On April 22, 2010, OSHA announced administrative enhancements to its penalty policies, specifically addressing those penalties that are considered "too low to have an adequate deterrent effect." These policies will reportedly become effective over the next several months. Some of the more significant changes include:

• The average penalty for any violation deemed "serious" will increase from $1000 to between $3000 and $4000
  
• The time frame in which a company will be considered a "repeat offender" will increase from 3 to 5 years
  
• Companies with repeat violations within the 5 year time frame will be penalized 10% more than companies without repeat violations
  
• Minimum fines will increase to $500 and maximum fines could go from $7000 to $12000 if legislation currently before Congress is passed into law
  

Additionally, employers with a history of serious OSHA violations and repeat offenses can expect more frequent OSHA inspections with mandatory follow-up inspections. If there are safety concerns at other workplaces under the control of the employer, OSHA may also more frequently inspect those associated workplaces. Learn more.

In addition to finger, hand or hand/limb protection configurations, Omron STI's highly popular F3SJ Safety Light Curtains are now available in a leg/body protection and presence detection configuration to cost effectively satisfy even more industrial process safety needs. F3SJ Safety Light Curtains make selecting and installing a safety light curtain easier than ever - users need only specify the required configuration type and sensor length.

F3SJ safety light curtains are also ideal in OEM or retrofit applications where muting is required. While many safety light curtains require a dedicated controller to benefit from muting functions, this functionality is integral to the F3SJ and can be used by simply replacing the unit's cap with an optional muting key cap.

Did you know that indirect costs account for the majority of accident expenses, but are not typically covered by insurance?

Estimating the financial costs in advance of an injury is difficult, but a poll by Liberty Mutual Group estimates that the ratio of indirect-to-direct costs may be 5:1 while an American Society of Safety Engineers study suggests a ratio of 8:1.

Protect your employees and the bottom line - learn more about how Omron STI is uniquely qualified to be your single-source partner for safety engineering, machine and process safety education, assessment and risk identification, and safety design, integration and implementation services.