OSHA inspectors

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). 

After a prioritized list of processes is developed, a plan for PrHAs can be established. This plan must follow the minimum schedule in the PSM Rule, listed in Section 2.2.1, with no less than one-fourth of the PrHAs completed by May 26, 1994 and one-fourth completed each succeeding year. All PrHAs must be completed by May 26, 1997. However, the PSM Rule also states that PrHAs are to be done "as soon as possible, but no later than [the following schedule...]." This point is stated explicitly in the OSHA inspector s compliance guidelines, so it must be demonstrated that scheduled PrHAs were completed before the annual deadlines and that no intentional delays were incorporated into the PrHA schedule. For example, a large site might have mostly office and laboratory facilities, and only two processes covered by the PSM Rule. If manpower is available to conduct two PrHAs in parallel within the first year, then the PrHA schedule should not be extended over a 3-year period. 

Consider the outstanding case of OSHA. At one time its administrators calculated that on a random basis a firm subject to that regulation was likely to be inspected once every 28 years. No doubt the number continues to be about the same. Without inspections OSHA cannot use personal interaction between firms managements and OSHA officials to guide firms to understand the scope of response the agency expects. This may explain why OSHA decided early to adopt meticulous regulations. It may also explain why Congress required OSHA inspectors to issue citations for every violation found, even those that are inconsequential. 

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. 

In the United States there are several regulatory, private accreditation, state, and federal organizations that may conduct a safety inspection of the laboratory. Some of these safety inspections may occur unannounced. From an external perspective, OSHA inspectors have the authority to enter a cfinical laboratory unannounced and, on presentation of credentials, inspect it. The inspection may be regular or as a result of a complaint. In addition, the Commission on Inspection and Accreditation of the CAP inspects clini-... 

These documents must be available to all workers and OSHA inspectors on request. The program must include a qualified program administrator and requirements for such a person are covered by these regulations (OSHA on line course 2220b, unknown year). 

It s a common business complaint that this is changing, that the government is intruding too much, that the IRS is too nosy, that HEW demands too many forms, and that the OSHA inspector is about to break down the door. 

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... 

If employees are represented by more than one nnion, each union may choose a representative. Normally, the representative of each nnion will not accompany the inspector for the entire inspection, but will join the inspection only when it reaches the area where those union members work. An OSHA inspector may conduct a comprehensive inspection of the entire workplace or a partial inspection limited to certain areas or aspects of the operation. 

If health hazards are present in the workplace, a special OSHA health inspection may be conducted by an industrial hygienist. This OSHA inspector may take samples... 

At the end of the inspection, the OSHA inspector will meet with the employer and the employee representatives in a closing conference to discuss the abatement of hazards that have been found. 

During the visit, the OSHA inspector will take notes, collect information, and take pictures. It is perfectly in order for a representative of the company to take a matching set of notes and pictures in the event that there should be a dispute with OSHA s findings. Also, employees have a right to have one of their representatives present during an inspection tour. If there is a union, it will select the person otherwise the employees will have to find some other way of finding a representative. This person cannot be appointed by management. 

Strictly speaking, an OSHA inspector cannot enter a facility to conduct an inspection without having a warrant. In practice, common sense and common courtesy dictate that, should an inspector show up unannounced and without a warrant, it is appropriate to allow them into the facility (once they have presented their official identification, which should include a number to call so that the facility knows that the visit is authentic). It has been reported that those companies that deny entry receive nearly twice as many citations as those that do not. Furthermore, the average penalty is twice as large. A reason for this may simply be that those companies who deny entry initially may have more problems to hide than those which are more open. Nevertheless, it does suggest that cooperation with inspectors is effective. 

If the OSHA inspector believes that a violation of the standard has taken place, he or she may choose to issue one or more citations. (Management then has to decide whether or not to challenge the citation.)... 

After the OSHA standards went into effect in 1971, OSHA inspectors visited many plants after their unions or individuals charged that numerous imminent dangers existed. The workers in any process are the ones most aware of the hazards in their process and they want the hazards mitigated or eliminated because their lives and health are at stake. Workers are excellent sources of information about hazards. 

The OSHA Act prescribes minimum safety and health standards for most industrial sectors and authorizes inspections by OSHA inspectors. For enforcement purposes, the OSHA Act allows citations (notice of violation) and civil penalties. It also allows states to have more stringent standards for their own OSHA-type agencies and to administer their own occupational, safety, and health program. 

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. 

When OSHA inspectors go into a workplace for the purpose of an inspection, they are trying to determine if the company ... 

Of the violations of the Laboratory Standard issued by OSHA, many have been for failure to have a Chemical Hygiene Plan or for a missing element in the plan. Another commonly cited violation is failure to meet the "Employee Information and Training" requirements of the Laboratory Standard. It is likely that OSHA enforcement of the Laboratory Standard will increase in the future, as state and federal OSHA inspectors focus more on laboratory activities and the implementation of this still relatively new standard. 

Even if OSHA had discovered the serious fire hazards at Imperial Food Products it still might not have forced compliance soon enough to prevent disaster. As shown by its treatment of the Pymm Thermometer Company, the second largest manufacturer of mercury thermometers in the United States, OSHA inspectors are often reluctant to close a company down or even impose dramatic fines when they find serious violations of health and safety standards. 

The Act established three violation categories (1) nonserious, (2) serious, and (3) willful and repeated. The law does not require OSHA inspectors to penalize companies for nonserious violations of health and safety standards. Inspectors must, however, levy fines for serious violations, which are infractions substantially increasing the likelihood of a worker fatality or serious injury, and to levy fines for willful and repeated violations. Under the original Act inspectors could fine firms up to 1,000 for each serious violation of health and safety standards, 10,000 for each willful violation, and 1,000 per day for each repeated violation. In 1990 Congress increased maximum fines to 7,000 for serious violations and increased maximum fines to 70,000 for willful and repeated violations. The Occupational Safety and Health Act established criminal penalties only in situations where willful violations result in worker deaths. ... 

Because records checks were used instead of site visits in about 15 percent of inspections and because a construction site inspection counted each subcontractor as a separate inspection the total number of workers visited by OSHA inspectors dropped by over 40 percent during the Reagan administration. During the first Reagan term, 1981-1984, OSHA inspections covered only about two to three million workers annually. 

Responding to a complaint of potentially unsafe conditions at a building under construction in Massachusetts, OSHA inspectors found that employees of a general contractor, and its concrete subcontractor, were working in excavations up to 14 feet deep that lacked protection against a collapse of their sidewalls. 

OSHA inspectors found one alleged serious and one alleged other-than-serious violation of the OSH Act. 

Ladders are indispensable additions to jobsites. While they are uncomphcated and simple to use, you shoiddn t take ladder safety for granted. Ladder problems are easy for OSHA inspectors to spot and therefore companies receive nrunerous citations eveiy year. The following rules are those that OSHA cites the most at jobsites ... 

A construction contractor faces a total of 54,250 in fines after OSHA inspectors twice found workers exposed to falls while repointing brick on a building. 

The OSHA system requires that employers keep an injury and illness log (OSHA Form 300). The employer must have the log available for OSHA inspectors. Employers must submit summary data annually on OSHA Form 300-A. An employer must keep the log for five years. OSHA also requires a supplemental record for each recordable case (OSHA Form 301 or equivalent). 

OSHA often issues citations to employers who do not operate a suitable PPE program. One study investigated factors involved when companies received a citation for non-compliance with the OSHA respiratory protection standards. During the period from 1999 through 2006, OSHA inspectors issued 30,000 citations related to the respiratory protection standard. 

This is not an attempt to make OSHA inspectors become FDA Investigators, or vice-versa," said OSHA Assistant Secretary David Michaels. "Our combined efforts to share information on possible violations of OSHA and FDA standards will help minimize the potential for injuries, illnesses and deaths."... 

Cooperate with the OSHA inspector during inspections when requested to do so. 

The right to have an authorized employee representative accompany the OSHA inspector and point out hazards... 

The right of a worker to talk with the OSHA inspector related to hazards and violations during the inspection... 

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