Inspection priority.OSHA

To enforce its standards, OSHA is authorized under the Act to conduct workplace inspections. Every establishment covered by the Act is subject to inspection by OSHA compliance safety and health officers who are chosen for their knowledge and experience in the occupational safety and health field. Compliance officers are vigorously trained in OSHA standards and in the recognition of safety and health hazards. Inspections occur as a result of the following priorities established by OSHA ... 

OSHA has limited resources, and because the OSHA Act applies to approximately six million work sites in the United States, OSHA must establish priorities for which sites get inspected. These priorities are ... 

OSHA also conducts unprogrammed inspections in response to complaints, referrals from other agencies, and reports of fatahties or catastrophes. While these types of inspections do not occur as frequently as programmed inspections, they can take priority over a programmed inspection, if for example there is an imminent danger. (Imminent danger situations, where a hazard exists that will likely cause death or serious physical harm immediately, are given top priority for OSHA inspection.)... 

These inspections will include checking company records, reviewing compliance with hazard communication standards, evaluating fire protection and personal protective equipment, and reviewing the company s health and safety plan. This inspection will include conditions, structures, equipment, machinery, materials, chemicals, procedures, and processes. OSHA s priorities for scheduling an inspection are as follows ... 

Such a system is in use in the trucking industry. The FHWA uses information on the accident rates of carriers, and other information it has, to set priorities for the work of its inspectorate. OSHA conducted an experiment in the state of Maine in 1993 whereby the largest firms where exempted from the traditional OSHA inspections if they made self-assessments of workplace risks, prepared a plan to ameliorate the risks, and made good-faith efforts to implement their plans. 

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