Technology moves so fast that many of us are unable to keep up with it. Vast databases are available on your computer via telephone modem such as Dialog, West Law, etc. There are also many offerings where the vender sells you the database and you put it on your own computer. Sometimes the database is contained on a CD, other times its size allows it to be put directly on your harddisk.
OSHA regulations are applicable as a matter of law in certain marine environments (see accompanying article). 49 CFR 1910 applies to uninspected vessels, 49 CFR 1915 applies to shipyards, 49 CFR 1917 applies to marine terminals and 49 CFR 1918 to longshoring operations. Therefore the contents and interpretations of these regulations are of utmost of these facilities and services. They are also important to the attorney and the expert dealing with personal injury or death cases where OSHA regulations apply.
It is easy to buy the two volumes of the CFR which contain the applicable OSHA regulations. however, researching them takes time, and in some cases important portions are overlooked.
These CFR volumes also do not include other pertinent information which is public record.
In the last two years several services have offered the OSHA regulations and other important OSHA information on a disk combined with a search program. This allows you in a few minutes to find all pertinent parts of the OSHA material.
We have just finished evaluating two database distributed by TEXT-Trieve, Inc. P. O. Box 40062, Bellevue, WA 98004.
The first and most significant database is OSHA-Trieve ($397 for the first years subscription - less for subsequent years). It occupies a little less than 10 MB of memory and contains all OSHA regulation in parts 1900 through 1926 (subparts A-X), the Field Operations Manual (FOM), Standards Directives (STD's), Compliance Directives (CPL's) and Standard Element Paragraphs. Those familiar with OSHA regulation will immediately realize that the coverage extends not only to maritime activities, but to shoreside construction.
Documentation of the software is not up to the standards which many programs are but to make up for that, the company will assign someone to train you on the telephone. After you have had a week or two to load the program and "play" with it, they will call you at a scheduled time and spend as much time as necessary to get you up and running, and to answer any of your questions.
Searches are relatively easy. You can limit the search to a specific area such as part 1910, but because the program is so fast, I generally search the entire database. The search is entered in a query field using key words or combinations of words connected by operators "and ", "or " or "not". The search program also provides for the use of wild card character, the asterisk (*), where the searcher wants to find all words beginning with a certain letter string. For instance, if you want to find the requirements for railings, you can enter the search as "rail*" and the program will identify all occurrences of the words "rail", "railing", "railings".
When you activate the search, key words used in the search query will be highlighted so as to be readily apparent in the surrounding text. You may then block text which you wish printed, or you may export blocked text into your word processor so that it may be incorporated in another document or letter.
The search takes less than a second. In running sample searches, I have already located information which I didn't know existed.
Subscription updates are mailed quarterly and contain a section on changes. Final Rules issued during the preceding period are published as they are in the Federal Register complete with preamble. Unfortunately, the subsequent update overwrites those published in prior periods. Often the preamble is used to interpret the new regulation and thus that is lost. I have suggested to TEXT-Trieve that they give the user the option of retaining the Federal Register documents if they desire and have adequate hard disk space.
The second database which I have reviewed is the OSHA-Trieve-letters of interpretation. This database occupies almost 4 MB of memory and contains some 1600 letters which OSHA has issued or in response to requests for waivers. For instance, a search on the subject of stair slope, the subject of the accompanying article, revealed a 1975 letter to a Portland, Oregon, firm requesting a waiver on the stair inclination limit of 50. While the response addressed a shoreside application, it was on the same requirement which had been applied to vessels. This data base costs $129 for a years subscription.
I highly recommend these databases for anyone who uses the OSHA regulations. You can call TEXT-Treive at (800) 578-4955
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