OSHA launches emphasis program on automobile lifts in Pacific islands

Washington – OSHA has initiated a Local Emphasis Program on automobile lift operations in Hawaii, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands and American Samoa.

OSHA said agency compliance officers will conduct random inspections of the automobile industry – including dealers, maintenance shops and gas stations – to identify and evaluate lift hazards as part of an effort to reduce injuries and deaths.

Throughout the United States, OSHA has conducted 11 lift inspections related to a worker death since 2007, and the Consumer Product Safety Commission reports more than 15,000 injuries each year are caused by lifts, jacks or jack stands.

The LEP was launched as a proactive approach to helping prevent these injuries on the Pacific islands, according to Galen Lemke, area director for OSHA’s Honolulu office.