What
prompts an OSHA inspection?
Many different circumstances can prompt an OSHA
inspection, ranging from a workplace death to mere chance. The
following are some of the reasons why OSHA may inspect your facility:
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Catastrophes and fatalities
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Employee complaints
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Referrals, which can come from any entity,
including another government agency
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Programmed inspections, in which worksites are
randomly selected, or based on emphasis programs, injury rates or
previous citations
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Follow-up inspections
Source: OSHA
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Federal and state agencies conduct nearly 100,000 inspections every year,
making the odds of your worksite being inspected fairly low. But just as
safety professionals need to ensure a worksite is prepared to identify and
abate even the rarest of safety hazards, employers always should be ready
for the possibility of an OSHA inspection. “You may not get an inspection
in your facility for the next 30 years. However, you always have to be
ready,” said Rick Kaletsky, a Connecticut-based consultant and former OSHA
compliance officer. Kaletsky, who has written a book about preparing for and
responding to OSHA inspections, notes that OSHA can show up at virtually any
moment, and employers in most cases will not receive advance notice of the
visit. Knowing what happens during an OSHA inspection and what to do during
one can ensure things run smoothly – for both your company and the
inspector.
When OSHA knocks ...
Before OSHA arrives, establish a procedure you will follow if an
inspector shows up, recommends JoAnn Dankert, senior consultant with the
National Safety Council. Your plan should identify a person at your
facility, such as the safety manager or the owner, who will be responsible
for escorting the inspector. Select a meeting space for opening and closing
conferences to take place. An employee representative also will be allowed
to attend these conferences and the walkaround. At organized sites, a union
contract will spell out who that representative may be; in other situations,
a member of the safety committee could join the process. Have a plan B in
place in the event your safety point person is not at the worksite the day
an inspector visits, Dankert said. For example, train another employee on
the safety procedures and how to show the inspector around the facility.
Some inspectors will be dressed casually. Others may dress more formally
when they arrive, and then change into more appropriate clothes, such as a
jumpsuit, for the inspection. To make sure you’re dealing with a bona fide
OSHA inspector, ask to see the person’s identification. The ID will
include the inspector’s photo, name and office; it will not be a badge.
Write down the inspector’s name and office. If you’re still unsure of
whether the inspector is from the government, Kaletsky suggests calling the
local OSHA office to check. Look up the phone number yourself – don’t
rely on a number provided by the potential impostor.
Setting the scene
Once you have confirmed that the compliance officer is from OSHA, he or
she will go over the specifics of the inspection. Known as an opening
conference, the inspector will explain what prompted the inspection (see
“What prompts an OSHA inspection?” in the box on the right) and may hand
over certain documents, such as a copy of a complaint with the
complainant’s identifying information removed. Employers will learn about
their rights, including how to contest potential citations. The parameters
of the inspection will be explained, including what machines or procedures
will be observed. The inspector also will ask for basic information about
the facility, including:
- Type of work performed
- Number of employees
- Names of those in charge
- Contact information
The length of an OSHA inspection will depend on the focus and size of the
facility – it could take anywhere from one day to multiple weeks. The
inspector will request certain files, such as injury and illness logs, and
you will be expected to produce them in a reasonable amount of time. “When
you come across as knowledgeable and organized and can produce documents, I
think they have the opinion of, ‘Hey, this group has its act
together,’” Dankert said. On the flip side, unorganized or inaccurate
documents can lead to problems. Dankert – who once considered becoming a
compliance officer and spent several weeks training with OSHA – visited a
machine plant as part of a special emphasis program inspection. The visit
started very specific – looking at amputation hazards – but it quickly
turned into a comprehensive, wall-to-wall inspection when OSHA learned the
employer had failed to record an amputation on its injury log.
Mind your manners
Conduct yourself in a professional manner when in the presence of the
compliance officer, and keep your cool during the entire inspection process.
“They aren’t going to let you buy them lunch, but if you’re nice to
them, they probably will be nice to you,” Dankert said. “If you’re
adversarial toward them, they will probably take a hard stance.” If the
compliance officer becomes confrontational or gets out of line, remain calm
and call the inspector’s office, advises John Newquist, an Illinois-based
consultant and former OSHA assistant regional administrator. Feel free to
ask the inspector to postpone the inspection if he or she shows up at an
inconvenient time, such as when production is under deadline pressure and it
would be difficult to make accommodations, Kaletsky said. But keep in mind
that this would be a short-term solution, and the compliance officer may not
agree to the postponement. Even if the inspector is willing to put off the
walkaround, he or she likely will still request various files and want to
take a quick look around. An employer has the right to refuse entry to an
OSHA inspector. However, experts told Safety+Health that OSHA can
easily acquire either a warrant or subpoena.
Walkaround
Before the walkaround begins, the OSHA inspector may ask if your facility
has any unique dangers. Ensure inspectors are wearing appropriate personal
protective equipment for your site. Although some inspectors may bring their
own PPE, be prepared to provide them with the necessary gear. “We should
hold them to the same requirements,” Dankert said. “It really shows your
commitment to safety and that it extends to them.” How the inspector
chooses to conduct the walkaround will vary greatly, Kaletsky said. The
walkaround may begin with particular machines or a certain production area,
or the inspector may want to see how a process runs from beginning to end.
Some inspectors may want to start at one side of the building and move
across; others may go up to the top floor and work their way down. During
the walkaround, the inspector will take photos and notes and ask questions.
Newquist recommends that employers do the same. Taking notes and photos
ensures both sides have a record of the conversation. Avoid a “head in the
sand” mentality, in which any OSHA question is answered with “I don’t
know,” Newquist said. The escort may be afraid of saying something wrong,
but avoiding the question does not help either, he said. Instead, tell the
compliance officer you will find the answer or get someone more
knowledgeable to provide the answer.
Interviews
Certain employees may be selected for a one-on-one interview with the
compliance officer. Identify a private area – a conference room, for
example – that can be used for these interviews. The questions will be
simple – covering topics such as the type of training provided – and
employers should tell their workers to answer any questions truthfully,
Newquist said. If the selected worker is too busy or in the middle of a
crucial part of the production process, let the compliance officer know when
the employee will be free. “Inspectors don’t want to unduly impede
production. Their goal is to get the information they need and move
along,” Dankert said, adding that most conversations between employees and
compliance officers take no longer than 10-15 minutes. Some inspectors are
multilingual. But in the event a worker does not speak the same language as
the inspector, the compliance officer may bring in an outside translator or
allow another worker to translate the conversation.
In conclusion ...
A closing conference takes place shortly after an inspection ends,
although not necessarily on the same day. Two types of closing conferences
occur, according to Newquist. One is a standard, in-person meeting. The
other type, which has become more prominent in recent years, is conducted
over the phone. It may take several hours for a compliance officer to travel
to a worksite, so conducting a closing conference over the phone allows an
inspector to consult with his or her supervisor as well as save OSHA travel
money, Newquist said. On one hand, a teleconference to close the inspection
can be challenging because pertinent materials, such as photographs, will
have to be emailed. On the other hand, a teleconference allows the employer
to put multiple people on the line to listen, including managers at other
worksites who may have similar hazards. The inspector will not ask for any
money or threaten the employer with large fines unless a fee is paid
immediately, as has occurred in scams involving people posing as compliance
officers.
During the closing conference, the compliance officer will summarize
hazards found during the inspection, and may mention citations that could
result, Newquist said. He or she also will review what happens in the event
citations are issued. OSHA has six months after the closing conference to
file citations, which will arrive by certified mail. You do not need to wait
until the agency gets back to you with citations before taking proactive
steps. You can check in with OSHA and inform the agency if you have
corrected any of the hazards pointed out during the inspection. Correcting
hazards not formally cited does not imply guilt, Newquist noted:
Not every hazard the inspector points out will lead to a citation, and
correcting those hazards sends a positive message to OSHA. Although not a
guarantee, the agency may not follow through with issuing a citation if an
employer corrects a hazard ahead of time. Kaletsky points out that whether
your facility gets cited is not the point. The identification of a hazard
that could lead to a worker injury should be enough to prompt an employer to
mitigate the situation. “Anything you do in enhancing employee safety is
of course a good thing,” he said.
-- March 2015, NSC Safety & Health
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