Category: Enforcement and Inspection

As today’s workplace becomes more complex, regulation of that workplace increases. In this section, you’ll find the practical advice you need to understand exactly what OSHA, other federal agencies, and their state counterparts, require of you, and to comply in the ways that best satisfy both your and their needs. Look also for important court decisions, advice on how to handle enforcement actions, and news of upcoming changes in workplace health and safety law.

Free Special Report: What to Expect from an OSHA Inspection

OSHA Ladder and Scaffold Inspection Essentials

OSHA has its up and down days … the days it inspects ladders and scaffolds. This Friday, our Safety Training Tips Editor says you need to do those inspections before they do. OSHA requires a “competent person” to inspect scaffolds. According to the agency, a competent person is one who: Has been trained to understand […]

OSHA’s 300 Log: What You May Not Know About It

The 300 Log program is the backbone of OSHA decision making, but only if the information you provide is both timely and accurate. Here are some tips to keep it so. It’s March. That means it’s time to check out big-time college basketball, the first glimmerings of spring … and whether you’ve got your OSHA […]

When OSHA Says, ‘Let’s Take a Walk …’

An OSHA inspection walkaround often determines what charges you’ll face, how long the investigation will last, and how much you’ll pay. Here are tips to keep things under control. The phrase “walkaround” suggests a pleasant stroll through the country. But its meaning changes radically when the person doing the walking is an inspector from OSHA. […]

OSHA Telegraphs its Next Punch

The agency has preannounced its next “unannounced inspection” effort. Here’s where it will happen, what to expect, and what to do, if an OHSA inspector shows up at your door. Perhaps you’ve read newspaper stories in which the local police preannounce ahead of time where and when they’ll be setting up speed radar. OSHA officials […]

Lockout/Tagout: 5 Steps to a Successful Program

To implement a successful lockout/tagout program, you need 5 key elements, says a top BLR interactive training program. It then proceeds to deliver them to you. Yesterday’s Safety Daily Advisor looked at what the safety education website, siri.uvm.edu, calls the “fatal 5” of lockout/tagout. These missteps, which account for most of the 60,000 injuries and […]

Meet Lockout/Tagout’s ‘Fatal 5’

Make any of these 5 mistakes and not only is your lockout/tagout program in danger, so are you! Here’s a short quiz for the workers at your facility: Question: When can a simple padlock and a laminated piece of red-striped cardboard save your life?Answer: When they’re part of a well-planned lockout/tagout program. As safety professionals […]

Just What Is OSHA and How Does it Work?

OSHA’s mission is to send every worker home whole and healthy every day. OSHA is a federal agency with 2,150 employees, including 1,100 inspectors, and an annual budget of nearly $500 million. Almost every working person in the nation, with a few exceptions, comes under OSHA’s jurisdiction. To protect all these workers, OSHA creates and […]