Catamount, MSHA, and OSHA News - Catamount Consulting

The Mine Safety and Health Administration has issued a safety alert on preventing accidents at mines from miners falling.

MSHA has issued the? following Metal and Nonmetal Mine Safety Alert on Preventing Fall of Person Accidents

In the past decade MSHA states, 29 miners have died at metal and nonmetal (MNM) mines when they fell from the area where they worked, such as heavy equipment, ladders and conveyor walkways.

MSHA recommends employers put in place the following best practices:

? Make mobile or stationary platforms, from which miners may work, available at locations where there is risk of falling.

? Assign a safety harness and lanyard to each miner who may work at an elevated height or locations where a fall can occur.

? Construct stable, durable and secure anchor points for miners to attach lanyards at all locations where a fall hazard exists, and inspect these anchor points frequently. Post signage, “FALL PROTECTION IS REQUIRED HERE”.

? Place stable and secure physical barriers around all floor openings through which miners may fall. Yellow caution tape is not acceptable to use as a barrier.

? Design work areas and develop job tasks that minimize fall hazards.

? Mine operators and independent contractors must always comply with these four standards that help prevent falls from occurring: ??56/57.11001 Safe access and ??56/57.15005 Safety belts and lines.

Catamount Consulting names Moore head of Tactical and Firearm Training

Workplace Violence and Tactical Training Specialist — Charlie Moore is Catamount’s workplace violence and tactical training specialist

Catamount Consulting today announced that Charlie Moore has been named head of Tactical and Firearm Training, responsible for developing and delivering defensive tactics and firearm safety programs to Catamount Consulting clients across the country. Moore is based in Catamount?s Georgia office.

?This is an exciting addition to the Catamount team that broadens our capabilities in areas that are very timely and publicly meaningful?firearms safety, tactical consulting and law enforcement officer (LEO) training,? said Scott McKenna, president, Catamount Consulting. ?Charlie is well respected in the training community. His more than 30 years of law enforcement experience, as well as the expertise he developed with the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Marshals Service, will serve our clients very well.?

Moore?s law enforcement career began in 1982 as a police officer with the City of Glens Falls (N.Y.) Police Department. In 1990 he became a deputy U.S. Marshal, serving in a multitude of positions that included personal executive protection to Supreme Court Justices Thurgood Marshall and Clarence Thomas. Following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, Moore was selected to become the very first deputy chief, Use of Force Training, for the Department of Homeland Security?s Transportation Security Administration, where he directed and designed training for the Federal Air Marshal (FAM) Service.

Today, Moore serves as a law enforcement training specialist for the Department of Homeland Security and senior police advisor to the U.S. Department of Justice International Criminal Investigator Training Assistance Program. He is also a highly sought presenter of civilian training seminars on topics that range from home and personal safety, concealed handgun carry tactics, active shooter threat resolution strategies, family self-defense, women?s assault prevention, improvised weapons training and kids jiu jitsu and bully safety and avoidance strategies.

Moore earned his bachelor?s degree in psychology and political science from the State University of New York at Cortland. He has participated in the U.S Marshals Service?s Deputy US Marshal Recruit Training Program and is a Gracie Law Enforcement Combatives Senior Instructor. He holds dozens of national and international training certifications and is a member of numerous industry associations, including?the American Society of Law Enforcement Trainers (ASLET), the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) and the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation (I.C.I.S.F).

Founded in 2005, Catamount Consulting is a national safety consulting firm with a team of dedicated consulting professionals whose practice is the implementation and execution of workplace safety and regulatory compliance programs. Services provided include OSHA training, MSHA training, general safety training, comprehensive safety services, rigging training, firearms training and safety instruction, safety audits and abatement, preparation for site inspections, citation litigation services and mobile hearing testing.

Top 10 causes of non-fatal workplace injuries

The Liberty Mutual Workplace Safety Index ranks the top 10 causes of disabling workplace injuries as follows (ranked by direct cost):

10. Repetitive motion involving micro-tasks
9. Struck against object or equipment
8. Caught in/compressed by equipment or objects
7. Slip or trip without fall
6. Roadway incidents involving motorized land vehicle
5. Other exertions or bodily reactions
4. Struck by object or equipment
3. Falls to lower level
2. Falls on same level
1. Overexertion involving outside source

The Liberty Mutual Workplace Safety Index helps identify critical risk areas so that business leaders can better allocate safety resources in order to make workplaces safer. It is important to understand the safety protocol on any job whether it be for a small company or a large one. Accidents happen. But when jobs are completed, exercising safety, they happen less often.

To learn more:

MSHA reports safest year yet for the U.S. mining industry

2015 was the safest year yet for the U.S. mining industry. MSHA recently released the official figures reporting 28 fatalities for all U.S. mining last year, down from 45 mining-related deaths in 2014. Of the 28 fatalities, 17 were in metal and non-metal mining, while 11 were recorded in coal mining. ?While coal mine closures had some effect on the historic low number of mining deaths, actions by MSHA and the mining industry to improve mine safety have been a major factor,? said Joseph A. Main, assistant secretary of labor for mine safety and health. This is good news as safety initiatives put in place continue to save miners.

Five OSHA changes to look for in 2016

2016 will be a busy year for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration as it looks to finalize certain rule makings and guidance documents. Here are the top five changes to watch for:

1. OSHA penalties are going up. Under the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015, Section 701, ?Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015,? OSHA will be required to issue a one-time catch up adjustment in 2016.

2. Silica rule is expected in February 2016. OSHA indicated that the final rule for the Occupational Exposure to Crystalline Silica will be published in February 2016.

3. Recordkeeping and disincentive policies final rule is expected in March 2016. The regulations are anticipated to add new electronic reporting obligations to most employers that are required to keep OSHA 300 Logs.

4. Updated safety and health program management guidelines will be issued. These guidelines have been updated to reflect modern technology and practices.

5. Look for the following regulatory actions that could impact the construction industry:

Preventing Back-Over Injuries and Fatalities.
Chemical Management and Permissible Exposure Limits (PELs).
Updating OSHA Standards Based on National Consensus Standards Eye and Face Protection.
Quantitative Fit Testing Protocol: Amendment to the Final Rule on Respiratory Protection -Amendments to the Cranes and Derricks in Construction Standard.

Check out Jackson Lewis for more details.