Citation and Penalty Letter Assignment

Introduction

Citations and notifications of penalty usually highlight the violations discussed under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970. They help in ensuring that a facility observes and maintain a high standard of health in its operations. The purpose of this paper is to present five actions that I would take as soon as possible after reviewing the citations and notification letter received from the U.S. Department of Labor.

The Body

The first action that I would take is to reduce the exposure levels to lead fumes during welding operations and keep them below the established permissible exposure level (Occupational Safety and Health Administration, 2015). For instance, I would order the head of welding operations to substitute the material used for welding and instead use a less hazardous material. Further, I would request the head of welding operations to increase the ventilation in the frame assembly area through equipping the power tools with dust collection tools. The actions are necessary since they will lead to the reduction of the lead fumes emitted in the assembly area. The measures will assist in responding to the citations and penalties since they can lead to ensuring that the production unit meets the permissible exposure limit. Some of the resources that I would use for the action include non-lead paint and power tools equipped with dust collection shrouds.

The second action that I would take is engaging in designing a respiratory protection program for the workforce (Occupational Safety and Health Administration, 2015). The program will include a definition of the employees who can handle particular chemical products and the locations for their use (Gooch, Czymmek, & Brown, 2014). I believe the action is required for the citation and penalties considering that it cited the lack of a respiratory protection program for the employees. I think the measure will help in responding to the citations and penalties since it will lead to the availability of a respiratory protection program for the workforce that will meet the requirements of the law. The resources that will help in accomplishing the action include professionals who can help design the respiratory protection program to meet the required standards.

The third action that I would take is purchasing tight-fitting face-piece respirators for the employees working in the assembly area (Occupational Safety and Health Administration, 2015). I believe the action is required for the citations and penalties considering that the report indicates the lack of tight-fitting face-piece respirators to be a serious violation by the company. I believe the action will assist in responding to the citations and penalties because it will help the company to pass the appropriate qualitative fit tests for face-piece respirators. The resources required for the action include funds for purchasing the standard face-piece respirators.

The fourth action would be training the employees on using face-piece respirators. I believe the action is required for the citations and penalties since it is part of the regulations set by the occupational safety and health administration (Ringen, Landrigan, Stull, Duffy, Melius, & McDiarmid, 2015). Further, I believe the action will assist in responding to the citations and penalties because it will give the employees the opportunity of understanding the effective way for using the respirators and further meet the recommendations of the law. The resources required for the action include professionals who can carry out the training program as needed.

Conclusion

Finally, the fifth action to take would be to carry out an air sample to determine whether the employees were over-exposed to lead during the welding operations (Occupational Safety and Health Administration, 2015). I believe the action is required for the citations and penalties because it attracts a hug penalty that can result in significant financial losses for the organization. I do think the action will assist in responding to the citations and penalties since it will help in meeting the requirement of the occupational safety and health administration on determining whether an employee’s exposure to lead is at or above the action level. The resources required for the action include inviting professionals to sample the air in the assembly area to determine the exposure levels of lead to the employees.