President Obama nominated David Michaels to head OSHA back in July. Although he hasn’t yet been confirmed, there are many signs on the horizon that OSHA will step up efforts to ensure compliance, including:

 

·         Increasing OSHA’s budget by over 10%, or $50.6 million, in part allowing them to hire more than 200 new employees.

 

·         Increase in construction enforcement. With economic stimulus incentives, including the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, OSHA will increase inspections to ensure compliance.

 

·         OSHA issued a proposed rule change here in September, to modify the HazCom (Hazard Communication Standard (HCS)) standard to align with the U.N.’s Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS). The intent is to standardize chemical labelling due to shipments between countries.

 

·         On September 30, OSHA issued a Directive here to increase inspections and address the issue of under-recorded injuries and illnesses. This affects OSHA Form 300 reporting for companies of a certain size and in targeted industries.

 

·         Higher penalties to provide incentives for increased compliance. In addition, the appeal process is being reviewed to address the perception that the current process allows employers to unfairly reduce or eliminate incurred penalties.

 

·         There may once again be a push on passing an ergonomic standard to address repetitive motion injuries. This has been floating around for years, but may finally come to pass.

 

Many changes are on the way from OSHA and Cal/OSHA. Manufacturers are challenged by running their businesses in an already lean environment, and at the same time, make sure that they’re in compliance with all existing and new safety requirements. However, with increasing pressure due to serious injuries incurred on the job, OSHA is determined to step up their game to address the issue.

 

Is your Injury and Illness Prevention Program (IIPP) up to date? Didn’t know you needed one? If you need help getting your safety or training programs up to speed, give us a call or send us an email. We’re here to help you succeed.