As if OSHA’s impending expansion of electronic recordkeeping requirements wasn’t enough, there’s another change employers need to understand. This one concerns the way OSHA handles inspections. And the penalties you’ll pay if you break the rules. Employers across the country have known this was coming since last fall. So are you prepared for the new Enforcement Weighting System (EWS)?

Why the New System?
Dr. David Michaels is the Assistant Secretary of Labor who oversees OSHA. In a press release, he said OSHA inspections are one of the agency’s key tools to encourage employers to eliminate workplace hazards. In the past, OSHA based Compliance Officer performance on the number of inspections they conducted. That rewarded those who conducted short, simple inspections. But it penalized those who handled difficult, complex inspections. Just one of those could take months to complete.

Michaels says employers got the wrong message. “Under the previous system, some employers may have surmised that we were unlikely to conduct an inspection looking at ergonomic hazards, or exposures to chemicals for which we have no standard. In order to maximize deterrence, it is important for employers to know that we may conduct inspections and issue citations for any sort of serious hazard, whether or not we have a specific applicable standard.”

The new EWS focuses on high-hazard issues such as heat, chemical exposures, ergonomics, workplace violence and process safety management. Michaels says “these inspections have a powerful impact in preventing workplace injuries; there is strong evidence from several recent studies that injury rates decrease in the years following an OSHA inspection at the establishment that was the focus of the inspection.”

How Does the Enforcement Weighting System Work?
The EWS assigns a level of importance to each inspection job. Workplace hazards are divided into categories. Each one is rated according to its danger level, from 1 to 9 Enforcement Units. Inspections with higher EU values are:
• Significant Cases (8 EUs)
• Process Safety Management (7 EUs)
• Ergonomic Hazard (5 EUs)
• Heat Hazard (4 EUs)
• Non-PEL Exposure Hazard, Workplace Violence Hazard and Fatality/Catastrophe (3 EUs each)
• Non-formal Complaint and Rapid Response investigations may be rated anywhere from 1 to 9

The EWS has two broad goals:
• Promote secure, safe and healthy workplaces, especially in high-risk industries
• Protect workers’ rights to file complaints that trigger an investigation

The Cost of Non-Compliance Just Went Up
And it went up a lot. That’s because OSHA had not raised their fines since 1990. Here’s how much things have changed:
• The current penalty for Serious, Other-than-Serious or Posting Requirement violations is $7,000 per violation. After August 1, that amount is $12,471.
• The current penalty for “Failure to Abate” is $7,000 per day beyond the required abatement date. After August 1, that rises to $12,471 per day.
• The current penalty for willful or repeated violations is $70,000 per violation. That rises to $124,709 per violation after August 1.

Every year after 2016, penalties will increase again. The amount will be based on a Cost of Living Adjustment formula.

Obviously, it pays to create a safe workplace. As an employer, you also want a safe workplace because it benefits your employees. But with more expensive fines now on the books, you have even more incentive to find and correct every little detail.

How Can You Protect Your Workers and Your Company?
There are lots of things you can do to create a safer, healthier workplace. Even if you feel your company is doing a good job now.

1. Get your paperwork in order.
Make sure you understand what OSHA inspectors look for. And what problems could trigger an investigation. Be sure all your safety-related records are in compliance. And up to date. If you are inspected, having everything in order shows you care about safety. One way to manage all this paperwork is to move past paper. Specialized software can help you organize safety and training programs efficiently.

2. Conduct a self-assessment.
This is a good time to review your current safety management and OSHA compliance program. Perform a comprehensive self-audit. Check for physical issues with your facilities. And evaluate your policies and procedures. Look for anything that might be non-compliant. That might be work practices violations. Or it could be safety hazards.

A great tool to help with this is the “OSHA Safety & Health Program Check-Up.” It is a downloadable 5-page questionnaire. Use it like a check-list to help identify specific areas where you can improve. It follows the seven core elements in OSHA’s voluntary Safety and Health Program Management Guidelines:
• Management Leadership
• Worker Participation
• Hazard Identification and Assessment
• Hazard Prevention and Control
• Education and Training
• Program Evaluation and Improvement
• Coordination and Communication on Multi-Employer Worksites

3. Fix problems.
With your assessment in hand, you know what needs improvement. Prioritize, and take action.

4. Train your people.
Regulations change from time to time. Company policies and procedures change. That requires ongoing health and safety training. Even if nothing has changed, periodic refreshers remind people how important safety is. The most critical training focuses on specific job site safety hazards and the standards that apply to them. Make sure employees do more than memorize a list of dos and don’ts. When they know why rules exist, they will be more motivated to comply.

Make training fun. For example, use OSHA's interactive Hazard Identification Training Tool. It’s aimed at small business owners and employees. But it is valuable for workers in large companies, too. Especially new hires. Or create a quiz based on this 4-page document from the National Safety Council. It’s called “How to Conduct an Incident Investigation.”

Remember that safety starts with how people perform their work. Strains and sprains account for a large percentage of workers’ comp claims. A complete health and safety training program includes education about proper movement. This is the best way to prevent many types of workplace injuries. You can hold workshops. Or conduct job-site demonstrations. Or start each shift with a warm-up exercise program.

You can also adopt on-site physical therapy as a follow-up for workers injured on the job. On-site physical therapy is more convenient and more effective. That’s because sessions are based on each individual and their specific job. Your injured employee can return to work sooner. And they can avoid re-injury in the future. That’s because the therapist teaches each person how to perform their job-related tasks in the safest manner.

5. Get your people involved.
OSHA is cracking down on employers that make workers feel they cannot call attention to health and safety concerns. Most companies don’t do that. But why not create a culture that actively encourages employees to be part of the solution? Formally and informally. No one knows their jobs better than they do. So ask them what they think could improve safety. And ask what could improve efficiency, too. That may not relate directly to health and safety. But boosting efficiency will benefit everyone.

OSHA boss David Michaels believes “the Enforcement Weighting System will make OSHA a more effective agency and will enable us to help ensure that all workers leave work safe and healthy at the end of their shift.” That’s your goal, too, isn’t it?