GLOSSARY

Here at Z-Tex, we provide the essential training needed for your company. We are diverse as far as our experience goes and even if you don't necessarily know what you may need we have curated a list of terms below to further educate our clients as well as further explain the many services we provide across the board.

SAFETY & HEALTH CONSULTING

Based solely on protecting your greatest asset from harm, which are the men and women that make it their goal to diligently provide you with their labor, we stay up to date on the latest regulatory standards and proven safety management techniques. We provide the technical knowledge and support you need to anticipate, identify, correct, and prevent the workplace hazards.

WORKER INJURY CLAIM MANAGEMENT

Even with the best efforts, you may eventually have the unfortunate task of helping an employee through the recovery process from a work-related injury. We stand with you to help you provide the best Return-To-Work program and Claim Management program.
We start by helping you partner up with the Occupational Medicine Provider that works within your Workers’ Compensation Health Care Network, then work within the Workers’ Compensation system to promote the quickest path to recovery.

PROJECT SAFETY REPRESENTATION

If you need a full-time safety representative as part of your project team, we are qualified safety professionals with strong safety leadership skills that will represent your safety values. The Project Safety Representative will be able to partner with your project team, develop a Site Specific Safety Plan based on your scope of work, conduct effective inspections, JHA’s/JSA’s, Pre-task planning, safety meetings, on-site safety trainings, maintain safety statistics, incident investigation, reporting, and record keeping.

SAFETY & HEALTH PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT

Whether you’re just looking for a simple review and update or a full ground-up program development, we have the experience and writing skills to develop a comprehensive Safety and Health Program. We will focus on your specific process and risks unique to your company to help you guide and lead your employees to create a sound safety culture. We believe in the involvement of the employees, in order to get a “buy-in” for a better chance of success and ongoing improvement towards your safety performance goals. The programs are developed through the hierarchy of control measures that include elimination, substitution, engineering, administrative, and PPE.

REPRESENTATION DURING OSHA INSPECTIONS

As well as you prepare, we know that an OSHA inspection can cause a feeling of insecurity and hesitation. Having an experienced consultant that knows your rights during and after an OSHA inspection along with OSHA’s inspection protocols and procedures will definitely make the experience a more successful one.

SAFETY & HEALTH RECORD-KEEPING

We offer specific guidance based on your particular business needs, which will dictate retention and updating requirements on record-keeping for such things as medical evaluations, surveys, exposure records, permitting, injury & illness records, annual summaries, training, and inspections. OSHA expects record-keeping to be maintained and made available for inspection by them or an employee’s representative.

SAFETY & HEALTH TRAINING

As bilingual trainers, we strive to conduct impactful training classes for our students. The training skills and techniques we exercise are focused on knowledge retention with training documentation showing clear objectives for the student to demonstrate those skills and techniques. The equipment operator training programs are centered around OSHA & MSHA requirements, ANSI guidelines, equipment manufacturer data, and best practices. Our trainers have the extensive practical experience and well-developed presentation techniques. Although valuable, holding a Train-The-Trainer certification doesn’t automatically qualify our trainers. Successful Safety & Health Trainers must have a tireless enthusiasm to continue learning about the subject matter they present and from the students that they train. There’s a creative art in the techniques that a good trainer can develop in order to maximize the knowledge retention of the students on behalf of the clients and the student. A compelling presentation can open minds and positively influence safe behavior, which makes training an effort in engaging the motivating factors of each employee.

RECRUITMENT OF OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY & HEALTH PROFESSIONALS

Recruitment is unique through us since we have built a strong network of local talent throughout the years. Merely using online recruiting services may not be enough to get the right person for your company in a timely fashion. Having years of hiring experience, we know that finding the right person by yourself is tough. Typical recruiting agencies are unfamiliar with the safety profession and can lead you into settling for the wrong person. In today’s environment, the safety professional you’re looking for is not likely to be unemployed, in fact, it is probably doing a good job, but is open to a great opportunity working for you. We know where, when, and how to find these safety professionals… we’ll help get your “Safety Man” or “Safety Woman” on board.

PROJECT SAFETY & HEALTH INSPECTIONS

We call our safety inspections – safety surveys, due to the fact that the function is to check safety performance carried out at the designated job site and provide recommendations that will continue to promote the good performance or help correct any short-comings. We will always make great efforts to provide clear and factual hazard recognition with realistic, effective, and actionable recommendations.

INDUSTRIAL HYGIENE SAMPLING FOR CRYSTALLINE SILICA

Protecting employee’s health is a major concern when working with silica-containing materials; we specialize in anticipation, recognition, evaluation, prevention, and control for exposure to respirable crystalline silica. We are able to provide full exposure assessment on the job site or workplace with the most cost-effective and efficient remedies for meeting exposure regulatory compliance. Depending on the industry, the regulation can require different exposure limitations, actions, and controls.
Mining Industry - MSHA 56/57.5001, .5002, .5005, and Part 58
General Industry – 29 CFR 1910.1000 TABLE Z-3
Construction Industry – 29 CFR 1926.1153
Shipyard Employment – 29 CFR 1915.1053
Longshoring –29 CFR 1918.1(b)(9), proposed rule 78:56273-56504.
MarineTerminals – 29 CFR 1917.1(a)(2)(xiii), proposed rule 78:56273-56504.
Agriculture Industry– None

CONTESTING OSHA CITATION

When it comes to contesting OSHA or MSHA citations, we have the experience to successfully guide you through one of the most stressful situations as an employer.

Understanding the rights and responsibilities of employers and OSHA’s authorities under the OSH Act is crucial when deciding to contest citations. In fact, this knowledge is fundamental to running a business. We assess the nature of the cited violations and the underlying facts to provide practical options. Then, we create a response plan with clear timeframes for the litigation process. This may involve meetings with the OSHA Area Director or MSHA Conference/Litigation Representative in an informal conference before officially contesting with a written Notice of Intent to Contest.

In today’s business environment, it’s crucial for employers to understand the long-term consequences of settling OSHA citations. Settling can lead to costly repeat or willful violations later. Companies should wisely allocate resources to ensure upheld violations are accurate, as accepting violations can result in substantial penalties and heightened enforcement.

Please note these important Intent to Contest filing due dates:

• OSHA – 15 days

• MSHA – 30 days

SAFETY & HEALTH AUDITS

Safety Audits are not quite the same as Safety Inspections. Audits are typically performed less frequently than inspections and are the process of checking that compliance obligations have been met, including that the required inspections have been completed and the corrections made. The goal of an audit is usually to assess overall compliance with one or more regulations, internal policies, or other compliance drivers. Our safety audits focus on reviewing the current safety program's effectiveness by measuring it up to your company's safety goals.

Glossary: FAQ