Insight on Manufacturing

September 2014

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18 | /INSIGHT ON MANUFACTURING • September 2014 w w w.in s i g h t o n m f g . c o m W H E N I T C O M E S T O T H E safety of temporary employees, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has taken an increased interest in the relationship between manufacturers and staffing firms. Recently, OSHA and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) issued recommended practices for protecting temporary workers. Additionally, OSHA's strategic plan now includes reviewing manufacturers' safety training practices for temporary workers to ensure necessary steps are taken to protect them while they're assigned to their companies. Training by both the staffing firm and the client company can help avoid worker injury. Of particular note, and likely one of the reasons for OSHA's increased interest, are the fatal injuries that have occurred over the years to temporary employees at client worksites. OSHA has oen cited company failure to train temporary employees as equally as regular employees as a major contributing factor in the cause of the accidents. As more manufacturers use staffing firms to supplement their workforce for projects, cover peak times or as a screening tool, it shouldn't be surprising that OSHA has decided to target these relationships. "One example is the death of a 27-year-old employed through a staffing agency to work as an equipment cleaner at a food manufacturing plant. While cleaning a piece of machinery, he came into contact with rotating parts and was pulled into the machine, sustaining fatal injuries. e manufacturing plant's procedures for cleaning the equipment were unsafe, including steps in which cleaners worked near the machine while it was energized and parts were moving. Additionally, while the company's permanent maintenance employees were provided with training on procedures to ensure workers were not exposed to energized equipment during maintenance or cleaning, this training was not provided to cleaners employed through the staffing agency," according to the Massachusetts Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) Program, 11MA050. Manufacturers should be aware that the old attitude toward staffing companies that "they are temps – that's your problem" does not hold water in the current safety and accident prevention climate. All workers have a right to have a safe workplace, and OSHA is getting aggressive in assuring that both employing parties are taking their responsibilities seriously. It's no longer just a case of whose workers compensation policy is going to take the hit for an injury, but its exposure to OSHA investigations, citations and fines. It's in everyone's interests to review what's expected by both employers and plan your strategy accordingly. For the purposes of safety practices, the manufacturer and the staffing firm are joint employers. erefore, both parties are responsible for providing and maintaining a safe work B A C K O F F I C E Safety first Adopt good practices to protect your temporary workers BY LAURIE L. STUEBER Laurie Stueber has been active in the state Society for Human Resource Management for the past 22 years. She has more than 30 years of human resources experience in various types of business settings, including retail, staffing, manufacturing and human resource service outsourcing, with expertise in employment law compliance and reduction of risk/ costs associated with employment. The manufacturing client has control of the worksite and day-to-day supervision and safety. Therefore, the manufacturing company must provide first-day training and orientation, just as it provides for its regular employees.

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