On June 12, Apparelist’s Content Director Cassie Green and PRINTING United Alliance’s Vice President of EHS Affairs Gary Jones presented a webinar “OSHA Enforcement at Apparel Decoration Operations,” helping apparel decorators stay current on the latest OSHA regulations and enforcements.  

The pair talked about the type of inspections happening in apparel decoration operations, specifically screen-printing shops; the penalties for the top 10 OSHA violations among print operations (See Figures 1 and 2); and how to manage an inspection.

What to Know About OSHA’s Enforcement 

Some topline takeaways worth mentioning among OSHA enforcement, include: 

• There’s been a recent increase in inspections (specifically targeting lockout/tagout of automatic screen-printing presses).  

• The printing industry is considered a “high hazard” industry due to the risk for amputations.  

• OSHA penalties continue to increase, as the organization looks to encourage regulation compliance.  

“It seems from my experience of working with our members and OSHA all these years, we tend to run kind of in a cycle where it’s a high and a low and a high and a low,” Jones said of print operations experiencing OSHA inspections.  

He partly attributes the current rise in inspections to the presidential administration. “Under President Joe Biden’s administration, there has been an emphasis on enforcement for sure,” Jones shared, in addition to more inspectors being trained and entering the field. 

More importantly, Jones says the printing industry is a “high hazard” industry for amputations across the board, whether its apparel decoration, wide-format printing, or commercial printing. The industry was added to the high-hazard list several years ago. “Usually, 99% of the time, if it’s a machine-related injury or an amputation, there’s going to be an inspector at your door within a day, sometimes two, or within a week,” he shared.  

Citation Examples 

Platen Fire

In one example Green shared, two employees were standing near an automatic screen-printing press, talking, and not tending or paying attention to the operating equipment. A small fire broke out on a curing unit, and one of the employee’s shorts caught fire and burned a hole in them.  

Another employee saw the incident and reported it to OSHA. OSHA spent three days in the shop and handed over a hefty $15,000 fine for no record of fire extinguisher training. Jones stresses the importance of shops providing and having written proof of annual fire extinguisher training for employees for scenarios like that one.  

One thing to note: The person filing a complaint with OSHA must provide their identification. While OSHA will say someone filed a complaint, they will not disclose the name.  

HVAC Issues

In another example, an unhappy employee called OSHA to complain about the shop’s water cooler being too far from the production floor, in addition to HVAC issues. While the OSHA complaint is a huge problem, it does bring to the surface how important it is to keep employees taken care of and happy.  

Proper HVAC systems are critical to protecting employees from chemicals, fumes, and odors on the production floor. To avoid complaints and ensure the environment is safe, Jones suggests these tips and others (watch the full webinar to get the complete list): 

• Doing sampling to ensure employees aren’t exposed to anything hazardous 

• Putting covers on containers 

• And, of course, properly ventilating the space 

In addition to safety issues, Jones says HVAC is a comfort issue. With a new Heat Illness Prevention regulation in the works (and already being enforced in some states), it’s critical to stay up to date on new and revised rules.  

Penalty Costs and Increases 

Penalty costs can vary, but Jones says “like clockwork” they’ve increased – see Figure 3 for 2024 increases.  

“When you look at these penalties, what you have to understand is that when OSHA comes into a facility and they find a violation, they classify that violation based on a series of factors,” Jones explained. He says nine times out of 10, OSHA will classify a violation as “serious” the first time through, but in some cases as “other-than-serious.” Typically, other-than-serious violations don’t carry the maximum penalty, Jones added.  

For 2024, the maximum for serious and other-than-serious violations is just over $16,000. Keep in mind, one of OSHA’s newer enforcements involves itemizing citations. Historically, Jones said, OSHA would come into a facility for one violation, and if they found others, it would be grouped into one citation. That rule has changed, and OSHA now itemizes each violation into separate citations, which could increase penalties for shops dramatically. 

The most common infraction printing operations often find themselves dealing with is lockout/tagout and machine guarding, which can come with a penalty of $10,000-$12,000. Jones explains these violations in an article titled, “Rise in Automatic Screen Press Violations – Take Action to Prevent OSHA Violations:” 

Lockout/Tagout (29 CFR 1910.147) – The lockout/tagout regulation protects  employees from unexpected machine startups or hazardous releases during servicing and maintenance. Failing to lockout equipment, have a written program, and conducting annual inspections of machine-specific procedures are the most common violations. 

Machine guarding (29 CFR 1910.212)  – OSHA has several standards to protect employees from exposure to hazards such as ingoing nip points, point of operation, flying sparks and chips, and other moving components. This regulation requires that physical guards be provided to protect employees from exposure and contact with the hazards associated with moving parts. 

Managing an OSHA Inspection 

If OSHA comes knocking, you want to be as prepared as possible, despite it being an unannounced visit. Answer questions honestly, get the inspector in and out (and focused on the issue at hand), and be cautious to not share any extra or unnecessary details.  

When an inspector comes in, shops should expect to answer questions about their OSHA compliance and training. If you self-reported, you can expect them, you just don’t know when.  

While shops can refuse entry, Jones tells them to avoid this approach. OSHA will get a search warrant, come back, and likely with a not-so-great attitude. Statistically, penalties are higher if a business refuses entry on the first visit, Jones notes, so it likely won’t work in your favor.  

It’s also important to mention that people impersonate OSHA inspectors in hopes of getting the business to pay them to “make it all go away,” so it’s critical to verify the inspector’s identity, check credentials, and even call the OSHA office. 

Controlling the Inspection

After verifying the inspector’s identity, get the inspector to a conference room to share the reason for the visit. OSHA must share this information. From there, the shop needs to control the inspection by keeping answers pointed and the conversation focused on that reason(s), Jones stressed. You want them in and out. To that point, it’s important that your front-of-house knows not to talk to an inspector about anything regarding the shop. 

Jones encourages two people to be present for the inspection – one talker and one notetaker. OSHA has six months to issue a citation after an inspection, so if and when a business wants to contest a citation, it’s important to have notes, photos, and videos to refer back to for comparison.  

OSHA may ask for training records and other documents. Jones tells shops to ask the inspector to send a list of requested documents via email so you can find and send the correct ones. After the briefing, the tour starts.  

Jones advises shops to take the shortest route possible to the area they want to see. Answer questions they ask, and nothing else, Jones said. It’s important to remember that OSHA inspections are technically a legal process.  

“If they take photos, you take photos. If they take samples, you take samples,” Jones said. When contesting citations, the business wants to have the same “evidence” and collections as the inspector.  

Inspection Debrief

After the tour and any employee interviews the inspector does, head back to the conference room and go over the findings. After OSHA leaves, get ready to come up with a plan to correct the citations because the inspector will come back, and they can increase penalties if the violation goes unresolved, Jones urged.  

He referenced a shop that didn’t correct a situation, and OSHA said the action was “willful,” meaning they knew what they needed to do and didn’t change anything. That resulted in penalties over $150,000.  

And while you may think OSHA inspectors know what they’re doing, they don’t know the printing industry and all the interpretations of their regulations in that context.  

“If they misunderstand or misinterpret a regulation, it’s up to you to prove the inspector is in error,” Jones said. “That’s the challenge, and then I say that’s the time to call an expert. That’s why my phone rings all the time. We’re here to help. One phone call can save you thousands of dollars, but you have to be a member.”  

For shops looking to do an initial review and see where they’re at, Jones tells shops to get familiar with OSHA’s top 10 violations, and ask yourself: 

• How do we stack up against these? 

• Do we have a lockout/tagout program in place? 

• What are we doing for machine guarding? 

• What are we doing for respiratory protection?  

• Are we giving out respirators or dust masks? 

After that, it’s all about having documented programs in place, training employees, and having them keep records. For those looking to explore the benefits of a membership and be proactive, visit the Safety & Health page on the Alliance website.