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In The Winery

while on the job. This is not always the case. Each Frequent Winery Violations
year thousands of employees die from work-relat-
ed deaths and thousands more are injured on the Below you will find some of the frequently cited
job, many of which require numerous days away OSHA regulations within the winery industry. If you
from work. This not only causes pain and stress for click on the heading of each, it will take you directly
the employee and family but also costs employers to the federal OSHA regulation.
(such as you) billions of dollars each year.
General Duty Clause: OSHA requires that each
The Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA, employer “furnish to each of its employees a work-
commonly called the OSH Act)was enacted in 1970 place that is free from recognized hazards that are
to “to assure so far as possible every working man causing or likely to cause death or serious physical
and woman in the Nation safe and healthful work- harm to its employees.”
ing conditions to preserve our human resources”.
This OSH Act consists of a number of safety and With this you’re expected to identify and correct
health regulations that employers are required any health or safety hazards present in your work
to follow. The OSH Act also allows states to enact environment. This is a “high level” standard and
their own safety and health laws as long as they a serious responsibility that you as an employer
are at least as strict (meaning some states regulate must address to reduce the chances of one of your
more than others) as the federal standards. As a employees being injured or harmed. OSHA provides
winery, you are required to comply with these stan- guidance on what elements should be included in
dards (either federal or your state’s program). So an effective occupational safety and health pro-
how do you think you doing? gram.

If you’ve never experienced an OSHA inspection, Some states (such as California) even require that
the National Safety Council has an excellent article, employers develop a written “Injury and Illness
“What to expect when OSHA is inspecting” that can Prevention Program” (IIPP) which is a basic safety
provide you with valuable insight regarding OSHA program tailored to your winery operations. As part
inspections. This article also highlights a list of pro- of an IIPP you are required to identify the hazards
grams that require records and proof documents within your workplace and how you can eliminate
that you may need to be maintaining. or reduce them.

For this article, we’ll highlight frequently cited Hazard Communication: This standard requires
federal OSHA regulations for wineries (within NAICS that you must provide your employees informa-
Code of 312130) during the past year as well as tion about the hazardous substances to which they
violations cited in California (with one of the larger might be exposed. This needs to be a written pro-
state OSHA programs and a large number of winer- gram that outlines your winery’s policies and pro- Photo Courtesy of: Morton Buildings
ies). We hope you and your winery find this infor- cedures. You must use Safety Data Sheets (SDSs),
mation useful. We suggest you use this information appropriate labels and other forms of warning,
to develop a checklist that you can use to help along with training to make sure your employees
improve your safety program, where needed, and understand the substances and how to protect
perform inspections to help you “see the low hang- themselves.
ing grapes” regarding OSHA compliance. Of course,
there may be other safety regulations that may Permit-Required Confined Spaces: Generally
also apply to your winery so you’ll want to consider speaking a confined space is a space not intended
seeking out professional advice regarding any addi- for continuous occupancy and has limited means
tional standards that may apply. for entry or exit. These have the potential to con-
tain a hazardous atmosphere and other potential
Should you need help with any of these regula- safety or health hazards. Fermentation tanks, silos
tions, you can contact your local state OSHA office; and sumps are examples and must be evaluated
most of them have a free voluntary compliance to determine if they meet the definition of “per-
division that can offer free advice and assistance. mit required.” In turn you must prepare the space
They can also provide you with the specifics of each before entry and test the atmosphere with a cali-
of the regulations governing your state. brated direct-reading testing device. This standard

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