OSHA issues “standards improvement” rule

Posted May 14, 2019

OSHA has issued a final rule that revises 14 provisions in the recordkeeping, general industry, maritime, and construction standards. The rule takes effect 60 days after publication in the Federal Register.

Among its changes, the final rule Includes:

• An update to the consensus standard incorporated by reference for signs and devices used to protect workers near automobile traffic,
• A revision to the requirements for roll-over protective structures to comply with current consensus standards,
• Updates for storage of digital x-rays,
• An update to the method of calling emergency services to allow for use of current technology, and
• Removal of the requirement that employers include an employee’s social security number (SSN) on exposure monitoring, medical surveillance, and other records.

The Agency also is revising two standards to align with current medical practice: a reduction to the number of necessary employee x-rays and updates to requirements for pulmonary function testing.

OSHA is not moving forward with proposed revisions to the lockout/tagout general industry standard, personal protective equipment fit in construction, the excavation construction standard, or the decompression tables in the underground construction standard.

OSHA proposed the changes in October 2016. This is the fourth final rule under OSHA’s Standards Improvement Project, which began in 1995 in response to a Presidential memorandum to improve government regulations. Other revisions were issued in 1998, 2005, and 2011.

OSHA Rules for General Industry: 1910 and Other Essential Regulations puts OSHA’s workplace safety regulations in a reader-friendly format.

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