OSHA violations due to YouTube ?

Buk · Nov 8, 2014

Has anyone seen or heard of an OSHA citation being issued as the result of a construction video placed on YouTube? Just a casual progress video, that may have coincidentally shown an citable work practice. Not a video with the intent of showing an offense.

I'm guessing a citation cannot be made from a YouTube video, but an inspector seeing a violation on YouTube would make an effort to visit the site in person to make an inspection.

Thoughts?

BuzzBuzzZoomZoom · Nov 8, 2014

Sounds legit to me.

An OSHA agent isn't bound by probable cause, etc. I'd imagine if they legally saw a violation (YouTube), they could show up and verify said violation.

BuzzBuzzZoomZoom · Nov 8, 2014

This should probably be in offtopic

Buk · Nov 8, 2014

Sorry for improper posting, I've been flying over a construction site video'g progress for 8 months with a Phantom 2 H3D2 and this issue has become a discussion item from one of the sub-contractors.

Moderator please move, as you seem fit.

480sparky · Nov 8, 2014

Sounds like you need a bit more control over your subs.

Buk · Nov 8, 2014

480sparky said:
Sounds like you need a bit more control over your subs.

Not my general, not my subs. No real horse in the race. The project owner is my former employer, I've retired. I've always photographed and video'd projects, but from the ground. From the air seems to raise concerns not expressed before.

aggiesrwe03 · Nov 9, 2014

No, OSHA has to have a complaint to investigate specific infractions. They can also do audits, and site inspections when they choose, but honestly osha "agents" are stretched thinner than you could possibly imagine, our employees called the 800 number all the time because they got in trouble and wanted to get back at their boss, in 5 years we were inspected by OSHA zero times. I worked safety for a few years at a processing plant, and OSHA compliance was my job.

PsychopathRC · Nov 9, 2014

Anyone wanna explain what OSHA is? Lol

BuzzBuzzZoomZoom · Nov 9, 2014

I would imagine location would take a big part of this also. A large city with many things to investigate might be stretched thin while a small town might be easily able to fit in an investigation.

aggiesrwe03 · Nov 9, 2014

PsychopathRC said:
Anyone wanna explain what OSHA is? Lol

Occupational Safety and Heath Administration. It's a red tape bureaucratic agency that has the power to regulate occupational health and safety. It's the IRS of the occupational safety world in the US.

aggiesrwe03 · Nov 9, 2014

BuzzBuzzZoomZoom said:
I would imagine location would take a big part of this also. A large city with many things to investigate might be stretched thin while a small town might be easily able to fit in an investigation.

This is also true, some states actually have state run safety administrations that would be far more likely to "inspect" as far as seeing something on a YouTube video and citing based solely on that is pretty unlikely.

IflyinWY · Nov 10, 2014

aggiesrwe03 said:
No, OSHA has to have a complaint to investigate specific infractions. They can also do audits, and site inspections when they choose, but honestly osha "agents" are stretched thinner than you could possibly imagine, our employees called the 800 number all the time because they got in trouble and wanted to get back at their boss, in 5 years we were inspected by OSHA zero times. I worked safety for a few years at a processing plant, and OSHA compliance was my job.

Now they can sit at home and watch it on video.

How it may work:
Get up, have coffee, watch YouTube, drive to job site, have coffee & doughnut, and know just what to look for.
I'm not thinking they have to wait for some disgruntled employee to make an 800 call.
The more violations they prove, the more income the bureaucratic machine receives.
The fewer folks end up in the hospital.

If we (as a society) weren't so freaking stupid (greedy) to start with, they wouldn't have a job.

Oh my, did I really say that?

Hmm, which side of the fence to be on :?:

aggiesrwe03 · Nov 10, 2014

IflyinWY said:
aggiesrwe03 said:

No, OSHA has to have a complaint to investigate specific infractions. They can also do audits, and site inspections when they choose, but honestly osha "agents" are stretched thinner than you could possibly imagine, our employees called the 800 number all the time because they got in trouble and wanted to get back at their boss, in 5 years we were inspected by OSHA zero times. I worked safety for a few years at a processing plant, and OSHA compliance was my job.

Click to expand...

Now they can sit at home and watch it on video.

How it may work:
Get up, have coffee, watch YouTube, drive to job site, have coffee & doughnut, and know just what to look for.
I'm not thinking they have to wait for some disgruntled employee to make an 800 call.
The more violations they prove, the more income the bureaucratic machine receives.
The fewer folks end up in the hospital.

If we (as a society) weren't so freaking stupid (greedy) to start with, they wouldn't have a job. Oh my, did I really say that?

Hmm, which side of the fence to be on :?:

Lol in theory yes, they could initiate a site inspection based on what they see on YouTube, but they cannot cite the company based on what they see in the video (without an investigation). I suppose they probably do have at least one agent that is "super-cop" that might sit at home getting off on safety videos, but all the inspectors I ever met were crusty old men that hated life... Again, I'd attribute inspectors to be more like IRS agents than Street cops. They are paper pushers and auditors not door kickers. So to recap COULD a YouTube video lead to a site inspection, yes probably. Can it lead to a citation without said investigation, no.

On a similar topic though, if you break the law while flying (fly in TFR, trespass, take illegal pics, etc.) then I would worry about local law enforcement knocking on your door asking some questions!!

channel 1 · Nov 10, 2014

PsychopathRC said:
Anyone wanna explain what OSHA is? Lol

A small town in Wisconsin. ;-)

OSHA = Occupational Health and Safety Administration.

Wayne

Buk · Nov 11, 2014

Thanks for the discussion.

I do know in the right circumstances OHSA does respond rapidly. Have a pregnant employee call. The response is fairly rapid.

Chris Hick · Nov 11, 2014

I would tell the sub-contractor if they are not breaking any safety rules then they have nothing to worry about.

Fyod · Nov 17, 2014

I recently flew at a construction site (all parties knew) and the workers had to get their safety helmets on quick and they all started working "really hard".
Not only OSHA, but if someone from the company board sees misconduct, someone could get fired.
So do the guys a favor and either tell them in advance or edit them out of the shot.

Happyflyer · Nov 22, 2014

IflyinWY,
With a horse in your avatar you would really get a kick out of a cartoon I saw in the electrical union hall way back when I built power lines. Some one pictured a horse that after OSHA got done setting it up for safety would make you roll on the ground giggling. I wish I still had a copy of that picture. The best part was a mesh screen around the horse to catch you if/when you fell off. The other funny was what they had at the back of the horse to catch the HS. That cartoon horse was so loaded he would not have gotten very far before he fell over and gave up. :lol: