OSHA : That Won’t Happen To Me!

By HR Resource Force In Compliance Management Systems

Why We Avoid

Best Practices In Our

Compliance Management Systems

Despite tragedies that surround us with family members and neighbors falling sick, it is human nature to think “that won’t happen to me”. The same innate “I’m invincible” tendency proves true at work. These OSHA cases reveal preventable mistakes and oversights that could be occurring at your organization: a wiring manufacturing company exposed workers to potentially deadly materials, a construction company failed to follow the employee versus a contractor status law, and a large supply chain organization failed to implement basic safety guards that led to two employee’s amputation.

If you want to be proactive, be sure your compliance practices are modernized and include these 3 basic rules: (1) incorporate a strong risk prevention culture beginning with your leaders (2) continually identify risk areas within every facet of your company and (3) maintain visibility for your board members, shareholders, and senior management. Read these 3 Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) compliance violations that may have been prevented had these rules been followed.

Best Practice Compliance Management Rule (#1)
INCORPORATE A STRONG RISK PREVENTION CULTURE BEGINNING WITH YOUR LEADERS
Copper wire manufacturer continually exposed workers to potentially deadly injuries by inadequately providing safeguards for their machines. The company had numerous instances of new and recurring machine guarding hazards on die presses, saws, lathes and other machinery. Hazards included bypassing interlocks designed to stop machines from operating when their doors opened. A related hazard stemmed from not locking out machines’ power sources before changing dies or performing maintenance, and not adequately training employees to do so. The inability to prove Copper Wire’s supervisor was trained and or the employees had been trained, put this manufacturer at major risk.

Safety appears to be a disintegrated value at Copper Wire. Had they instituted a strong safety management team, analyzed potential risks, and documented training of processes and procedures, Copper Wire would not be in this predicament.

Best Practice Compliance Management Rule (#2)
CONTINUALLY IDENTIFY RISK AREAS WITHIN EVERY FACET OF YOUR COMPANY
Royal Construction claimed workers at the job site: were not employees, that they supplied their own tools, and made their own hours. After review, the labor department established: they had employees at the job site, they provided materials, tools, trailer and equipment needed for the project, they had control over the workers and work site safety, they determined when and for how long the individuals worked, the work was done as part of the regular business of Royal Construction, and the company had paid hourly wages to the individuals working at the site. Royal Construction now faces a $20,240 fine. Royal Construction ignored this well known employee status law, a worker is an employee, not a contractor, if the purchaser of that worker’s service has the right to direct or control the worker, both as to the final results and as to the details of when, where, and how the work is done.

Many small companies are confused by the regulations surrounding contractors, yet it is a commonly identified risk area. Quick easy access to free legal support could have prevented this substantial bill.

Best Practice Compliance Management Rule (#3)
MAINTAIN VISIBILITY FOR YOUR BOARD MEMBERS, SHAREHOLDERS, and SENIOR MANAGEMENT
Medium and large sized corporations often struggle to maintain full transparency and visibility to what is actually happening day to day on the floor and on the road. Schwan Supply Chain, a leading supplier of frozen foods with over 10,000 employees, now faces $172,000 in fines for 2 separate employee incidents of amputation, and one suffering lacerations and burns.

Basic safety guards were not in place and proper procedures were not followed. The undercover boss approach combined with documented and tracked training efforts could have prevented these tragedies.

If you are a leader in your organization, be sure to fight your human nature tendencies to ignore risks. Be proactive with modern compliance practices that include: (1) incorporating a strong risk prevention culture beginning with your leaders (2) continually identifying risk areas within every facet of your company and (3) maintaining visibility for your board members, shareholders, and senior management.

By: Kristen Goodell, M.Ed, Co-Owner
Kristen converts inefficient compliance management systems and siloed technology into a dynamic workflow with end to end client support: RFP, selection, implementation, and adoption. Through our implementation process we reveal areas of hidden risk and produce new best practices for your compliance management team.
Contact@HRResourceForce.com
412.447.1571

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