OSHA is working on compliance guides for the agency’s new cranes and derricks rulemaking, and may expand a pilot program using building inspectors to spot construction safety violations, assistant OSHA administrator Jordan Barab said last week.
Speaking at the Building Trades Employers’ Association’s 2010 Safety Conference in New York, Barab said enforcement will be ramped up in light of the cranes and derricks rulemaking, which went into effect Nov. 8. The agency also will produce employer compliance guides and a compliance directive for OSHA inspectors.
Regarding other developing regulations, Barab said OSHA planned to publish a final rule on confined space in construction a year from now, and the hazard communication rule would be harmonized with international standards.
In other news, Barab said a construction site pilot program launched last summer was being evaluated to decide whether to expand it. Building inspectors in cities participating in the program were trained on OSHA standards in construction and were instructed to notify the agency if they spotted a hazard.
