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Reprinted with permission from Pet Age-December 2005
Meeting On-the-Job Safety Standards Most pet-care professionals have a long way to go to meet federal workplace safety standards. Here are some tips to put you on the path toward OSHA compliance. By Daryl Conner News flash—OSHA is not the name of some rare breed of dog you’ve never seen. It is the acronym for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, a federal agency created under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 “to help employers and employees reduce injuries, illnesses and deaths on the job in America.” And it’s working. Since the law was enacted, work-related injuries and illnesses have decreased by 40 percent, according to the OSHA Web site. Yet 35 years later, less than 10 percent of grooming shops and boarding kennels in this country comply with OSHA safety regulations, estimates B.J. Darnell, co-owner of Professional Kennels (Fort Oglethorpe, Ga.). A certified kennel operator, a veterinary medical technician and a pet stylist, Darnell became interested in workplace safety standards when a groomer she knew became ill after being exposed to organophosphates on the job<\#209>and Darnell has promoted job safety for pet-care professionals ever since. Why You Should Comply Most groomers and boarding kennel operators have conducted business for years without giving OSHA standards a thought. Here’s the problem with that approach: If you have even one employee and that person is injured on the job, or if you are reported to OSHA for failing to comply with the rules, you could be subject to thousands of dollars in fines and may have to spend thousands more to bring your workplace into compliance with the law. Even if none of your employees are ever injured on the job, you still could be vulnerable. After all, a favorite tactic of disgruntled employees is to file an OSHA complaint. OSHA agents are required to investigate these complaints, and nearly always find some violations in the workplace. In extreme cases, OSHA can shut down your business and even imprison you for failing to comply with the law. OSHA also makes unannounced inspections of businesses. A typical visit from an OSHA agent includes a walk-through inspection of the premises, a review of company records and training procedures, and interviews with employees. The agent also makes sure OSHA posters are properly displayed. How You Can Get Started I called the OSHA office in Augusta, Maine, and asked Bill Coffin to explain how government safety regulations applied to a pet-care business. He laughed and said, “There are two huge books that contain the information, rules and regulations. I can’t explain it to you over the phone in a day.” (A day? I was hoping for a thumbnail sketch in a few minutes!) Coffin described the dimensions of the books, and I can assure you that they were impressive! Coffin also mentioned that the rules are constantly being changed and updated. He said that pet-care establishments fall under “General Industry” regulations—which I had already discovered but found, shall we say, a bit confusing. He then directed me to the section called “Quick Start.” This sounded promising, so I got back online and read it. The words “quick start” were a bit misleading, since the steps do not seem quick at all. To give you an idea, here they are: · Step 1: Record-keeping, reporting and posting. · Step 2: OSHA requirements that apply to most general industry employers. · Step 3: OSHA requirements that may apply to your workplace. · Step 4: Survey your workplace for additional hazards. · Step 5: Develop a comprehensive job site safety and health program. · Step 6: Train your employees. · Step 7: Find additional compliance assistance information. Each step includes one or more paragraphs of explanation, with language typical of government forms, and not everything covered applies to our specific industry. So the “Quick Start” section doesn’t make it all that easy to understand what you need to do to bring your facility into compliance. Luckily, Pam Lauritzen and Melissa Sirianni of the International Society of Canine Cosmetologists (Garland, Texas) have plumbed the depths of governmental language and regulations to create “OSHA and You,” an informational CD that explains how OSHA regulations apply to people working in the pet-care field. The CD explains how to bring your workplace into compliance and also supplies copies of necessary forms. What OSHA Standards Cover OSHA standards cover a wide array of workplace safety issues, from fairly obvious things such as marking exits clearly, sanitizing the facility, minimizing clutter and keeping a well-stocked first-aid kit on hand to more complex concepts. OSHA standards also address hazards specific to pet-care professionals, such as electrical tools, a variety of chemicals, and loud noises ranging from the barking of dogs to the whine of high-velocity dryers and more. The issue that prompts the most fines is that of hazard communication. This involves storing, labeling and keeping records on every chemical product found or used in your business. And that brings us to material safety data sheets. These are important. You must have an MSDS in place for every chemical in your facility before you ever use the product. This applies to pet products such as shampoo; human health products such as hand soap and the mouthwash you keep for your personal use under the bathroom sink; cleaning supplies such as scouring powder and toilet cleaner; and office supplies such as ink cartridges and toner for the photocopier. To get MSDSs, contact the customer service department for the manufacturer of each product, or the various vendors from whom you buy supplies. In addition, you can find many MSDSs on the Internet (see “Job Safety Resources”). Once you obtain all the appropriate MSDSs, you must keep them in notebooks, separated into categories and listed alphabetically. Keep a notebook at every workstation, and train employees to read and understand the information sheets. Remember: If you have a MSDS for Comet bathroom cleaner in your notebook, but you purchase Ajax one time, you are violating OSHA standards because you don’t have the specific sheet for the scouring powder that is actually in your building. Furthermore, all products must be labeled appropriately. If you purchase detangling spray by the gallon and decant it into smaller spray bottles, you must carefully label each bottle. It’s not enough that you know that you should reach for “the white stuff” when you find a tangle the size of a grapefruit on the bichon frise you are grooming. As an employer, you also must assess your workplace to determine whether employees should wear personal protective equipment. In our field, personal protective equipment might include face shields or goggles, hearing protection, proper footwear, aprons that repel chemicals and heavy gloves (for times when we handle a cat or small dog that wants to see what we taste like). Employee training plays an important part in OSHA compliance. Make sure employees undergo training at least every quarter, and carefully document the training. In our industry, training should cover animal handling procedures, proper use of all tools and chemicals, how to use ergonomics to prevent injury, and more. It can be daunting for pet-care professionals to comply with OSHA regulations. There is much for us to learn and do to make sure our workplaces are not only safe but also legal. Denial and avoidance do not serve us well. It is imperative that we begin to educate ourselves about the law and take steps to make sure that our workplaces could pass a visit from an OSHA agent. According to OSHA, “The message is simple … safety and health add value: To your business. To your workplace. To your life.” Maybe OSHA really is a rare breed of dog. Like it or not, it is here to stay. As professionals, we should arm ourselves with the knowledge we need to deal with this big dog, just as we deal with all the other challenges we face daily in our work. pa Daryl Conner is certified by the International Society of Canine Cosmetologists as a Dermatech Petcare Specialist and as a Master Pet Stylist Meritus. Happily employed at Yankee Clipper Pet Grooming in Rockport, Maine, she has loved styling cats and dogs for more than 20 years.
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© Copyright 2007, Daryl Conner, MPS, Meritus. All rights reserved. |