How to Become OSHA Compliant?
Certainly, creating a page titled “How to Become OSHA Compliant?” on the OSHA Journal website is a great idea. This page can provide valuable guidance and information to businesses and individuals looking to achieve compliance with Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations. Here are some suggested sections you can include on this page:
Tips For Effective OSHS Compliance
In 2011, HHS published “The Seven Fundamental Elements Of An Effective Compliance Program”. We have slightly amended it to be more relevant to HIPAA compliance in 2023.
Here is a summary of the elements, which we outline in more detail in this guide.
1- Develop policies and procedures so that day-to-day activities comply with the Privacy Rule.
2- Designate a Privacy Officer and a Security Officer.
3- Implement effective training programs.
4- Ensure channels of communication exist to report violations, and breaches.
5- Monitor compliance at floor level so poor compliance practices can be nipped in the bud.
6- Enforce sanctions policies fairly and equally.
7- Respond promptly to identified or reported violations, and breaches.
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Does OSHA Apply to My Business?
The OSH Act covers most employees in the U.S. OSHA covers private sector employers and employees in all 50 states. Employers are covered either directly through the federal OSHA law and Occupational Safety and Health Administration, or through a “State Plan.” Roughly 40% of the states have their own OSHA “State Plan” These OSHA-approved safety programs must provide for at least as much safety protection to employees as federal OSHA does.
What Must I Provide My Workforce?
- Receive, from their employer, information and training about hazards, methods to prevent harm, and the OSHA standards that apply to their workplace. The training must be in a language that employees can understand.
- Observe testing that is done to find hazards in the workplace, and obtain copies of test results.
- Review records of work-related injuries and illnesses.
- Get copies of their medical records.
- Request that OSHA inspect their workplace.
OSHA Standards
OSHA standards are rules and regulations. Standards describe the methods employers must use to protect workers from hazards. There are OSHA standards for each of the following industries: agriculture, construction, maritime, and general industry. The first three of these industries are specialized industries in which the risk of worker injury is relatively high. General industry, the fourth industry, comprises most businesses in America, and includes, for example, medical offices, dental offices, and specialist offices.
Each industry must follow a specific set of standards. General industry, for example, must follow the Hazard Communication Standard (which requires employers to make employees aware of hazardous chemicals in the worksite, and provide protection from exposure to these chemicals); the bloodborne pathogens standard (which requires employers to implement measures minimizing the risk that employees will be exposed to blood or other potentially infectious materials); the Fire Prevention Plan Standard (which requires employers to develop a fire safety plan to instruct employees on how to prevent fires from occurring, and how to respond to fires that break out).
Standards require employers to use certain safe work practices and equipment; to monitor hazards; to provide personal protective equipment (PPE), such as gloves and respirators, and to report workplace injuries.
Employers must also comply with the “General Duty” Clause of the OSH Act. The General Duty Clause is a “catchall” provision. It requires employers to keep their workplaces free of serious recognized hazards, even when no particular standard applies to the hazard.
OSHA standards are rules that describe the methods that employers must use to protect their employees from hazards. There are OSHA standards for construction work, maritime operations, and general industry, which is the set that applies to most worksites. These standards limit the amount of hazardous chemicals workers can be exposed to, require the use of certain safe practices and equipment, and require employers to monitor hazards and keep records of workplace injuries and illnesses.
Employers must also comply with the General Duty Clause of the OSH Act, which requires employers to keep their workplace free of serious recognized hazards. This clause is generally cited when no OSHA standard applies to the hazard.
Additional Employer Responsibilities
Employers, as part of the duty to provide employees with a workplace that does not have serious hazards, must find and correct safety and health problems. OSHA further requires that employers have to try to eliminate or reduce hazards first by making changes in working conditions rather than just relying on masks, gloves, ear plugs or other types of personal protective equipment (PPE). These changes in working conditions include engineering controls (measures, such as ventilation systems, designed to eliminate a hazard) and work practice controls (requiring employees to wash their hands, requiring employees work in flexible shifts, and requiring employees work only in designated areas). If (and only if) these methods do not work, employers must provide employees with personal protective equipment, which employees must use to minimize their exposure to hazards.
To be OSHA certified employers MUST also:
- Provide hearing exams or other medical tests required by OSHA standards.
- Post OSHA citations, injury and illness data, and the OSHA poster in the workplace where workers will see them.
Knowledge Base
- What is OSHA Compliance
- How to Become Compliant
- Understanding Complaints Against You
- Why is a Risk Assessment Important
- Why are Policies & Procedures Important
- What is Joint Responsibility
- Common Violations
How to stay OSHA compliant
1. Determine your risk
2. Start with simple fixes
Did You Know?
Besides paying expensive fines, failing to remain OSHA compliant can result in high turnover among your current employees, and you may have a difficult time recruiting new employees to your company.
3. Conduct workplace safety training.
All employers and teams benefit from safety training that addresses workplace fires, machinery use, and licensure needed for dangerous equipment. In your training, be clear that only qualified and trained employees should use hazardous workplace tools.
4. Keep ample personal protective equipment (PPE) on hand
PPE includes anything that protects your employees from injury when working with dangerous items. It is important to keep PPE on hand, but it is not a substitute for safety procedures. Providing PPE amid unresolved workplace safety hazards instead of addressing these hazards violates OSHA rules. Fixing the hazard, rather than coming up with workarounds, should be a priority.
5. Let the machines do the lifting
Employees who lift heavy objects as part of their work may be more prone to workplace injuries (and claims on your workers’ comp insurance). Lifting and transportation machinery circumvent this risk if used safely, and they make your operations more efficient. Whether or not you invest in machinery, you should train your employees on proper lifting techniques.
6. Have a first aid kit ready to go
First aid kits typically have everything you need for initially dealing with workplace emergencies before your employees visit a doctor or hospital. Provide training to your employees about where first aid kits are located and how to use one so that anyone on your team can tend immediately to emergencies.
7. Properly maintain your equipment
Old or malfunctioning equipment is always a workplace hazard, so equipment maintenance (and upgrades when necessary) is crucial for workplace safety. Don’t try to fix it yourself, or ask employees to fix it – call the professionals instead.
8. Don’t neglect mental health
More than ever before, mental health is a key piece of the workplace safety pie. That’s because happier, less stressed employees make better – and safer – decisions. A broad set of company time-off and mental health policies can help on this front.
9. Know what to do in an emergency
Ultimately, even employees in the most OSHA-compliant office can still experience workplace injuries and illnesses. That’s why even the safest companies should establish emergency protocol. Your emergency plans should cover everyday injuries, unexpected incidents, and major medical emergencies, such as heart attacks, and even natural disaster preparedness.
List of OSHA Standards for Common Business Types
Here is a sample of specific OSHA-regulated industries and where to find the standards for each:
OSHA Regulations for All Businesses and Nonprofits
Every business under federal OSHA must adhere to either the General Industry (29 CFR 1910) Standards or the Safety and Health Regulations for Construction (29 CFR 1926).
Whistleblower Protection statutes also apply to all employees covered by OSHA regardless of industry.
Recordkeeping (29 CFR 1904) standards only apply to certain companies and industries. For example, employers with 10 or fewer employees and business establishments in certain industry classifications are partially exempt from keeping OSHA injury and illness records.
Here are a few General Industry subparts that likely apply to your situation. (Please note that for easy navigation, the links below take you to a specific subpage. To see all the regulations under a specific subpart, start here.)
- 1910 Subpart D – Walking-Working Surfaces, which includes ladders, stairways, fall protection, and training requirements.
- 1910 Subpart E – Exit Routes and Emergency Planning, which includes exit-route codes, design, maintenance, emergency action plans, and fire prevention plans.
- 1910 Subpart J – General Environmental Controls, which includes sanitation, color identification, signage, and the control of hazardous energy.
- 1910 Subpart K – Medical and First Aid
- 1910 Subpart L – Fire Protection, which includes portable fire extinguishers, fire extinguishing systems (1910:158 through 1910:163), fire detection, and alarm systems.
- 1910 Subpart Z – Toxic and Hazardous Substances, particularly bloodborne pathogens, which covers the handling and disposal of sharps and razors, and hazard communication.
If you directly employ janitorial staff or a handyman, examine 1910 Subpart P – Hand and Portable Powered Tools and Equipment and 1910 Subpart S – Electrical to ensure you’re following general industry requirements for maintenance work.
How to Comply with OSHA Regulations
To be considered OSHA compliant, employers must identify and fix any health and safety hazards by utilizing the Hierarchy of Controls approach.
NIOSH defines the hierarchy of controls as addressing hazards through the following controls:
- Elimination
- Substitution
- Engineering Controls
- Administrative Controls
- PPE
Where there is no specific standard for your organization, you must adhere to the General Duty Clause.
The OSHA General Duty Clause says: “each employer shall furnish to each of its employees a workplace that is free from recognized hazards that are causing or likely to cause death or serious physical harm.”
Guidance on best practices in safety exceeding OSHA compliance requirements can be found in consensus standards published by nonprofit standard-making organizations such as NFPA, ANSI, and ASME.
OSHA Recordkeeping Standards only apply to certain types of businesses. If your company type is not on the list of exempt companies, you must prepare and maintain records of serious workplace injuries and illnesses using the OSHA 300 Log.
