I would like to tell you about an inspection experience I had about five years ago.

The Asbestos Abatement Project

I was performing an asbestos abatement project for my employer, a medium-size (380 employees) manufacturing facility in Ontario. The aim was substantial removal of material (friable) in the boiler rooms. The old boiler room, from circa, the 1930's, was sealed off, locked and posted. The bulk of the remediation work was to take place in the newer (1950's) portion. It principally involved removal of the boiler vessel and pipe wrapping throughout the room.

As through the rest of Canada, in Ontario, a so called Notice of Project must be filed with the Ministry of Labour (MOL) prior to the start of an Asbestos Abatement Project. We filed our notice with the MOL two weeks before the start of the project, which we expected to last six working days.

The Project Begins

As work began, we seemed to have dotted all the "i"'s and crossed all the "t"'s:

• All required notices and forms were posted, including the Notice of Project, Asbestos Work Warning, No Entry, E Spill Notification numbers and Emergency contact numbers;
• The Contractor Hire Package was completed, including the Company Safety Requirements, WSIB Clearance Certificate and Liability Certificate;
• All required licenses were on file, including, hauling, disposals, handling etc.;
• The rooms were double clean with showers inspected and photographed;
• All possible air leaks (windows etc.) were sealed, secured, photographed and documented; and
• The Schedule "A" had been amended and registered for Asbestos waste.

The Inspector Arrives

Three days into the Project, an MOL inspector showed up. I knew or had met most of the inspectors at some point in my 15-year career. But I didn't know this one. He came from an outlying city and was covering for our regular inspector who was on vacation. Just my luck.

We exchanged cordialities. I explained how long I had been working with our regular inspector and told him about our mutual respect and rapport. I also let the inspector know just how much I appreciated the regular inspector's assistance over the years.

At that point, the substitute inspector cut me off: "Well, I'm not him," he stated, "and you will find that my ways are a lot different. As well, I might just be the new permanent inspector for this area."

This was certainly a change in the atmosphere. I got the distinct impression that he was out to make a name for himself, and had something to prove. Fingernails on a chalk board sounded in my head.

We went through a two-and-a-half hour review of the documentation. It had all the warmth of a colonoscopy. The inspector found nothing deficient or lacking. We conducted a cursory walk through of the plant for about 30 minutes. Then he asked me to take him to the Project area.

The Uh-Oh Moment

When we got outside the Boiler Room, the inspector jotted down several notes on the postings and appearance of the area. He turned to me and said, "I'm going to continue my inspection inside." I blurted out, "You can't go in there" (Damn, I actually did say that).

He presented his badge, and said, "Are you refusing me entry?"

Well, I had definitely stepped into the thick of it. It is amazing how time can stand still while your mind is racing and calculating all the possibilities and potential ramifications. I decided to change my approach.

With a big smile on my face I said, "Okay. I get it. You're very good." I tried to look as sincere as possible. "While I would never refuse an inspector entry at a facility, I would be completely inept if I didn't first ask to see a copy of your license allowing you entry into an Asbestos Abatement Project."

There was no turning back. "I guess I would also assume you're going to get your own PPE, but I'd be happy to tape up your suit seals. Oh, almost forgot. If you want us to supply your PPE, I'll of course have to do a Mask Fit Test for your half-mask respirator with HEPA filters."

He just stared at me for an hour. Okay, it was only a few seconds, but it felt like an hour. I've never been in the habit of backing anyone into a corner. Never poke a snake to see if it bites. So I opened a back door. I just hoped he'd recognize and take advantage of the opportunity to escape the box he'd put himself in.

I said, "That was a pretty good test, you had me stumped there for a second."

He looked back at his pad, and said, "Ya, well I don't need to go in, it looks like everything's up to snuff".

Time to Exhale

Everything was really quite pleasant after that. When he finished the inspection, we shook hands upon parting. He even told me we'd done an excellent job on our Project preparations.

Note: His written trip report stated the Project was "adequate".

Conclusion

Anyway, when I read the Nick O'Shay story this week, it reminded me of this experience. Please feel free to share it with your members if you'd like.

HOW DOES OSHA DECIDE WHO TO INSPECT?

By Glenn Demby

OSHA has about 2,100 inspectors. There are tens of millions of workplaces in the U.S. Obviously, OSHA (and its state counterparts) can't inspect all of them. It therefore needs to pick its targets carefully. OSHA follows six priorities in deciding who to inspect. They are, in order:

1. Inspections responding to reports of imminent danger or accidents about to happen.

2. Inspections after fatalities or accidents serious enough to result in the hospitalization of at least three persons.

3. Inspections in response to employee complaints.

4. Inspections in response to referrals from other government agencies.

5. Targeted inspections such as under the Site Specific Targeting (SST) program.

6. Follow-up inspections of previously inspected sites or employers.

In Canada, provincial OHS agencies apply essentially the same priorities. The biggest difference: The use of targeted inspections varies from province to province. ON, QC, AB and BC use this strategy most frequently. For example, ON targets companies with high accident rates, previous violations and even patterns of ergonomic problems. QC and BC target trenching.

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