Each year, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) inspects workplaces around the country for safety and occupational hazards.
Unprogrammed, or unscheduled, inspections are top priority for OSHA and usually come in response to a complaint, workplace violation or specific incident that requires immediate attention. These inspections can be prompted by employee grievances, referrals from other government agencies or, most commonly, injuries serious enough to send employees to the hospital. Follow-up inspections also fall in the unprogrammed category.
Programmed, or scheduled, OSHA inspections occur periodically and are reserved for employers that have the highest rate of injuries and illnesses in their industry. Each year, OSHA puts out a list of the top 10,000 to 15,000 offenders who will be scheduled for a programmed inspection.
To determine which companies are on the targeted list, OSHA uses the DART — Days Away, Restricted or Transferred — rate. The formula to calculate your organization’s DART rate is (N/EH) x 200,000, where “N” is equal to the number of cases involving days away from work, restricted work activity or job transfers and “EH” is the total number of hours worked by all employees in the calendar year. The average DART rate is around 1.8. Companies with a rate of 2.5 or higher are usually listed on OSHA’s inspection list, though this rate can vary depending on the industry and how dangerous or accident-prone it is.
Worried your company could wind up on OSHA’s annual list? Here are four ways to prepare for an upcoming inspection:
1. Create an inspection team. Assign key team members to a designated “inspection team.” These individuals will be responsible for helping the rest of the company prepare and for managing the inspection once the OSHA representative is on site.
2. Educate your team. Programmed OSHA inspections are composed of a full company review, an audit of company documents and interviews with both management and non-management employees. Communicate with your team about the potential inspection and educate them on what is involved. Some insurance companies provide free consultation on OSHA preparedness and can send a representative to train managers and team members who would be involved in the inspection.
3. Organize your OSHA 300 logs. Update your company’s OSHA 300 logs, records of all work-related injuries and illnesses, on a regular basis. This should happen long before you even suspect than an OSHA inspection is a threat. Understand what should be recorded and train employees to provide detailed and accurate information on each report. These forms should be organized and easily accessible.
4. Hold a mock inspection. Conduct semi-regular mock inspections on your own to identify potential health and safety issues that an OSHA inspector would find. In doing so, your company can correct any major issues long before the programmed inspection. This proactive approach will also help your company manage workplace hazards in future years, removing the need for an OSHA inspection entirely.
OSHA inspections can be unnerving for a company and its employees. Whether you’re on OSHA’s list of programmed inspections, or you’re just being proactive, the methods above will help prepare your team for assessment.