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Surviving an OSHA inspection - remove low-hanging fruit
By Jim Stanley
President, FDRsafety
The idea of being inspected by OSHA is sometimes scary and confusing for employers, but being prepared revolves around a simple idea - get rid of the low-hanging fruit.
The easy pickings for OSHA inspectors often are a result of failures in five areas:
- Permit-required confined spaces - Protecting workers who enter permit-required confined spaces.
- Lockout/tagout - Making sure that employees who are servicing or maintaining equipment are not exposed to unanticipated energization.
- Personal protective equipment - Identifying hazards that require personal protective equipment for workers and then making sure every worker has been provided the equipment, trained in its use and wears it.
- Recordkeeping - Carefully following OSHA's rules on recording injuries and illnesses on the OSHA 300 log.
- OSHA-required training - Conduct safety training in such a way to ensure that it is understood by workers.
Creating a working safety program starts with identification of hazards specific to the worksite. I recommend you conduct a mock OSHA audit - either by yourself or with the assistance of a consultant. If and when potential problems are identified, develop a plan that addresses them.
The best overall approach to survive an OSHA inspection is to have a safe workplace with a safety program that is committed to by top management, involves the employees and holds managers and workers accountable for following safe work practices.
To help make it easier to put at least one piece of fruit out of OSHA's reach, we are offering a free tool to assess hazards that may require the use of personal protective equipment.
This hazard assessment is required by OSHA for all general industry employers. Our hazard assessment form includes a place to make the OSHA-required certification. We first offered this PPE assessment form a few months ago and received an extremely strong response. We want to make sure it is available to everyone who needs it and so we are offering it again. Jim Stanley is a former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA. FDRsafety, www.fdrsafety.com, provides OSHA compliance services, including mock OSHA audits, along with assistance on issues involving confined spaces, personal protective equipment, lockout/tagout and recordkeeping. For more information, contact us.
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We expand capabilities on expert witnesses
Thanks to the addition of several new senior advisors to FDRsafety, we are now able to expand our capacity to provide expert witness services.
Our experts are truly that - longtime leaders in their fields.
We can provide expert testimony on most any area of workplace safety, but provide extra depth on the following subjects:
For more information see the expert witnesses page on our web site or contact the leader of our expert witnesses program, Jim Stanley, who is former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA. Jim may be reached 513-317-5644 or jstanley@fdrsafety.com.
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Visit our site!
www.FDRsafety.com
FDRsafety
278 Franklin Road
Brentwood, Tennessee 37027888-755-8010
info@FDRsafety.com
Our services include:OSHA compliance consultation Safety staffingTraining Industrial hygieneExpert witnessesMotivational speakers
ABOUT FDRsafetyAt the heart of FDRsafety is this simple idea: Extensive expertise and experience bring the best results. FDRsafety is led by two nationally recognized, long-time leaders in safety: Fred Rine and Jim Stanley. Each has decades of experience improving occupational safety and health performance at companies of all sizes, including complex multi-billion dollar, multinational organizations. FDRsafety can meet your needs for a wide range of safety and health services, including training, OSHA compliance, safety staffing and expert witnesses. Contact us to learn how we can help you reduce accidents, meet federal, state and local legal requirements, reduce costs, and most importantly, protect your greatest assets - your employees.
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