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Are you logging?
Understanding the new OSHA Directive and avoiding citations
By Peter Gerstenberger
You will recall if you have been following developments in OSHA’s Department of Enforcement Programs (DEP) that on
June 25, this OSHA Directorate released a Compliance Directive that would have forced all companies to adopt unsafe
practices designed for the logging industry.
TCIA went to work immediately in Washington, with Congress and with OSHA directly. Effective August 21, the onerous
directive was replaced with a new guidance document, Directive Number CPL 02-01-045.
One month later, it became official that OSHA would be pursuing a separate standard for arboriculture after many
years of TCIA’s work on your behalf. Even in the best of circumstances, a standard takes years to promulgate, which
means that the Directive applies OSHA-wide and remains in effect indefinitely.
Avoiding Citations
Let’s explore how this Directive may affect your operations. The adoption of a new Directive does not necessarily
involve an increase in enforcement activity, so the probability of encountering OSHA in your day-to-day operations
has not changed.
If you operate in a State Plan OSHA State that has unique standards covering tree care activities, such as
California, Michigan and Oregon, then this Federal OSHA program change will likely have no effect. States are
expected to adopt enforcement policies that are at least as effective (stringent) as Federal enforcement policies,
and Federal OSHA may file a formal complaint against State Plans, forcing them to change. However, it is safe to
assume that any change in State enforcement won’t occur quickly or without notice.
For companies in other State Plan States as well as those under Federal jurisdiction, avoiding any problem begins
with a thorough read of the Directive, which OSHA conveniently makes available on its web site, www.osha.gov. You
should see a link on the right-hand side of the screen to directives. Click on the link, type the Directive number
“CPL 02-01-045” into the browser window, then download and read this document.
Are you a logger?
Without going into detail about how OSHA makes that determination, we want to stress two key points. The first point
is that this Directive applies a matrix of variables rather than an arbitrary threshold to determine if an operation
is logging. OSHA considers factors such as number/size of trees, size of the operation, main purpose of the
operation, remoteness of the site, etc.
The second key point is that this Directive mandates that the Federal DEP must be notified prior to the issuance of
any citations under 29 CFR 1910.266 to an employer engaged in small-scale tree removal or whose primary business is
tree care. In other words, any potential citation must be kicked up to Washington for review.
The Directive also addresses the practice of hoisting a climber with a crane. While it points out that this practice
is non-compliant with current OSHA standards and therefore cite-able, it also explains the employer’s affirmative
defenses. These are what you use in the event that you determine that you cannot follow OSHA guidance because it is
either infeasible or less safe for your employees to do so.
OSHA is compelled to enforce the standards it has on the books. It is important to note that the crane regulation
has not changed, nor have the employer affirmative defenses. Our advice to you is this:
Make sure that all your crane operations carefully follow the protocol and procedures established in ANSI Z133.1 –
2006, paragraphs 5.7.8 and 5.7.9
If you determine that you must hoist a climber, document that decision carefully.
We encourage you to forward any other questions or concerns you have with the Directive to TCIA. We have already
asked OSHA-DEP for further interpretation of the Directive. The dialogue we have with OSHA before we get down to
the business of writing a standard will continue to help define where there are gaps that need clarification and
will give us insights into their current thinking.
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