OSHA in the Workplace

If you operate in the construction or manufacturing industry, you’re likely familiar with the Occupational Safety & Health Administration, or OSHA. OSHA can be a scary acronym, but understanding their practices and why they’re important can alleviate some of that confusion and stress.

We've compiled some basic tips when communicating with OSHA before and during an inspection:

• OSHA exists to ensure safe working conditions, and to help you avoid citations rather than just give them.
• When an OSHA Inspector arrives at your office, factory or construction site, it’s perfectly acceptable to ask for their credentials and verify they are who they say they are. If something seems not quite right, call the OSHA regional office.
• Wait until the proper person arrives before authorizing the inspection to begin. The Inspector may have a lot of questions regarding safety and business practices, and you want to have a properly-trained employee there to answer these questions.
• Keep copies of any documentation provided to OSHA during the inspection, and try and record the things they are recording. Inspections may result in further questions and investigations, and you want to have comprehensive documents to refer to.
• If you’re issued citations you agree with, pay them! You will have a limited time frame to make payment, or penalties may be issued.
• If you’re issued any citations you don’t agree with, take the extra step to set up an informal conference. Present your side of the story, give evidence, bring records, and show good faith efforts for your corrective actions.

So what can you do to be ready?

• Train your employees! Especially the person at the front desk, or the first point of contact for your business.
• Make a checklist with a “What to Expect” list for your employees. OSHA Inspectors often arrive after unexpected accidents—you don’t want confused employees assisting an Inspector during a potentially critical time.
• Make a readily-available inspection kit. Include contact numbers (HR, store manager, etc.), camera, pencils/pens and measuring tape.
• Review your safety policy ever 7 years, and have appropriate training so employees know it’s serious and relevant.
• Post safety and labor-related posters in well-seen areas, and update them frequently.
• Contact OSHA to find out which safety standards apply to your business and implement policies specific to those standards.

It's important to keep safety a top priority. If a citation is discovered, it will be a fine. Non-payment of fines and failure to correct issues can end up being extremely costly to your business and sometimes you perso
nally.

Guest Blog: The 12 ‘I’s’ of Workplace Safety

While there are a variety of ingredients to creating a sustainable safety system, basic, fundamental ingredients are common to every successful safety system. The following 12 ingredients can contribute to the success and sustainability of a safety system for any organization.

1. Invent or create the safety system specific to your organization. This is where the rubber meets the road. The “actions” of company leadership represent the only true measure of an organization’s commitment to safety and health. Develop a safety and health policy that states occupational health and safety is one of the company’s core values.
2. Invest in the system to demonstrate genuine commitment. Safety is good business, and a company can actually save money by spending on safety. If an organization cannot afford safety, it cannot afford to be in business! Studies show that for every dollar invested in safety, $3 to $4 is saved.
3. Integrate safety with other organizational core values such as production, quality, human resources, customer service, and finance and do not treat it is as an added activity. One is not more important than the other.
4. Introduce employees to the safety management system during new-hire orientation. Start at the earliest stage possible by cultivating attitude and instilling health and safety values in employees. Set the tone right out of the gate on how safety is viewed in your organization.
5. Involve employees in the safety system to establish trust because the only true way an organization can enhance health and safety is through partnerships. Simply put, safety cannot be managed effectively unless employees are directly involved in the day-to-day efforts to keep the facility or construction site safe. Real culture change in an organization comes when employees and management work together to create a safe working environment.
6. Inform employees about the safety system by providing clear communication. Communication is not just words; the organization’s safety message is also expressed in the amount of resources it provides for health and safety, on how “visible” senior management is and how “engaged” management allows employees to be involved in the safety process.
7. Instruct employees about the expectations of the safety system because knowledge is the foundation of a sound and sustainable safety system. Through proper safety training, employees must be able to demonstrate correctly the safe practices associated with their job before they have to work alone.
8. Inspect the workplace regularly to seek out potential hazards and implement effective controls. All hazard findings must be corrected as soon as practically possible and should not be repeated on subsequent inspections. You must inspect what you expect!
9. Investigate all accidents and near misses to determine the root cause, holding employees accountable. Accident investigation and analysis is an essential component of a safety management system. Most accidents are preventable and each one has a cause; once identified, they can be eliminated to prevent recurrences.
10. Intervene whenever necessary with progressive discipline because people must follow established workplace safety procedures. Everyone in the organization must be accountable and have a clear understanding of the consequences for failing to perform their health and safety responsibilities. Discipline demonstrates your safety system has teeth! Accountability is one of the most critical components of a safety management system.
11. Influence morale by providing a meaningful safety incentive program. This is the fun part of the safety system. When implemented correctly a safety incentive program will easily justify its cost through a reduction in many costs associated with injuries and accidents. Organizations should celebrate safety achievement and successes. 
12. Indicators to measure the safety system’s success. Management needs to be able to measure success and keep score with tangible, measurable metrics. Effective management of the safety management system cannot occur without measurement. At a minimum, management should annually evaluate their health and safety system.

These twelve critical ingredients -- all starting with the letter “I,” provide an organized way of achieving safety excellence and help create an injury-free culture or climate. Strong management commitment to health and safety and meaningful employee participation are two essential ingredients of any successful safety management system.

Michael Miozza is the President of Health & Safety Solutions, Inc, a BBB Accredited Business since 2007.