Local 3 Represents over 37,000 Members 

Mostly heavy equipment operators, surveyors, 

and maintenance mechanics.

These are the men and women who work on and 

near “Off-Road Heavy Equipment” daily. 

The Safety and Health of these members is 

imperative. Every working man and woman has 

the right to go home to their families at the end 

of the day.

Introduce myself

Over 25 year as a safety and health professional

Last 5 years with Operating Engineers

Currently the Executive Director of the Employee Assistance Program for

Operating Engineers, Local Union 3

Prior Safety Director for Local 3

Previous owner of Common Sense Safety Inc.  A occupational safety and

health consulting firm

Lead instructor with OSHA Training Institutes at University of CA San Diego

and have taught at both the University of Washington and University of

Michigan OSHA Education Centers.

Worked for Sandia National Laboratories as both a safety professional and

Fire Protection Specialist

Previous to that worked in explosive safety and was a fire fighter

Currently appointed by Gov. Schrazenagger to the CAL/OSHA Standards Board

Introduce local 3 as per slide

1
According to the US Department of Labor, over 

500 construction workers have lost lives to 

“struck-by” accidents in each year since 1992. 

These accidents have also caused operators to 

suffer Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome, and in 

many instances, to stop working, or at least 

leave the trade.

Obstruction of the operator’s line of sight is 

almost always a contributing cause to these 

fatalities.

Local 3 looses at lest one member a year to struck by accidents. These fatalities are caused

by visual restrictions, and communication problems

2
While it may be impossible to give operators an 

unobstructed line of sight in all directions, heavy 

equipment manufacturers are constantly working to 

maximize the visibility from the operator’s seat – and we 

strongly support their efforts.

 California's off-road rule threatens to take us in the 

opposite direction.

This rule requires fleet owners to install PM filters on 

equipment that was not designed to have them, reducing 

visibility from the operator’s seat.

This rule WILL lead to additional fatalities. It is not a 

matter of IF it is a matter of WHEN!

Additional blockage of visibility will undo decades of working with equipment

manufactures to increase the visibility of the operators and reduce fatalities.

3
In late 2006 and early 2007 Local 3 sought to meet with 

the CARB staff to talk about the worksite hazards that it’s 

retrofit requirements would create.

The staff cancelled the first three meetings and showed 

up to the fourth meeting 2 hours late. The staff then 

proceeded to tell us that they had already completed the 

rule they would propose to the Board, and would not be 

making any additional changes to that rule.

Local 3 had to launch an all out safety campaign just to 

get the staff and the Board to acknowledge that their rule 

would put construction worker’s at risk of losing their lives.

Meetings cancelled by CARBs staff prevented the safety aspects of these filters from being

taken into consideration in the beginning stages of rule making.

4
CARB ultimately agreed that filter 

installations should not violate OSHA safety 

standards, but refused to make any reference 

to visibility, and reserved the right to decide, 

for itself, what would be unsafe.

CARB also insisted that retrofits would 

remain a centerpiece of its rule, and 

continued to pressure fleet operators to error 

on the side of creating a hazard.

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CARB’s approach falls short, and the rule continues 

to threaten construction workers, because:

CARB does not have either the expertise or the legal 

authority to determine what is and is not hazardous to 

construction workers;

CARB is biased in favor of retrofits, and incapable of 

making impartial determinations of whether they are 

hazardous; 

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While the rule may exempt individual pieces of 

equipment from the retrofit requirements , it 

continues to count that equipment – including its 

horsepower and emissions – toward the fleet 

average requirements; and

The standard for granting or denying a limited 

“exemption” for even an individual piece of 

equipment has to date, not been established . 

7
In August of 2008, Local 3 petitioned the CAL/OSHA 

Standards Board (OSHSB) to clarify the CAL/OSHA 

standards and specifically address the hazards inherent in 

retrofitting off-road equipment with PM filters. This 

petition was filed jointly with AGC of California.

In November of 2008, OSHSB unanimously granted our 

petition to move forward toward a new rulemaking.

 CARB opposed our petition, and since the standards 

board granted it, CARB has continuously interfered with 

the board’s decision-making process, which delayed and 

postponed this rule making.

8
In October of 2009, Governor Schwarzenegger's 

office finally intervened, bringing a halt to retrofits 

that impair visibility and directing CARB to do what it 

should have done long ago: undertake a study of the 

feasibility of safely installing PM filters on the off-road 

equipment that the rule covers.

CARB has yet to report the results of such a study. 

Indeed, it has yet to produce any evidence that fleet 

owners can safely retrofit their equipment to 

anywhere near the extent that the rule contemplates. 

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Local 3 remains extremely concerned. 

As noted earlier, CARB has no expertise in 

construction safety or health, and it remains biased in 

favor of the retrofits that lie at the heart of its off-road 

rule.

The very fact that CARB did not conduct such a 

study during the rulemaking process raises 

enormous questions about its understanding of 

construction work and the safety required in 

construction workers.

10
Safety has always been and must continue to be a 

fundamental part of any discussion as to the technology, 

feasibility and/or lead time that the Clean Air Act 

requires EPA to consider.

If California has not provided enough time for 

equipment manufacturers and/or others to develop the 

technology necessary to SAFELY retrofit the off-road 

equipment in the construction industry, then EPA must 

deny California’s request for federal approval to 

enforce its rule.

Retrofits must be safe. Otherwise, they are and should 

be unacceptable. 

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 The regulated equipment ranges from 25 to more than 1000 

horsepower, and it travels at speeds that vary from a few feet per 

minute to over 45 miles an hour. 

It is not enough for CARB to study a few pieces of supposedly 

“typical” equipment. Such limited research could not begin to 

justify broad conclusions about the feasibility of compliance with 

the off-road rule.

Each unique piece of equipment requires an independent review.

CARB and EPA also have to account for the many different 

applications that any one piece of equipment may have – and how 

an operator’s requirements for visibility may change from one 

application to another.

12
Front loaders work as much in reverse as they do moving forward. Visibility to the rear is

as important as visibility to the front.

From a distance not much different in appearance but from the operators seat you will see

a major change

13
Once again this equipment is in reverse as much as it is moving forward.

It is unthinkable to block this visibility and will lead to fatalities.

14
Once again a piece of equipment that is in reverse as much as forward.  This loss of

visibility will be fatal.

15
Filter monitor mounted on top of the instrument panel blocks forward visibility while filters

block side visibility.  This installation violates current CA/OSHA and Federal OSHA

standards.

16
Filters block access to hydraulic system and are mounted on a service walk way.  

Maintenance personnel could trip over these filters and fall over 6 feet to the ground.  

These filters can be at temperature of up to 1200 degrees and pose a burn hazard to

maintenance personnel.

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Also notice the hydraulic line running next to the filter.  These lines can be at pressures of

over 5000 psi and a pin hole leak can through out a mist of combustible liquid onto a filter

at over 800 and up to 1200 degrees.  This installation presents both a fire and visibility

hazard

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Heat and High Pressure 

Hydraulic Lines

Automotive Grade Parts Used in

Heavy Equipment

Filter located next to numerous hydraulic lines running at up to 5000 psi and a filter at up

to 1200 degrees.  A fire waiting to happen.

Automotive grade parts have no place in a commercial equipment environment.  Both the

hose and fitting used on this fuel line will not hold up in the off‐road environment.  This is a

fuel leak in the engine compartment waiting to happen and catch fire.

19
Hand Rails Cut Through and 

Blocked to Install Filters.

Cut Through Structural 

Members to Install Wiring

Cutting through steel members to rough wires.  This installation was done by the filter

manufactures crew.  This shows that they have no understanding of this equipment or this

industry.  

The picture on the right also a filter manufacture’s installation cutting through hand rails to

mount the filters.  This is an obvious safety hazard to any safety professional but

knowledge lacking by the filter manufactures industry of this equipment and its use.

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No evidence that it is feasible to SAFELY install PM filters 

on off-road construction equipment to the extent that the offroad rule contemplates.

CARB predicted more than 100,000 retrofits.

Abundant and undeniable evidence exists that retrofits can 

easily pose a grave risk of severe bodily harm and death.

In addition to the risk that a piece of equipment will strike 

a construction worker, retrofits increase the risks of falls and

burns, and may even risk the structural failure of a piece of 

equipment.

CARB has not proven that these filters can be feasibly installed.  In fact they can not.

Very few retrofits can be done safety.

CARB publicly stated fear that stronger safety rules will “negate their rule” shows they

know this can not be done safety.

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Operating Engineers Local Union # 3 urges 

EPA to DENY California’s request for federal 

authorization to enforce its off-road rule. 

This is the only way to protect the men and 

women working in California’s construction 

industry from a new and grave risk of injury 

and even death. Not even in the name of 

environmental protection should EPA or any 

one consider putting the working men and 

woman of this nation at such a risk.

These filters cannot be installed and operated on heavy equipment without causing death

and destruction of lives.  I do not want this blood on my hands or conscience and I am sure

you do not want it on yours either.

On behalf of the 37,000 members of Operating Engineers local Union #3   

I respectfully request  you deny CARB’s request for a waiver.

Thank the members for there time and consideration

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