The Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced last week that approximately 3,000 worksites that reported high injury and illness rates for the year 2000 will have comprehensive safety and health inspections conducted over the next year by the Agency. Several ILMA member companies appear on OSHA’s list.
This is the fourth year that OSHA has used a site-specific targeting inspection program. The program is based upon employer-reported injury and illness data received through OSHA's annual Data Initiative. This year's program was based on a 2001 survey of approximately 80,000 worksites (data were from 2000).
Employers who reported fourteen or more injuries or illnesses that resulted in lost workdays or restricted activity for every 100 full-time workers can anticipate an inspection by OSHA sometime over the next year. Employers who reported at least eight, but less than fourteen, injuries or illnesses, are placed on a secondary list for possible inspection. The average lost workday injury and illness rate for private industry in the nation is three instances for the same number of workers.OSHA also will randomly select 200 workplaces that reported low injury and illness rates (from zero to eight) and add them to the primary inspection list. These establishments are all in the 25 highest rate industries that average a lost workday injury and illness rate of eight or greater. The Agency said that by adding low injury and illness rate establishments to the program, better information could be obtained on actual compliance with OSHA requirements.
