OSHA inspections

OSHA can routinely initiate an unannounced inspection of a business. Inspections may occur due to routine inspections or through complaints. These occur during 

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  

Regular inspections targeted at high-hazard industries 

OSHA can give an employer advance notice of a pending inspection at certain times  

When it would be effective to conduct an inspection after normal working hours 

OSH A has the right to conduct workplace inspections as part of its enforcement mandate. OSHA can routinely initiate an unannounced inspection of a business. Other inspections occur due to fatalities and catastrophes, routine program inspections, or by referrals and complaints. These occur during normal working hours. 

Usually no advance notice is given to an employer before an inspector appears at a jobsite. However, there are times when advance notice is an acceptable practice. They are 

No inspection will occur during a strike, work stoppage, or picketing action unless the area director approves such action. Usually this type of inspection would be due to extenuating circumstances such as an occupational death inside the facility. The steps of an OSHA inspection encompass the following  

Inspection tour could take hours or possibly days, depending on the size of the operation. The inspector usually covers every area within the operation while assuring compliance with OSHA regulations. 

When it is necessary to assure the presence of the employer, specific employer representative or employee representatives. 

When the area director determines that an advance notice would enhance the probability of a more thorough and effective inspection. 

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Mock OSHA Inspection. Maintenance can learn a lot about how the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) trains thein inspectors and what is emphasized in an OSHA inspection. Some of the training of OSHA inspectors follows a program involving the recognition of potential hazards, avoidance of these hazards, and prevention of accidents (RAP). 

A good handyman must be able to recognize his limitations and employ professional assistance for work he is not completely familiar with. In the long run, this will prove less expensive. Too many hazardous wire connections and improper plumbing repairs have been observed in laboratories. One OSHA inspection of a... 

OSHA IMIS Records of workplace inspections, including those prompted by accidents where a worker is injured 1984-Present Information from OSHA field inspections, a third party More accurate description of impacts on employees and contractors Keyword indexing allows for easy search and retrieval Not comprehensive, limited to incidents selected by OSHA Inspections without abstracts cannot be keyword searched causal information unavailable Designed to assist compliance enforcement, not to report on incident causes Limited information from State-Plan states Not designed to be a lessons-leamed database... 

After an OSHA inspection of the workplace, the investigator(s) will review the evidence gathered via documents, interviews, and observations. If the OSHA inspector believes there has been a violation of a standard, he can use a standard citation form that identifies the site inspected, the date, the type of violation, a description of the violation, the proposed penalty, and other requirements. The citation must be issued within the first six months after the alleged violation occurred. 

The refinery was planning to participate in informal conferences with both agencies. [27] The latest available OSHA inspection data base indicated the proposed penalties were in the neighborhood of 100,000. [28]... 

Government Institutes. Inc., 1992, ISBN 0-86587-313-5, 456pages, 69. This is a stepPy-step manual developed by OSHA for its own compliance safety and health officers which can be used to prepare for your next OSHA inspection. 

Government Institutes, Inc., 1993, ISBN 0-86587-336-4, 120 pages, 49. This OSHA Inspection manual covers process safety management (PSM) compliance guidelines, PSM audit guidelines, clarifications and interpretations of the PSM standard, and SIC codes targeted for the program quality verification inspections. 

Current estimates of the numbers of OSHA inspectors and workplaces indicate that the average workplace can expect an OSHA inspection about every 9 to 10 years. To apply its inspection resources in the most effective manner, OSHA has adopted a strategy to concentrate on the most hazardous... 

Gray, Wayne B. and John T. Scholz. 1991. Do OSHA Inspections Reduce Ii juries A Panel Analysis. July, NBER Working Paper No. 3774. 

The plant passes several OSHA inspections every year... 

Believe the plant is safe based on the fact that it has been there for 30 years and there have been no worse consequences than "bad smells." The plant passes several OSHA inspections every year... 

OSHA inspections or audits are typically divided into five parts ... 

If an employee believes that there is an imminent hazard, he or she may ask for an OSHA inspection. OSHA is not obliged to respond to such requests it will use judgment as to which to follow up, thereby allowing them to avoid vindictive or trivial complaints. 

If a worker complains about unsafe conditions, the agency may follow up with an inspection. Although complaints are an important source of information about unsafe conditions, they can be used by workers merely to express general grievances against management. It is estimated that about 20% of all OSHA inspections are in response to a complaint, but that many of these—about 30%—do not result in a citation. 

OSHA does not inspect businesses with ten or fewer employees unless (1) a fatality has occurred, or (2) there has been an employee complaint. The OSHA Act applies to most employers involved in manufacturing, construction, retail, and service organizations even if they have just one employee because there are applicable sections of the Act they must comply with. Although there is no exemption for small businesses from the OSHA Act, organizations with ten or fewer employees are exempted from OSHA inspections and the requirement to maintain injury/illness records. 

These figures reveal that a significant portion of workplaces are not subject to OSHA inspections. Also, businesses with 11-50 employees make up 16 percent of businesses and 24 percent of the workforce. Due to the limited number of OSHA inspectors, businesses of this size are rarely inspected. Thus, OSHA does not regularly inspect approximately 90 percent of work sites. 

Participate in OSHA inspections, conferences, hearings, or other OSHA-related activities. 

Observe during an OSHA inspection and respond to the questions asked by a compliance officer. 

Safety professionals should be aware that the EEOC can make an on-site investigation at the company or organization s business site.t Safety professionals should be aware that most on-site investigations are scheduled in advanced and utilized by the EEOC investigator to become acquainted with the worksite as well as any specific job which is at issue. Safety professiouals iuvolved in an on-site visit should, as with an OSHA inspection, exercise caution thoughout the visit and especially when providing stat ents or explanations about the jobsite or job functions to the EEOC investigator. 

More companies today are improving governance and transparency. Another benefit of web-based solutions is the ease and accessibility of documentation. Whether you re responding to an accident, an OSHA inspection, or just need to document training for a job... 

The checklist in the OSHA Inspection Manual (see Chapter 24) is probably the best comprehensive tool that can be used to evaluate the process for compliance. Use of the checklist is probably the best way of assuring that initial and subsequent implementation of PSM has been accomplished. The process of assessing each provision of the rule with the checklist will yield findings regarding the adequacy of implementation. Each of the formal audit findings must be promptly responded to by the employer and correction of deficiencies must be documented. 

Implementation. The owner/operator must certify on the basis of the compliance audit every three years that the process meets the requirements of the PSM rule and retain that certification for OSHA inspection as an official record. External audits by OSHA in the United States are occasionally performed and are prompted principally by a reported problem or problems at a plant location. More information about the internal and external audits is provided in Chapter 24 that follows later in this part of the book. 

PSM or RMP audits have multiple objectives. Most important is the assurance an audit brings or the adequacy of implementation of the particular program. Specifically, the audit measures program effectiveness, identifies deficiencies, and verifies correction of previously identified deficiencies. The audit also provides management with a status assessment and may recommend improvements and identify good practices. The material in this section is based on a portion of the content of a Nuclear QA Certification Course taught at Sandia National Laboratories and several companies, the ASQ Nuclear Auditor Training Manual (ASQ 1986), the System Safety Analysis Handbook (Stephans and Talso 1997), and the OSHA Inspection Manual (U.S. Department of Labor 1994). 

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