OSHA Issues 2014 Inspection Plan
Author: Ashley Shaw, XpertHR Legal Editor
March 3, 2014
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has released its 2014 inspection plan as part of the Site-Specific Targeting (SST) 2014 program. The SST program focuses on inspection efforts in the non-construction industries with the highest level of workplace illnesses and injuries. An employer that is part of an industry on the list could be randomly selected for a planned inspection.
In a press release, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Dr. David Michaels stated, "By focusing our inspection resources on employers in high hazard industries who endanger their employees, we can prevent injuries and illnesses and save lives."
OSHA focuses inspections on four different areas every year:
- Situations involving imminent danger (considered a top priority);
- Workplaces where a fatality or catastrophe occurred;
- Workplaces where OSHA received a complaint or referral; and
- Programmed inspections.
The programmed inspections are done by classifying industries and examining workplace injury and illness reports to determine which industries are considered high-hazard. Based on this information, OSHA can select specific industries where injuries and illnesses are more likely to occur and focus its programmed inspections on employers in those industries with 20 or more workers.
The 2014 program will be the basis of a study into the SST program's effectiveness based on the inspections of 1,260 randomly selected sites.
Along with the SST program, OSHA has several national, local and regional emphasis programs that focus on specific high-hazard industries, such as the Nursing and Personal Care Facilities National Emphasis Program.
States that have their own OSH plans approved by OSHA perform their own inspections. The state inspections must be at least as stringent as the federal guidelines, but could be more so.