Compliance

Ergonomics on hold
Congress, president stop OSHA’s new workplace safety standard, but the Dept. of Labor is not ready to give up

— By Kristine Hansen

What happened on March 6 could be called a political milestone. Or a move that crippled federal legislation designed to protect workers from on-the-job injuries.

In just two days, the U.S. Congress defeated the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) ergonomics standard — 10 years after OSHA began drafting it. Congress used former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich’s 1996 Congressional Review Act — which allows 60 session days to review and possibly reject agency rules — for the first time. President Bush then signed the Joint Resolution of Disapproval two weeks later.

The decision to scrap the standard was a serious blow to OSHA and union workers nationwide. Released on Nov. 14, the ergonomics standard’s was poised to — through stringent guidelines for the work environment — prevent worker injuries such as carpal tunnel syndrome, repetitive stress syndrome, and wrist, back and knee problems.

Now, OSHA’s new standard falls back into the hands of the U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao, who already has expressed her intent to “pursue a comprehensive approach to ergonomics, which may include new rulemaking, that addresses the concerns levied against the new standard,” according to a recent letter she sent to Sen. James Jeffords, R-Vt., chairman of the committee on health, education, labor and pensions, and Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass.

OSHA cannot legally reissue the standard in its current state; the language and some of its conditions must be altered, says an OSHA spokesperson.

“In other words, it won’t go away...What it will be and what form it will take I don’t know,” says the spokesperson. “[But Congress’ actions] do not preclude an agency from pursuing another avenue.”

The rule’s demise also isn’t necessarily the end of all workplace precautions: “It certainly doesn’t preclude an employer from developing a health and safety program having to do with ergonomics,” says the spokesperson.

The difference now will be a lack of government pressure to comply with specific guidelines. “It leaves (employers) with the freedom and the flexibility to develop programs that are meaningful and tailored to their work force,” says Bill Balek, legislative affairs director for the International Sanitary Supply Association, which had recently joined a lawsuit attempting to block OSHA’s new rule. Balek calls the ergonomics standard “a one-size-fits-all, one-shot solution” that would have cost cleaning operations of all sizes too much to implement.

The cleaning industry remains mixed about the issue of an ergonomics standard. While there are several supporters, a blur of industry groups argue that the standard bypasses state worker’s compensation laws.


IWCA, Glass Manufacturers
Address Scratching Concerns

The International Window Cleaners Association (IWCA) has formed a new committee to research the causes of glass scratching during routine cleaning. Recently, numerous lawsuits have been filed between window cleaning companies and glass manufacturers due to a dispute over whether factory imperfections could lead to scratched glass during construction clean-up projects, which typically require cleaners to remove building debris from new windows.

The mission of the IWCA’s Glass Surface Maintenance Committee is to form alliances with glass manufactures and related national associations to develop common standards for the proper care, transportation and maintenance of different glass surfaces, especially when cleaning construction materials off of glass surfaces, says chair Patricia Gould. Glass scratching has become a hot topic in the window-cleaning industry in the last decade, because manufacturers have reported that common scraping methods, most often used to remove construction debris from windows, scratch glass. The Glass Association of North America has denounced the use of scrapers in almost every situation in its published guidelines for cleaning architectural glass products.

Window cleaners, however, disagree, saying that scrapers and razor blades can be used without damage.
“If used properly, such as dragging only in one direction and not lodging debris under the scraper or razor, which would scratch the glass, this removal method is safe,” says Jim Willingham, CEO of New Day Window Cleaning Service, Lubbock, Texas, and a former president of the IWCA.

Instead, he points to glass “fines” to explain many scratches caused during cleaning. When grinding down the edges of glass panes, microscopic pieces of glass can coat windows. If the panes are not properly washed to remove these “fines” before the tempering process, they bake onto the surface. Cleaners attempting to scrape off construction debris, not knowing this small glass exists, will unknowingly dislodge and drag the fines across the glass, scratching the surface.

The problem the industry faces is that window cleaners only can see glass fines if they inspect a pane of glass with a jeweler’s loupe, says Willingham. But it would be cost-prohibitive to inspect windows this way to know which shouldn’t be scraped. Instead, he advises workers to stop as soon as a scratch appears and to inspect with a loupe. If glass fines are present, they should let the customer know that the glass is defective.

The IWCA plans to meet with glass industry representatives this spring to find common ground in this dispute. To provide any input regarding glass products, cleaning products, cleaning tools and/or techniques involved with this issue send information to: GSMC c/o IWCA 7801 Suffolk Court, Alexandria, Virginia 22315-4029.


CDC Releases New
Infection Control Guidelines

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recently accepted public commentary regarding newly released guidelines for environmental infection control procedures. The draft is expected to replace portions of the previously published Guideline for Handwashing and Hospital Environmental Control and portions of the Guidelines for Prevention of Nosocomial Pneumonia.

The new document revises sections that include cleaning and disinfection of environmental surfaces, environmental sampling, laundry and bedding and regulated medical waste. It also incorporates air and water environmental issues, and consolidated environmental infection control measures from a variety of other CDC guidelines.

Part of the impetus for this change is the fact that the Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee, which advises the CDC regarding infection control, has expanded its focus from acute-care hospitals to any healthcare-related facilities.

Click here for a copy of the changes.


IICRC to Offer
New Carpet Standard

Whether you hire carpet contractors for certain projects or do it all in-house, there’s a new standard on the horizon that will address commercial carpet care procedures. The Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification (IICRC) has announced plans to update its current carpet cleaning standard, S-001, to include commercial information. Previously, the standard only addressed residential cleaning.

The IICRC is a non-profit organization that offers training and certification for cleaning, inspection and restoration services.

In related news, housekeeping executives who have environmentally-preferable purchasing requirements or are looking for products considered beneficial for indoor environmental quality, the Carpet and Rug Institute offers a Green Seal program that gives a seal of approval to vacuums meeting a set of specific criteria.

Visit either Web Site for more information.