.

Extension ladders must extend at least 3 feet above the upper landing; portable ladders are set at a 4:1 angle (one foot out for every four feet of height).

Excavations 5 feet or deeper require a protective system; excavations 20 feet or deeper require a system designed by a registered professional engineer.

Spoil piles and equipment stay at least 2 feet back from the excavation edge, a ladder or ramp is required within 25 feet of lateral travel, and a competent person inspects daily.

Struck-by masonry: a limited access zone equal to the wall height plus 4 feet must be established on the side of the wall before construction begins.

Electrocution: keep equipment at least 10 feet from energized lines rated up to 50 kV (add 0.4 inch per kV above 50), and use GFCI protection on 120-volt, single-phase, 15- and 20-ampere receptacles.

29 CFR 1926.95 requires protective equipment to be provided, used, and maintained in a sanitary and reliable condition wherever hazards are present.

Employers must pay for required PPE; exceptions include non-specialty safety-toe footwear, non-specialty prescription eyewear, and ordinary clothing that can be worn off the job.

A hazard assessment to select PPE is required under 29 CFR 1910.132(d), including a written certification identifying the workplace evaluated, the person certifying, and the date.

Head protection classes: Class G rated to 2,200 volts, Class E rated to 20,000 volts, and Class C conductive with no electrical protection.

Eye and face protection must comply with ANSI Z87.1 and be marked accordingly; damaged or modified protectors must be removed from service.

Employees required to use PPE must be trained on when it is necessary, what to use, how to don and doff, its limitations, and its care and maintenance (29 CFR 1910.132(f)).

Respirator use requires a medical evaluation before fit testing, annual fit testing for tight-fitting models, training, and NIOSH-approved equipment (29 CFR 1910.134).

Construction noise: the 29 CFR 1926.52 permissible exposure limit is 90 dBA for an 8-hour exposure, and 1926.101 requires feasible controls plus hearing protection where controls are not feasible.

Respirable crystalline silica (29 CFR 1926.1153): PEL 50 micrograms per cubic meter as an 8-hour TWA and an action level of 25; Table 1 assigns engineering controls and respiratory protection by task.

Asbestos (29 CFR 1926.1101): PEL 0.1 fiber per cubic centimeter as an 8-hour TWA plus a 30-minute excursion limit of 1.0 fiber per cubic centimeter.

Lead (29 CFR 1926.62): PEL 50 micrograms per cubic meter as an 8-hour TWA and an action level of 30; exposure at or above the action level triggers monitoring, medical surveillance, and training.

Hexavalent chromium (29 CFR 1926.1126): PEL 5 micrograms per cubic meter as an 8-hour TWA with an action level of 2.5; welding, cutting, and painting of steel are common sources.

Hazard Communication (29 CFR 1926.59, incorporating 1910.1200) requires a chemical inventory, container labeling, safety data sheets, and employee training.

Noise: the 29 CFR 1926.52 PEL is 90 dBA as an 8-hour TWA; hearing conservation program elements (monitoring, audiometric testing, training) apply at 85 dBA as an 8-hour TWA under 29 CFR 1910.95.

Carbon monoxide has a construction PEL of 50 ppm as an 8-hour TWA in the 29 CFR 1926.55 table; gasoline-powered equipment used indoors is a common source.

Employee exposure records must be retained 30 years, and medical records for the duration of employment plus 30 years, under 29 CFR 1910.1020.

OSHA's Recommended Practices for Safety and Health Programs (2016) lists seven elements: management leadership; worker participation; hazard identification and assessment; hazard prevention and control; education and training; evaluation and improvement; and communication and coordination with contractors.

A competent person under 29 CFR 1926.32(f) is capable of identifying existing and predictable hazards and is authorized to take prompt corrective measures to eliminate them.

29 CFR 1926.20(a)(1) requires employers to initiate and maintain accident prevention programs and to ensure that employees comply with them.

29 CFR 1926.21(b)(2) requires employers to instruct each employee in the recognition and avoidance of unsafe conditions in the work environment.

29 CFR 1926.35 requires an emergency action plan covering escape procedures, shutdown of critical operations, accounting for employees, and rescue duties; plans for 10 or fewer employees may be communicated orally.

29 CFR 1926.50 requires first aid supplies and a trained first aid responder where medical facilities are not reasonably accessible, plus emergency eyewash where corrosive materials are used.

Hazard identification methods include jobsite inspections, job hazard analysis, review of injury and illness trends, and employee exposure monitoring.

A designated competent person is required for scaffolding (1926.451), excavations (1926.651), fall protection (1926.502), cranes (1926.1400 series), and construction confined spaces (1926.1203).

29 CFR 1904 requires recording on OSHA Form 300 (Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses), the annual summary Form 300A, and Form 301 (Incident Report).

Recording criteria (29 CFR 1904.7): death, days away from work, restricted work or transfer, medical treatment beyond first aid, loss of consciousness, or a significant injury or illness diagnosed by a physician.

Entries must be made within 7 calendar days after the employer learns of the recordable case.

Report work-related fatalities within 8 hours; report in-patient hospitalizations, amputations, and losses of an eye within 24 hours (29 CFR 1904.39).

Form 300A must be posted in a visible location from February 1 through April 30 of the year following the record year.

Injury and illness records must be retained for 5 years following the end of the calendar year to which they relate.

Recordable incidence rate = (number of recordable cases x 200,000) divided by total hours worked; the DART rate substitutes days away, restricted, or transferred cases in the same formula.

Establishments with 10 or fewer employees are partially exempt from routine recordkeeping unless in a designated industry, but must still report fatalities, in-patient hospitalizations, amputations, and losses of an eye.