b' ask yourself every day whether you are doing everything possible to ensure that your employees are following your safety rulesemployees on the site as to how to access theI did promise some information on the roof. The employer also provided training to allnew silica standard. First, you need to know of its employees as to ladder safety. The employerthat the construction industry silica standard acted responsibility in both of these actions.takes effect on June 23, 2016, but companies BUT, a reasonably responsible employer wouldin the construction industry will have one year also monitor the jobsite which was manned byto get into compliance, until June 23, 2017. one or more employees without supervisionYou need to understand that this standard and would monitor their activities on at leastwill apply to all occupational exposures to a daily basis. So the fact that a supervisor orcrystalline silica. These might occur in areas safety person visits the site daily may be enoughyou never contemplated. They may also occur to demonstrate that the employer is actingsecondarily to other work you are doing in which responsibly, but multiple site visits would bethe respirable silica is generated by another even better. Along with this is the need for thecontractor. More will be coming on this new employer to demonstrate why he felt the numberstandard prior to June 23, 2017 with specifics on of visits to the site were reasonable. The senioritycompliance. For now, be advised that this new of the employees, the amount and level of theirstandard specifically requires the employer to safety training as well as their past safety recordsemploy engineering controls to reduce exposure will be important in determining the amount ofto respirable silica before employing PPE. The monitoring that is reasonable. only exception to this is if the employer assesses It should be of no surprise to you thatand limits the exposure in accordance with thethis exact issue is one that is covered on thealternate exposure control methods listed in the MRCA safety application for the SHARP Safetystandard. Recognition Program. This alone demonstrates the value of this program. By participating in theTake advantage of a great MRCA member benefit-complimentary program you receive valuable information thatlegal advice on OSHA-related issues from MRCA Legal Counsel applies to every job you work day in and day out. Gary Auman. Contact Gary at GWA@dmfdayton.com.www.mrca.orgMidwest Roofer 9'