Safety and Health Program Development

 

A company’s written set of occupational safety and health programs are the foundation of a company’s success to complying with OSHA requirements and reducing the risk and severity of employee injuries. OSHA requires worksites to have certain safety and health programs available and implemented. Some OSHA standards that require established programs include Lockout / Tagout, Confined Spaces, Respiratory Protection, Hearing Conservation, Bloodborne Pathogens, Construction safety, Emergency Action Plans, and others.

 

For those companies that have Federal agencies as a client, their safety and health programs and performance are becoming an increasing responsibility in order to maintain those contracts. Federal agencies and many projects in the private sector are increasingly requiring safety and health programs to be submitted as part of the pre-qualification and screening process. 

 

The most effective way to develop a robust occupational safety and health program which is effective in reducing injuries, illnesses, and likelihood and severity of an OSHA inspection is conduct a robust OSHA compliance audit as part of the program development process.

 

Prometrix Safety Consulting can help you cost-effectively develop a comprehensive safety and health programs and training materials that is tailored to your specific industry and worksite.

 

 

Safety and Health Program Review

 

Why should I request a safety program and training review?

 

Aside from safety and health programs being a prudent best practice, there are a number of federal OSHA standards that require an employer to develop a safety & health program in their workplace as applicable. Some of these required programs include Lockout-Tagout, Confined Space, Hazard Communication (including Lab Safety), Fall Protection, Construction Safety Program, Emergency Action Plans, and Respiratory Protection to name a few.

 

Our experience at Prometrix Safety Consulting is that most employers – particularly small and medium size employers – have written programs in place which actually pose a greater compliance risk of enforcement action than it was intended to protect against. 

 

The reasons for the greater risk vary, but the most common are that the programs are extremely generic, obvious to be an afterthought, or that management doesn’t fully understand their responsibilities.  When a CSHO (Compliance Safety & Health Officer, “inspector”) sees a set of programs that are overtly “cookie-cutter”, include programs which are not even applicable to the facility, or are oddly structured, the compliance officer will inherently develop an unfavorable perception of the facility’s safety policies and/or lack of employer commitment to compliance.  These types of issues can be easily rectified with the proper expert guidance and follow-through.

 

Conversely, some clients – in an effort of due diligence and validation – that have requested thorough reviews of their safety programs had excellent safety performance with low injury rates, effective employee safety training and solid general compliance.

 

However, what they didn’t fully recognize was that some of their safety programs did not properly reflect actual activities in their operations and/or included aspects which were either not relevant or were no longer appropriate for their facility. These issues were quickly addressed which positioned our clients for greater success.

 

Effective training and proper documentation is critical to assuring compliance with OSHA requirements - not to mention reducing injuries -- which futher reduces costs. Many OSHA standards have specific training requirements and are often the central focus in an actual inspection. A program review will help assure that the worksite is better prepared to prevent injuries and avoid expensive penalties.

 

It is recommended, though not required as part of our services, to conduct a 3rd party compliance audit (also often referred to as a “mock OSHA inspection”) as part of a safety program document and training review.

 

 

What should you expect from our safety program review?

 

A thorough and confidential assessment of your written OSHA safety and health programs and training materials along with recommendations to address gaps, enhance compliance and safety performance, and reduce operational and enforcement risks.

 

Prometrix Safety Consulting will leverage its unique expertise and experience as former OSHA officials to develop and/or enhance your safety and health programs in a manner which will both reduce your operational risks as well as position your facility in a positive image in the event OSHA conducts an actual inspection. Keep in mind that this can be accomplished with an appropriate or significant return on investment.

 

A typical comprehensive safety and health program and training review for a small or medium size establishment can be performed rather quickly and without being a burden to your staff -- and without requiring significant investment.

 

When you’re partnered with the right Workers Compensation insurance provider, your commitment and improvement in safety performance should ultimately translate into lower insurance premiums over time. Lower costs!

 

Keep this old adage in mind: ‘an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure’. That sentiment rings just as true with occupational safety and health compliance where establishing written programs, training, and ongoing adherence to safe work practices and policies will lead to an improved bottom line.

 

 

Why Prometrix Consulting?

 

We are very proud of our record that no client has ever received a citation after implementing the safety and health programs we helped them develop or enhance.

 

If you want to minimize your OSHA related risks, who is better suited to provide that assistance than former senior OSHA officials and specialists?

 

As former OSHA officials, we uniquely offer the services, expertise, and a cost-effective approach to demystify compliance and ensure that you are well-positioned to minimize the likelihood and severity of employee injuries and avoid expensive enforcement penalties and actions.

 

We serve clients throughout the United States and in all industries including, general industry, construction, and maritime. We also serve clients with cross-border operations in Canada (WorkSafe).

 

 

Professional Advice:  Although it’s not required, if you engage with a 3rd party OSHA consulting firm such as Prometrix Consulting, insist that the services be performed under attorney-client privilege and at no cost to you (as in free). This will accomplish several purposes:

 

Attorney-client privilege reassures company executives that all communications, audit findings, recommendations, and corrective actions are better protected as ‘proprietary and confidential’ from your competitors, the public, and OSHA.

 

Attorney-client privilege will remove privacy concerns as a credible objection from engaging outside experts;

 

Such privileges will help foster a robust working relationship and environment whereby deeper and more candid conversations can take place in order to better address and reduce your operational risks.