Cal OSHA

[electricguy61]

Cal OSHA came onto the site of our latest residential site (we had already finished the rough in) and sited the EIFS (Exterior Insulation and Finish System) contractor for not having enough drinking water on the job for his 5 employees.

Ready for this.....................$10,000 fine

Ouch!

 

[Ponchik]

The employees are not responsible for their own water??

Ouch $10,000????

How much water are you suppose to have for 5 employees?

 

[iwire]

The employees are not responsible for their own water??

Ouch $10,000????

How much water are you suppose to have for 5 employees?

Not just cal OSHA, but Federal OSHA as well

1928.51(a)(1) An adequate supply of potable water shall be provided in all places of employment.

 

[iwire]

Follow this link, it is short but I think some will be surprised about what they call the sanction requirements.

https://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=STANDARDS&p_id=10624

 

[electricguy61]

The employees are not responsible for their own water??

Ouch $10,000????

How much water are you suppose to have for 5 employees?

1. What is the required amount of water and what are "effective procedures for replenishment"?When unlimited drinking water is not immediately available from a plumbed system or otherwise continuously supplied, the employer must provide enough water for every employee to be able to drink one quart of water, or four eight-ounce cups, per hour.
   If an employer chooses not to provide the full-shift quantity of drinking water at the start of a work shift (e.g., two gallons per employee for an eight-hour shift), the standard requires effective written procedures for drinking-water replenishment allowing each employee to drink one quart per hour. In other words, a sufficient quantity of water must always be present and readily accessible allowing every employee to consume at least one quart of water per hour until the water supply has been replenished.
   A water-supply procedure that depends on replenishment during the work shift is out of compliance if it is not reliable. An employer is also out of compliance if at any time drinking water is not available to employees, or if the practice is to wait until the water vessel is empty to replenish it. It is similarly impermissible for an employer to replenish the drinking-water supply only when requested by employees.

 

[gadfly56]

1. What is the required amount of water and what are "effective procedures for replenishment"?When unlimited drinking water is not immediately available from a plumbed system or otherwise continuously supplied, the employer must provide enough water for every employee to be able to drink one quart of water, or four eight-ounce cups, per hour.
   If an employer chooses not to provide the full-shift quantity of drinking water at the start of a work shift (e.g., two gallons per employee for an eight-hour shift), the standard requires effective written procedures for drinking-water replenishment allowing each employee to drink one quart per hour. In other words, a sufficient quantity of water must always be present and readily accessible allowing every employee to consume at least one quart of water per hour until the water supply has been replenished.
   A water-supply procedure that depends on replenishment during the work shift is out of compliance if it is not reliable. An employer is also out of compliance if at any time drinking water is not available to employees, or if the practice is to wait until the water vessel is empty to replenish it. It is similarly impermissible for an employer to replenish the drinking-water supply only when requested by employees.

Maybe our Arizona brethren can comment here; is a quart per hour a reasonable rate, or are they just putting something out there so large that no one can complain it's not enough?

 

[ActionDave]

Maybe our Arizona brethren can comment here; is a quart per hour a reasonable rate, or are they just putting something out there so large that no one can complain it's not enough?

Two gallons in a workday??? I think that could make your brain explode.

 

[GoldDigger]

Two gallons in a workday??? I think that could make your brain explode.

I would not worry so much about my brain....

 

[ActionDave]

I would not worry so much about my brain....

I'll amend my remark to say "one's brain explode".

 

[Fulthrotl]

Two gallons in a workday??? I think that could make your brain explode.

i'm not a big water drinker, first off.

when working in Feen-X, i took two one gallon water bottles
with ice to work each day. started at 5 am.

first one had crystal lite in it. it was gone by 8 am.
second one was ice water. most of it was gone by quitting time.
about a gallon and a half of water in 8 hours.

now, i didn't pee till i got home, and was standing under the
shower, and cooled my core temp down enough. 6 quarts in
8 hours, no production of urine. wasn't sweaty either. it was
just going out thru the skin.

however, i was working in goodyear, arizona, at the snyders
of hanover pretzel plant, doing controls, and most days were
115~118 at that time. no swamp coolers, nothing.

it wasn't a dry heat, either. during monsoon season, six weeks
of living in a vegetable steamer.

 

[Johnnybob]

Two gallons in a workday??? I think that could make your brain explode.

It would definitely have to have plenty of malted barley, to aid in absorption.

 

[Jraef]

Having just gone through kidney stone issues, and having to continue dealing with it now for months to come, I'll attest to the long term effects of chronic dehydration. Trust me, drinking a lot of water is important. The rule from my urologist is, minimum 72 oz per day if you work in a 70F environment, add 4 oz/hour for every 10 deg F over 70. So if outdoors, 90F for 8 hours, that's 72 + (8x8) = 136 oz for that day. 64 oz in a gallon, 2 gallons = 128 oz. sounds about right.

 

[ActionDave]

Having just gone through kidney stone issues, and having to continue dealing with it now for months to come, I'll attest to the long term effects of chronic dehydration. Trust me, drinking a lot of water is important. The rule from my urologist is, minimum 72 oz per day if you work in a 70F environment, add 4 oz/hour for every 10 deg F over 70. So if outdoors, 90F for 8 hours, that's 72 + (8x8) = 136 oz for that day. 64 oz in a gallon, 2 gallons = 128 oz. sounds about right.

I read your kidney stone thread and upped my water intake, not two gallons a day though.

 

[mgookin]

128 fl oz = 1 gallon

 

[zbang]

Another case of "one size does not fit all" nor should it. Two gallons per day might be a good target for LA in the summer, but not for San Francisco in the summer; well, probably not any time, really.

 

[big john]

Providing a full 10 gallon water cooler is not even a remotely onerous requirement to ask of an employer.

I agree, it may not be necessary in all spots, but it's a heck of a lot better to do it and not need it than vise versa, especially given how easily it could be complied with.

 

[iwire]

I am guessing they simply wrote the rule for worst case.

You don't have to supply fancy Italian water, just tap water in a container with a spigot is fine.

 

[kwired]

If the site already has potable running water that is available for anyone to access does employer still need to provide additional water to comply with OSHA?

 

[gadfly56]

If the site already has potable running water that is available for anyone to access does employer still need to provide additional water to comply with OSHA?

If you were said employer, would you take the risk?

 

[Ponchik]

If the site already has potable running water that is available for anyone to access does employer still need to provide additional water to comply with OSHA?

If the site has potable plumbed running water, you are in compliance. It does not sound like it has to be filtered drinking bottle water.

1. What is the required amount of water and what are "effective procedures for replenishment"?When unlimited drinking water is not immediately available from a plumbed system or otherwise continuously supplied, the employer must provide enough water for every employee to be able to drink one quart of water, or four eight-ounce cups, per hour.
   If an employer chooses not to provide the full-shift quantity of drinking water at the start of a work shift (e.g., two gallons per employee for an eight-hour shift), the standard requires effective written procedures for drinking-water replenishment allowing each employee to drink one quart per hour. In other words, a sufficient quantity of water must always be present and readily accessible allowing every employee to consume at least one quart of water per hour until the water supply has been replenished.
   A water-supply procedure that depends on replenishment during the work shift is out of compliance if it is not reliable. An employer is also out of compliance if at any time drinking water is not available to employees, or if the practice is to wait until the water vessel is empty to replenish it. It is similarly impermissible for an employer to replenish the drinking-water supply only when requested by employees.