No Deliberate Action Here
Workplace injuries cost money and can ruin a productive day. No employer wants to see anybody get hurt at the workplace, especially a serious or fatal injury. The vast majority of employers and employees do not deliberately perform or require a job to be performed in an unsafe manner. But the truth of the matter is, it does occur and we do have workplace injuries and fatalities too frequently. According to U.S. Labor Statistics over 4,000 workplace fatalities occur every year. You can read the statistics on these fatalities by going to the United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics web page (Stats.BLS.gov) and looking at the "Injuries, Illnesses and Fatalities" section (Subject Area: Workplace Injuries). There you will be able to locate and break down the statistics on fatalities as to how and in what industry they occurred.
OSHA Regulatory Violations Not in Line with Fatality Origin
When studying these statistics a very interesting fact jumps out. Leading the cause for work-related fatalities are transportation and right behind are assaults and violent attacks. One would want to believe that if this is the case, OSHA would be addressing these risks through their enforcement activities and adopted rules and regulations. The truth of the matter is, there are no OSHA regulations which directly address and can be applied to vehicle (over the road) operation or workplace assaults or attacks. Admittedly, OSHA has and currently addresses workplace violence but only on a provided guideline basis, no adopted procedures.
OSHA Continues to Issue "Serious" Violation Citations
OSHA's enforcement activity has increased within the past year and the agency will continue to conduct inspections and issue citations. OSHA's Top 10 Most Frequently Cited Standards include scaffolding and fall protection in the construction industry leading the list, with machine guarding concerns in general industry closing out at number ten. Nowhere in this "Top 10" list will you find any citations associated with transportation or workplace violence. There are no specific standards associated with these activities and if an employer were to be found at fault, the citation would have to be classified as a General Duty Clause, Section 5(a)(1) violation. These are not commonly issued.
During my time spent with the OSHA On-Site Consultation program as senior consultant I would review reports submitted by other field consultants. Those reports, submitted to the employer, would identify any noted hazards and or any OSHA regulatory violations. During my assessment I questioned the consultant as to how many of those noted infractions were directly associated with the employer's recordable injuries and illnesses. It was interesting to both of us that very few of the noted OSHA regulatory violations had a direct impact on the injuries or illnesses occurring at the workplace.
Most Common General Industry Accident Being Ignored by OSHA
Although I previously mentioned the most common reasons for workplace fatalities, the fact is that most employers will not experience a fatality. Many employers will experience costly injuries. Sprains and strains are the most common workplace injuries accounting for 43 percent of the 1.3 million injuries and illnesses in the private industry sector annually in the U.S.A.
When looking at the previously most cited OSHA violations, you will not find any of those associated with risk factors leading to sprains and strains. About the only OSHA regulations associated with these risk factors are found in OSHAs' General Requirement - 1910.22. Within this section you will find regulations addressing housekeeping, aisles and passageways and guardrailing. With most sprains and strains resulting from lifting or repetitive motion task we once again identify a workplace risk factor which has no OSHA rule or regulation.
Does OSHA Need to Reassess Their Priorities?
If employers and employees are going to rely on OSHA to ensure a safe and healthy working environment and to reduce sprains and strains by enforcement, they are wasting time. OSHA has proposed ergonomic standards dating back to the early to mid 1990s. President Clinton supported the rules but they were appealed by President Bush. These regulatory requirements would have addressed risk factors associated with sprains and strains and would have given both employers and employees the needed tools to attack these recordable injuries and illnesses.
OSHA will continue to enforce the current rules on the books and will issue citations based on their inspection findings. Scaffolding, fall protection and machine guarding will remain on the top ten list. Industry and labor groups must not wait for OSHA, they themselves must take leadership when it comes to needed action which would address sprains and strains. OSHA, CDC and NIOSH will continue researching and providing ergonomic guidelines but don't expect any enforceable rules or regulations being adopted soon.
Summary
Although scaffolding, fall protection and machine guarding risk factors must be addressed and full compliance with any and all applicable regulations must be adhered to, additional action must be taken. Study your OSHA injury and illness records. Identify where these accidents are occurring. Search for the root cause. Don't worry if there are no OSHA regulations which applies to the concern. Seek out assistance from associations and look for best practice assistance. Have a safe day.
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