NEW OSHA REGULATIONS TO HAVE LONG-TERM IMPACT
New OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) today announced new regulations aimed directly at the home and hobby workshop.
WASHINGTON (AP)
Phyllis Sharp, Director of the newly-formed Home Safety Compliance Division, today announced new OSHA regulations in response to successful lobbying by watchdog groups and the American Home and Hobby Machinery Manufacturers Association. The regulations, aimed directly at home workshops, hobbyists and “shade-tree mechanics”, are in response to an apparently exponential growth of safety issues surrounding the sale of commercial machinery to the private sector, resale of used machinery, and restoration of used and occasional vintage machinery by private individuals.
According to Sharp, “These things are dangerous, and we are finding out that commercial and industrial manufacturers and service facilities, not to mention our own government, are selling these machines to private persons without due regard for essential safety features that we require of all workplaces”. Ms. Sharp was also quoted as saying that “there is no reason why a home workshop should not be subject to the same guaranteed level of safety compliance that our government provides to the public workplace.” According to Sharp, fines and registration fees will be used to substantially reduce the anticipated cost of the regional offices and inspection teams.
In a brief press conference to present these proposed regulations, Mr. Morris Pschatt, Esq, general counsel for the Central States division of OSHA, stated that OSHA will create offices in each state for the purpose of inspection, tagging and tracking machinery sales. Sellers of all commercial-grade machinery will be required to transport machinery for sale to an OSHA field office prior to sale, where the machine will be inspected for the appropriate safety guards, decals and instruction manuals. Any machine found not to meet the standards will be tagged for scrap and the machine seller will be compensated at a standard rate per pound, according to Pschatt. When asked by one reporter about private sales, Mr. Pschatt responded that the OSHA Residential Teams inspectors would be tracking eBay, craigslist and classified sales in order to provide “comprehensive safety coverage”.
In addition, Pschatt remarked, OSHA Residential Teams field inspectors will be periodically making spot inspections to home and hobby workshops to ensure safety compliance, similar to existing commercial and industrial compliance regulations. All home-shop machinery will be required to be tagged and registered with OSHA, and any machine not having the proper guards in place, decals visible and legible, and instructions readily available will be tagged and confiscated. Furthermore, personal safety gear, including eyewear, hearing protection and head gear will be required of all home and hobby workers.
The AHHMMA is represented in Washington by domestic and overseas manufacturers and importers of woodworking, metalworking and automotive equipment.
