Future Environment Designs Attends the Plattsburgh Safety Expo and the PACNY Fishing Tournament

For a while there, it felt like Future Environment Designs was traveling all over the place.  We were in Plattsburgh/Montreal area at the end of June.  We were in Ohio/Michigan for the 4th of July week.  Then we were on Lake Ontario the week after.  We also developed two new online courses that allowed us to initiate a new training service.  The two new online (e-learning) courses are the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Hazard Communication and the New York State Right-to-Know Hazard Communication training courses.  Both courses were developed to meet the training requirements in the OSHA Hazard Communication standard (1910.1200).  While the NYS Right-to-Know course meets the New York State Right-to-Know training requirements in New York State Labor Law Section 551, Articles 48 and 28 and Title 12 of New York Code of Rules & Regulations Part 820, these laws are enforced by New York State Department of Labor's Public Employee Safety Health (PESH) division, in addition to the OSHA Hazard Communication standard (1910.1200).  The addition of these online courses to our training catalog allows us to provide a training subscription service that can meet your annual training requirements under the OSHA standards and New York State laws.  In some cases, we can reduce your training costs to $20 per student.  Contact us if you are interested.

Our Display at the NASHC Safety Expo 2019

On June 27, 2019, we attended the North Adirondack Safety and Health Council's (NASHC) Safety Expo 2019 at West Side Ballroom in Plattsburgh, New York.  The Safety Expo had a short agenda but the presentations were excellent.  Our favorite presentation was "Hazards of Working on or Near Energized Electrical Circuits" by Mr. John Olsen, of Blue Collar Safety.  His presentation on Arc Flash/Blast was particularly eye-opening.  Ms. Lola Miller's (of the Volvo Group) presentation "Preventing Serious Injuries & Fatalities" was also interesting especially since she was using Menti,com to make the presentation interactive.  Her presentation was challenging Heinrich's Triangle, which is the theory of industrial accident prevention.  It says if you reduce the number of minor accidents there would be a corresponding fall in serious accidents.  Her data with working with the Volvo Group did not indicate that.  Her view was you need to evaluate Serious Injury & Fatalities (SIF) precursors and make sure these are addressed.  There were 15 vendors at the Safety Expo 2019, Reynolds and Son's display had an interesting variety of catalogs including a catalog called Cut Safe.  The Cut Safe catalog had a variety of cutting tools that use ceramic technology, visit their website for more information.

Mr. John Olsen of Blue Collar Safety at NASHC Safety Expo

Our next trip was 4th of July week to Ohio (OH) & Michigan (MI).  Though this trip was more pleasure than business, we did write the July issue of Safety Suzy during this trip.  As many people know, we are a beer enthusiast.  So on this trip, we hit several of my favorite breweries Hoppin Frog Brewery (OH), Founders Brewery (MI), Brewery Vivant (MI), and New Holland Brewery (MI).  We had a great time and drank a lot of great beer.  In addition, we got to see and put our feet into Lake Michigan, which a week later we went fishing on Lake Ontario.

Sunrise on Lake Ontario

On the morning of July 10, 2019, we attended the 6th Annual Professional Abatement Contractors of New York (PACNY) Fishing Pro-Am Tournament.  It was a beautiful day for fishing the water was still and the sun was warm.  There were 15 boats in the tournament this year.  They were:

1. Dival - Reel Excitement

2. Cornerstone Training Institute (CTI) - Sunrise 2

3. CTI- Legacy

4. AAC- Shotgun

5. AAC- Troutman

6. NRC- Reflection

7. Abscope- Rusty Lure

8. Future Environment Designs (FEDTC)- Catchin’ Hell

9. SES- Intimidator 

10. Aramsco- Pleasure Unit

11. Paradigm - Free Spirit

12. Sienna- Get Hooked

13. Expert - Irish Thunder

14. Expert - Screaming Reels

15. ECG - Richmond 4 

My big catch for the day!

We had the good fortune to catch just enough Salmon & Steelhead to last us the entire year and fill our freezer again!  Thank you, Darren Yehl, of Cornerstone, for giving us his catch to add to what we caught!  The winners were:

So far the summer has been entertaining but is going quickly and soon it will be fall and the rush for asbestos and mold refresher classes will be on.  This year is the 4-year anniversary of Article 32 the Mold Law and most everyone's license will be expiring between September and January 2020.  See you soon!

Happy New Year! 2016 Brings New Regulations Merging With Annual Deadlines!

Happy New Year everyone!  2015 went out with a bang, especially with many people preparing for the new laws taking effect in 2016.  The biggest impact law is New York State's Article 32 (known as the Mold Law) requiring all companies advertising themselves as doing mold remediation or mold assessment will need to be licensed.  Also any worker performing mold abatement needs to be licensed, also.  Needless to say our schedule has been overwhelmed holding these classes preparing companies for this new licensing requirement.  This law also requires an independent mold remediation plan written by a mold assessor.  Requires a mold assessment and mold remediation contractors to be independent of each other on the same property.

Recent Mold Remediation Course

Don't forget that the annual posting of the OSHA log form 300A for injuries and illnesses must be posted by February 1, 2016.  See our previous posts regarding this issue.

Don't Forget to Post Your Company's OSHA 300A Form

The new OSHA confined spaces in construction standard went into effect August 3, 2015.  However, OSHA has two temporary enforcement policies that delay the enforcement of the standard for employers making "good faith efforts" to comply with the standard.  The first one expired on October 2, 2015 which was for all employers.  While the second one applies to employers working on residential construction that will expire on March 8, 2016.

The OSHA hazard communication standard 1910.1200 on December 1, 2015 required distributors to comply with the new labeling requirements.  The standard becomes fully implemented on June 1, 2016.  Meaning your hazard communication program, your chemical inventory, safety data sheets, and labeling should be in compliance with the Globally Harmonized System (GHS).

Changes are happening to the OSHA outreach program.  This is the program that authorizes the OSHA 10-hour & 30-hour construction safety training programs.  Starting March 1, 2016, OSHA will be issuing new cards that will be made of plastic (credit card style) and have a QR code for authentication.  The new cards will allow for electronic verification of the card to make sure it is valid.

A long string of new things on the horizon.  If we can assist you in any way in complying with any of this let us know.  Be Safe!

Related articles

• NYS Mold Law Changes, Licensing Requirement Goes Into Effect January 1, 2016(futureenv.blogspot.com)

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• Future Environment Designs Approved For All NYS DOL Mold Courses(futureenv.blogspot.com)

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• OSHA Log Form 300A Posting Due February 1, 2011.(futureenv.blogspot.com)

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• Confined Spaces In Construction Goes Into Effect August 3, 2015(futureenv.blogspot.com)

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• "Confined Spaces in Construction" - "What Employers Need To Know"(ehssafetynewsamerica.com)

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OSHA Quicktakes Announces HAZCOMM Standard Revision

The March 22, 2012 (Volume 11, Issue 7) of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) "QuickTakes" anounced "OSHA Aligns HazardCommunication Standard with the United Nations' Globally Harmonized System ofClassification and Labeling of Chemicals."  This announcement has been awaited by the environmental, industrial hygiene, and safety industry for some time now.  The QuickTakes discusses the March 20 press teleconference hosted by Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis joined by Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Dr. David Michaels announcing the final rule updating OSHA's Hazard Communication Standard.



Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS) pictogram for corrosive substances (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The purpose of the revision is to align the standard with the United Nations' Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals.  The standard should better protect workers and help American businesses compete in a global economy.
Assistant Secretary Michaels explained that OSHA's revised Hazard Communication standard (HCS), which will be fully implemented in 2016, benefits workers by reducing confusion in the workplace, facilitating safety training, and improving understandings of hazards, especially for low-wage and limited-literacy workers. The harmonized standard will classify chemicals according to their health and physical hazards, and establish consistent labels and safety data sheets (SDS) for all chemicals made in the United States or imported from abroad.  For more information, listen to an audio-recording of the press conference and see the press release.
Employers must train workers on the new label elements and SDS format by December 1, 2013. Chemical manufacturers, importers, distributors, and employers must comply with all modified provisions of the final rule by June 1, 2015.  However, distributors may ship products labeled by manufacturers under the old system until December 1, 2015.  By June 1, 2016, employers must update alternative workplace labeling and hazard communication programs as necessary, and provide additional worker training for new identified physical and health hazards.  During this transition period, all chemical manufacturers, importers, distributors, and employers may comply with either 29 CFR 1910.1200 (this final standard), or the current standard, or both.

Related articles

• OSHA Quick Takes - SPECIAL ISSUE: OSHA Aligns Hazard Communication Standard with the United Nations' Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (ehssafetynews.com)
• US Department of Labor's OSHA revises Hazard Communication Standard (prnewswire.com)
• Workplace Safety and Law Development Expected in 2012 (unitedallianceservices.typepad.com)
• Global Harmonization: What You Need To Know - and Do (ehssafetynews.com)
• Gov't requires new labels for hazardous chemicals (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• Gov't requires new labels for hazardous chemicals (news.yahoo.com)