Please answer the following questions with the below scenario:

Questions:

1. What steps should be taken as soon as the compliance officer leaves? (Provide proper APA )
2. What steps should be taken during the walk-around inspection that may result in a quick-fix penalty reduction? (Provide proper APA )
3. References

Scenario:

The area HSE Director just called saying an employee filed a non-formal complaint.The employee has provided information about an alleged health situation and submitted a formal complaint using the OSHA-7form,making the complaint a formal complaint.A few days later,an OSHA compliance officer shows up at the facility to perform a comprehensive inspection.After verifying that the compliance officer is employed by OSHA and assigned to the local office, the operations manager allows for the opening conference to begin.

During the opening conference, the OSHA compliance officer provided a copy of the formal complaint alleging exposure to hazardous concentrations of metal fumes in welding areas of the plant. The complaint also alleges that the company has not sampled the air to determine exposure levels, that adequate ventilation is not present in welding areas, and that the respiratory protection provided to welders is inadequate.As part of the inspection,the compliance officer requests the following documents:

• chemical inventory list;
• OSHA 300logs;
• Hazard Communication Program, including training records;
• any sampling data;
• Respiratory Protection Program,including medical clearance letters and training records;
• written hazard assessment for personal protective equipment (PPE)used at the facility;
• Safety Data Sheets (SDS) for the metals you use in the production process and any welding rods/wire used in the welding area; and
• required OSHA written programs.

The compliance officer takes a walk-through tour of the facility, spending extra time in the welding areas. During the walk-through, the compliance officer pointed out several issues believed to be apparent violations. The issues are as follows:

• Heavy haze is present in the welding area.
• Individuals wearing half-mask air-purifying respirators have full beards.
• Chemicals that could injure the eyes, and no emergency eyewash is present.
• Eyewash stations are present in another area of the plant but are covered in dust, and there is no indication of recent operation or inspection.
• Employees are using chemicals that could be absorbed through the skin and are not using any gloves.
• Employees are performing maintenance inside a press with no lock-out/tag-out applied.
• Now written lock-out/tag-out program is available at the time of the inspection.
• Welding operation is performed near flammable materials, and no fire watch is present.
• There is no record of training for fork truck drivers.
• Extension cords are stretched across walkways.
• Threecontainers observed in the plant are without labels on any of the containers.
• An employee could not find an SDS for the chemical they were using.

The compliance officer asks for a private conference room and a list of non-managerial employees.He indicates that he intends to interview four non-managerial employees before leaving for the day. He also states that he will return the next day to collect some air samples at the facility. As the facility HSE, there are concerns about the number of citations and penalties the company may face after this inspection.