Safety Talk Concludes TRSA’s Clean ’17 Seminars

TRSA held its final education session of Clean 2017 on June 7 at the Las Vegas Convention Center, a presentation on the exhibit floor dedicated to safe practices and identifying common OSHA violations in the linen, uniform and facility services industry.

The hour-long presentation by Edwin G. Foulke, partner, Fisher Phillips LLP, Atlanta was aimed at helping laundry operators correct potential problems in the plant, thereby reducing the chances of safety-related incidents, as well as costly fines by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).

Before joining the staff at Fisher Phillips, Foulke served as the assistant secretary of labor for OSHA under President George Bush from April 2006 through November 2008.

During his presentation, Foulke shared the top 20 most-cited violations affecting the commercial laundry industry. A few common violations include:

• Hazard communication
• Electrical problems
• Lockout/tagout
• Bloodborne pathogens
   

After reviewing common violations and ways to approach fixing these issues, Foulke discussed the current administration and its impact on OSHA. Specifically, he noted that OSHA under the administration of President Donald Trump was likely to have fewer regulations and a reduced impact on business than was the norm under his predecessor, President Barack Obama. Foulke said he expects to see a greater focus on assisting companies with compliance issues, little or no increase in the OSHA budget, and more business-friendly interpretive letters, among other policy moves.

Foulke concluded his talk with a focus on the positive impact that having a safe business operation has on a company’s bottom line.

TRSA would like to offer a special thanks to event partner Ecolab Inc. for sponsoring this session, one of nine educational seminars held by TRSA during the June 5-8 show.