Are many people injured due to safety violations?

Yes! Nationwide, there are almost 6,000 work-related fatalities each year.

Additionally, 3.6 Million employees annually receive disabling injuries resulting in billions of dollars in lost revenue.

If an employee has a fatal heart attack at work, do we need to report it?

Yes. Employers must report all fatal heart attacks in the workplace by contacting the OSHA office nearest your workplace. You can also use OSHA’s Toll-Free number 1-800-321-OSHA (6742). There is a map of OSHA offices available at osha.gov.

You CAN NOT email this information. You must telephone the nearest OSHA office immediately following the incident.

Is a safety program really necessary?

Absolutely! According to a report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, safety awareness impacts employee health and your company’s bottom-line. The number of non-fatal injuries and illnesses recorded among private industries during 2002 totaled 4,700,600 and resulted in 1,436,200 days away from work.

A similar report for 2001 recorded 5,270 fatal work-related injuries. Of those cases, 1,218 workers died in highway accidents, 670 workers died from falls and 551 workers were the victims of homicides.

Consider how two common safety programs, Housekeeping and Slips, Trips and Falls - can significantly impact your company’s profits and productivity. There were 288,500 falls and 372,683 back injuries recorded in 2001. Now consider the financial impact of workers’ compensation claims and increased healthcare costs.

In your workplace, “SAFETY” is the word that matters most!

Is there a new Record Keeping rule for work-related injuries and illnesses?

The new Record Keeping Rule became effective January 1. 2004. OSHA has streamlined and updated OSHA Form 300, OSHA Form 300A and OSHA Form 301.  The forms are available in the Resource Files section of our web site.

What are our chances of being inspected by OSHA?

Generally, OSHA inspections occur when specific situations warrant. Situations are generally categorized as Imminent Danger, Fatality or Catastrophe, Employee Complaints, Referrals, Programmed (Random) Inspections and Follow-Up Visits, especially for Willful and Repeat offenders.

According to OSHA Statistics, there were 37,493 federal inspections during 2002. Complaints / Accidents accounted for 24 percent of the visits; High-hazard Targeted Areas accounted for 55 percent of the visits and the remaining 21 percent of the visits resulted from referrals, follow-up visits and miscellaneous reasons.

Industries inspected included the Construction Industry (57%), Manufacturing Industry (22%) and Other Industries (21%).

During 2002 OSHA identified 78,433 violations and imposed penalties of more than $72,000,000.00 in penalties.

Why is so much emphasis being placed on Ergonomics?

Ergonomics is an important and effective way to address the increase in Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSD’s) in the workplace. MSD’s are a growing percentage of recordable injuries and illnesses in the workplace.

OSHA has developed a four-pronged comprehensive approach to ergonomics consisting of Guidelines, Enforcement, Outreach and Assistance as well as a National Advisory Committee to help employers quickly and effectively address MSDs,

More than 30 percent of all workers’ compensation claims reported between 1999 – 2002 by the Independent Electrical Contractors (EIC) were related to Ergonomics and resulted in workers’ compensation claims of more than $10 million during the four-year period.

When considering Ergonomics in the workplace, remember to develop a task-specific approach that will work in your industry.