OSHA regional enforcement effort a reminder to all businesses

March 24th, 2017 by Dakota Software Staff Industry News

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is taking some additional steps to address workplace safety In the face of recent statistics from one of its regions. A rising number of fatalities in OSHA's Region 7 - which includes Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska - encouraged the federal health and safety regulator to launch a new safety campaign. The stated goals of the plan are simple and in line with OSHA's basic mission and the responsibilities it places on employers: reviewing health and safety programs and taking steps to reduce or eliminate workplace injuries and deaths.

Diverse issues draw additional OSHA attention

EHS Today said two separate areas of concern led to OSHA formulating the new plan for improving employee safety. Inspectors dispatched by the federal regulator saw an increased number of fatalities related to confined space entry and trenching and excavating. Additionally, OSHA's own press release about the topic indicated a doubling of fatal accidents where employees were struck by motor vehicles. That number rose from two in the twelve-month period of October 2015 to February 2016 to four in the several months from October 2016 through the middle of March.

"With just a phone call, companies can contact OSHA for [assistance] in achieving safety compliance," said Kim Stille, OSHA's Regional Administrator in Kansas City, in the press release. "Working together with businesses, unions, and employees, we can reduce these sobering statistics and implement and sustain workplace safety and health programs that can help employees avoid preventable injuries and deaths."

OSHA highlighted the three foundational elements of a successful employee health and safety program in the release:

• Worker involvement: Employees need to be active participants in efforts to keep them safe and healthy. When workers can interact with management, suggest solutions to problems and generally be involved in the process, benefits from increased employee engagement to reduced turnover can arise.
• Management leadership: Managers and supervisors have to commit to a strong safety standard and regularly take steps to ensure it's maintained.
• A generally proactive, problem-solving approach to workplace safety: The importance of regular inspection of equipment by employees and managers needs to be emphasized and carried out whether or not the facility has experienced problems with worker safety.

While the OSHA program specifically applies to Region 7, the guidance it provided about keeping employees safe and healthy applies to every business across the country.