Labor inspector reports

Labor inspectors reports often tend to be dismissed as documents to be tolerated and summarily dealt with or even ignored if possible, rather than as sources of valuable health information. However, some very useful information on health trends can be derived from them over and above the demands that they may present. An inspector looks at plant operations with the eyes of an informed stranger, and because of that, he or she can see things that someone who is familiar with the operation might overlook just because of that familiarity. 

Thus, an inspector s report can reveal situations that are quite obvious when they are pointed out, but might never have been noticed. Furthermore, some plants, especially the larger and/or more intrinsically hazardous, receive a lot of inspections others little or none. When there are numerous visits, the sequence of information in these reports, if examined with a critical eye, may demonstrate the existence of hazardous or potentially hazardous areas or operations that even an inspector might have missed in a single report. Thus, in trying to establish the presence or absence of health trends, it is wise to consider in your evaluation the information the labor inspectors have recorded about the operation. 

When ASAP reports are submitted, an event review committee (ERC) reviews and analyzes them. The ERC usually includes a management representative from the certificate holder, a representative from the employee labor association (if applicable), and a specially trained FAA inspector. The ERC considers each ASAP report for acceptance or denial, and if accepted, analyzes the report to determine the necessary controls to put in place to respond to the identified problem. 

September 30, 2010. US. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General — Office of Audit. OSHA Complainants Did Not Always Receive Appropriate Investigations Under the Whistleblower Protection Program. Report Number 02-10-202-10-105. 

US Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, Office of Audit. 2000. Evaluating the Status of Occupational Safety and Health Coverage of State and Local Government Workers in Federal OSHA States (report 05-00-0001-10-001). 

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