If an Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) inspector comes to your rental operation and sees a violation, which could be as simple as an improperly tagged fire extinguisher, you could end up with a fine of $13,653. But that fine could be just the beginning if more violations are found.
To help rental operators be better prepared for such a visit, the ARA of Illinois offered “OSHA’s at Your Door. Are You Ready?” seminar Thursday, March 24. Featured presenter was Kevin Gern, American Rental Association (ARA) vice president of education and risk management.
“The presentation was excellent,” says Brian Soares, vice president, First Place Rental, Oswego, Ill., who attended with one of his team members. “How Kevin presented it with the videos and slides was great. He pointed out a few things you probably get used to seeing while you are in and around your shop and you’re not focusing on as possible violations, such as open spots in a panel where you may have done some additions, light switch or receptacle covers not covering things properly, not making sure people have their seatbelt on when driving forklifts or not being diligent about keeping records of all your safety meetings. That is important. We are in a digital age now, so that is easier to do now. This is especially true with RentalU, which offers classes and allows you to digitally track participation and quizzes.”
For Soares, who had been in the trades for a number of years and now in rental for more than 10 years, a lot of the information shared was a good refresher, “but you need that because when you start to get comfortable and used to things, that is when you start making mistakes. Having those refreshers is necessary for any level of employee. I found it very informative and made several notes off to the side. If I had been familiar with all of it, I wouldn’t have made any notes. We will follow up on those areas,” he says.
John Reynolds, manager, Channahon General Rental, Channahon, Ill., had a similar reaction.
“It was a good refresher. I also learned a lot. For instance, I learned how many feet fire extinguishers need to be apart from each other, what PPE [personal protective equipment] is required and how important it is to keep documentation of employee training,” says Reynolds, who took part along with his manager and a lead employee.
“My employee also learned a few things he didn’t know, which is good. Now he can help keep an eye on these things,” Reynolds adds.
Soares agrees. “That is why we had another employee sit in on the meeting. We wanted another set of eyes. If we can train and inform our employees, then everyone is a set of eyes. It is a good way to make employees cognizant safety-wise, so they can bring things up to you that you don’t normally see. If they are not aware it is an issue, they won’t tell you,” he says.
Both Soares and Reynolds already knew how drastic the fines can be, “but when you see how much the fines are and understand how they can compound, you become very aware of your potential for significant fines for neglecting something simple,” Soares says.
“I was aware how high they were but not how high they went up. I was shocked to see some of those fines and how they can add up,” Reynolds says.
Both are glad they took part.
“We do walk-arounds and have safety meetings. We keep a tidy shop. As a former electrician, I would notice maybe more than someone else would who doesn’t have a background in that. We are focused on a clean, safe work area and keep our forklift certifications up to date, but there is always room for improvement. It is nice to have a refresher like this. Maybe we haven’t looked at something from this angle, so we need to look at that. If we are not focusing and being based off of safety, that is a big problem. Our rental operation’s concern is our employees and customers. We and every other rental operation need to be safety based. That should be a major part of all of our operations,” Soares says.
“You can never hear it too many times,” Reynolds says. “You can never hear this message too many times to make sure you are following the right guidelines.”