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Understanding, navigating and surviving the OSHA inspection process

July 2nd, 2018 by Dakota Software Staff

Understanding, navigating and surviving the OSHA inspection process

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has conducted workplace investigations spurred by a number of factors, from a recent serious incident to random chance. An inspection can be an opportunity for a trained professional to identify potential issues inside a facility and suggest corrective action that ultimately benefits individual workers and the company as a whole. However, it can also lead to fines and other penalties that no business wants to deal with. Let's look at some effective strategies for handling an OSHA inspection.

Always be prepared

"One of the best ways to get ready for an OSHA inspection is to conduct regular internal reviews."

One of the best ways to get ready for an OSHA inspection - which often comes with very little warning - is to conduct regular internal reviews with similar goals. Enlist the EHS specialist or other staff member who is most knowledgeable about OSHA's rules and have them survey the worksite, paying close attention for issues large and small that would likely be seen as violating established OSHA protocols. Such efforts can't be guaranteed to catch every single rule violation, but they go a long way toward both addressing compliance issues and keeping staff members and equipment safe and productive.

Managing scope and access

OSHA inspectors have the right to access many parts of a facility to meet their objectives. That doesn't mean you need to walk them through every square inch of your workspace, however. EHS Today's interview with former OSHA officials Nick Walters and Tom Bielema yielded a useful piece of advice: Understand the scope of the inspection and limit areas of inspection and travel to that scope, whenever practical. Compliance is vital, but so is a strong understanding of the purpose of the specific visit. This approach generally helps you avoid unnecessary oversight and the complications that can come along with it. For some businesses, protecting trade secrets and other privileged information is also an important factor to keep in mind.

Utilize the opening and closing conferences

The active inspection of working conditions, machinery and operational practices sits between the opening and closing conferences, which begin and end each inspection. The Fabricator suggested using these times to learn more about the inspector's intent, discuss any specific problems found and associated strategies for resolving them. This is an opportunity to avoid setting an adversarial tone while enforcing reasonable boundaries and making sure everyone is clear about the inspection that is about to occur or just finished.

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