Safety Lines

The Newsletter of Minnesota OSHA

Number 52 Summer 2006
www.doli.state.mn.us

Minnesota OSHA standards update

By Shelly Techar, Management Analyst

Roll-over protective structures (ROPS)

Federal OSHA reinstated the original ROPS standards for construction and
agriculture, which were removed in 1996 and replaced with references to
national consensus standards for ROPS-testing requirements. The standards
were reinstated after several substantive differences between the national
consensus standards and the original standards were identified.

• Minnesota OSHA adopted this amendment. The effective date in

Minnesota was June 5, 2006.

Steel erection; slip resistance of skeletal structural steel

Federal OSHA revoked a provision of the steel erection standard that
addressed the slip resistance of walking surfaces of coated structural steel
members. The provision was scheduled to become effective July 18, 2006;
however, two technical developments that needed to occur for employers
to comply with the provision by that effective date did not occur: completed industry protocols for slip
testing equipment and the availability of suitable slip resistance coatings.

• Minnesota OSHA adopted this amendment. The revocation became effective in Minnesota on
June 5, 2006.

Occupational exposure to hexavalent chromium

Federal OSHA published a final rule for hexavalent chromium that establishes an eight-hour time-
weighted average (TWA) permissible exposure limit of five micrograms of Cr(VI) per cubic meter of
air (5 μg/m3). The standard separately regulates general
industry, construction and shipyards to tailor requirements
Take the sizzle out of heat stress
to the unique circumstances found in each of these sectors.
As the temperature climbs, so do the
• Minnesota OSHA adopted this standard. The risks associated with the six types of heat
effective date in Minnesota was June 5, 2006. stress disorders.

For all applicable start-up dates, see the Federal Register
notice. All Federal Register notices and standards are
available through the federal OSHA Web site at
www.osha.gov.
Review the types, factors, warning signs
and preventive measures to take to guard
against heat stress disorders by revisiting
"That's hot": Handling heat stress, in the
Summer 2005 edition of Safety Lines.
– www.doli.state.mn.us/safeline.html –
 BEYOND COMPLIANCE

Electrical safety in the workplace

By James Krueger, Metro Safety Director
MNOSHA Management Team
Electrocution, shock, arc flash, burns, fires and explosions
are hazards that workers face every day when using electrical
equipment. Each year, Minnesota OSHA (MNOSHA)
investigates several accidents involving fatalities and serious
injuries that occurred as a result of electrocution. The majority
of these serious accidents were due to employees contacting
energized equipment. In fact, from January 2000 through June
2005, it was the fourth most common cause of serious injury
investigated by MNOSHA.

Standards that can be cited by MNOSHA in the construction

industry to prevent these injuries include:
• safety training – 1926.21(b)(2);
• safety-related work practices – 1926.416-.417;
• line clearance requirements for cranes and derricks
– 1926.550; and
• power transmission and distribution – 1926.950-.960.

Applicable general industry standards include:

• electrical power general, transmission and distribution – 1910.269; and
• safety-related work practices – 1910.331-335.

MNOSHA often turns to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Code 70E, Standard for
Electrical Safety in the Workplace, for guidance when issuing citations to better protect employees.

In April 2004, NFPA updated the 70E standard to highlight safety concerns, especially those involving
safe work practices. The document was also reorganized into chapters to make it consistent with
other NFPA codes. The chapter about safety-related work practices was moved to the beginning of
the standard for added emphasis. In addition to the chapter changes, the 2004 update also addressed
the issue of multi-employer relationships. This consensus standard requires that the employer and the
contractor inform each other of existing hazards, personal protective equipment requirements, safe work
practices and emergency evacuation procedures.

It is important to remember MNOSHA has not adopted NFPA 70E as a legal requirement. However,
an employer in compliance with NFPA 70E will be using the highest level of protective equipment and
addressing a comprehensive range of safety hazards, and will be deemed in compliance with MNOSHA
standards.

For more information or to order a copy of NFPA 70E, visit the National Fire Protection Association
Web site at www.nfpa.org.
 New construction-specific
safety recognition program
By Bob
By Bob Durkee,
Durkee, MNSTAR
MNSTAR Construction
Construction Coordinator
Coordinator
At the direction of Minnesota Department of Labor
and Industry (DLI) Commissioner Scott Brener,
Minnesota OSHA Workplace Safety Consultation
(WSC) has established a construction-specific safety
and health recognition program.
Building on the success of its Minnesota Star
(MNSTAR) program, the new MNSTAR
Construction program recognizes worksites where
construction employers have established exemplary
safety and health programs that result in the
reduction of workplace accidents and injuries. The
new program was designed to meet the unique needs
of the construction industry, while maintaining the
existing MNSTAR program’s high standards.
MNSTAR
Construction
affords the
employer the
opportunity to
become involved in
an effort to improve
worksite safety and
health through
cooperation among employees, management and
government. The program relies on self-assessment
by the requesting employer, using federal criteria and
partnership oversight from WSC.
The phases for the applicant include:
1) the initial commitment, which involves a three-
way agreement among the Minnesota State
Building Trade Council or a non-union
employee representative; the general contractor,
owner or site management; and the Minnesota
Department of Labor and Industry.
2) site visits, after all agreements are reached, that
assist in hazard identification, correction and
control.
Safety Lines
3) evaluation of the construction employer’s safety
program and training requirements.
4) outreach and training, where WSC can provide
assistance to the employer in reaching MNSTAR
Construction status.
5) interpretation of the federal guidelines by WSC
during an on-site review of the company’s
program and site. At this phase, companies must
demonstrate the site’s safety and health program
has produced injury and illness rates that are
below both the state of Minnesota average and
the national Bureau of Labor Statistics average.
Afterward, WSC would recommend the site for
recognition as a MNSTAR Construction
worksite to the DLI commissioner.
MNSTAR Construction status is officially
recognized when the DLI commissioner confirms the
site has met all criteria of the program. This status is
recognized nationally and allows the company to
participate in the federal Voluntary Protection
Programs.
Currently, four construction worksites are striving
toward the MNSTAR Construction goal. The benefits
for companies that achieve MNSTAR status are
numerous and can include increased employee
morale and lower workers’ compensation costs. The
benefit at the top of the list, of course, is that each
day, each employee goes home in the same condition
in which they came to work.
For more information:
• call Ken Hickey, consultation program
supervisor, at (651) 284-5253;
• call Bob Durkee, MNSTAR Construction
coordinator, at (651) 284-5339; or
• visit www.doli.state.mn.us/mnstar.html.
3 Summer 2006
MNOSHA builds partnership with construction association
The Minnesota Department
of Labor and Industry (DLI)
signed a major safety initiative
in March, designed to reduce
the number of injuries, illnesses
and fatalities at participant
construction industry
employers. The partnership
initiative was jointly agreed
upon by the Minnesota Chapter
of Associated Builders and
Contractors (MN ABC) and
Minnesota OSHA (MNOSHA).

The specific goals of the new

partnership program are:
Minnesota OSHA (MNOSHA) and the Minnesota Chapter of Associated Builders and
• emphasize reduction of Contractors (MN ABC) sign a partnership agreement March 28. Pictured are (l to r): front
injuries and fatalities from row – DLI Assistant Commissioner Roslyn Wade, DLI Commissioner Scott Brener, Vice
the four hazards that are the President of Les Jones Roofing and MN ABC Chairman of the Board Nancy Jones, and
President of MN ABC Robert Heise; back row – Tyrone Taylor, MNOSHA Compliance; Steve
leading causes of death on Schultz, Shingobee Builders, MN ABC safety committee member; Director of MNOSHA
construction sites: falls; Compliance Jeff Isakson; MN ABC Education Director Kris Pilling-Davis; and Don Hines,
being struck by; being Nor-son and MN ABC safety committee chairman.

caught in or between; and electrocution;

• increase the number of general and specialty contractors that implement effective safety and health
programs and effective training for management, supervisors and employees;

• publicly recognize contractors with exemplary safety and health programs and site-specific plans; and

• promote open lines of communication between Minnesota OSHA and the construction industry in
pursuit of safety.

The partnership between MNOSHA and MN ABC acknowledges the importance of providing a safe,
healthful work environment in construction and seeks a working relationship that creates mutual trust
and respect among all parties – including project owners and construction workers – involved in the
construction process.

The three participant award levels of the partnership program are:

• silver – the basic level, for applicants wanting to meet the basic minimum requirements of a safety
and health program;

• gold – the intermediate level, for applicants desiring a more comprehensive safety and health
program; and

• platinum – the peak level, for applicants striving to be an industry leader with a very comprehensive
safety and health program.
Safety Lines 4 Summer 2006
 ndustry
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e n t o ivision
Departm Health D

I N N E SO TA Minnesota tional Safety and

Occupa 443 Lafa
yette Roa
d N.

M SAFETY St. Paul,

MN 5 15
/1-877-4
70-
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6 7 4
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HAZARD
0 - O S H A
1-877-47

ALERT
Loading/unloading systems at concrete products plants
Initiative
The Minnesota Occupational Safety and Health Division (MNOSHA) has recently identified a specific
hazard involving the loading and unloading systems in concrete block production plants. The racks
used with some of these systems have failed, resulting in some near misses and at least one accident
witnessed by a MNOSHA investigator. In each case, these racks, which are designed to transport
thousands of pounds of product, collapsed, sending blocks and fragments onto unsuspecting workers.

The purpose of this MNOSHA Safety Hazard Alert is to heighten public awareness of hazards created
when these systems are used incorrectly.

Description of the hazard

The automated loader/unloader system places concrete products onto and off of racks for firing in the
kiln. The machine has two separate stackers, each equipped with a spade loader. The loader, or stacker,
receives pallets of green concrete masonry units from the front delivery conveyor of the concrete
products machine. The spade loader moves in and elevates to pick up a load. Once the spade loader is
full, the spade deposits the pallets of green concrete masonry units onto a rack. The spade then returns to
the stacker to pick up another load.

Simultaneously, the spade unloader retrieves pallets of cured concrete masonry units from the kiln and
deposits the pallets into the unloader stacker. The stacker sets the pallets one at a time onto the unloading
conveyor and returns to the rack to pick up another load.

The rack conveyor indexes to the next bay or to the next rack after the spade loader and unloader have
filled or emptied their respective bays.

During this process the block rack system may

collapse due to poor placement onto the conveyor
by a forklift driver or a spade loader/unloader
failure or even a shift in the block rack or blocks
during travel along the conveyor.

A full block rack may weigh up to 4,000 pounds

and will cause serious injury should it fall onto
a passerby. These systems are very top heavy
(meaning the weight is shifted upwards and has
no stable weight base) as they travel along the
conveyor system.
Hazard alert, continues ...

Safety Lines 5 Summer 2006

Hazard alert, continued ...

Eliminating the hazard

MNOSHA investigators will routinely look for the following
items to determine whether the hazard is controlled.

• Load and unload the blocks at all times according to

the manufacturer’s recommendations. This usually
– but not always – means blocks should be added from
the bottom to the top of the spade loader and removed from the top to the bottom of the spade
unloader to increase stability.

• Do not load the equipment beyond its design limits.

• Establish the common routes of travel away from the conveyor system.

• Install and maintain appropriate guarding wherever feasible to ensure that if the material falls,
the guards will contain the collapse. (The guarding system should be removable to allow access to
the equipment and may or may not extend through the entire loading/unloading area.)

• Place a rack positioning guide behind the conveyor when forklifts are used to load the conveyor.
The forklift operator can then use the guide to ensure all of the rack feet are completely aligned on
the conveyor pads before lowering the rack.

• Train employees about the hazards of material collapse and not to walk or work beneath the
loader/unloader and conveyor.

Some existing chain conveyor systems can be retrofitted with rollers, eliminating the pads and the
conveyor, but this retrofit may be expensive and is not always feasible.

For more information

Employers and employees with questions or concerns can consult the federal OSHA Web site at www.
osha.gov or contact MNOSHA Compliance at (651) 284-5050, toll-free at 1-877-470-6742. For more
information about requirements and recommendations, refer to Minnesota Statutes 182.653 subd. 8, 29
CFR 1910.176(b), 29 CFR 1910.178(m)(2) and 29 CFR 1910.212(a).

Acknowledgements
The principal contributor to this MNOSHA Safety Hazard Alert was Brian L. Alexander, an industrial
hygienist with the MNOSHA St. Paul Area Office.

Safety Lines 6 Summer 2006

 Minnesota OSHA programs target lower injury, illness rates

osha
By Patricia Todd, Assistant Commissioner
Workers' Compensation Division

Employers in Minnesota may be surprised to learn about a

potential partner in their efforts to lower the injury and illness
rates at their worksite – Minnesota OSHA (MNOSHA).

Often thought of as citation-wielding regulators, MNOSHA's DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND INDUSTRY

mission is actually to make sure every worker in the state has a safe and healthy workplace.
MNOSHA has two distinct parts:

• Compliance, authorized to conduct unannounced workplace inspections to determine whether

employers are complying with standards and providing a safe and healthful workplace; and

• Workplace Safety Consultation, which provides consultation assistance on request to private- and
public-sector employers that want help establishing and maintaining a safe and healthful workplace.

Minnesota has attempted to link companies that have certain injury and illness rates to incentive
programs available through MNOSHA: the Minnesota Star (MNSTAR) program, Minnesota Safety
and Health Achievement Recognition Program (MNSHARP), formal partnerships and the 75/25
program.

Workplace Safety Consultation (WSC) coordinates MNSHARP and the MNSTAR program; both
programs are designed to recognize and promote effective safety and health program management.
Participants are a select group of facilities that work with WSC to design and implement outstanding
safety and health programs. As a result of obtaining MNSTAR or MNSHARP status, a company is
exempt from MNOSHA Compliance inspections, except where there is an employee complaint, a
significant chemical leak or spill, a fatality or a catastrophic situation.

MNOSHA Compliance has developed formal partnerships with various industry associations to work
together with employers and employees to reduce injury and illness rates. Based upon the safety
and health commitments and the injury and illness rate of an employer, partners can be exempt from
certain inspections and citations.
WORK COMP: 'READ ALL ABOUT IT!'
The 75/25 program was established to create a link
Access the DLI Workers'
between workers’ compensation claim rates and
Compensation Division's
quarterly newsletter, MNOSHA Compliance penalties. The program is
COMPACT, at www.doli. a penalty-reduction incentive program available
state.mn.us/compact.html. to qualified employers. Following a MNOSHA
Compliance inspection where citations and penalties
To receive e-mail notification when
are issued, a qualifying employer is provided a
each new edition is available online, send an
e-mail message to dli.communications@state. significant penalty-reduction if it is able to reduce
mn.us with: its workers’ compensation claim rates.
1. "COMPACT" in the subject line; and
2. your first name, last name and e-mail Additional information about these programs is
address in the body of the message.
available at www.doli.state.mn.us/mnosha.html.

Safety Lines 7 Summer 2006

 Minnesota OSHA presence at annual safety, health conference:
booths, presentations, awards

MN
WORKSITE

PARTNERS IN SAFETY
OSHA z MANAGEMENT z LABOR

MNSTAR participants awarded the

Governor's Safety Award certificate
• Ah-Gwah-Ching Center, Ah-Gwah-Ching
Minnesota OSHA Compliance Director Jeff Isakson and federal
OSHA Area Director Mark Hysell attend the annual Minnesota • Potlatch Corporation, Bemidji
Safety and Health Conference. The two gave a joint presentation
about OSHA during the three-day May conference. • Ainsworth Engineered (USA), LLC, Bemidji

• IBM, Rochester
SAFETY HEALTH EXCELLENCE
• New Ulm Medical Center, New Ulm

• Midwest Electrical Products–GE, Mankato

MN S H A R P WORKSITE
• Flint Hills Resources–Pine Bend, St. Paul

OSHA MANAGEMENT LABOR

MNSHARP participants awarded the

Governor's Safety Award certificate
• Rochester Meat Company, Rochester

• E.J. Ajax and Sons, Fridley

• Phillippi Equipment Company, Eagan

• Morrissey, Inc., Bloomington

• Bayer Built Woodworks, Inc., Belgrade

• Bayer Trucking, LLC, Belgrade

• Lifecore Biomedical, Inc., Chaska

• Huisken Meat Company, Sauk Rapids

• Anchor Block Company, North St. Paul

• Zenith Products, Maple Grove

• Scott Equipment Company, New Prague

• Anchor Block Company, Shakopee

Minnesota OSHA employees Carol McLean and Clayton Handt
• D&D Commodities, Stephen staff the MNOSHA Compliance booth at the Minnesota Safety and
Health Conference in May. Minnesota OSHA Workplace Safety
• Reynolds Food Packaging, Rogers Consultation also had a booth and fielded questions from attendees
during the three-day event.
Safety Lines 8 Summer 2006
 Recordkeeping 101: Part 7
Using your log results: 'How do we compare?'
By Brian Zaidman, Research Analyst, Research and Statistics
Editor's note: This is the seventh installment of a series about using the OSHA Form 300 and summarizing its results. This
information is directed to people who are new to OSHA recordkeeping activities, who are unfamiliar with the 2002 recordkeeping
changes or who want to review their recordkeeping practices. Visit www.doli.state.mn.us/recordkeeping.html for previous
installments.
This installment explains how to use log summary
results to track your company’s performance and
to benchmark your rates with state and national
results for your industry. The previous installment
of this series discussed how to complete an annual
log summary (OSHA form 300A). Computing the
incidence rates gives those who are responsible for
workplace safety some perspective about safety
and health issues and a broad measure of the
performance of safety processes. It also helps in
setting goals and prioritizing safety activities for
the coming year.
Data available from the log summary
When you have accurately completed your OSHA
log summary, you have annual numbers for:
• hours worked by all employees;
• cases with days away from work;
• cases with job transfer or restriction; and
• other recordable cases.
Add the number of cases to produce the number of
total recordable cases.
You should also have your North American
Industry Classification System (NAICS) code.
This is necessary if you want to compare your
rates to the corresponding state and national rates.
To find an NAICS code or convert a SIC code to a
NAICS code, visit www.census.gov/epcd/naics02.
Call the Minnesota Department of Employment
and Economic Development at (651) 297-2242 to
get your firm’s NAICS designation.
Computing incidence rates
The number of cases are converted into incidence
rates to show the relative level of injuries and
illnesses, which can be used to compare with rates
of other firms. The most widely used incidence
rate measures are the:
• total case incidence rate;
ONLINE RESOURCES
Federal OSHA recordkeeping resources
• www.osha.gov/recordkeeping/index.html
MNOSHA recordkeeping resources
• www.doli.state.mn.us/recordkeeping.html
MNOSHA WSC recordkeeping training
• www.doli.state.mn.us/osheven.html
Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses
• www.bls.gov/iif
• www.doli.state.mn.us/dlistats.html
Packet of recordkeeping forms, instructions
• www.osha.gov/recordkeeping/RKforms.html
Booklet: Minnesota OSHA recordkeeping requirement
• www.doli.state.mn.us/pdf/recordkeepingstandard.pdf
• rate of cases with days away from work;
• rate of cases with job transfer or restriction;
and
• the DART rate, which combines the cases with
days away from work and cases with job
transfer or restriction.
Incidence rates are expressed as the rate of cases
per 100 full-time-equivalent (FTE) workers. An
FTE is defined as one employee working for 40
hours a week for 50 weeks, resulting in 2,000
work hours. One hundred FTEs is equal to 200,000
work hours.
Rates are calculated by first computing the number
of cases per work hour at your firm (divide the
relevant case count by the number of hours
worked). Multiply the result by 200,000 to convert
it to a rate per 100 FTEs.
To assist you in this process, the U.S. Bureau of
Labor Statistics (BLS) has produced an instructive
document, How to compute a firm’s incidence rate
for safety management. It is available online at
www.bls.gov/iif/osheval.htm.
Recordkeeping continues ...
 Recordkeeping 101: Part 7
BLS rate calculator tool
Fortunately, BLS has a Web tool, the Incidence
rate calculator and comparison tool, that performs
these calculations and provides the comparison
benchmark rates you need. The tool can be
accessed online at http://data.bls.gov/IIRC.
• Steps 1 and 2 of the tool ask you to input
numbers from your log summary and the total
number of recordable cases.
• Step 3 of the tool allows you to select the
comparison jurisdiction and industry.
— First, select an area, either the entire United
States or an individual state, indicating
whether you want private-sector or public-
sector results. Only the states that participate
in the BLS Survey of Occupational Injuries
and Illnesses are listed.
— Next, select a NAICS supersector, the broad
industry category that describes your firm’s
work. Selecting a supersector changes the
industry list to show you the available
options for your benchmarking rate.
— Then select the industry with the NAICS
code most similar to your firm’s code. This
is usually an industry with the same first
three or four NAICS digits as your firm.
• In Step 4, click on the calculate button. Rates
for your firm and the corresponding rates for the
comparison jurisdiction industry will be
displayed in the results. Below is an example of
what the results table looks like.
Year: 2004
Area: Private industry, Minnesota
Supersector: Manufacturing
Industry: Metalworking machinery manufacturing
Case type Your establishment Private industry, Minnesota
Total 10.3
Days away 2.6
Job transfer/restriction 1.7
DART 4.3
Safety Lines
Using and preserving your rates
The real power of incidence rates lies in observing
the rate trends. Firms’ incidence rates often
display much year-to-year fluctuation, so longer-
term trends are necessary to see what is really
happening. The BLS rate calculator tool only
allows you to generate one year’s set of rates at
a time. To observe rate trends, DLI provides an
Excel file at www.doli.state.mn.us/xls/ratechart.xls
that enables you to copy annual results from the
BLS tool and produce line charts showing your
firm’s rates and a set of comparison rates.
Copy the file from the Web to your computer or
network to use it to display your firm’s incidence
rates. The first worksheet of the file contains
detailed instructions. If you need assistance using
this Excel file, send an e-mail message to Brian
Zaidman at brian.zaidman@state.mn.us.
Next installment: a recordkeeping review.
Where do comparison rates come from?
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)
and most states conduct the annual Survey
of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses. Based
on size and industry, a random sample of
firms is selected each year to participate in
the survey. These firms transfer their log
summary information to a survey form that
is returned to state or regional BLS offices.
These summaries are used to compute state
and national incidence rates. The survey is
completely confidential and is used for statistical
purposes only. In Minnesota each year, about
5,000 firms participate in the survey.
6.1
1.6
0.9
2.5
10 Summer 2006
 Long-time, former Minnesota OSHA employees Fant, Rudquist
Art Fant, former senior safety investigator for Minnesota OSHA's northern area, died June 16.
Art worked primarily in the Thief River Falls, Minn., area. He was one of the first safety
inspectors when the Minnesota OSHA program began in 1973; he worked for Minnesota OSHA
until his retirement in 1992. He enjoyed the outdoor life and spent his retirement years in western
Washington.

LeRoy Rudquist, assistant director of Minnesota OSHA from 1980 to 1992,

died June 13. LeRoy worked for the state of Minnesota for 36 years,
including working for the Minnesota Department of Corrections before
working for Minnesota OSHA. From 1975 to 1980, he was the supervisor
for the former Minnesota OSHA area office in Willmar, Minn. LeRoy led
the Department of Labor and Industry's efforts to create the A Workplace
Accident and Injury Reduction (AWAIR) program law in 1991, the first of
its kind in any OSHA program. After retiring from state service, he
continued to work as a consultant with Minnesota employers, particularly
in the construction industry. LeRoy Rudquist

Flint Hills Resources awarded MNSTAR status April 18

Department of Labor and

Industry Commissioner
Scott Brener (fifth from
left) presents Flint Hills
Resources – Pine Bend
Refinery representatives
with a flag and certificate
recognizing the worksite
as a MNSTAR (Minnesota
Star) worksite during a
ceremony April 18 in
Rosemount, Minn.

For more information

about the MNSTAR
program, visit www.doli.
state.mn.us/mnstar.html.

Safety Lines 11 Summer 2006