OSHA will want to see this after an accident
December 1, 2009 2 minutes read
OSHA will want to see this after an accident
When inspectors from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) arrive on the scene to investigate a workplace injury, their primary concern is finding out how the accident occurred.
"They are very concerned with determining if there was a violation of any OSHA standards when the accident occurred," says Mary (Penny) B. Nicholls, RN, CCM, COHN-S, a disability consultant with Alabama Power Company in Birmingham and a member of the advisory board for the Deep South Center for Occupational Health & Safety at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
Nicholls says that OSHA inspectors will want to see the following items:
-Your OSHA log, in order to see if there are any similar accidents have occurred in the same location within your facility.
-Your DART (Days Away Restricted Time) rate. "This provides them with some idea of the safety record in your facility," says Nicholls.
-Training records, especially any mandatory training for your industry type, as well as hazard communication policy and training.
Employees will be interviewed about their training, safety procedures and job work practices. "Many times, they discover that the procedures are not the accepted job practice," says Nicholls. "This is very important for them to know when identifying if an OSHA standard was violated. Even if a specific standard was not blatantly violated, a company can always be cited under the General Duty Clause, and still receive a fine from OSHA."
In addition, OSHA has announced a new focus on assessing the accuracy of illness and injury data recorded by employers. Inspectors will be looking at occupational injury and illness records prepared by businesses and enforcing regulatory requirements when employers are found to be under-recording injuries and illnesses.
Failing to report is a dangerous oversight, warns Robert Emery, DrPH, vice president of safety, health, environment and risk management at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. "When detected, it carries with it the unfortunate impression that the failure to report was intended to cover something up, when in fact, it was an inadvertent oversight," he says.
When inspectors from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) arrive on the scene to investigate a workplace injury, their primary concern is finding out how the accident occurred.You have reached your article limit for the month. Subscribe now to access this article plus other member-only content.
- Award-winning Medical Content
- Latest Advances & Development in Medicine
- Unbiased Content