OSHA Random Inspection Study Proves Increase in Safety

A new study shows that random safety inspections improve the workplace instead of leading to layoffs and large expenses. The common argument with random inspections has been that the high cost of compliance leads to layoffs and bankruptcy.  According to Science, a top scientific journal, most safety regulators don't inspect companies at random and instead typically focus on those that have accidents or where workers have filed complaints. Afterward, injury rates tend to revert back to whatever they were before the incident occurred, even without an OSHA inspection. Based on these facts, researchers could infer that the inspection played a bigger role in the reduction of injuries than it actually did.

On the other hand, if OSHA finds incomplete records of on-the job accidents and injuries, better record keeping will be enforced and this could bring up more accidents and injuries to be reported.  To provide an unbiased report on whether random inspections are positive or negative, economists David Levine of the University of California, Berkeley, and Matthew Johnson of Boston University studied workplaces that have been inspected between 1996 and 2006. They examined workers compensation claims 4 years before and 4 years after an inspection as well as companies that weren’t inspected in the same time frame.

Based on the study, results show that there was a decline of 9% in injuries reported after the inspection in comparison with companies of the same time frame that were not inspected. The cost of the injuries reported fell by 26%. Investigators also used reports provided by financial data provider Standard & Poor to determine that the random inspections have no effect on employment, total earnings, sales and company longevity.

OSHA estimated that in 2012, they will inspect 41,000 workplaces. The random selection of the company is done in the following order of priority – Imminent danger situations, fatalities and catastrophes, complaints, referrals, follow-ups and planned or programmed investigations.  Be proactive in preparing for random audits with up-to date and accurate reports and hazard communication plans. 

SafetySkills offers online safety training courses to help the employer and employees commit to a safety compliant workplace. The OSHA Reporting and Record Keeping course will provide general awareness level training of  OSHA's general requirements for injury and illness reporting and record keeping, identification of OSHA's definitions relating to its reporting and record keeping regulations, OSHA's required reporting forms, the types of incidents OSHA requires to be reported and, finally, OSHA's record keeping requirements. The Hazard Communication course will cover the hazards of potential chemical exposure, types of hazards, Material Safety Data Sheets, chemical detection methods, how chemical hazards are controlled, and how the Globally Harmonized System (GHS) will affect the HAZCOM standard.

For more information on SafetySkills and the online safety training courses offered, please visit SafetySkills.com