Colton Hellman | Hellman & Associates

The Real Cost of Handling Compliance In-House

The hidden costs of compliance violations are three times more costly than direct costs associated with implementing an effective health and safety program. But even an in-house EHS program is no guarantee you can avoid large fines and business disruption.

Hellman & Associates has seen a surge in OSHA regulatory engagement with companies during the past year. We are successful at supporting our partnership companies by minimizing, and in most cases, preventing regulatory penalties and costly business disruptions.

In addition, for 23 years Hellman & Associates has helped businesses create safe, compliant work environments. Unanticipated costs accompany violations and course-correction when managing safety compliance using internal resources.

To help you understand the risks and solutions, click here to download a free brief which looks at issues and remedies and how a proactive approach leveraging our focus and expertise has made Hellman & Associates the preferred choice of businesses.

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Avoid the Hidden Costs of Self-Managed Compliance

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Hellman & Associates Receives OSHA Award

Hellman & Associates Receives Decades of Excellence Award

In the Olympics, you don’t get a medal for fourth place. Similarly, OSHA does not hand out awards just because you show up. We are extremely proud to announce that H&A is the recipients of the OSHA Region VIII VPP Decades of Excellence Award. The Voluntary Protection Programs (VPP) model is quite extensive with over 130 individual items within four main elements. To achieve VPP, a site must have injury and illness below the national average for their industry. In addition, they must meet or exceed all of the elements and individual items within the VPP model.

It is a tremendous challenge and a great achievement to be VPP. Getting into VPP is difficult but staying in VPP is even harder. VPP requires a long-term commitment to continuous improvement in the site safety and health management system. That is why OSHA’s Region VIII created the VPP Decades of Excellence award. This award is granted to VPP sites in OSHA Region VIII following their ten year anniversary of unbroken participation in the OSHA VPP. This ten year milestone is a tremendous achievement as it requires sites to successfully complete at least two VPP recertification evaluations following the initial evaluation. Thus, Decades of Excellence recipients have successfully passed at least three VPP evaluations and maintained VPP qualifications (excellence in industry) for at least ten straight years.

It is an impressive accomplishment and OSHA Region VIII recognizes its long-term partners and participants in VPP with this special award. It is truly hard-earned and well-deserved.
Brad G. Baptiste
Regional VPP Manager
U.S. Department of Labor – OSHA, Region VIII

When you partner with H&A, we help you create and maintain a culture and environment built on health and safety best practices using the VPP foundation. Contact H&A for information about our annual support service. The ASSUREDCompliance ProgramSM give you unrestricted access to a team of safety experts around the clock with unmatched knowledge and experience to relieve your safety concerns. We work diligently to implement and maintain your safety management system. This instills safety into your employees’ culture every day. As an H&A client, we guarantee your safety. If your company experiences a citation for something we should have managed, we pay for it…guaranteed.

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The Heat Is On

Back in 1985, Glenn Frey sang “The Heat Is On” and that is exactly the forecast! In less than a week, many areas of the country jumped from a mild spring right into major heat waves. This type of quick and ongoing temperature change exposes workers to dangerous risks related to heat exposure. And remember, heat stress can happen outdoors as well indoors.

Hellman & Associates has developed a handy poster you can place in your workplace and share with your employees to help them identify the signs and symptoms of heat stress so they know when to cool down before serious health risks set in.

Download the poster >>

Additional Resources: H&A has compiled a variety of resources to facilitate effective safety meetings.

Timely topics for this week include:

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ArborForce and Hellman & Associates Partnership

There is nothing better than hearing praise from a happy client. Even better is one who posts their satisfaction on social media. Thank you ArborForce!

This is a testimonial to our process which focuses on creating a partnership with clients. Hellman & Associates works with the typical industries such as construction and manufacturing. In addition, and as shown by Joe’s post, we also work successfully with specialized industries, such as ArborForce, which is a commercial forestry and debris removal contractor.

At Hellman & Associates, our client partnerships create a highly effective, economical alternative to traditional EHS consultation. We instill a high bar for safety in your corporate culture, while you focus on your core business.

An approach which is thorough yet simple balances regulatory compliance and risk management with internal cost savings, timely service and common sense. And our clients agree: our customer success rate is so high that we have a 98% renewal rate.

Play it safe. Contact us for a free consultation and to learn more about ASSUREDCompliance^sm, our annual partnership program. We help companies come from behind to avoid fines and significantly reduce their workers’ comp premiums.

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OSHA’s Weekend Work Initiative

Work sites in specific Colorado counties may receive site visits from OSHA during weekends. OSHA’s “Weekend Work” initiative will conduct safety and health inspections randomly on weekends in Arapahoe, Douglas, Jefferson, El Paso, Adams, Boulder, Broomfield, Denver, Larimer and Weld counties. These inspections will continue into the fall of 2021.

This initiative is the result of increased construction work which statistically has increased workers’ exposure to falls, trenching and other excavation hazards. Over the last two years, six workers have suffered fatal falls and nearly a dozen excavation collapses and trenching incidents have led to the deaths of three workers in Colorado. Typically, inspections do not incur on weekends but, more and more, companies are choosing to work on weekends to keep up with the high demands.

Hellman & Associates (H&A) has a strong commitment to the safety of your company’s staff. In addition, we want to help ensure the fiscal health of your company by avoiding costly fines or litigation. Making sure you are aware of this new inspection schedule is one way we help you meet your environmental health and safety goals.

Learn more about H&A’s commitment to your company through the services it offers on our web site. Please call or email us for information or to schedule a discussion.

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Important Alert Concerning OSHA Inspections

OSHA's Weekend Work Initiative

Learn more about H&A’s commitment to your company through the services it offers on our web site. Please call or email us for information or to schedule a discussion.

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If it’s June; it must be….

National Health and Safety Month

In 1996, the National Safety Council (NSC) established June as National Safety Month. The goal of this designation is to increase awareness of the leading safety and health risks with the goal to decrease the number of unintentional injuries and deaths.

What can you do to take advantage of this national month-long emphasis on health and safety?

Prevent Incidents Before They Start: Identifying risks and taking proactive safety measures to reduce hazard exposure on important topics from ergonomics to chemical management is crucial to creating a safe workplace.
Address Ongoing COVID-19 Safety Concerns: As the pandemic continues, employers play an important role in the return to physical work spaces, building trust around vaccines, mental health and more.
It’s vital to feel safe on the job: Being able to work without fear of retaliation is necessary for an inclusive safety culture. Leading organizations focus not only on physical safety but psychological safety as well.
Advance your safety journey: Safety is all about continuous improvement. Whether organizationally or individually, there are resources which provide guidance for the path forward.

Honor Your Safety Hero

Celebrate and focus your organization on health and safety this month. H&A invites you to recognize someone in your company who inspires you to be safe. Send us an email with your Safety Hero details so we can help you recognize their actions.

In addition to a variety of safety materials available from the NSC, H&A has online resources you can explore. Consider H&A’s COMPLIANCEAction Assessment which gives you a snapshot of your current risk exposure. This valuable process analyzes gaps and helps avoid a fine from regulatory agencies. This assessment will also provide you with an action plan—all for about the cost of a single, serious OSHA citation.

Contact H&A to learn more about the COMPLIANCEAction Assessment and the benefits it provides. Keep your company and its employees healthy!

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H&A Can Help Your Company Become A Star

VPP Star Awarded to Black Hills Energy Congratulations!

OSHA’s Voluntary Protection Program (VPP) promotes excellence in safety and health management systems by recognizing facilities which implement outstanding programs. The primary benefits received with VPP recognition include:
•   Exemption from OSHA programmed inspections
•   Improved health and safety in the workplace
•   Lower employee turnover, increased productivity and cost savings

Receiving a VPP Star designation is not a simple accomplishment. Employers submit to a rigorous onsite evaluation by a team of safety and health professionals. To qualify for VPP, as well as maintain certification, a facility must provide and implement a comprehensive health and safety management system.

Assisting Black Hills Energy to become recognized, Hellman & Associates (H&A) worked closely with the company’s management team providing valuable services and expertise. It identified gaps within Black Hills Energy’s programs to meet the arduous requirements and provided services including program reviews and training as well as drafting OSHA required documents.

H&A is one of five consulting companies in the U.S. with the VPP Star designation which gives it a unique opportunity to help change the safety culture of your company. Contact H&A to learn more about the VPP and the benefits it provides.

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Is Your Industry On The List?

OSHA Issues New Focus on Respirable Crystalline Silica

In May 2020, OSHA rolled out its National Emphasis Program (NEP) centered on protecting workers from Respirable Crystalline Silica (RCS) inhalation. After the initial program roll out, significant changes were made. The following is an overview of the NEP differences:

Change in the permissible exposure limit for RCS covering general industry, maritime and construction
An updated list of target industries listed by NAICS codes
Updated Inspection Procedures for RCS Standards
Mandatory state plan participation in this NEP
Requirement for Area and Regional Offices to comply but not required to develop and implement corresponding programs
Requirement for Area Offices to conduct outreach programs three months prior to initiating RCS inspections
Area Offices are no longer required to send abatement verification to the National Office

Details can be read in OSHA directive number CPL_03-00-023.pdf. The appendices in this directive contain the complete list of target and supplemental industries for this NEP.

Is Your Industry On The List?If your facility is not in compliance with OSHA’s RCS Standard, you may be subject to citations and fines. OSHA guidance materials are available to download if you wish to see the details.

Construction

General Industry & Maritime

Need help to navigate the complex standards and guidelines? Keep your work environment safe and your costs minimized. Contact H&A for information about the ASSUREDCompliance Program^SM which identifies and helps you manage safety risks. And, we guarantee regulatory compliance. If you incur a citation for an issue, we should have managed, we pay for it…guaranteed

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