OSHA Inspection – How To Handle One
For those of you who have had an OSHA inspection at your workplace you probably have learned a thing or two about how you would handle it if you had the opportunity to do it over. No one is really prepared for that unannounced summons from your receptionist informing you that a representative from the U.S. Department of Labor, Division of Occupational Safety and Health is here to talk with you. It seems that they (OSHA) usually visit during a time when other facility operational problems are occurring, break downs, employee absentee concerns, shipment backlogs -- you name it. That is when you have to set aside everything so you can respond to your visitor. Your response will determine the outcome of that visit.
Your Rights As An Employer
As a past OSHA Compliance Officer (CSHO) and a past OSHA Consultant, I want to share some brief but very important suggestions about the best way to handle an OSHA visit. First, understand that although you are governed under the Act, you as an employer do have rights. For this article this writer will be discussing rights under the OSH Act, which is administered under the Federal guidelines. States that have their own OSHA State Plan may have different employer rights and obligations. Check your State Plan Offices status.
Pre-inspection Rights
If as an employer you seek to ensure compliance with any and all applicable OSHA regulations without the fear of an OSHA enforcement inspection or the issuance of a citation for identified regulatory infractions, there is help from OSHA itself.
- Ask for assistance from OSHA. Contact your local regional area offices. Each OSHA area office will have Compliance Assistance Specialists (CASs) on board. The CASs can answer questions on the phone and are also available for seminars, workshops, and speaking events. There is no need to give your name or establishment’s name. Be prepared and explain the specifics of your concern.
- Request assistance from the OSHA On-site Consultation program. The OSHA On-site Consultation program is funded by OSHA and administered through its respective state agency or a state university. The consultation program is separate from enforcement and a visit will not result in penalties or citations in the event any regulatory infractions are found. One important note: there is a responsibility on the employer's part to fully comply with any and all safety and health concerns identified during the consultation visit.
When that day comes, and you probably won’t be prepared or ready for it, it is important that you understand your rights as an employer. It is important to understand how an OSHA inspection is conducted and more importantly, why the OSHA inspector is at your door.
When will OSHA visit your establishment?To be quite honest with you due to the number of OSHA Compliance Officers, which at last count was right around 2,043, and considering there are approximately 7 million worksites, your odds of getting inspected are low. Let’s look at OSHA inspection priorities. They are, in order:
- Imminent danger situations
- Fatalities and catastrophes
- Complaints (employee)
- Referrals (made by other Federal or State Agencies or organizations)
- Follow-ups (initial inspection identified hazards – citation was issued)
- Planned or programmed investigations (OSHA initiatives like National Emphasis (NEP) or Local Emphasis (LEP) Programs, Site Specific Targeting Initiative (SST).
It is very important to understand that most OSHA visits are unannounced. You will not be given any advanced warning prior to an inspection.
The very first being “Imminent danger” is fairly rare. Very few imminent danger inspections have been conducted by OSHA. You should be well aware that a fatality or catastrophe inspection will be occurring for obvious reasons.
The remaining reasons for a visit are usually unknown as to when they may occur.
Why is OSHA visiting your establishment?
When that day comes and they are sitting in your waiting area, it is important to exercise your rights as an employer before going any further with the inspection. The following action on your part should take place:
- Make sure your receptionist or whoever makes first contact requests that the compliance officer waits in the waiting area.
- Next, the highest ranking management official on site should be contacted. Do not escort the compliance officer to an office or through the work area.
- The chosen management representative should ask for the compliance officer’s identification card. This will be a certified U.S. Department of Labor / OSHA ID. Also ask for a business card. You will want to make a copy or write down the ID information.
- Proceed to question why the compliance officer is at your facility, e.g. reason for the inspection following the “inspection priority” list noted above.
Note: If the compliance officer is there because of an employee complaint, they must provide you with a copy of the complaint itself. The individual filing the complaint will be removed from your copy.
If the reasoning for the visit is acceptable you should then request and inform the compliance officer that you are going to contact the OSHA Regional Area Office to verify their status and reason for the visit. Don’t hesitate to do this. It is not and will not be looked at as playing “hard-ball”; it is just being sure.
Once you have verified the compliance officers visit you should then proceed to an office area so as to conduct the opening conference.
How To Conduct Yourself During The OSHA Visit:
The OSHA visit consists of three basic inspection elements. They are:
- Opening Conference
- Walk-around Survey
- Closing Conference
Many believe that the walk-around survey is the most important aspect of the inspection. Although during this procedure, any hazards and potential OSHA regulatory violations may be found, it is my opinion that the most important part of the OSHA visit is the opening conference. It is during this phase that the compliance officer will determine your facility's safety and health culture. It is also the period where you, the employer, can establish a leadership role in how and what the compliance officer looks at. Remember, this is your business, you know more about facility operations then the compliance officer. Take charge, and be a leader. Here are some tips on how to conduct an opening conference:
- Have all your OSHA required and other safety and health written policies and procedures readily available for review, especially your OSHA required accident and illness records. I recommend that each policy be in a separate three-ring binder rather than having one huge binder which holds all the policies. This separate bound system makes it easy to review.
- Lead the discussion and inform the compliance officer of all your safety and health activities, e.g. Safety and Health Committees, Seminars Attended, Outside Assistance Used.
Walk-Around Survey
Often if the opening conference is handled properly, on a “targeted inspection” such as a record keeping inspection visit, the visit may be stopped at that point. No walk-around will be conducted.
A side note: if during the review of your accident and illness records your LWDI (Lost Workday Injury Rate) or DART (Days Away, Restricted and Transferred) are below your industry's average, the inspection possibly will not continue past the opening conference.
In the event that the inspection needs to proceed here are some tips on how to conduct yourself during that walk-around survey.
If the compliance officer is there on a complaint, take the compliance officer directly to the area(s) noted on the complaint itself. For example, if the complaint stated that a specific piece of equipment is improperly guarded, escort the compliance officer to that piece of equipment.
Note: If the compliance officer observes safety and health issues other than the complaint reference while traveling to the area of concern, they can note and issue a citation on those items. That is why it is very important to not take the compliance officer on a full plant tour. The path of travel should be direct.
- If the compliance officer takes pictures, you should ask what they were taking a picture of and take one yourself.
- Ask what the compliance officer is looking for.
- Ask what the compliance officer is writing down.
- Never leave the compliance officer un-escorted.
Closing ConferenceThe closing conference is a discussion as to what the compliance officer found and what possibly is in violation of any applicable OSHA regulation. During the discussion you will want to:
- Ask what specific OSHA regulation the infraction noted may be applied to.
- Give some further explanation about why the infractions were noted and what has been done in the past to eliminate them.
- Take immediate action to rectify the infractions noted if possible.
Although the compliance officer will give you an idea as to what may be cited (issuance of a citation) they really do not make that decision. The final decision as to issuing a citation is made by the OSHA Area Director.
It is important that the compliance officer explains your rights and obligations under the ACT. If not, ask how one would go about in establishing an informal conference at which time you would have the opportunity to discuss an issued citation with the local OSHA Area Director.
Summary:
You have rights as an employer. Exercise those rights. A professional OSHA compliance officer will not be offended. Have a safe day.
