The Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s Three Pronged Approach to Workplace Safety

1. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s Three Pronged Approach to Workplace Safety Presented by the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of International Labor Affairs Third Hemispheric Workshop on Occupational Health and Safety Cusco, Peru October 21-22, 2008

2. U.S. Department of Labor • Enforces 180 laws: • Minimum wage • Overtime • Child labor • Private pensions • Safety and health • And more • Covers 135 million workers • 10 million employers

3. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) • Created in 1971 by the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 • Coverage: 135 million workers at 7.2 million worksites • Since establishment, workplace fatalities declined by 60% • Injuries and diseases have declined by 40% • Workforce has doubled

4. Workplace Fatalities(1994-2007) Rate Number Fatalities per 100,000 Workers Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics 2007* - Preliminary data

5. Workplace Injury and Illness Rates(1990-2006) Injuries and illnesses per 100 FTE Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics 2002* - OSHA revised its injury and illness recordkeeping rule. 2002 rates are not comparable to prior years.

6. OSHA Resources • Budget: Almost $500 million • 2150 employees, including 1100 inspectors • Plus 1300 state inspectors • 200 offices

7. OSHA State Programs • 22 States have their own OSHA programs • State programs: • Must meet, but may exceed, OSHA standards • Must be approved, and are monitored by OSHA • Cost is shared with OSHA providing 50%

8. OSHA Three Pronged Approach • Strong, fair and effective enforcement • Outreach, education and compliance assistance efforts • Partnerships, alliances, and cooperative and voluntary programs

9. OSHA Inspections • Three kinds of inspections: complaint/accident related; high hazard targeted; referrals follow-up • 2006: OSHA conducted 38,579 workplace inspections; found 83,913 violations; and assessed $84 million in penalties • State OSHAs conducted 58,058 inspections: found 127 thousand violations; and assessed $71 million in penalties.

10. OSHA Inspections (cont.) • Approximately 20% of all inspections are complaint driven or accident related. • The OSH Act gives employees the right to file complaints about workplace safety and health hazards. • The Act gives complainants the right to request that their names not be revealed to their employers. Complaints may be filed on-line, by mail or by phone.

11. Outreach, Education, and Compliance Assistance • Publications--in English and Spanish • Training • OSHA Training Institute • OSHA Training Institute Education Centers • Outreach Training Program • Internet Outreach

12. Compliance Assistance • $afety Pays • Interactive system to assist employers in estimating the costs of occupational injuries and illnesses and the impact on a company’s profitability • Businesses use a formula approach to predict the direct and indirect impacts • Advisory Groups • OSHA has several standing committees or ad hoc committees that advise the agency • Committees include representatives of management, labor, and state agencies, as well as one or more designees of the Secretary of Health and Human Services

13. Partnerships, Alliances, and Cooperative and Voluntary Programs • Alliance Program • Focus is on industry, or on hazards within an industry • Between OSHA and businesses, associations, or unions • Involves training and education, outreach, and communication • Consultation Service • Free consultation on request • No penalties • Must correct shortcomings

14. Partnerships, Alliances, and Cooperative and Voluntary Programs (cont.) • Strategic Partnership Program • Signed between OSHA and groups of employers, employees, unions, and other stakeholders. • Establish effective safety and health management systems; train managers and workers; involve employees more closely; share expertise and other resources. • Voluntary Protection Programs • Premiere recognition program • Companies establish own programs; approved and monitored by OSHA • Annual evaluations; not inspections.

15. Success Stories • The Jacksonville Electric Authority Strategic Partnership • Established in 2000; over 36,000 employees and supervisors received safety training • Prior to partnering with OSHA, the rate of OSH incidences reported for the Jacksonville electrical system was 6.16 • By 2007, that rate was reduced to only 2.5 – well below the national average of 6.3 • The Dow Chemical Company Alliance • Dow management and their contractor companies entered into an alliance to implement safety and health management systems at their Texas operations • Result: More than 90 percent reduction in their injury rate from 1995 to 2007 • Alliance has grown from 15 contractor companies when it was formed in 1995, to include 85 this year

16. Sources of Information • Rulemaking and Compliance Assistance • OSHA Data Initiative and Integrated Management Information System • Public notice and comment processes and public hearings • Requests for Information (RFIs) to gather data; submitted in hard copy or electronically • www.regulations.govserves as a portal for the public to send information and obtain public documents that are collected and used in the rulemaking process

17. Sources of Information • Rulemaking and Compliance Assistance • Literature and database searches • Attending professional conferences • Workplace visits • Partnerships, Alliances and Voluntary Programs • State Partners • Advisory Committees

18. Information Technology • Record Keeping: OSHA Data Initiative • Employers required to keep records and submit to OSHA • OSHA tracks data and monitors its own performance • Used to guide inspectors during inspections • Used by employers and employees • Forms the basis for the BLS database

19. The Integrated Management Information System (IMIS) • Designed as an information resource for in-house use by OSHA staff and management, and by state agencies which carry out federally-approved OSHA programs • Source of information: local federal or state office in the geographical area where the activity occurred • Information is entered as events occur in the course of agency activities. Until cases are closed, IMIS entries concerning specific OSHA inspections are subject to continuing correction and updating, particularly with regard to citation items • Access afforded via the Internet for the use of members of the public • Can be accessed at http://www.osha.gov/oshstats/index.htmland can respond to queries by establishment, sector, accident investigation, frequently cited OSHA standards, among others

20. Electronic Outreach • eTools: Stand alone, interactive, web-based training tools. Can be accessed by anybody. Expert advisers provides more advanced training and guidance. I would invite you view this at http://www.osha.gov/dts/osta/oshasoft/index.html#eTools • Multimedia training tools: PowerPoint, videos, available at http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/multimedia.html

21. Electronic Outreach (cont.) • In addition, OSHA's website includes several special features: • Spanish-language pages • Small Business page • Compliance Assistance page that provides a portal to OSHA's compliance assistance resources and information on OSHA's cooperative programs. • Workers page • Teen Workers page • OSHA Training Institute Education Centers page

22. Electronic Outreach (cont.) • Main statistical database: Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) • Injuries, Illnesses, and Fatalities (IIF) • Available at http://www.bls.gov/iif/home.htm#record

23. For More Information… • Main OSHA website: www.OSHA.gov • The 1970 OSH Act: http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owasrch.search_form?p_doc_type=OSHACT&p_toc_level=0&p_keyvalue • State OSH plans: http://www.osha.gov/dcsp/osp/index.html • Training: http://www.osha.gov/dcsp/ote/index.html • Compliance Assistance: http://www.osha.gov/dcsp/compliance_assistance/index.html • Partnerships: http://www.osha.gov/dcsp/partnerships/index.html • Alliance Program: http://www.osha.gov/dcsp/partnerships/index.html • Voluntary Protection Programs: http://www.osha.gov/dcsp/partnerships/index.html • eTools: http://www.osha.gov/dts/osta/oshasoft/index.html

24. Thank You