RISK INSIGHT: OSHA Releases 2014 Inspection Plan
Property & Casualty, Risk
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently released a notice regarding its annual inspection plan under its Site-Specific Targeting (SST) for 2014 (effective date of March 6, 2014). The SST program is one of OSHA’s main inspection plans for high-hazard, non-construction workplaces with 20 or more workers. OSHA will also select employers for inspection randomly from a list of worksites visited during the 2011 SST inspections.
Significant changes for the SST-14 include:
- Using calendar year (CY) 2011 injury and illness data to compile the targeting lists for the secondary list establishments
- OSHA continuing to work with the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Policy (ASP) on a study to measure recidivism rates of establishments that have been inspected (The study will provide insight into the effectiveness of the program)
- Inspection criteria will include employers with specific days away, restricted, or transferred rate (DART) and days away from work injury and illness (DAFWII) rates
- OSHA’s Office of Statistical Analysis has randomly selected 2,250 establishments from both the SST-11 primary and secondary lists – for inspection pursuant to the Evaluation Study. These establishments were selected based on their CY 2009 injury and illness data (collected during the 2010 ODI). The SST-14 primary inspection lists for federal jurisdiction Area Offices will be comprised of 1,260 establishments selected as part of the Evaluation Study. All federal jurisdiction primary list establishments will be inspected under SST-14.
- Programmed inspections of Nursing and Personal Care establishments will continue to be conducted under OSHA Directive CPL 03-00-016, National Emphasis Program – Nursing and Personal Care Facilities (NAICS 623110, 623210, and 623311)
- An establishment will be deleted from the inspection list if the establishment received a comprehensive safety inspection or a records-only inspection within 24 months of the opening conference date of the previous inspection
Key Takeaway
Employers who were subject to inspection in 2011 under the Site-Specific Targeting could face another inspection in 2014. These employers should reevaluate their current workplace safety policies and procedures. A re-inspection could result in a repeat violation and categorized as willful in nature.
