RC 381581 Principles of Occupational Safety and Loss Control

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RC 381/581 Principles of Occupational Safety
and Loss Control

• Occupational Safety
• Health Administration

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WARNING

• If you think OSHA is a small
• town in Wisconsin, youre in
• big trouble!

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History of the Occupational Safety Health Act

• Proposed by Williams Steiger
• Dec. 29, 1970 became public law
• April 26, 1971 enforced by Federal government

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Purpose of the OSH Act

• ... to assure every working man woman in the
  nation safe and healthful working conditions, and
  to preserve our human resources.

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Applicability of the OSH Act

• Every employer engaged in
• business affecting commerce
• who has employees

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Implementation of this Mandate

• Encourage employers employees to
• Abate hazards in the workplace
• Establish employer/employee safety-related
  responsibilities
• Develop and perfect safety programs
• Authorized OSHA to
• Set mandatory safety and health standards
• Provide effective enforcement

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Implementation of this Mandate (cont.)

• Provided for
• Research in the OSH field
• Training of OSH professionals
• Encouraged states to assume OSHA-related
  responsibilities
• Established employer reporting requirements for
  work-related injuries, illnesses, fatalities

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Administration of the Law

• Secretary of Labor administers the OSH Act
• Assistant Secretary of Labor is the head of OSHA

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Agencies Created by the OSH Act

• OSHA Occupational Safety Health
  Administration
• OSHRC Occupational Safety and Health Review
  Commission
• NIOSH National Institute of Occupational
  Safety and Health

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Occupational Safety and Health Administration

• Responsibilities
• Establish mandatory safety and health standards
• Determine compliance to standards
• Propose penalties for noncompliance
• Investigate fatalities and catastrophes

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Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission

• Responsibilities
• Conduct hearings when citations of noncompliance
  are formally contested by an employer
• Determine whether or not contested violations are
  legitimate

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National Institute of Occupational Safety Health

• Responsibilities
• Recommend new safety and health standards
• Conduct safety and health research
• Conduct/support educational programs for OSH
  professionals

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General Employers Responsibilities

• ...shall furnish to each employee, a place of
  employment which is free from recognized hazards
  that are causing or are likely to cause death or
  serious physical harm.
• Above phrase is taken from Section 5 (a)(1) of
  the OSH Act and is regarded as the General Duty
  Clause

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Employers Rights

• To be advised by OSHA for the reason of a site
  visit
• To participate in inspections
• To contest citations
• To apply for standard variances
• Temporary
• Permanent

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Employee Rights

• To request an OSHA site inspection
• To have representation during an inspection
• To access worker injury/illness records
• To be protected from possible employer
  retaliation for requesting an inspection

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State Enforcement Plans

• Must have a designated agency to carry out the
  plan
• Must be as effective as the Federal plan
• May be more strict than Federal standards, but
  not less
• Must demonstrate enforcement abilities
• Must have adequate funding
• Can be revoked by Federal OSHA

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Inspection Priorities

• First Imminent danger
• Second Fatality/catastrophe investigation
• Third Investigate a compliant or referral
• Fourth Programmed or follow-up inspection

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OSHA Inspection - Opening Conference

• Officer exhibits his/her credentials
• Officer must inform the employer of the purpose
  of the visit.
• Officer can not inform the employer of the
  complaining employees name

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OSHA Inspection Process

• Ensures if employer is in compliance
• Officer has various inspection-related rights
• Inspect area respective to complaint
• Expand scope of inspection if cause for concern
• Interview selected employees - within reason
• Photograph equipment and/or employees
• Review injury/illness, training, or written
  program documentation

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Employer Recommendations During an OSHA
Inspection

• Do not require officer to get a warrant
• Be courteous
• Let the officer lead the way
• Write down everything officer does
• Attempt to immediately abate identified
  violations
• Dont elaborate on questions/comments
• Offer only what the officer asks for

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Major Types of OSHA Violations

• Other Than Serious
• Serious
• Willful

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Other Than Serious Violation

• A situation where the accident or illness that
  would result from the hazardous condition would
  probably not cause death or serious injury

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Serious Violation

• Substantial probability exists that death or
  serious injury will occur.
• Determined by the following criteria
• The type of standard that is violated
• Whether the type of injury or illness exposure
  could cause death/serious harm.
• Whether the employer knew or should have known of
  the presence of the hazardous condition.

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Willful Violation

• A type of serious violation where an intentional
  disregard of the act occurred
• Criminal Fatality occurs as the result of
  proven all-out disregard for OSHA
  requirements
• Repeated From a previously identified hazard
• Egregious Highly flagrant or obvious but no
  criminal action is pursued

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Closing Conference

• Conducted at conclusion of inspection
• Requires employer employee representation
• Specific hazards and violations of applicable
  standards are discussed
• Possible forms of abatement may be offered

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Employer Recommendations During the Closing
Conference

• Keep non-aggressive cordial
• Include top management in meeting
• Have a competent person take notes
• Have officer review each apparent violation and
  the applicable standard(s)
• Try to have officer commit to fine amount
• Avoid committing to an abatement date

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Penalties

• Civil Penalties
• Other-than-serious or Serious maximum of
  7,000/violation
• Willfulmaximum of 70,000/day/violation
• Egregious maximum of 70,000/violation (case by
  case within a six month period)
• Criminal Penalties
• Fine and imprisonment can result from willful
  violations that cause death

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Appeals Process

• The employer has 15 working days to formally
  appeal a citation or penalty
• The appeal must specify issue with the citation,
  penalty, or both
• Area OSHA Director must transmit formal appeal to
  the Review Commission

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OSHA Informal Conference

• An employer may request an informal conference
  with the OSHA Director
• Resolve a dispute over a citation or penalty
• Clarify applicable standards
• Solicit ideas on ways to abate a violation
• Discuss proposed penalties
• Discuss proposed abatement deadlines

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OSHA Recordkeeping Requirements

• Employers with 11 or more employees must keep
  written injury and illness-related records
• OSHA 200 Log of recordable illnesses/injuries
• Must be maintained for past 5 calendar years
• Must be made available to all employees
• Must be maintained for each location
• OSHA 101 Supplementary Record
• Contains more detailed accident information

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Catastrophe and Fatality Reporting Requirements

• Must be reported to the nearest OSHA District
  Office within 8 hours
• May/may not be followed up on based on whether it
  is in their jurisdiction

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OSHA Workplace Posting Requirements

• OSHA Poster - Safety and Health Protection on
  the Job
• Annual summary posted in workplace during
  February for previous year
• Warning of potential exposure to toxic materials
  (1910.1200)
• Warning of physical hazards (noise)
• Citation upon receipt from OSHA

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OSHA Standards

• Published by the Dept. of Labor
• General Duty Clause Section 5(a)(1)
• Broken down by major CFR topical areas
• 1900-1910 General Industry
• 1915 Shipyard
• 1917 Marine Terminals
• 1918 Longshoring
• 1925 Federal Service Contracts
• 1926 Construction Industry

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Ensuring Compliance With OSHA Standards

• Be a proactive Risk Manager
• Know standards applicable to your business
• Understand and emphasize the positive reason(s)
  for the standard(s)
• Be able to recognize hazards
• Abate the hazards in accordance with recognized
  safety health standards

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OSHA Penalties vs.Worker Compensation Cost

• U.S. Total OSHA Fines 75.0 mill.
• U.S. Total Worker Comp. 57.3 bill.
• 75,000,000 0.0013 0.13
• 57,300,000,000
• So what should we focus on more - managing our
  OSHA compliance or managing our actual losses?
• 1995 figures