****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
You're going to love this book if:1.) You want to be wise beyond your years, and2.) You are involved in the EHS business both inside and outside of California.And here are the reasons why:1.) The author has taken many important OSHA regulations (and some others) and distilled out the paramount elements of each. (Hint: the paramount elements are those that can get you a serious/willful OSHA citation versus those other lesser elements such as paperwork infractions.) Now why would this be important to you - well, if you are faced with limited budget and staff (maybe of one) what are the most important, highest priority things you want to work on? This book tells you all that, which in my opinion gives you a real leg up on running a smart program - `smart program' is one where you feel like you are on top of things rather than being the last participant in the parade just behind the elephants.2.) This book has one element that you will not find elsewhere - it includes the Cal/OSHA regulations along side the corresponding Federal OSHA regulations. (Note: you need to know this fact - the Fed OSHA regulations DO NOT apply in California - check the Fed OSHA website under `State Plans'). If you have a business inside and outside California then this book provides you with what you need to know - why? because you cannot apply the Fed OSHA regulation to a California employment situation. You might, but you would not be very smart, and anyway this book lays out the priority elements of the Cal/OSHA regulations for you, so why look stupid? Don't be surprised if a Fed OSHA compliance officer never comes knocking on your door in California (or Washington, or Oregon or others, too). You're not in California? - well there is enough here to do your EHS program proud.I would say this book is probably the closest thing you will find to a real live mentor - that is, having a seasoned professional telling you to "pay attention to this because it is important" or "spend your time on these things and the rest is not that critical at this point". You will hear the mentor speaking most strongly in the `Addenda' and `Endnotes' sections of each chapter - pay attention for there is wisdom there..This is not just another dull book that parrots the OSHA regulations; you certainly can buy a selection of those that will just sit on your shelf and make you `look' erudite, I guess. But I bet this book will be one that is not on your shelf but open on your desk, marked up with yellow highlighter, and have that feel like your best old pair of shoes.And, I can see where this book would be good in an academic arena (limited as such programs are at the college level) where the graduate could be someone who would be equipped right out of the gate to manage an ESH program in a business rather than someone who has been through these academic exercises where students just put tabs on the pages of the government printing office's outdated book of Federal OSHA regulations. So which student would be more valuable - one who can intelligently discuss ESH program priorities and solutions or one who can rapidly find the Fed OSHA regulation on power transmission belts?I am so tickled to see that someone has finally come out with a guide that addresses both the Fed OSHA and Cal/OSHA regulations as both similar and different which is a great boon to those who have business inside and outside California. I would suggest the author for the second edition of this guide include the OSHA regulations from some of the other major state-plan states to include Washington, Oregon, Minnesota and Michigan for example.And to make this the ultimate guide, I would suggest including all the safety and health requirements that are included in the fire code and mechanical code. The International Fire Code is probably the most commonly adopted code today, and if you have not been involved with that as a safety professional, well your experience is certainly missing an important element. Perhaps Mr. Chambers could be the first to provide a digest of those elements common to the OSHA regulations and the fire code, and in some cases more strict than the OSHA regulations, such as flammable storage cabinets, hazardous materials, exiting, fire protection, and well, I will leave it to him tell you about the rest of all that.Robert Moats, ESH professional 33 years
