History

• On December 29, 1970, based on an alarming number of accidents, injuries, and fatalities in the workplace the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Act was signed by President Richard Nixon. To summarize its mission, OSHA's role is provide and assure safe and healthy working conditions for workers, to enforce standards (laws) and to educate and assist the public, workers and employers in this task. There are therefore, two main branches of OSHA- enforcement and education. Under OSHA, there are requirements of all employers and employees, both state and in the private sector. These are both enforceable by citation or penalty (and possibly jail) to the employer.
  
  

Significance

• It is the employer's responsibility to provide a safe and healthful working environment to the employees, which is free of recognized hazards. OSHA continually researches and develops new standards that explain what these hazards are and how to protect the workers. The OSHA laws used to base safety procedures on are called the Code of Federal Regulations or CFR's. General industry, like manufacturing, falls under 29 CFR 1910, and construction falls under 29 CFR 1926. Each separate law is listed after those numbers, such as 29 CFR 1910.178, which is the law pertaining to forklifts or powered industrial trucks in general industry.
  
  

Features

• The most basic feature of procedures that affect nearly all employers are correction of any hazardous conditions that may cause injury or harm to employees, and to keep a workplace safe and healthful. If an employer is aware of a potential hazard, like a guard missing on a piece of equipment that exposes a worker to dangerous moving parts, he must correct this immediately. Employers as part of their safety procedures must also display a federal poster ("Job Safety and Health-It's the Law") instructing workers of their rights and the role of OSHA.
  
  

Identification

• In addition, all employers, as part of these fundamentals, must inform OSHA of any serious accident or fatality within no less than eight hours. A serious accident called a "catastrophe" is defined as three or more employees hospitalized for the same incident, like a fire or a chemical exposure. As there exist both state and federal OSHA, some states have additional requirements regarding reporting of amputations. Indiana, for instance, requires a written report of an amputation within 30 days. There are twenty-six states with their own "State Plan" who do make enhanced interpretations of the law. These are always more strict than federal OSHA. Identifying and following these areas are the most fundamental of all OSHA safety procedures. If you are curious regarding OSHA laws and your state, you may view this at the OSHA website. (link below).
  
  

Types

• Another universal type of safety procedure involves the training of employees. An employer must provide instruction, free of charge to employees, on areas that present a known hazard. Typically, under OSHA, this is a three-part issue. A written program, with policies and procedures, needs to be in place, and training and documentation need to be maintained for each area that applies to the working environment. For instance, nearly all workplaces have chemicals. This means a potential harm exists to employees, even if the chemicals are very benign. Improper use can always present a hazard. An employer under OSHA must train employees on the effects of these chemicals, have a written program detailing all chemicals present in the workplace and keep records of trainings. This standard, 29 CFR 1910.1200 is a broad law that affects almost all workplaces and typically should be a fundamental safety procedure.
  
  

Considerations

• Evaluate your company for the presence of the following: chemicals, forklifts, overhead cranes, electrical maintenance, confined spaces and use of respirators. For each of these, it's likely you will need, at the bare minimum, to train, document and develop a written program. Other areas to consider in developing safety procedures are fire and explosion hazards, any slick surfaces or fall potential. You will want to find and implement a procedure that prevents employee harm. For instance, if you identify flying particles or dust in a work area, your safety procedure could be to have employees wear safety glasses. You would then train the employees and have a written policy in place.
  
  

Expert Insight

• More broad laws to consider when carvng out those safety plans fall under emergency procedures and first aid (29 CFR 1910.38). Part of knowing how to develop a procedure means looking for any possible harm or "worst case" scenario. Emergency procedures for evacuation and severe weather always need to be in place, trained on and then practiced in a minimum of two documented drills a year. Since all companies have injuries, (even small cuts or scrapes), responders who offer first aid have potential for exposure to bloodborne pathogens. Therefore employers must include Bloodborne Pathogen training (29CFR 1910.1030), First Aid (29 CFR 1910.151) and CPR for the First Responder team as part of basic compliance procedures, both for the protection of the responders and for the health and safety of the other employees. Generally, a response team is sufficient, but some companies elect to train all employees. Remember when creating safety procedures, look for potential, know the laws, train, document and establish a written program.