MN OSHA’s Top 10 Most Frequently Cited Standards of 2022

Is your city meeting OSHA requirements? Are you training your employees? Consider revisiting your
training programs to make sure they are current and being conducted and documented. This will help your city meet OSHA standards and help prevent OSHA citations. MNOSHA recently came out with the most frequently cited standards for all industries for the federal fiscal year 2022:

1. 1926.501: Fall protection in construction
2. 1910.1200/MN Rules 5206.0700: Hazard communication/Right to know
3. Minnesota Statutes 182.653, sub 8: AWAIR
4. 1910.212: Machinery and machine guarding – general requirements
5. 1926.1053: Ladders
6. 1910.134: Respiratory protection
7. 1910.242: Hand and portable powered tools and equipment
8. Minnesota Rules 5206.0116: Carbon monoxide monitoring
9. 1910.147: Control of hazardous energy (lockout/tagout)
10. 1926.503: Fall protection training

See fact sheet here.

How can your city ensure training requirements are getting done to help prevent you from receiving OSHA citations?

If you are part of the LMCIT Regional Safety Group (RSG), your RSG coordinator can help ensure compliance and proper training is being met. If you are not part of an RSG and have less than 50 full-time employees and have workers’ compensation coverage through LMCIT, you can qualify to join an RSG. You can find more information here.

Another great affordable option is LMCIT’s NEOGOV, an online safety training program. All LMCIT members can register for this program to gain access to 200 online safety training courses. You can find more information here.

You can also supplement your training with LMCIT’s free streaming safety videos. There is a library of 342 e-learning courses and streaming training videos. Videos range from 2-30 minutes. You can find more information here and browse the library of videos here.


Submitted by: Kate Connell, Loss Control Consultant

Pilot Program Uses Mapping Technology to Locate Underground Utilities

Photo credit MN DPS

Are you like me? When you drive, do you almost always use Google Maps, even if you’re just going to the grocery store? Wouldn’t it be nice if you could use similar technology to arrive accurately at your final excavation destination? Maybe you can!

In August 2020, Gopher State One Call (GSOC) in partnership with the Minnesota Underground Utility Mapping Project Team (UUMPT) initiated a pilot project that incorporated advanced underground locating technology with shared mapping services — like Google Maps for utilities! The program introduced 12 cities and a few excavation contractors to two new systems: Vivax-Metrotek’s vLoc3-ProRTK locator, which is supported by UtilityLogic, and Subsurface Solutions’ Radiodection GPS utility mapping system. The pilot program included a 30-day trial of either system.

The goal of this program was to enable facility operators to map utilities more accurately and in a timely manner while introducing this new technology to end users. Ultimately, this technology aims to improve safety and reduce the hazards associated with excavation around underground utilities.

Feedback from the initial program participants was overwhelmingly positive. They reported:

• 

  Photo credit Marc Dunker

  Improved efficiency of locating without loss of productivity.                                 
  
• More accurate locates.
• Improved safety.
• Easy to use with a short learning curve.
• Easy to map larger areas such as neighborhoods and developments.

As with any new technology, there is a learning curve, and a few minor drawbacks were noted. Like other surveying methods, some users reported that trees and time of day created minor issues. 

Here are resources for more information

If you would like to know more about the program, these articles take a closer look:

• Dp-PRO 2021 Fall Article
• Excavation Safety Magazine Q1 2023

And if you would like more information about the technology used, contact:

• Joe Rubbelke, Director of Utility Logic, at sales@utility-logic.com
• Travis Beran, President of Subsurface Solutions, at travis@subsurfacesolutions.com

Logo permission
GSOC

The updated 2023 GSOC Handbook is your source for safety and legal requirements when excavating in Minnesota. If you want more information on Gopher State One Call or this program specifically, go to gopherstateonecall.org or contact Barbara M. Cederberg, Chief Operations Officer at Gopher State One Call, at (651) 681-7307 or Barbara.cederberg@gopherstateonecall.org. 

If you need assistance with excavation safety or any other safety matters at your city, please contact your League of Minnesota Cities loss control consultant. We are happy to help!

 As always, please work safely; many people are depending on you!

Submitted by: Marc Dunker, Loss Control Consultant