Hot Rods How do the shops with television coverage avoid OSHA?

I worked in the industry for many years and there have always been safety regulations. Since the 1990s they have become much more strict on enforcement. We always removed the guards from hand held grinders. We had older drill presses and air compressors that never had belt guards that they forced us to destroy. They levied a $1000 fine for the lack of guards. They could have fined us that for each grinder without a guard. They were also very strict about personal protective equipment like hard hats, gloves, 8 inch high safety shoes, safety glasses as well as a face shield every time we were drilling, grinding or cutting. No shorts. Welding jacket or sleeves when welding or grinding. They "suggested" a leather apron while grinding.

When changing discs on a grinder, the grinder is to be unplugged. Same with drills. On cordless models, the battery is to be removed.

We had older forklifts that didn't have seat belts. Forklifts made after a certain year are required to have seat belts. OSHA has no authority to enforce the use of seat belts but they "suggest" that employers require their use or they could be sued if an employee is injured when they don't use the seat belt.

Flammable items and spray cans are to be kept in a dedicated storage cabinet. Safety data sheets are supposed to be available on site for any chemicals or paints used.

I see many violations on these shows. I know one reality show featuring tree trimming lead to the company being shut down for violations because someone from OSHA saw it and found a multitude of violations.

I wonder how these shops get by with some of the things they show.

 

OSHA has no authority over businesses with ten or less employees.

https://yourbusiness.azcentral.com/companies-required-meet-osha-regulations-2788.html

 

maybe not OSHA but, insurance companies enter the picture - especially when there is an on the job injury claim - some local Fire Departments do inspections too - yep, common sense is truly lacking by workers on most of the reality shows

 

"WE DON'T NEED NO STINKING COMMON SENSE!!"

 

Over the years I worked for a couple mfg plants- small ones- after OSHA came into them with regs and fines- wasn't long both were out of business-

 

From your article; "Small businesses, with 10 or fewer employees, are exempt from some OSHA injury reporting requirements."

It doesn't say they are exempt from the regulations. They won't do regular inspections and the company doesn't have to send reports, but if something happens leading to a serious injury or death, they will be all over it. A local business with 6 employees had an employee die when he got crushed in a machine. OSHA was all over them and they are now subject to regular inspections. If OSHA is made aware of a violation, they can inspect anyone. Seeing it on television makes them aware.

 

Not true. Only in low hazard businesses and farms with 10 or less employees. They do have the authority to inspect in the matter of an employee complaint, a reported incident, or a referral by an emergency responder or media. They also have the authority to inspect in health related issues.

 

A few years ago that featured small coal mine operators. My oldest son who works for a large coal producer couldn't believe the violations he was seeing. Show was only on for a partial season then cancelled as all of the operators were fined into bankruptcy. Worker safety anywhere but especially below ground has to take precedence.

 

I’ve never seen anybody actually working on one of those “reality” shows. There’s lots of fake drama, yelling, trips to somewhere else, but actual work? Nope.


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I saw a show on TV years ago called, The most dangerous thing you can do in america , is showing up for work!

 

I worked in a hotrod shop in California with 30+ employees all the violations previously mentioned , some injuries, osha rolled through couple times while I was there ... nothing happened

... coming from factories before its really wired to see the lack of steel toes, the foot gear for most rod shops seems to be vans..

 

OSHA very rarely does any preventative inspecting, they generally only respond to complaints, actual injury reports, or media attention. Even then, what they do can be ineffectual. In the '80s I worked at Ft. Lewis during the construction of the 'new' Madigan hospital. The sheetmetal contractor was using a duct sealer required by the specs that presented a breathing hazard that sickened multiple employees of other subcontractors. I'll note here that the sealer in question was illegal for use in Washington state because of it's known hazard, but because this was a federal reservation state regulations didn't apply. After multiple complaints, OSHA scheduled an appointment for it's inspection. On the day of their inspection, the contractor had ONE employee applying the sealer which reduced the outgassing to 'acceptable' limits. The day after the OSHA 'inspection', the contractor went back having 8-10 employees applying it. I quit that day, but within a week another 100 people quit due to being poisoned. The issue was finally resolved (they forced the contractor to do this work at night when no one else was there) but only after the general contractor and the Corp of Engineers were told by most of their subcontractors and craft unions that they wouldn't work until the problem was fixed.

Most of what you see today is driven by the site owners and their insurance companies. Wishing to avoid any liability, they enforce the safety regs, many times beyond what's required (and too often to the point of stupidity). I'm glad I'm retired.....

 

Even if OSHA doesn't come into play you would think that one's own personal safety would. I was watching one of those shows and this jackass was bragging that he was TIG welding for an hour in a T shirt and he was showing off the "sunburn" on his neck, arms and hands. Call me a sissy or what ever you want but I always use my leathers and gloves when I'm welding.

 

What a coincidence. I just made similar comments on a previous post regarding those TV shows and safety about 5 minutes ago.

 

SISSY... Not, I don't want melanoma. Most people don't think about that.

 

MSHA is even more strict. Those gold mining shows seem like they would have multiple violations.

 

One of the big OSHA points of emphasis in my final 2 years of work was the high visibility vests but almost all of them are made from flammable materials. A guy might as well spray himself with gasoline.

 

Over here we have Workplace Health and Safety. My builder friend calls it Workplace Health and Stupidity.

 

Bosses always call safety stupid and wasteful .One of mine said nothing in smelting plant ,where I worked , could hurt you , out of less than 30 guys Eight of us have cancer . Or silicosis lung problems.

 

Thankfully I can honestly say those auto/car related reality shows bore me to tears, can't surf past them fast enough, so I don't worry my pretty little head about "how" and "why". Simplifies my life immensely.................................................

 

My lady friend has an older (40) son. They came over and I had set the sbc in my 54. He asked if I did that by myself. Answered yes Sir piece of cake. He stated on TV it takes four are more and they yell and scream at each other. Told the young man that's why I don't watch them.

 

How do the shops with television coverage avoid OSHA?
Same way they do complete builds in a handful of days. Ain't nothing real on a "reality" show.

 

I know a guy that went to a chrome shop getting estimates. The owner was bitching about OSHA. My friend said, I know. The owner said no you don`t, and bitched more. My friend said I Know! The owner said NO YOU DON`T. My friend said YES I DO. My friend goes on to say that we was the safety coordinator of a plant that had 500 employees. The owner said want a job. --No thanks. ----Want free chrome. OK, and worked a week or so and just every now and then when needed, he goes in.

 

follow the rules
keep documentation
train employees

 

If oshit was here to help you it might be a different story, but to come in and fine you and force things on you that aren't needed, thats just a crock of shit.
The mine outfit is no better, they hit up a buddy of mine in MT for an empty grease tube from his grease gun in a trash can, 500 $ fine.

 

say what you know not what your talking about

 

I always asked the OSHA agent about the safety harness rules. The anchor point is supposed to support 5,000 pounds and I asked how that worked in a man lift rated for 500 or 1000 lbs.

 

Calculate the shock load of your weight at the end of a drop the length of the lanyard you are wearing and then it might make sense to you.

Or maybe not

 

That load rating is the 100% duty-cycle load rating, not including the FoS.

"Factors of safety (FoS), is also known as (and used interchangeably with) safety factor (SF), is a term describing the load carrying capacity of a system beyond the expected or actual loads. Essentially, the factor of safety is how much stronger the system is usually that needs to be for an intended load. Safety factors are often calculated using detailed analysis because comprehensive testing is impractical on many projects, such as bridges and buildings, but the structure's ability to carry load must be determined to a reasonable accuracy.

Many systems are purposefully built much stronger than needed for normal usage to allow for emergency situations, unexpected loads, misuse, or degradation (reliability)."

TL;DR: Ever wonder why a typical elevator has three cables, when one is more than enough?

Ever wonder the actual number of people an elevator is rated for, versus the stated number on the plate?

It is 11:1.

So yeah, that man lift is actually rated high enough to sustain arresting your fall when you are wearing the proper harness and lanyard, when you include the FoS.

It is not a published rating, because that would encourage abuse.

 

Yup, it ain't rocket surgery.

Keeping people safe is profitable. So is not ruining the planet.