Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/731772
October 2016 | Boating Industry | 57 [ OSHA ] www.BoatingIndustry.com that need," said Matt Gruhn, president of MRAA. "We wanted to be the resource for them to be able to educate them on what the laws are, what the potential penalties are and what they need to do to become compliant. And while MRAA certainly can't become the expert on that, we can partner with somebody who is." Nestegg worked with MRRA and KPA on the pilot program, which includes training, soft- ware, webinars and a host of other tools and re- sources for dealers. "It was very difficult and strenuous and time consuming doing it on my own without profes- sional help," Kukuk said. "These guys do it their whole career. They know what to look for." The list of items OSHA can and will find is extensive, to the point where it is a full-time job just to know what to look for in your business, and most business owners just don't have the time. "The fines kill you. It's very seldom that you get an OSHA inspection and the inspec- tor doesn't leave without giving you a $50,000 bill, and I would be surprised if it's ever less than that," Kukuk said. "There's just too many rules and regulations, and that's why I finally came to the realization that I think we need to rely on experts [and] pay our money. If you think about it, if it's $250 a month, it's $3,000 a year. That's a hell of a lot cheaper than a $50,000 fine." Buckeye Sports Center, Inc. chose to hire The Dell Group, a company that specializes in safety compliance, with whom Buckeye has previously worked through the Lake Erie Ma- rine Trades Association. They conduct monthly training with Buckeye's employees on topics ranging from emergency action and fire preven- tion plans, personal protective equipment (PPE) and assembling a PPE manual, hazardous com- munications and more. "They developed a couple of big binders full of the safety data sheets for us and went over training on cranes and tractors and everything else [as far as] different equipment we had here that might have any safety issues that went along with them," said Jim Armington, trea- surer at Buckeye Sports Center. "It was easy and beneficial. It was great to get all the employees involved in it and have them see what was in- volved in making a safer working environment." Many of these companies provide additional services. The Dell Group made themselves avail- able to Buckeye Sports Center in the event of an OSHA inspection, and when OSHA recently came to Buckeye Sports Center, Buckeye's representative from The Dell Group was there within 30 minutes of receiving Armington's call. "There were a couple other things they were fussing about and he helped mitigate those issues before we got written up on them," he said. For 2017, OSHA redefined material safety data sheets (MSDS) and safety data sheets (SDS), which means all MSDS forms need to be replaced with the new form. KPA did a com- plete chemical inventory of Nestegg Marine's facility, including items the dealership sells, and entered those into the computer. Kukuk now has a complete online inventory of every chemical at Nestegg, as well as a computerized checklist of all items Nestegg still needs to com- plete for compliance. "That's almost impossible for anybody to do on their own," he said. "I can go in, I can see all of the issues that they've pointed out, and as I correct them I go in and I cancel them or close them." Proactive versus reactive costs The price to hire a company to help with com- pliance pales in comparison to an OSHA fine, according to those who have chosen to invest. "For most people, it would be probably any- where between $6,000 and $10,000 depending on what they needed to get," said Armington. "I would absolutely recommend that everybody contact a local company that provides [safety and OSHA] training information, because not only is it inevitable that it could happen but there's so much that you think you have cov- ered, but there's so many things they look at that had never even occurred to me." With KPA's help, Nestegg Marine is now at 98 percent compliance, which – in terms of OSHA's standards – is as good as 100 percent, as OSHA will likely find something at any business, no matter how compliant it is. Hiring a company also shows initiative and a desire to provide a safe environment for em- ployees and customers, which does have some weight with OSHA. "The company that makes a good effort … will come clean on most OSHA inspections," said Kukuk. "I can sleep at night now knowing that if OSHA comes in here, yeah I'm going to get fines but I think I can widdle that down and I think I can head them off by showing that I've got a very rock solid plan." In addition to having and using the proper personal protec- tion equipment (PPE), businesses are also required to have all necessary and current first aid supplies easily accessible to employees. Buckeye Sports Center's training devoted an entire seg- ment to Tag out/Lock out procedures to protect people from equipment that has a problem or is down for service. Busi- nesses are required to have the necessary equipment to keep people from using dangerous equipment. "THE FINES KILL YOU. IT'S VERY SELDOM THAT YOU GET AN OSHA INSPECTION AND THE INSPECTOR DOESN'T LEAVE WITHOUT GIVING YOU A $50,000 BILL, AND I WOULD BE SURPRISED IF IT'S EVER LESS THAN THAT." — Jon Kukuk, owner of Nestegg Marine