I am going through 3 weeks of training right now, including the OSHA 10 hour. My instructor informed us that OSHA is targeting oil and gas companies after all the accidents last year. He also thinks they are going to try and use OSHA to help pay off the national debt, like they did during Carters administration. My issue is: a gfci on a SA 200 with DC auxiliary power. I have had many electricians tell me that gfci's won't work on my welder. I called Lincoln and the guy said he thought it was exempt from the gfci rule, but couldn't tell me what reg it was under. I am also wondering about my remote that wasn't manufactured by Lincoln, is it a violation too? Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance JOE
If you are a Contract Welder, TRUE FULL CONTRACT, (If Taxes are NOT held out of your check and you have a signed contract or documentation showing contract) Then OSHA has no jurisdiction over you anyway. If you are working on Drilling Rigs. 99% of all Energy as well as Drilling Companies require you to sign an MSA which shows you are Contract, OSHA has NO jurisdiction over you at that point.
Joe,
I would go straight to the source for the answer. You can contact them for free, without concern of repercussions, anonymously, by phone or e-mail. They will set you straight. There is an abundance of misinformation floating around on the web concerning what OSHA can or can not do.
When it comes to OSHA, the best way to avoid any problems is to get the "water right from the well".
1-800-321-OSHA (6742) Toll Free U.S.
jrw159
And he needs to also let them know that he is an Independent Contractor with no Employees, and he supplies his own insurance and meets the guidelines of a True Full Contract Welder, if , in fact he is. I will encourage you to call them as well John. Just so you will be clear.
You should respond to him as I am VERY "clear" when it comes to OSHA.
If you would prefer a more personal, Involved conversation, You can call the Austin Feild Office listed below, Ask for Senior Field Inspector Juan Padron. Here is his contact info. Austin Area Office
La Costa Green Bldg.,
1033 La Posada Dr. Suite 375
Austin, Texas 78752-3832
(512) 374-0271
(512) 374-0086 FAX
You can Also call the Dallas area office for the U.S. Dept of Labor / OSHA. I dont have the number handy but you can ask for Investigator Nardizzi.
Sounds like good information for the OP.
Joe are you going to be working pipeline/compressor stations,outdoors, in plants, or specifically in refineries? There are some rules concerning machines running fuel too so the gfci question might be a moot point if the machine isn't allowed on premises most of the time this is a company safety reg and not OSHA but needs to be considered also. All refineries on the Texas Gulf Coast as far as I know have only allowed diesel machines the last few years, most work inside of plants other than refineries these days require a machine that runs on propane, red iron work, pipeline, and compressor stations can be gas, diesel, propane or whatever the machine will burn as long as it is outdoors.
I doubt they're going to make much of a dent in the debt.
The largest fine OSHA has handed down yet, was between $50 and $80 million dollars (BP has settled on the $50 and is disputing the other $30), for a Texas City refinery accident. The next largest was again to BP for $21 million. OSHA hasn't ruled on the Deepwater Horizon case that I know of yet, but I suspect that it will leave BP with the top three now (see a trend?).
From what I was able to find as a value for the national debt as of this morning, BP would have to blow up nearly 300,000 oil refineries for us to be debt free.
Of course, by then, four million refinery workers would have been killed, and 48 million injured.
Like Cactus said, if your an independent contractor, own insurance AND supply your own tools. That's the catch 22, especially around here. Contractors would hire "subcontractors"(insert severe sarcasm here) and have them sign a waiver, contract etc., then the guy hiring the "sub" would supply all of their tools they needed to do the work. Hense, they are NOT subcontractors but in fact employees.
As I said on another thread, the first day I was in my Osha class they talked about who Osha protected/covered, First page "Osha does not cover the Self employed or Federal workers". Again, didn't know why I was even there at that point, but it was only $30 for the Osha 30 so I figured what the heck.
I'd say call and talk to the horse and see what they have to say about it. Big job I was at around here the safety guy for the GC required us to run GFCI on our machines, we ended up picking up some of the plug adapter type at the home store. Don't know if that was an Osha thing or a GC thing but he'd go around and check and make sure we had it, if not he'd get in our behinds about it. I don't understand why the GFCI won't work on your machine, is it not just a resetable breaker more or less, trips when there is to much current draw? Must be something to do with the DC/AC thing. Maybe I'll call my sis, she's an electrician and get her take on this.
Thanks guys, I am not an independent contractor right now. I get a split check but my "arm" wages have taxes taken out. I like to try and stay within 6-8 hrs of home(Indianapolis) so I can see my wife and 3 small boys as often as possible. So I have been mainly doing repair work (encirclement sleeves) on pipelines the last 2 years. Pay is pretty good, and have stayed busy. Not to mention I get to see the family on a pretty regular basis. The only bad thing about running 7018 all the time is, I am probably getting rusty on a 5p+ root pass. I did find a reg today that said a 2 wire truck mounted generator that produces less then 5kw did not have to use a gfci. So does anyone know if the exciter puts out 5kw or more? I am not an electrician and have no idea. I will contact OSHA to make sure, just hate to think I am going to have to buy a newer machine. But if I do, Cactus will be glad to know that it will be a vantage. Thanks again for taking the time to respond. Joe
Hey, with a Vantage you will have no worries. They come from the Factory with GFI's !
That is pretty much a joke too, as nobody ever properly grounds the machine to the earth like it shows in the operators manuals.
I don't know what the Exciter puts out, but the outlet doen't put out 5kw on a Sa-200. I doubt you would find an OSHA Inspector that would know enough about what an Exciter is, Much less, how or where to check the KW output. So, with that said, If you are every ask how many Kw it puts out ? Just smile and say "3KW"
Most SA-200s have 1.75 KW aux. power some really early ones had less or none at all.
A GFI compairs the ammount of power going out the black wire to what is coming back on the white wire. If less is coming back on the white wire, there is a "ground fault" and the GFI trips out. I don't know exactly what method is used to measure it, but a current transformer is one way it could be done, and they don't work on DC, so a GFI might not work on DC.
Good explanation Dave, Thank you!
Shawn
Joe,
Contacting OSHA directly will put you one step ahead. Also, as jpill mentioned, the job specs/requirements may play a big roll as well. There are so many confused people out there, be it from lack of understanding, denial and/or misinterpretation. Add to that the fact that OSHA can change in a moments notice.
jrw159
An easy way around it is to buy a levitron gfci outlet for 20 bucks from home depot, take the sticker that says ground fault protected outlet out of the box and stick it above yer outlet on the 200. Most saftey men won't know any diffrent! Remember I said easy not right!
OSHA Levels $16.6 Million Fine Against Connecticut Power Plant Contractors
August 13, 2010
Last Thursday, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced that it has assessed a $16.6 million fine against 18 companies resulting from an explosion at a power plant that killed six workers and injured 50 others. The general contractor supervising construction of the facility was fined $8.3 million, while the subcontractor which oversaw the procedures leading to the blast was assessed $6.7 million. The collective penalty is the third largest to arise from a single workplace accident.
In announcing the fines, OSHA stated that the companies involved had ignored their own safety guidelines as well as accepted industry practices. OSHA also indicated that the companies were rushing to finish the construction project, and that this may have contributed to the alleged lapses in safety practices.
This fine comes on the heels of the record $83.4 million fine (on top of an earlier $21 million fine) issued to BP in October resulting from a 2005 refinery explosion that killed 15 employees. OSHA is clearly indicating its intent to use maximum fines to single out employers alleged to have violated safety requirements in cases involving worker fatalities. The Connecticut case is significant in that many of the citations are based not on specific OSHA standards, but on alleged failure to follow industry standards under the General Duty Clause.
Employers may have a more difficult job in determining whether or not their safety programs meet general industry standards. This significant increase in fines and in enforcement efforts by OSHA signals to employers the need to pay careful attention to employee health and safety practices, and the need to be able to demonstrate that these practices are within norms for their industries.
OSHA Sets $16M Fine in Conn. Power Plant Blast
OSHA fines builders of Conn. power plant $16M for blast that killed 6 workers, injured 50
The Associated Press
HARTFORD, Conn. August 5, 2010 (AP)
The fines, the third-highest imposed for a single accident, stem from 371 alleged safety and workplace violations at the Kleen Energy Systems natural gas power plant in Middletown.
The companies "blatantly disregarded well-known and accepted industry procedures and their own safety guidelines," the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration said in announcing the fines Thursday.
"They simply and tragically refused to use common sense," U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis said Thursday. "The deaths and injuries could have been prevented had the companies placed safety first."
The two main construction companies, which each face multimillion-dollar fines, both said Thursday they will contest the findings and that safety is their top priority.
The under-construction facility exploded Feb. 7 when something ignited natural gas and air that had accumulated in tight quarters during a "gas blow," a procedure in which high-pressure gas is forced through pipes to clean them.
The ignition source hasn't been identified, but welders were working nearby and gas and diesel heaters were left running during the gas blow on that chilly Sunday — defying safety rules and common sense, OSHA officials said.
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